MANCHESTER, England -- Streaming on Showtime's Facebook and YouTube pages on Saturday will be a title fight between Terry Flanagan (33-0, 13 KOs) and Maurice Hooker (23-0-3, 16 KOs). Up for grabs in this fight will be a vacant WBO junior welterweight title. The bout will act as the co-feature for Tyson Fury's long-awaited return against Sefer Seferi.
Flanagan is an undefeated southpaw who has been fighting professionally for nearly 10 years. He works behind a stiff jab and will often follow that punch with an accurate straight left hand. Flanagan also has a solid right hook and often on the inside he will unleash an uppercut with his left hand that can catch his opponent by surprise. Defensively Flanagan isn't the slickest boxer but he does have a good chin that allows him to withstand most attacks.
After being the WBO lightweight world title holder, Flanagan will look to capture the WBO title in the junior welterweight division. Ring rust could play a roll against Hooker though since it's been over a year since Flanagan's last fight, a unanimous decision victory over Petr Petrov. Among Flanagan's other wins are names like Orlando Cruz, Diego Magdaleno, and Derry Matthews twice. While Flanagan will look to capture a world title in his second division, Hooker will look to ruin those plans.
Hooker is a 28-year-old orthodox fighter who has spent the majority of his career fighting at 140 pounds. He has a long, lanky frame but unlike other thin fights such as Deontay Wilder, Hooker doesn't have electric power. Hooker's jab is pretty good and he would be better served using it even more than he normally does. His best punch though is probably his straight right hand which he does most of his damage with. Hooker's hands aren't very fast though and his footwork is far from great.
Despite turning pro back in 2011, Hooker hasn't really faced much top competition. His best
opponent to date is arguably Darleys Perez and as recently as 2017 he fought an opponent with a record of 41-20-4 and while that fight came after Hooker fought to a draw with Perez he's still too far along in his career to be fighting foes with bad records like that. Flanagan immediately becomes Hooker's toughest opponent and a win would bring Hooker's career to new heights.
This will be a tough fight for Hooker because he doesn't really do anything at the elite level. The same can be said for Flanagan but everything Flanagan does is just a bit better than Hooker. This fight could end up being a battle of jabs and straight lefts and rights and with Flanagan's chin and a lack of top tier power from both of them there is a good chance both make it to the final bell. The winner of this fight might not keep the belt long though considering the junior welterweight division is stacked with young talent.
PREDICTION: Maurice Hooker is a solid fighter but he is a step behind where Terry Flanagan is. Terry Flanagan is going to be able to control most of the exchanges in this bout and he will get the unanimous decision victory.
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| Flanagan raising his hands in victory |
After being the WBO lightweight world title holder, Flanagan will look to capture the WBO title in the junior welterweight division. Ring rust could play a roll against Hooker though since it's been over a year since Flanagan's last fight, a unanimous decision victory over Petr Petrov. Among Flanagan's other wins are names like Orlando Cruz, Diego Magdaleno, and Derry Matthews twice. While Flanagan will look to capture a world title in his second division, Hooker will look to ruin those plans.
Hooker is a 28-year-old orthodox fighter who has spent the majority of his career fighting at 140 pounds. He has a long, lanky frame but unlike other thin fights such as Deontay Wilder, Hooker doesn't have electric power. Hooker's jab is pretty good and he would be better served using it even more than he normally does. His best punch though is probably his straight right hand which he does most of his damage with. Hooker's hands aren't very fast though and his footwork is far from great.
Despite turning pro back in 2011, Hooker hasn't really faced much top competition. His best
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| Hooker dropping an opponent with a left hook |
This will be a tough fight for Hooker because he doesn't really do anything at the elite level. The same can be said for Flanagan but everything Flanagan does is just a bit better than Hooker. This fight could end up being a battle of jabs and straight lefts and rights and with Flanagan's chin and a lack of top tier power from both of them there is a good chance both make it to the final bell. The winner of this fight might not keep the belt long though considering the junior welterweight division is stacked with young talent.
PREDICTION: Maurice Hooker is a solid fighter but he is a step behind where Terry Flanagan is. Terry Flanagan is going to be able to control most of the exchanges in this bout and he will get the unanimous decision victory.
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