Bermall Lane Football Ground, London, England, May 27
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
All things being equal and sans any unforeseen collisions of styles, sleights of hand, or tricks under their sleeves, Spence (21-0, 18 KOs) should emerge victorious in this scintillating encounter. His slick southpaw mode of combat, explosive punching and defense should allow him to out-maneuver Brook (36-1, 25 KOs) to a close but unanimous decision.
But in this sport where two men of similar size do battle in a 20X20 square foot ring, all things are never equal. And there are always intangibles that come into play.
We know Brook has a rock solid chin, having stood up to Gennady Golovkin's murderous punches for five rounds while managing to effectively return fire in spurts. But Spence is riding a 12-fight KO streak, scoring knockouts against fighters who had never previously been stopped in his last six bouts. Unlike Golovkin, though, Spence's potency stems from accuracy, timing and immaculate technique which can have a different impact than sheer brute punching power.
Punch for punch, Spence is probably the deadlier of the two, but Brook is no slouch in the rocking, socking department either. Moreover, he throws punches in bunches and has the propensity and audacity to return fire a split second after getting nailed. He hits harder than any fighter Spence has previously faced, and Spence's chin has never been significantly tested before. The quintessential bully, Brook imposes his will on his opponents simply by being rougher, tougher and more alpha.
But Spence's ring generalship, rooted in his decorated amateur career, ensures that he avoids being lured into the back-alley brawl that Brook will try to instigate. Time and again, Brook manages to rock him with clean punches but Spence has the wherewithal to cover, clinch and spin away from any sustained punishment and box his way to a decision win in the 115-113 to 116-112 range.
Saturday, May 27, 2017
Monday, May 1, 2017
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez vs. Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, May 6
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View
By Peter Lim
This all-Mexican showdown is a super fight only by virtue of celebrity, not because their respective skill sets match up evenly. Canelo earned his superstardom the hard way, taking on an impressive list of opponents with a diverse array of styles. Conversely, Chavez, for the most part, inherited his lofty status from his legendary dad and namesake.
Talent-wise, this will prove to be a mismatch. Chavez's size advantage will not even be factor in this fight.
Utilizing his superior ring IQ, Canelo deftly boxes circles around Chavez, much like Sergio Martinez did for 11 rounds in 2012. At opportune moments, he steps in with power punches and accurate combinations that cumulatively break Chavez down as the fight wears on.
Chavez proves gutsy if nothing else and tries to up the ante by pressing the action in the later half of the fight. But Canelo will not be content to cruise to a decision victory. He meets Chavez's aggression head on, winning the heated exchanges with the better-educated punch sequences. Canelo hurts Chavez with a counter hook and immediately pounces on him with a two-fisted flurry to stop him in the tenth round.
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View
By Peter Lim
This all-Mexican showdown is a super fight only by virtue of celebrity, not because their respective skill sets match up evenly. Canelo earned his superstardom the hard way, taking on an impressive list of opponents with a diverse array of styles. Conversely, Chavez, for the most part, inherited his lofty status from his legendary dad and namesake.
Talent-wise, this will prove to be a mismatch. Chavez's size advantage will not even be factor in this fight.
Utilizing his superior ring IQ, Canelo deftly boxes circles around Chavez, much like Sergio Martinez did for 11 rounds in 2012. At opportune moments, he steps in with power punches and accurate combinations that cumulatively break Chavez down as the fight wears on.
Chavez proves gutsy if nothing else and tries to up the ante by pressing the action in the later half of the fight. But Canelo will not be content to cruise to a decision victory. He meets Chavez's aggression head on, winning the heated exchanges with the better-educated punch sequences. Canelo hurts Chavez with a counter hook and immediately pounces on him with a two-fisted flurry to stop him in the tenth round.
Thursday, April 27, 2017
Anthony Joshua vs. Vladimir Klitschko
Wembly Stadium, London, April 29
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
Over a decade ago, I predicted that once the Klitschko brothers were gone, the heavyweight division would return to normal with the average fighter standing 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4 and weighing in between 220 and 230 pounds. Anything above 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, I believed, posed more of a liability than an asset to a fighter in a 20X20 square foot ring. The Klitschko brothers were merely an anomaly in the sport.
How wrong I was. The heavyweight division has undergone an unprecedented growth spurt over the last 15 years leaving the division in a perpetual state of gigantism.
Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) is the quintessential example that a bigger, bulked-up frame need not necessarily impede agility, movement or explosiveness. His jab proves not only faster than Klitschko's, it is harder as well. First on the draw, Joshua catches Klitschko with one-twos throughout the fight. In the seventh round, Joshua, 27, closes the show with a picturesque straight right as emphatically and decisively as Klitachko (64-4, 53 KOs) used to do with that same punch throughout his career.
Klitschko, 41, finally retires and the long overdue changing of the guard is official.
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
Over a decade ago, I predicted that once the Klitschko brothers were gone, the heavyweight division would return to normal with the average fighter standing 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-4 and weighing in between 220 and 230 pounds. Anything above 6-foot-4 and 230 pounds, I believed, posed more of a liability than an asset to a fighter in a 20X20 square foot ring. The Klitschko brothers were merely an anomaly in the sport.
How wrong I was. The heavyweight division has undergone an unprecedented growth spurt over the last 15 years leaving the division in a perpetual state of gigantism.
Anthony Joshua (18-0, 18 KOs) is the quintessential example that a bigger, bulked-up frame need not necessarily impede agility, movement or explosiveness. His jab proves not only faster than Klitschko's, it is harder as well. First on the draw, Joshua catches Klitschko with one-twos throughout the fight. In the seventh round, Joshua, 27, closes the show with a picturesque straight right as emphatically and decisively as Klitachko (64-4, 53 KOs) used to do with that same punch throughout his career.
Klitschko, 41, finally retires and the long overdue changing of the guard is official.
Tuesday, April 11, 2017
Shawn Porter vs. Andre Berto
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, April 22
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
Porter's and Berto's styles ensures this will be fan-friendly encounter no matter the duration of the fight. Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is a natural brawler by instinct who can box cerebrally when he needs to; Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) is a boxer who favors thinking over instinct, but when caught in the trenches, he can duke it out with the best of them.
Both fighters are veterans of numerous bruising and bloody battles but Porter appears to have emerged from the rubble the fresher and less-shopworn of the two.
Porter's slight edge in strength and punch resistance will make all the difference. Berto attempts to stick and move only be cut off and forced to trade. The ultimate bully, Porter gets the better of the exchanges and Berto begins to fade in the middle rounds.
Fighting in desperation mode, Berto tries to lure Porter in and set him up with a fight-ending counter, but Porter absorbs his best shots with ease and aplomb. Berto eventually succumbs to Porter's sustained aggression in the tenth round, tasting the canvass on two or three occasions along the way.
Afterthoughts:
Porter stopped Berto' one round short of what I predicted but everything else went down the way I called it, including the knock downs.
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
Porter's and Berto's styles ensures this will be fan-friendly encounter no matter the duration of the fight. Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) is a natural brawler by instinct who can box cerebrally when he needs to; Berto (31-4, 24 KOs) is a boxer who favors thinking over instinct, but when caught in the trenches, he can duke it out with the best of them.
Both fighters are veterans of numerous bruising and bloody battles but Porter appears to have emerged from the rubble the fresher and less-shopworn of the two.
Porter's slight edge in strength and punch resistance will make all the difference. Berto attempts to stick and move only be cut off and forced to trade. The ultimate bully, Porter gets the better of the exchanges and Berto begins to fade in the middle rounds.
Fighting in desperation mode, Berto tries to lure Porter in and set him up with a fight-ending counter, but Porter absorbs his best shots with ease and aplomb. Berto eventually succumbs to Porter's sustained aggression in the tenth round, tasting the canvass on two or three occasions along the way.
Afterthoughts:
Porter stopped Berto' one round short of what I predicted but everything else went down the way I called it, including the knock downs.
Jermell Charlo vs. Charles Hatley
Barclays Center, Brooklyn, NY, April 22
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim
Although their records do not appear too disparate, this all-Texas matchup is a mismatch. Charlo's level of opposition exceeds Hatley's by leap and bounds, he's superior in every respect of the game and, despite his substantially lower knockout percentage, is the harder puncher.
The fight might be close in the early rounds solely because Charlo (28-0, 13 KOs) is a slow and tentative starter. But once he figures Hatley (26-1-1, 18 KOs) out, Charlo effortlessly imposes his will, methodically dissects Hatley and knocks him out with a picturesque multi-punch combination in the sixth round.
Afterthoughts:
I was spot on with this prediction. Charlo was the consummate pro and Hatley was exposed as an overhyped pretender.
Afterthoughts:
I was spot on with this prediction. Charlo was the consummate pro and Hatley was exposed as an overhyped pretender.
Friday, April 7, 2017
Vasyl Lomachenko vs. Jason Sosa
MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland, April 8
TV: HBO
By Peter Lim
The temptation (and frequent mistake) in predicting the outcome of many fights is paying too much attention to a common opponent. There are a multitude of factors and intangibles that come into play besides the one guy they had both previously encountered. But with Vasyl Lomachenko and Jason Sosa, their performances against their common and most high-profile opponent speaks volumes about how their showdown will unfold.
As a slight favorite, Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) effortlessly dominated and stopped Nick Walters in November. Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs), on the other hand, was a substantial underdog when he fought Walters to a draw in 2015. It was a fair verdict despite the lopsided scores that the HBO commentators had in favor of Walters.
Sosa forced the slick and hard-hitting Walters into the trenches where they brawled on relatively even terms. Lomachenko had answers to Walters movement and nullified his power regardless of whether they engaged at long range or up close and personal.
Brain bests brawn in this showdown. As tough and doggedly determined as Sosa might be, it's no match against arguably the best ring IQ in the sport today. Mixing hard and soft punches from his southpaw stance, Lomachenko pecks, peppers and pounds Sosa with combinations upstairs and down en route to a 10th round stoppage.
TV: HBO
By Peter Lim
The temptation (and frequent mistake) in predicting the outcome of many fights is paying too much attention to a common opponent. There are a multitude of factors and intangibles that come into play besides the one guy they had both previously encountered. But with Vasyl Lomachenko and Jason Sosa, their performances against their common and most high-profile opponent speaks volumes about how their showdown will unfold.
As a slight favorite, Lomachenko (7-1, 5 KOs) effortlessly dominated and stopped Nick Walters in November. Sosa (20-1-4, 15 KOs), on the other hand, was a substantial underdog when he fought Walters to a draw in 2015. It was a fair verdict despite the lopsided scores that the HBO commentators had in favor of Walters.
Sosa forced the slick and hard-hitting Walters into the trenches where they brawled on relatively even terms. Lomachenko had answers to Walters movement and nullified his power regardless of whether they engaged at long range or up close and personal.
Brain bests brawn in this showdown. As tough and doggedly determined as Sosa might be, it's no match against arguably the best ring IQ in the sport today. Mixing hard and soft punches from his southpaw stance, Lomachenko pecks, peppers and pounds Sosa with combinations upstairs and down en route to a 10th round stoppage.
Friday, March 17, 2017
Gennady Golovkin vs. Daniel Jacobs
Madison Square Garden, NY, March 18
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View
By Peter Lim
TV: HBO Pay-Per-View
By Peter Lim
It will not be lost on Daniel Jacobs (32-1, 29 KOs) and his team that, the longer you let Gennady Golovkin (36-0, 33 KOs) hang around, the more dangerous he becomes as he figures out your style and starts piercing through your defense with lethal punches from both fists from every conceivable angle upstairs and down.
Figuring his best chance for victory is to pounce early, strike first and strike hard, Jacobs will unleash his big guns from the opening bell, sparking a shootout as violent and heart-stopping as Hagler-Hearns.
Jacobs lands some hellacious right hands and left hooks in his blitzkrieg attack, testing Golovkin's chin, heart and grace under fire like never before. The Kazakh appears out on his feet for the first time in his career, but as Jacobs moves in for the kill, he runs smack into one of Golovkin's sledgehammer hooks that renders the New Yorker unconscious in front of his hometown crowd before the end of the first round.
Figuring his best chance for victory is to pounce early, strike first and strike hard, Jacobs will unleash his big guns from the opening bell, sparking a shootout as violent and heart-stopping as Hagler-Hearns.
Jacobs lands some hellacious right hands and left hooks in his blitzkrieg attack, testing Golovkin's chin, heart and grace under fire like never before. The Kazakh appears out on his feet for the first time in his career, but as Jacobs moves in for the kill, he runs smack into one of Golovkin's sledgehammer hooks that renders the New Yorker unconscious in front of his hometown crowd before the end of the first round.
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