Errol Spence Jr. vs. Shawn Porter

Staples Center, Los Angeles, CA, 

TV: Fox PPV

By Peter Lim

The vast disparity in finesse between Spence and Porter will be glaringly exposed as soon as Spence establishes his versatile southpaw jab. He utilizes it defensively to keep Porter at bay and offensively to set up powerful left crosses and body shots.

Dictating the tempo of the fight, Spence dominates the action from a distance and, when it pleases him, he engages his shorter, stockier opponent up close and personal. Porter manages to find sporadic moments of success when he forces Spence into the trenches and bullies him with short punches and roughhouse tactics. But those moments become fewer and further between as the fight progresses. Spence simply refuses to let Porter turn the fight into a prolonged prison brawl and continues spearing Porter with the jab while delivering calculated punishment upstairs and down.

By the sixth round, Porter’s face begins to show the effects of the brutal bludgeoning he has absorbed all night. He valiantly continues to try and turn the tide but the writing’s on the wall. Busted up, bruised and bloodied, Porter bravely and adamantly wants to fight on but his corner mercifully pulls the plug at the end of the ninth round.

What was anticipated to be an elite encounter between two elite fighters in arguably the most elite division in the sport today turns out to be a style mismatch.

Manny Pacquiao vs. Keith Thurman

MGM Casino, Las Vegas, NV, July 20
TV: Fox PPV
By Peter Lim

It becomes abundantly clear early in the fight that Thurman has shaken off the 22-months of ring rust that impeded him in his last fight. He takes the fight to Pacquiao from the outset forcing the older man to engage in some action-packed exchanges. Pacquiao holds his own as Thurman brings on the heat but is visibly uncomfortable fighting on Thurman’s terms.

Pacquiao makes the right adjustment in the middle rounds by going after Thurman’s Achilles Heel by zeroing in on Thurman’s liver and it quickly begins to pay dividends. He blasts his southpaw left into the right side of Thurman’s ribcage every chance he gets, sometimes at the cost of absorbing vicious punches to do so. The body shots have taken its toll by the eighth round and Thurman begins to lose the spring in his step and the pop in his punch. 

Another left to the body sinks Thurman to a knee in the tenth round, and a stoppage seems imminent. But Pacquiao cannot finish off his injured opponent, just as he was unable to close the show against Adrien Bronner and Jeff Horn after he hurt them. He wins the championship rounds comfortably but doesn’t come close to stopping Thurman.

With Thurman winning most of the early rounds and Pacquiao most of the later rounds, the knockdown proves crucial in the verdict. Pacquiao is declared the winner in the 114-113 to 115-112 range.    

Jermall Charlo vs. Brandon Adams

NRG Arena, Houston, TX, June 29
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

Facing a much bigger man, Adams (21-2, 13 KOs) deploys a circle and ambush game plan, making Charlo stalk him across the ring, pouncing at opportune moments and moving out of punching range before Charlo can return fire. The strategy is moderately successful until Charlo finds the range and timing for his jab, arguable one of the best in the sport today, midway through the second round.

Charlo jolts and stops Adams in his tracks with the mule kick of a jab, effectively nullifying any offense Adams tries to mount. Charlo quickly finds openings for straight rights and left hooks for which Adams has no answer. In the third round Charlo steps in with a double jab followed by a straight right that drops Adams for the full count.

Jermell Charlo vs. Jorge Cota

Mandalay Bay Casino, Las Vegas, NV, June 23

TV: Fox

By Peter Lim

In the first round, Charlo demonstrates that he has the speed and ring IQ to box Cota's ears off all night. He snaps his jab, sidesteps Cota's charges and befuddles the Mexican with accurate counter punches.

But Charlo unexpectedly switches from boxer to brawler in the second and meets Cota head on. He beats the Mexican at his own game savagely ripping in punches to the head and body, like he's taking out his frustrations of missing the rematch with Tony Harrison on Cota.

Despite being outgunned, Cota remains in the pocket and trades with Charlo, knowing that his only chance of pulling off an upset is to land a lucky punch. Midway through the third, both fighters unleash left hooks simultaneously. Charlo's is shorter, sharper and more compact and it gets to Cota's jaw first, sending him crashing face first to the canvass for the full count.

Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr.

Madison Square Garden, New York, June 1
TV: DAZN
By Peter Lim

Strange as it may seem, fat and chubby has the edge in hand speed over sculpted and muscular in this heavyweight match up. But that's just about the only advantage that Ruiz has against Joshua who is superior in size, power, skill set, defense and big fight experience.

After a shaky first round, Joshua establishes a rhythm to control the action from the second round onwards. Utilizing his bigger frame and longer reach, Joshua easily beats Ruiz to the punch as the Californian comes chugging forward aggressively but ineffectively. Joshua methodically shoots straight punches to the head before digging hooks to Ruiz's ample belly.

The accumulation of blows visibly takes its toll on Ruiz who begins fighting in retreat in the fourth allowing Joshua to turn up the heat and mercilessly pummel him upstairs and down from corner to corner. Desperate and depleted, Ruiz decides to go for broke and attacks with reckless abandon in the fifth round only to walk into a decapitating right uppercut that drops him for the full count.

Josh Taylor vs. Ivan Baranchyk

SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland, May 18
TV: DAZN
By Peter Lim

On paper, Taylor vs. Baranchyk looks to be a 50/50 matchup; Taylor has a slight edge in speed and Baranchyk a slight edge in power. But Taylor’s style will be more of a mystery to Baranchyk than vice versa and that will tip the balance of the fight.

Baranchyk's hard-charging right handed style is something Taylor has dealt with all his life. Taylor on the other hand, is not only a southpaw, but a southpaw who fires the right hook in doubles and triples upstairs and down. It will throw Baranchyk off and deny him the opportunity to establish any kind of momentum all night.

Taylor is faster on the trigger with his right jab, which sets up sharp combinations to the head and body from the outset. Baranchyk is befuddled by the incoming fire coming at him from angles and sequences he has never seen before, rendering him unable to connect with more than one punch at a time.

Baranchyk finds a measure of success in the middle rounds by fighting from a shell, catching Taylor's punches on his gloves and arms before returning fire. But Taylor quickly makes the right adjustments to avoid Baranchyk's most damaging shots, resumes dominating the exchanges and cruises to a clear-cut victory in the 117-111 to 118-110 range.   

Naoya Inoue vs. Emmanuel Rodriguez

SSE Hydro, Glasgow, Scotland, May 18
TV: DAZN
By Peter Lim

The suspense and intrigue in this fight stems not from who will win but from how fast and how brutally the fight will conclude. Rodriguez might be a rugged talented and cagey fighter but Inoue’s devastating one-punch knockout power will negate anything Rodriguez brings to the table. The Japanese phenom has the capacity to end a fight with either hand from any angle to the head or body.

Rodriguez finds a measure of success by crowding and bullying Inoue with his superior size in the first two rounds. But that success is short lived. In the third round, Inoue delivers a crackling left hook to the liver that folds Rodriguez and sinks him to his knees. Rodriguez survives the round but never completely recovers from the debilitating body blow.

Rodriguez is reduced to fighting on survival mode with his elbows glued to his rib cage as Inoue continues to zero in on the torso in the fourth round. But just when it seems Inoue will stop his opponent with an accumulation of punches downstairs, he explodes with a one-two to the chin that sends Rodriguez down and out for the full count.