Jermell Charlo vs. Tony Harrison, Jermall Charlo vs. Matt Korobov

Let’s not kid ourselves and believe that these are anything more than stay-busy, brand-building fights for the Charlo twins. Matt Korobov and Tony Harrison might be competent, B-caliber fighters but their vulnerabilities have already been exposed at the championship level. At the very most, Munroe and Harrison represent yardsticks since they have fallen short against other world titleholders.

Jermell Charlo vs. Tony Harrison

Harrison can crack and has above-average boxing skills but, as evidenced in his knockout losses to Jared Hurd and Willie Nelson, his chin is suspect. Jermell Charlo is defensively sound, his chin has been sufficiently tested and is equal or better than Harrison in boxing ability and punching power. The only chance Harrison has for winning this fight is if he catches Charlo napping.

The fight might be competitive in the opening rounds but once Jermell lands the first clean punch, Harrison will begin to unravel. It will happen sooner rather than later. By the third round, Jermell figures out a way to out-jab Harrison and, in the fifth round he stops Harrison with left-right-left hook combination. The victory fuels a much-anticipated Charlo-Hurd triple-unification showdown in 2019.

Jermall Charlo vs. Matt Korobov

Korobov came in on five days notice, replacing Willie Munroe Jr. who tested for excessive levels of testosterone. Like Munroe, Korobov is a southpaw, but that’s where the similarity ends. The Russian is markedly bigger than Munroe and his style is more rugged and in-your-face. All in all, though, Korobov turns out to be more custom-made for Charlo than Munroe.

In the initial rounds, Charlo has trouble finding the range for his jab clean against the lefty, but once he does, he shoots it out in doubles and triples, gradually creating openings for his other weaponry. Korobov determinedly returns fire but he simply cannot match the Charlo’s firepower and accuracy.

Preoccupied with dodging Charlo’s jab, Korobov runs smack into a straight right that sends him reeling in the sixth round. Charlo pounces on his wounded prey with a multi-punch flurry punctuated by a right uppercut that prompts Korobov’s corner to toss in the towel.  

Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury

Staples Center, Los Angeles, Dec. 1

TV: Showtime PPV

By Peter Lim

Fury’s sheer mass and awkwardness proves problematic for Wilder from the outset. At 6-foot-10 and 250 pounds, Fury is by no means a limber, spring-footed heavyweight like Ali or Holmes. But he nevertheless manages to dictate the action by moving Wilder around with his size and pesky jab denying Wilder the leverage or trajectory to land the lethal harpoon he calls a right hand. Fury is not a devastating puncher but even arm punches delivered by the giant forces the stringbean-framed Wilder to continually set and reset.

But Wilder has prevailed against nightmare opponents before and, more importantly, has proved on more than one occasion that he retains the dynamite in his fists in the later rounds. Fury’s work rate decelerates a tad as the fight progresses. The slowdown is subtle but does not go unnoticed by Wilder’s corner who orders him to pull and counter every time Fury takes a forward step.

The tactic takes a few failed attempts to work but when it does, the result is sudden and spectacular. In the tenth round Fury attacks with a one-two and Wilder takes half a step back before exploding with the similar combo that lands smack on the jaw sending Fury crashing to the canvass for the full count.

Gennady Golovkin vs. Saul "Canelo" Alvarez II

T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, NV, Sept. 15

TV: HBO

By Peter Lim

Golovkin won eight to 10 rounds on this blogger’s scorecard in the first fight … and he was holding back. His jab was spot on and his power shots to the head visibly rattled Canelo while Canelo’s best punches barely made him blink. But when he had Canelo on the ropes, Triple G seemed reluctant to let his fists fly with bad intentions and was content to let Canelo off the hook, almost as if he was intent on taking the fight the distance. Conspicuously absent from Triple G’s arsenal was his deadly body assault.

Triple G will not make the same mistake of having the judges decide the outcome this time around. He once again establishes his jab and forces Canelo to fight at amore frenetic pace than the first fight. But most importantly, he unleashes his thunder down under to Canelo’s torso that ultimately breaks him down and stops him in the ninth round.

  

Leo Santa Cruz vs. Abner Mares II

Staple Center, Los Angeles, June 9
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

Santa Cruz won a majority decision in 2015 in a fight so close it could have gone either way. Two things have transpired to tip the balance in Santa Cruz’s favor since then.
First, Santa Cruz has grown more due to a higher level of activity against a higher level of opposition. He fought four times, two against a fellow top-5 featherweight since their first encounter. Mares, on the other hand fought just twice during that same period.

Second, Santa Cruz has proven the propensity to learn from his mistakes and make the right adjustments in a rematch. He avenged his loss to Carl Frampton by fine tuning his strategy to turn the tables on Frampton when the met for a second time.

Santa Cruz is a tad smarter and sharper than Mares and makes the better decisions. He prudently picks his moments, out-boxing Mares when Mares opts to brawl and out-brawling Mares when Mares opts to box, winning a close but clear-cut decision in the 116-112 range.

Jermell Charlo vs. Austin Trout

The Staples Center, Los Angeles, June 9
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

The temptation in making a prediction here is to place too much emphasis on Trout’s decision loss to Jermell’s identical twin Jermall in 2016. But as all parties will attest, all three boxers in that triangle are not the same fighters they were two years ago. Since then, Jermall has moved up to middleweight, Jermell has three world title bouts under his belt and Trout, coming off the first stoppage loss of his career, has changed trainers.

Trout’s defense is slick but not impenetrable and he has the experience to rarely get hit by one clean shot at a time. But Jermell will quickly discover that when he catches Trout with the right, he is a sitting duck for a follow-up right. By the fourth or fifth round, Jermell begins landing the double right with virtual impunity.

Trout courageously returns fire but to no avail. Jermell continues to press the action, gets the better of the exchanges and mixes in left hooks and right uppercuts into his attack. In the seventh round Jermell connects with a double right that has Trout out on his feet. He pounces on Trout with a vicious two-fisted assault that has Trout reeling defenselessly around the ring, forcing the referee to step in and end the beating.

Jermall Charlo vs. Hugo Centeno Jr.

Barclay's Center, Brooklyn, NY, April 21
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

When one fighter has a small edge over the other in every facet of the game – power, speed, experience and expertise – it amounts to a huge advantage and, in the case of Charlo versus Centeno, a mismatch.

Charlo wins the battle of the jabs from the outset of this fight between these two tall, lanky middleweights. His stiff left jab will get there first, stopping Centeno in his tracks each time it connects.

But Charlo will not be content on breaking Centeno down with just the jab. By the third round, Charlo follows through with straight rights that forces Centeno to back off and reset with no counter strategy. Centeno valiantly attempts to improvise by alternating between boxing and slugging, but Charlo adapts and adjusts to anything Centeno has to offer.

Centeno gradually descends into kill-or-be-killed mode, desperately hoping to duplicate his one-punch knockout of Immanuel Aleem by way of picture-perfect left hook. But while trying to set Charlo up, Centeno walks smack into a straight right-left hook combo that drops him for the full count in the seventh round.

Julius Indongo vs. Regis Prograis

Deadwood Mountain Grand, Deadwood, South Dakota, March 9
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

Emerging like a ghost from the deserts of Namibia, Indongo took the boxing world by storm by winning two of the four major world title belts. He proved that he could box, punch, go the distance and above all, that his style was infuriatingly difficult to solve.

But switch-hitting Terence Crawford, fighting predominantly as a southpaw, eventually solved the enigma of Indongo, writing the blueprint for every future Indongo opponent to follow. And that blueprint just happens to be what Prograis does best - apply controlled pressure, cut off the ring, stay low and elusive and punish the body and head with equal ferocity.

It might take Prograis more rounds than Crawford to break Indongo down but the end result will be the same. A straight left to the body snaps Indongo like a twig, sending him to the canvass in agony for the full count in the seventh round.

Deontay Wilder vs. Luis Ortiz

Barclay's Center, Brooklyn, NY, March 3
TV: Showtime
By Peter Lim

Wilder’s spectacular punching power has overshadowed the fact that he is as defensively flawed as he is offensively potent. If limited opponents the likes of Eric Molina and Johann Dehaupas could effortlessly bridge the distance and rock him, imagine the damage an educated monster like Ortiz can inflict on him. The question is, will Wilder land one of his fight-ending bombs before Ortiz can maneuver himself into range and let it rip up close and personal.

Of all of Wilder's previous opponents, Artur Szpilka, southpaw like Ortiz, is probably the best indicator as to how this fight will unfold. Although Szpilka was losing the fight, he had fleeting moments of success and getting in his share of punches before walking into a haymaker in the ninth round. Ortiz is a bigger, stronger, harder hitting and more polished version of Szpilka.

Despite his impressive stats, Wilder's level of competition thus far has been anything but impressive. He has never faced a fighter of Ortiz's experience and caliber and the step up in competition will be painfully obvious. 

Wilder is thrown off by Ortiz's southpaw stance from the outset and the Cuban doesn't give him time to adjust. Ortiz denies Wilder the chance to set up a big shot by applying steady pressure before stopping Wilder in the fifth round for the 2018 Upset of the Year.