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Match: Arthur Abraham v Edison Miranda |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Super Middleweight |
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| Venue: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States |
| Prediction: Abraham Points win |
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| This fight has the potential of being one of the fights of the year, the first fight between the two saw Miranda break the jaw of Abraham in the earlier rounds, but still not manage to get the win. The physiological effects of the break seems not to have effected Abraham who has won his last 4 fights all by knockout and is still unbeaten. The fight however has been made at Super Middleweight which has to favour Miranda who has complained for a while that he has struggled to make the Middleweight limit, and blamed previous losses to that fact. He is also a devastating puncher, Abraham has however at times looked almost unbeatable. I think if Abraham remains injury free he may get through this one on the cards. |
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Match: Chris Arreola v Chazz Witherspoon |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Heavyweight |
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| Venue: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Prediction: Arreola points win |
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| What a tough fight to call, both men are undefeated and both are currently 23-0, both are 6‘4, both are around about the same weight, Arreola may have the slight advantage. Arreola has fought at a higher level in my opinion, however neither have really been fully tested against a really tough opponent. What these guys are actually made of will be decided on this night. From what I have seen I have been more impressed with Arreola but I find it hard to believe that either of these guys are really going to make a mark in the division. |
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Match: Andre Berto v Miguel Angel Rodriguez |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
Title: WBC Welterweight Title
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| Weight: Welterweight |
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| Venue: FedEx Forum, Memphis, Tennessee, United States |
| Prediction: Berto points win |
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| Fighting for the vacant title at this stage of his career may be a mistake for hot prospect Andre Berto, he has shown tremendous potential and has the makings of a real super star, but whether he is really for the real big boys of the division I am not convinced, I think in 3-4 fights he will definitely be there, but should he win the title which I think he will as Rodriguez although tough is limited I do not believe he will then be ready to step in with or be spoken about in the same light as the Cotto’s, Williams, and Margarito’s of the division. |
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Match: Paul Smith v Steven Bendall |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Middleweight |
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| Venue: National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom |
| Prediction: Smith late stoppage |
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| Once regarded as one of the best prospects in the UK unbeaten Paul Smith has suffered a real dip in form, he remains unbeaten but has been fed a string of limited opponents and still has not been able to turn things around. Bendall poses as possibly the biggest test that Smith has had for a while and although he has the potential to win and win easily he needs to raise his game as a loss here could be devastating for him. Bendall is coming off a loss to other British prospect Darren Barker, and has lost on every occasion he has stepped up in class, so to prove Smith is the prospect that many believe Smith needs to win and win well. |
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Match: Amir Khan v Michael Gomez |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
Title: Commonwealth Lightweight Title
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| Weight: Lightweight |
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| Venue: National Indoor Arena, Birmingham, West Midlands, United Kingdom |
| Prediction: Khan mid round stoppage |
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| This is potentially the most dangerous fight of Khan’s career to date, he has shown that his chin may not be what it should be should he want to challenge for a world title. For the first 2 or 3 rounds of this contest it could be put to the test. Gomez is a big puncher and is probably best known for knocking out current WBO champion Alex Arthur a couple of years ago. Gomez is very hot and cold and has looked brilliant on occasions and terrible on others. He proved in his last fight with Johanneson that for the first few rounds he is a real force, should Khan however survive past the 3rd or 4th rounds it should be plain sailing for him. Many are saying that Gomez will be blown away by Khan and that may happen but don’t rule out a huge upset should Gomez manage to connect early. |
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Match: Mikkel Kessler v Dimitri Sartison |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
Title: WBA Super Middleweight Title
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| Weight: Super Middleweight |
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| Venue: Brondby hallen, Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Prediction: Kessler points win |
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| Kessler returns to the ring for the first time since losing his WBA title to Joe Calzaghe, he has been linked to a number of opponents including the likes of Edison Miranda and Anthony Mundine, but he has finally settled with unbeaten Dimitri Sartison. Sartison is regarded as a decent prospect but he is stepping up to a whole new level with Kessler who now Calzaghe has left the division I think is the man to really clean up. Kessler is a very sound boxer and doesn’t have many faults he was a little unlucky to lose his unbeaten record to Joe Calzaghe when after a great start just could keep the pressure on the Brit and lost the fight in the final rounds. This fight has come a little early for Sartison who could have done with a couple of fights against better opposition before really jumping in a the deep end, I would be very surprised if any other hand than Kessler’s is raised at the end of this one. |
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Match: Giovanni Lorenzo v Raul Marquez |
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| Date: 21-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Middleweight |
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| Venue: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida, United States |
| Prediction: Lorenzo mid to late stoppage |
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| A great fight in the making, Lorenzo is currently unbeaten in 26 fights but takes a big step up in class in the form of Raul Marquez. Marquez seems to have been around for years and has also shared the ring with some of the greatest fighters, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas, Jermain Taylor, to mention only a few, however he is now 36 years old and it has to be questioned how much he actually has left. Lorenzo is the favourite to win this and continue with his unbeaten run, but don’t rule out an upset Marquez is certainly capable of winning this one. |
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Match: Andre Ward v Jerson Ravelo |
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| Date: 20-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Super Middleweight |
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| Venue: Truman Bodden Sports Complex, Georgetown, Cayman Islands |
| Prediction: Ward Points win |
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| A very interesting contest and one that I have changed my mind a number of times, Ravelo has more than enough potential to win this fight however he needs to fight the right fight, he needs to press ward from the off and not let up, should he allow Ward to get into a rhythm he could be out boxed. Ravelo is a strong guy and has a lot of potential in the division and a win here could really lift him right up there in the ranking, but unbeaten Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward may just have too much for him, but Ravelo will be his toughest fight to date. |
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Match: Eddie Chambers v Raphael Butler |
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| Date: 20-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Heavyweight |
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| Venue: Truman Bodden Sports Complex, Georgetown, Cayman Islands |
| Prediction: Chambers mid round stoppage |
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| Eddie Chambers returns to the ring for the first time since his first professional defeat at the hands of Alexander Povetkin, Ralph Butler at first glance with a record of 31-4 seems to be a tough return, however Butler despite his impressive record is mainly a 4 round fighter and has barely stepped up in class in his entire career, and still has had 4 defeats. It should be a simple task for Chambers to get back on the winning track and should do it inside the distance. |
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Match: Wayne McCullough v Juan Ruiz |
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| Date: 20-06-2008 |
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| Weight: Featherweight |
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| Venue: Truman Bodden Sports Complex, Georgetown, Cayman Islands |
| Prediction: McCullough Points win |
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| I was initially worried when I first saw this match had been made at featherweight, but on further inspection Ruiz is not really a featherweight either, McCullough has been at his best down at bantamweight, he has been out of the ring for almost 3 years and at the age of 38 he probably should have stayed retired but sometimes the drive to get back in the ring can be too strong. A few years ago this would have been a relatively easy win for McCullough but whether he has still got what it takes I am interested to see. I think he will win this one on the cards but hopefully it will not be convincing and he will go back into retirement before he faces one of the better guys in the division and gets hurt, his stubborn tough nature never allows him to quit so he could take a real beating if he steps back up to world class.
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