Prospect Watch Weekend Starting 24/02/12 - Review

Here's the review of the Prospects featured this weekend and how they got on in their fights. From now on I wont be telling of any new guys to follow, but I will be adding guys to my watch list, so when they are next out they'll be featured.

Butcher continues to impress as a pro

Friday 24/02/2012

Iain Butcher (3-0, 1 KO) Flyweight

New Boxrec Ranking - Now 234 in the World and 7 in the UK. 

How did the fight go? - Butcher continued his good form as a pro by getting his first stoppage win against Hungary's Richard Voros with a stunning first round stoppage. The promoters had spent a fair bit of money getting the kid over, but Butcher proved far too good and secured an impressive victory, which will send out a message to the rest of the British flyweights.

Richard Contreras (9-0-1, 8 KO's) Featherweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 204 in the World and 12 in the USA.

How did the fight go? - Contreras was always in a hard fight with tough journeyman Daniel Quevedo and unfortunately for him he was held to a draw. I think we saw here a guy who's powerful and expected to go out and blow his opponent, but unfortunately he was facing a real hard man. He has gone up in the rankings, but really this is a step back for him.

Jessie Vargas (18-0, 9 KO's) Light Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 6 in the World, 4 in the USA

Expect to see Vargas at the MGM Grand May 5th

How did the fight go? - Vargas had an incredibly tough opponent in Lanardo Tyler and it really wasn't a pretty fight fight, however Vargas showed his class to win 99-91 on all three judges scorecards. Vargas has a lot of talent and getting the rounds in is no issue, you need to fight guys like Tyler and this was a good 10 round workout for him. He could very well be out in May on the Mayweather-Cotto bill as he's signed to Mayweather Promotions.

Saturday 25/02/2012

Luke Blackledge (8-0, 3 KO's) Light Heavyweight

New Boxrec Ranking - No ranking change as of yet

How did the fight go? - No confirmation of this result on Boxrec, but Blackledge proved too strong for his Polish born Welsh based opponent Robert Studzinski, stopping him in three rounds. Blackledge really is a fighter on an upward curve at the moment and represents the VIP Promotion stable he represents. He looks like a very talented fighter and will fancy a step up in class now.

Centeno Jr was an easy six round winner

Hugo Centeno Jr (12-0, 6 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 211 in the World and 43 in the USA.

How did the fight go? - Centeno makes a nice step up in the rankings by completely outclassing his opponent Narvaez over six rounds, winning 60-52 x2 and 59-53 on the judges scorecards. Narvaez is a rough old fighter and has only been stopped three times in his pro career, so Centeno did his job to get the decision. At 6ft1 he uses his height well in the division, but surely as he gets older he will be a light middleweight or middleweight.

Culcay had too much for his Italian opponent

Jack Culcay (11-0, 7 KO's) Light Middleweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 94 in the World, still 1 in Germany

How did the fight go? - Culcay found himself in with a tough Italian, but was far too good over the seven rounds which it lasted, stopping him with a real heavy barrage in the penultimate round. This classy ex amateur star seems to have a lot going for him at the moment, and is getting big German bill experience. Harder fights are to come, but he looks to be fighting incredibly well at the moment and is showing his class.

Craig Evans (6-0, 2 KO's) Super Featherweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 408 in the World, 21 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - Big shame for Evans here as his opponent Marc Callaghan retires at the end of round 1 with an arm injury. He had a really frustrating 2011 and to be honest his 2012 hasn't really got off to the best start. He's coming along nicely with Lee Beard as his trainer, but he needs some tough rounds to show his quality.

Frankie Gavin (12-0, 9 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 39 in the World, 6 in the UK.

Gavin looked really good on his return

How did the fight go? - Great win for "Funtime" who looked a lot sharper in stopping ex British champion Kevin McIntyre in three rounds on Saturday night. It was an awesome body shot that did it for him and everything about Gavin in the run up to the fight and in it was far better than what we've seen recently. This could easily have been a tricky night if he wasn't on form, but his head was right and he showed the class which made him Britain's only World Amateur champion.

Lewis Rees (3-0, 2 KO's) Light Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 623 in the World, 42 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - This was one of the best fights on the undercard

"Beefy" did well against Morby

Liam Smith (9-0-1, 4 KO's) Welterweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 186 in the World, 15 in the UK.

How did the fight go? - When I wrote the Prospect Watch this weekend we didn't even know who "Beefy" was fighting after Laszlo Komjathi pulled out. He ended up fighting a guy who's usually two weight divisions above him in Paul Morby, and he was far too good for the man from Portsmouth, winning 80-69 on the referee's scorecard. Early on Liam looked like he really had him and was on the verge of a stoppage win, with some very good work shown in the first three rounds. After that he just carried on the solid work and ground out a good decision.

Christopher Pearson (3-0, 2 KO's) Middleweight

New Boxrec Ranking - 395 in the World, 76 in the USA.

How did the fight go? - Pearson makes a big step up the rankings with a 1st round smashing of Jeremy Wood on the big bill in St Louis. Wood had gone the distance with one or two unbeaten fighters in the past, but found himself completely over-matched here against a very good young fighter. Pearson was a really solid amateur and what I've seen of him as a pro, he looks a real talent.

Bets Of The Weekend #2

Alexander Povetkin v Marco Huck - WBA Heavyweight Title 

I'm picking Povetkin on points

Alexander Povetkin (23-0, 16 KO's) makes the second defence of his WBA title in Germany tonight as he faces former WBO cruiserweight champion Marco Huck (34-1, 25 KO's) in a real grudge match.

Povetkin has to be given the edge as he's the natural heavyweight with all the amateur skills having won Gold at the 2004 Olympics. He's still a work in progress, but has come along well in his last two fights, beating Chagaev on points and stopping poor Yank Cedric Boswell in eight last time out. I was impressed with his controlled style in that fight and technically he's very sound, which is going to give Huck big problems.

Huck hasn't lost since December 2007 when Steve Cunningham stopped him in the final round of their world title clash, but since then he's been very dominant at the lighter weight. He's been fed a lot of bad opponents in his last few bouts, and the only time he was tested he had the judges thank, escaping with a SD win over Denis Lebedev in December 2010. Povetkin only has an inch over him in terms of height and that suggests he should be able to compete in this heavyweight by using some movement and his added ring craft, but he did weight in 20lbs lighter in the weigh in and that firmly puts the ball in Povetkin's court.

Povetkin to win on points @ 2.5 with Stan James

Nathan Cleverly v Tommy Karpency - WBO Light Heavyweight Title

Cleverly looked great at the weigh in

Big weekend of Welsh sport and tonight in Cardiff Nathan Cleverly (23-0, 11 KO's) takes centre stage as he makes the third defence of his WBO light heavyweight title against unknown American Tommy Karpency (21-2, 14 KO's).

Cleverly battled to a majority decision over Tony Bellew in his last fight in October and had to show the determination of a champion to get through a really hard fight in Liverpool. His all action style is great to watch and I think the fact he came in at 174lbs for this fight suggests he's in fantastic shape and ready to go. It's the lightest weight he's come in since a great 10th round stoppage over Karo Murat in September 2010 and that's worrying for the American.

Sometimes we do underestimate these unknowns that come over and what I've gathered about Karpency is he's a tough counter punching southpaw, who's never been stopped. The only real name on his record is Murat, who he gave a good fight in May 2010, losing on all three judges scorecards in Germany. The problem I have is that this guy has done nothing to earn a title shot, he's never even won one of these small WBO belts, losing to Murat in a challenge for the WBO Inter-Continental, which is probably the sick way he's got this shot. The fact he's never been stopped suggests he's got fighting heart and he can take a shot, but he's also been out of the ring for over a year and for me everything seems to be against him.

Cleverly needs a big statement tonight and really anything less than a stoppage will be slightly disappointing, it's what everyone's expecting.

Cleverly to win by stoppage @ 1.53 with Ladbrokes

Dennis Shafikov v Lee McAllister - European Light Welterweight Title

McAllister and Shafikov at the weigh in

Lee McAllister (34-2, 9 KO's) has a big chance in his hometown of Aberdeen tonight as he challenges Russian champion Dennis Shafikov (27-0, 16 KO's) for the European light welterweight title.

McAllister is a former WBU and Commonwealth champion at lightweight, and has recently won the Commonwealth and IBO International title at this weight, but for me this is too much of a step up in class. He looks comfortable at this weight and his power does seem to be improving, but looking at his last four or five fights he hasn't really been tested. The key to this fight I think is his loss to John Murray in January 2009, where he was stopped in eight by the powerfully built Manchester man. Shafikov looks a similar, but he also has three fights more experience than Murray had at that time.

The Russian looks like a real warrior and comes into this on the back of winning the title against experienced, but shot Italian Giuseppe Lauri with an 8th round retirement, where he was considerably the stronger fighter. The only time he's really stepped up in class he could only draw on his own patch with then 20-0 Italian Brunet Zamora, who does travel well. However the fact he's coming over to Scotland suggests he really fancies this one. There's been plenty of notice for both and I expect Shafikov to be at his best, which is bad news for McAllister.

Shafikov to win by stoppage @ 3.0 with Boylesports

Adrien Broner v Eloy Perez - WBO Super Featherweight Title

Broner talking the talk as usual

Two unbeaten fighters meet in what looks like a great WBO super featherweight title fight tonight with champion Adrien Broner (22-0, 18 KO's) making his first defence v Eloy Perez (23-0-2, 7 KO's).

Broner is being hottly tipped as the new Floyd Mayweather

Perez is a fighter I really rate and he certainly deserves his shot here as he's come through the right way, making five defences of the WBO NABO title, so he's picked up the right kind of experience. Boxrec have him at #6 in the world and he's certainly one of the best contenders out in this average division. I watched his last fight with Ira Terry and was really impressed by his controlled, thinking, mature style, he doesn't do anything rash and throws with real venom, despite having a pretty low KO%. He's stopped his last two and those have been against decent fighters, so I think he's in form.

Perez physically is able to cope with Broner I think and although you would expect him to be big odds anyway, I think he's going to win a world title sometime in his career, it's a hard ask tonight, but he might just do it.

Perez to win @ 6.0 with SportingBet

Devon Alexander v Marcos Maidana - 10 round Welterweight Contest

Expect a great fight tonight in St Louis

Cracking fight here as two guys who won world titles at 140lbs, step up to 147 for a big ding dong in St Louis. Alexander (22-1, 13 KO's) takes on Maidana (31-2, 28 KO's) in a 10 rounder.

The worry a lot of people have here is that Alexander is going to get a controversial decision, and already the rumour mill is alive with news that the fight was brought down from 12 to 10 rounds because he'll struggle late on and get stopped. It's something he's been very suspect of, and was lucky to scrap a split decision over another Argentine in Lucas Matthysse last time out. I watched that fight this week and I think the Argentine nicked it as he secured a knockdown and was busier, especially in the later rounds. He hasn't really fired since beating Urango in eight, securing dodgy decisions over Kotelnik and Matthysse, but also struggling to get going in that big fight with Bradley.

Maidana on the other hand has come on really well from the Khan fight, outworking Morales for a 12 round points win, and wining a homecoming in four last time out, destroying a poor Spaniard called Petr Petrov. He's above Alexander in the rankings and I think moving up to 147 is going to suit him even more because he'll strengthening, and not cutting too much weight. I think his all action and come forward style is going to be too much for Alexander. The St Louis man will take some punishment early on and he'll feel that by the later rounds. If it goes to points I think Alexander has hit, but I really fancy Maidana to get the stoppage in one of the last three rounds.

Maidana to win @ 2.5 with Totesport

Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 24/02/12

Another big Boxing weekend, hopefully there will be no farcical scenes this week and just good, entertaining scraps in the headliners and also with the guy's I'm featuring here.

Butcher is a very promising flyweight

Friday 24/02/12

Iain Butcher (2-0, 0 KO's) Flyweight

Age - 19

Boxrec Ranking - Currently unranked

Notable win(s) - None so far

Facing and Where? - Richard Voros (3-4, 1 KO) @ Sports Centre, Wishaw.

What's he all about? - Not many people will know a lot about this kid, but I've heard some good things about him in his two fights so far. They haven't been against the best opposition in flyweight journeymen Anwar Alfadli and Darren Pryce, but Butcher hasn't dropped a round in either fight and has boxed well off the back foot. He doesn't have a stoppage on his record, but in the fight Alfadli, he did score a first round knockdown. Not a massive step up in class here against a Hungarian fighter, who has won his last two, but against debutant's.

Contreras has punched his way through nine fights

Richard Contreras (9-0, 8 KO's) Featherweight

Age - 21

Boxrec Ranking - 245 in the World, 13 in USA.

Notable win(s) - 19/08/2011 KO 5 Manuel Sarabia @ Omega Products International, Corona, California.

03/12/2012 KO 4 Juan Sandoval @ Honda Center, Anaheim.

Facing and Where? - Daniel Quevedo (13-12-2, 8 KO's) @ Doubletree Hotel, Ontario, California.

What's he all about? - This big punching southpaw from Riverside, California is quickly becoming a fan favourite with his hard hitting style and on current form looks ready to be a serious contender in the future. Became the first man to stop Sandoval last time out with a devastating stoppage, very impressive considering the opponent had taken 17-0 Mikayl Arreola the distance before that, and also Abner Cotto early in his career. Another tough looking fight for Contreras here as he faces a guy stopped just once in his career, which was last time out against former world flyweight champion Eric Morel. Taken the likes of Leo Santa Cruz and Yonhy Perez the distance, so this looks like a good learning fight for the unbeaten prospect.

Vargas is starting to step up

Jessie Vargas (17-0, 9 KO's) Light Welterweight

Age - 22

Boxrec Ranking - 8 in the World, 5 in the USA.

Notable win(s) - 08/04/2011 RTD 1 Vivian Harris @ Buffalo Bill's Star Arena, Primm, Nevada.

08/07/2011 KO 2 Walter Estrada @ Buffalo Bill's Star Arena, Primm, Nevada.

17/09/2011 SD 10 Josesito Lopez @ MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada.

Facing and Where? - Lanardo Tyler (25-6-2, 15 KO's) @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada.

What's he all about? - Vargas is a Mayweather protege and hottly tipped for a big pro career, although he nearly lost his unbeaten record last time out against the in form Josestio Lopez on the Mayweather-Ortiz undercard, sneaking a decision. He is a much better fighter than he showed on the night and I think we'll put it down to nerves. Before that he had been looking excellent form and tonight he headlines ShoBox in Vegas, so will be out to impress. Tyler has never been stopped and recently gone the distance with Wale Omotoso and Kevin Bizier, therefore Vargas needs to be on his game most definitely.

Saturday 25/02/12

Luke Blackledge (7-0, 2 KO's) Light Heavyweight

Age - 21

Boxrec Ranking - 231 in the World, 22 in the UK.

Blackledge is being tipped for a fight with Rocky Fielding

Notable win(s) - 12/11/2011 PTS 6 Phill Fury @ Event City, Manchester.

Facing and Where? - Robert Studzinski (1-5, 1 KO) @ Sports Centre, Oldham.

What's he all about? - This fighter came to my notice when he beat Tyson Fury's young cousin Phill on the Fury v Pajkic undercard, and demonstrated some very solid boxing skills to take all of the rounds on the referee's scorecard. He followed it up just over a month later with another points win, and seems to be getting some good rounds in. Promoted by Steve Wood he provides great shows for fans in the North West, this talented young fighter still has a lot of work, but has done well in seven fights so far. Here he faces Welsh based Pole Studzinski, who's a pretty tough kid, but has been stopped by some pretty average fighters in the past, including a debutant last November.

Hugo Centeno Jr (11-0, 6 KO's) Welterweight

Age - 21

Boxrec Ranking - 257 in the World, 50 in the USA.

Notable win(s) - 21/04/2011 UD 4 Jovanni Rubio @ Orange County Faigrounds, Costa Mesa, California.

04/11/2011 UD 6 Hector Orozco @ Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California.

Facing and Where? - Octavio Narvaez (7-10-1, 4 KO's) @ Oceanview Pavilion, Port Hueneme, California.

What's he all about? - This tall welterweight is a talented fighter from the current hotbed of Boxing Oxnard, California and did exceptionally well as an amateur. I haven't seen a great deal of his fights, but he has boxed well in his most recent bouts and got some good rounds under his belt last time out against the tough David Lopez. Narvaez hasn't fought for over a year and did start to look disinterested in the sport towards the start of last year. He has however taken much experienced fighters than Centeno Jr the distance.

Jack Culcay (10-0, 6 KO's) Light Middleweight

Age - 26

Culcay

Boxrec Ranking - 102 in the World, 1 in Germany. 

Notable win(s) - 31/07/2010 TKO 4 Ionut Ilie @ 02 World Arena, Hamburg.

19/11/2010 UD 8 Alexey Ribchev @ Universum Gym, Hamburg.

03/12/2011 KO 1 Giammario Grassellini @ Hartwall Arena, Helsinki.

Facing and Where? - Salvatore Annunziata (15-5-4, 3 KO's) @ Porsche-Arena, Stuttgart.

What's he all about? - This Ecuadorian based in Germany was a 2009 World Amateur Gold Medallist and has looked very impressive as a pro so far. He's done 10 rounds already in his short career, and last time out seriously impressed by knocking out Grassellini in a round. Here he faces another Italian opponent in southpaw in Annunziata, who has taken German prospects Marcos Nader and Dominik Britsch the distance in the past. Culcay has got some serious knockout power, but the amateur pedigree also backs him up.

Craig Evans (5-0, 1 KO) Super Featherweight

Evans needs to get more active

Age - 22

Boxrec Ranking - 407 in the World, 21 in the UK.

Notable win(s) - 16/07/2011 TD 5 Scott Moises @ Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Facing and Where? - Marc Callaghan (19-28-1, 4 KO's) @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.

What's he all about? - Really talented Welsh boxer coming through, who trains with Lee Beard, but does need a lot more fights to progress. Not been seen since October and has had a relatively stop start to his career so far. Is full of class and is yet to lose a round as a pro, also been hearing that his power is starting to improve. Callaghan is awkward and has plenty of experience, so don't expect an easy night for Evans.

Frankie Gavin (11-0, 8 KO's) Welterweight

Has Gavin got his focus back?

Age - 26

Boxrec Ranking - 57 in the World, 6 in the UK.

Notable win(s) - 19/02/2011 TKO 7 Michael Lomax @ York Hall, Bethnal Green.

21/05/2011 UD 12 Young Muttley @ 02 Arena, London.

16/07/2011 SD 12 Curtis Woodhouse @ Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Facing and Where? - Kevin McIntyre (30-8, 9 KO's) @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.

What's he all about? - "Funtime" is back after a very bad few months, which saw him pull out of a fight at very late notice and end his short training spell with the Tibbs camp in London. To be fair he has had some problems outside the ring and hasn't really settled down, which is why he struggled to get going in his last two fights, where he nearly got beat by Woodhouse. He's back living and training in Birmingham now, and hopefully that will spark him back into life, he's had a seriously long amount of time outside the ring. McIntyre is a former British champion and was recently the Celtic champion, which certainly makes this a really interesting bout, Gavin will have to be on his game.

Lewis Rees (2-0, 2 KO's) Light Welterweight

Age - 22

Boxrec Ranking - Currently Unranked

Notable win(s) - 21/05/2011 TKO 2 Sid Razak @ O2 Arena, London.

Facing and Where? - Tony Pace (1-3, 0 KO) @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.

What's he all about? - This has the makings of a really good All Welsh fight as both guys are talented fighters, but obviously the focus has to be on Rees, who has made an impressive start to his pro career. He was a really talented amateur, winning Welsh titles, but like Craig Evans who I've spoken about, he has been very inactive and hasn't been seen since September. This is going to be a competitive bout as Pace is tough and has gone the distance with Ronnie Heffron.

Liam Smith (8-0-1, 4 KO's) Welterweight

Age - 23

Boxrec Ranking - 236 in the World, 18 in the UK. 

Notable win(s) - 17/09/2011 KO 3 Barrie Jones @ Echo Arena, Liverpool.

Will Beefy have an opponent on Saturday night?

Facing and Where? - TBA @ Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff.

What's he all about? - "Beefy" was supposed to fight Laszlo Komjathi this weekend, but the Hungarian pulled out today (Friday) with an injury and it leaves Smith in a bit of doubt. It's disappointing for Liam because he has been in really good form of late and seems to have really stepped up since joining Gallagher's Gym along with his brothers. He's stopped his last three opponents with this busy and powerful style, and seems to be really improving at the moment.

Christopher Pearson (2-0, 1 KO) Middleweight

Age - 22

Boxrec Ranking - 602 in the World, 119 in the USA.

Notable win(s) - 06/01/2012 UD 4 Cleven Ishe @ Fantasy Springs Casino, Indio, California.

Facing and Where? - Jeremy Wood (1-4, 1 KO) @ Scottrade Center, St Louis, Missouri.

What's he all about? - Good middleweight prospect who I've already featured this year, where he had to work a little bit hard for a four round points win over Ishe. I watched his debut and he looked a seriously good fighter, stopping the man in the other corner in a round. He's got some good amateur experience under his belt and his promoters seem to really want to give him plenty of big bill experience. His opponent Wood hasn't been stopped since his debut and has gone the distance with two unbeaten fighters in that run.

Bets Of The Weekend

I love a bet or two and this is another new feature I will be rolling out on the blog, especially when the weekend is as busy as this one.


Jonathan Gonzalez v Billy Lyell


This is on the undercard of the Dulorme fight on ShoBox tonight and although I'm not confidently picking the upset, 9.0 for a Lyell upset win with Betfred does look rather tempting. Gonzalez (14-0, 13 KO's) is a big puncher and has impressed in recent TV bouts, stopping Rudy Cisneros in two and going the 10 round distance for the first time last time out. Being a Puerto Rican he's very dangerous, but he is untested and I'm not too sure how good his skills are. Money has come in for Lyell (24-10, 5 KO's), who has challenged for the IBF middleweight title in the past, gone the distance with Chavez Jr and last time out nearly pulled off an upset against unbeaten German Dominik Britsch (25-0). Clearly I wouldn't tell you to pile on to Lyell, but it's worth a quid or two.


Mike Dallas Jr v Miguel Gonzalez


Very intriguing light welterweight headliner on Friday Night Fight's tonight and it's a surprise to see Mike Dallas Jr (17-2-1, 7 KO's) favourite to beat the in form Miguel Gonzalez (20-2, 15 KO's). I say that as Dallas Jr comes into this bout on the back of two defeats, the first by 7th round knockout against Josesito Lopez and last time out a MD against Mauricio Herrera, both good operators. It's raised big doubts about him though and he's in with a real puncher here. Gonzalez hasn't lost since October 2009 and comes into this fight on the back of a stunning 2nd round KO of Humberto Toledo, who had been winning some fights of late. He's been getting some good experience of late and looks ready to step up now. Like Lyell there has been some money coming in for him and he's a best price 3.0 with Betfred to win.


Johnathon Banks v Nicolai Firtha


The chief support to Klitschko v Chisora and I'm not expecting a good fight to be honest. Really am not a big fan of Banks (27-1-1, 18 KO's) who has struggled in his last few fights and doesn't really seem to be going anywhere fast. Knocked out a Croatian kid last time out, but before that was taken the distance in boring fights with Julius Long and Saul Montana, that after a draw with then 19-7-3 Jason Gavern. Firtha (20-9-1, 8 KO's) was stopped in five by Tyson Fury last time out, which was slightly controversial, as he had the Manchester man in trouble before that. He went the distance with Povetkin in December 2010 and looks by the far the stronger heavyweight in this fight, with a three inch height advantage. Banks should win the fight on his own show, but he may have to go the distance, which is a best priced 3.0 with Paddy Power.


Brian Magee v Rudy Markussen


Real pick'em fight in Denmark on Saturday night, which is live on BoxNation and is for Magee's interim WBA super middleweight title. The Irishman (35-4-1, 24 KO's) is a very under-rated fighter and when he's lost it's been in world class company against Robin Reid, Vitali Tsypko (very close fight in Germany), Carl Froch, and most recently Lucian Bute. He bounced back from that Bute loss, where he was very brave, by going away to Costa Rica and outpointing home favourite Jaime Barboza. He knows how to win in Denmark, stopping Mads Larsen in seven to win the European title two years ago and on that night he was in brilliant form. Markussen (37-2, 24 KO's) is nicknamed "Hardhitter" and he is a real big puncher, who retired in October 2006 after a devastating 7th round KO loss to Sergey Tatevosyan, where he really struggled. Like Magee he's a former European champ, but since coming back in May 2010, he hasn't mixed at the same level as Magee has in that time. Both have had 40 fights, but I think Magee has a bit more about him, he knows how to win on the road and he can do so again here, he's best priced evens with Bet365.


Kid Galahad v Jason Booth


Live on Channel 5 at 10pm on Saturday night, Mick Hennessy is banking on a star being born in Kid Galahad (10-0, 4 KO's), but he faces a massive step up in class against former world title challenger Jason "2 Smooth" Booth (36-8, 15 KO's). Neither are renowned punchers, so this is very much expected to go the 12 round distance, which in my opinion heavily favours Booth. Galahad has looked much improved in his last fights, stopping Paul Fleming and James Ancliff, but compared to Booth they are nothing. The 21 year old is a typical Ingle fighter and skill wise he's very talented, but not many 10 fight guys are  thrown in with someone like Booth. Yes "2 Smooth" has been stopped in his last two fights by Kiko Martinez and Scott Quigg, but they are streets ahead of Galahad in terms of experience. He did look very dejected at the end of QuiggBetVictor, which in my opinion is superb value.


I've already previewed Klitschko v Chisora on my blog and I've said I fancy Klitschko in the ninth or tenth round. There's not much value in backing Klitschko to win by stoppage, but he's 4.0 with Ladbrokes to win in rounds 9-12 if that takes you're fancy!


Paul Williams v Nobuhiro Ishida


Williams (40-2, 27 KO's) returns for the first time since that farcical decision he earned against Erislandy Lara in July, which has raised plenty of doubts about one of the most avoided fighters in Boxing. Always been in the 'who needs him' club, he has become much less feared since he was dumped in two by Martinez in November 2010. In the first fight, I think he did enough to win, although one judge scored it 119-110, which was shocking, but that loss seemed to really affect him v Lara. You just hope that he's come out the right side after that lucky win and this isnt a bad fight to come back into. Ishida (24-6-2, 9 KO's) is renowned for stunning James Kirkland in a round last April, where he was brought in as a guy who couldnt punch, but found an open Kirkland and dropped the 27-0 fighter three times. He's never been stopped and is a former WBA interim champion, however he does face a guy who throws a lot of punches here and I just get the feeling Williams, if and that is a big if, the Georgia man is on fire, he'll stop him late on. Williams to win by stoppage is a best priced 2.5 with Boylesports.


Tavoris Cloud v Gabriel Campillo


Cloud (23-0, 19 KO's) is a renowned puncher, ranked #4 in the world and makes the fourth defence of his IBF title here against Spain's former WBA champion Campillo (21-3, 8 KO's). For me the jury is still out on Cloud, he's a pretty good fighter to watch and was impressed with how he performed v Yusaf Mack last time out, wearing his opponent down and then getting the job done in the 8th. However it was a close fight, Mack just wasnt fit enough or good enough to keep moving, a better fighter could give him problems. I think Campillo is a better fighter, he's won away in Argentina against Hugo Garay and in Kazakhstan against Beibut Shumenov. He did lose the rematch with Shumenov, but like the first fight it was close. He's been rather quiet since then and drew with Karo Murat last time out, which puts him behind world level as Nathan Cleverly stopped him in 10. This kid hasn't been stopped since September 2007, and although Cloud is a really dangerous puncher, I think like his three fights before the Mack one, he'll have to go the distance. Cloud on points is a best price 3.0 with Boylesports.


The biggest fancy I have this weekend and a pretty good price has to be "2 Smooth" Booth to win. He is one of my all-time favourite British fighters, he's such a determined individual and that's why I don't think he's going to roll over and let Galahad win. He's proven over 12 rounds and has a style which always catches the eyes of the judges.


I'll be having an accumulator this weekend and using my account on Boylesports, I've gone for Eubank Jr, Johnathon Banks, Brian Magee, Jason Booth, Tavoris Cloud and Paul Williams to win, which pays £51.64 for a £5 stake.

Can Del make Vitali look like a plonker?

Saturday night in Munich, Dereck Chisora (15-2, 9 KO's) finally gets his chance to fight one of the Klitschko's, as he takes on Vitali (43-2, 40 KO's) for the WBC heavyweight title.

Chisora finally gets his chance to fight a Klitschko

The odds are stacked against "Del Boy", who twice last year missed out on fights with the younger Klitschko, Wladimir. At the time there was a lot of talk that the Klitschko camp were really scared of Chisora, and it's no surprise that one of them does take their chance against him now, this after he suffered two defeats. In the first of those defeats he just didn't train for Tyson Fury and got beat quite comfortable on points. However last time out in Finland against leading heavyweight hope Robert Helenius, Chisora was quite brilliant and in no doubt was robbed by the judges. 

The two fighters who headline the bill in Munich

The worry is that Chisora put so much into that fight, but still couldn't get a decision, he will need to be so much better to win this weekend and that means the odds are firmly stacked against him. I think he's in great shape going into this fight, and that is key to Del's chances in any fight, but we are talking about facing the creme de la creme here, he's said it himself and I think he knows what he's coming up against.

Chisora was in good form at the open workout

In the buildup to the fight he has said and constantly said that he's going to win in the 8th round, and credit has to go to him for being quite brave in his predictions, but you shouldn't really take much notice of what fighters say in the buildup to their fights, all the talking should be done in the ring.


We all know how strong Vitali is, the guy along with his brother has one of the best jabs in Boxing, and what's even more evident about Vital is that he's a real big puncher. He destroyed Tomasz Adamek in his last fight, stopping the brave Pole in ten rounds, but Adamek was so small compared to him, the guy was a great cruiserweight, however he just isnt a good enough heavyweight to beat the Klitschko's.

Vitali has looked focused in the buildup

There is a lot of talk that Vitali doesn't concentrate too much on Boxing anymore, he's a lot more focused on Politics, very much like Pacquiao, but it doesn't really seem to affect him. People do write the brothers off and some of Vitali's recent fights e.g. Shannon Briggs, Odlanier Solis, have been very disappointing, but I was really impressed with him v Adamek and it's a case of write these guys off at your peril.


I would love to see Del Boy doing the pretty much impossible, he will go over there and have a real go, but Vitali's such a good boxer and he's a big puncher as well, I think he'll win in the 9th or 10th round.

Swifty adds more British interest to the Munich bill

This fight is screened live on Box Nation here in the UK and also featuring on the bill is the returning Stephen "Swifty" Smith, his first fight since losing his unbeaten record and British title to Welshman Lee Selby, who devastatingly knocked him out in the 8th round back in November. He is moving up to super featherweight after this, which in my opinion is a great move for him, and in three weeks he takes on Ben Jones for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental title. In Munich he seems to have a pretty comfortable fight against Hungarian Arpad Vass (7-2, 5 KO's), where he will hope for some rounds, with the bout scheduled for eight.

Prospect Watch - Weekend Starting 17/2/12

What a huge weekend of Boxing in prospect, big fights all over the place, and with so many high class fights, it means there's plenty of good talent on the undercards.

Buitrago is a big star in his homeland

Bit of a left field one to start as we head to Nicaragua on Friday night, where the very exciting minimuweight Carlos Buitrago (21-0, 14 KO's) goes for the interim WBO Latino title. He has had a lot of fights already, but they start them early over in Nicaragua, this kid is 20 years old, however his debut was in June 2008. He is starting to become a bigger star, but has been taken the distance in his last two fights, suggesting he's getting harder matches. Ranked #19 in the world already, he's definitely one of the more exciting guys coming through in the lighter weights, but faces a step up in class here. Facing him will 32 year old Colombian Gabriel Mendoza (14-0-2, 12 KO's), who's a real unknown having never gone outside of his homeland, but on paper he looks a serious puncher. He's not beaten much in his career and in his hardest test against then 12-4 Jorle Estrada, he only just nicked a split decision, so you'd think he's not got the skills to match "Chocorroncito".

Diaz is very exciting

Friday night in Cicero, Illinois, there's a guy who I'm really excited about making his second appearance of the year already in super featherweight Joel Diaz (7-0, 6 KO's). His last fight on the 20th of January was one of the best fights I've seen this year, screened live on ShoBox as he got through fellow undefeated fighter Guy Robb in seven rounds. The Palmdale 19 year old showed fantastic heart to bring himself off the floor in the second, to then put Robb down twice in the third, and to bully him for the rest of the fight. He reminds me a lot of Brandon Rios, which is a massive compliment I believe, in that he does ship punishment, but he's a really strong kid. He is inexperienced, but a really dangerous fighter. So far no opponent has been confirmed, but I have heard he's very much expected on the bill, although you wouldn't expect as good as opponent as Robb last time out.

Dulorme has been training with Marcos Maidana

ShoBox is usually a good place to check out some decent prospects coming through and this Friday night in Santa Ynez, California is no different. Headlining is the exciting Puerto Rican welterweight Thomas Dulorme (13-0, 10 KO's) as he chases the vacant NABF title. This kid came to my notice when he fought "Chop Chop" Chorley in June last year and for such an inexperienced kid, he dealt with Chorley very well, putting him down in the 3rd. He has since followed it up with another comfortable points win over a tough Venezuelan called Charlie Jose Navarro, who had gone the distance with Vyacheslav Senchenko for the WBA title, and also with the tough Argentine Sebastian Andres Lujan. To be ranked #38 in the world after just 13 fights is very impressive, but to do so in one of the best divisions in Boxing says even more.  On Friday his opponent is Californian Aris Ambriz (16-2-1, 8 KO's) who's never gone past eight rounds, and was stopped in four by the very talented Canadian Pier Olivier Cote in May, which is a real benchmark performance.


Also on this bill is a local fighter called Roman Morales (8-0, 5 KO's), who's a regular to this Chumash Casino, with half of his pro fights coming at this venue. So far in his career he hasn't really been with many quality opponents, but what he's done, he's done well, boxing nicely to comfortable points wins against some of the tougher guys he's fought. I see him as the type of fighter who will take time to mature, but the raw skills are there. He faces a really tough kid here in Jonathan Alcantara (5-6-2, 1 KO), who's never been stopped as a pro and been in with the likes of Efrain Esquvias, Jesse Magdaleno and Jonathan Arrellano. He comes into this fight on the back of his first career stoppage win, which was on the 12th of January, and certainly he looks like a guy that will test Morales.

Alvarez is a massive puncher

Saturday night at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Adonis Stevenson headlines in an IBF title eliminator, and chief support is provided a really good light heavyweight called Eleider Alvarez (7-0, 5 KO's). He's a 27 year old Colombian, who's been based in Canada all of his career, but like so many guys turning pro quite late, he already looks set for some big fights. In his last fight he absolutely destroyed a Dominican fighter called Emiliano Cayetano, who probably doesn't have the greatest chin, but it took seven rounds for Karo Murat to get rid of him, Alvarez stunned him in a round. This guy is extremely strong and has showed some tremendous power so far in his pro career. Here he's fighting for the vacant WBC Latino title and faces a very experienced guy in Otis Griffin (23-9-2, 9 KO's). Griffin can certainly be knocked out, but he has gone the distance with the likes of Yusaf Mack (SD loss) and also Jeff Lacy, which was also a close fight. For me a hungry guy like Alvarez will give him big problems, but usually he's put in with guys who've had over 20 fights, not seven, interesting to see how this one goes!


Oscar Rivas (8-0, 5 KO's). Competed in the 2008 Olympics, where he beat Kubrat Pulev, before losing to the Gold medallist Cammarelle of Italy, who also beat David Price. This kid turned pro at the right time, he had a decent Olympics, but he was also young when he came to Canada and he's got a long time left in the game. In his last fight he stopped Matthew Greer in three rounds and has actually stopped his last four opponents, which have been steps up in class. He faces 6ft4 Croatian Ivica Perkovic (15-12, 11 KO's) this weekend and he looks a good few levels better than him, with all of Perkovic's wins coming in Croatia and any time he has travelled to step up in class, he's struggled.

Galahad has a real test in Booth

Channel 5 are back with their first Boxing bill of 2012 and for a change it's not Tyson Fury headlining, it's Sheffield fighter Kid Galahad (10-0, 4 KO's) just a few miles away in Rotherham. He faces Jason Booth (36-8, 15 KO's) for the vacant WBC International super bantamweight, in what looks a really interesting fight. I remember Galahad making his debut when Hennessy had a deal with ITV, but for a couple of years he went really quiet. However towards the end of last year, he started to become a bit busier and he seemed to really improve. A typical Ingle fighter, his power seems to have really come on of late, and he claimed a really good win over James Ancliff in four rounds last time out. He looks talented, but this is a massive step up in class, albeit against what looks like a shot "2 Smooth" Booth. One of my favourite fighters on the UK scene, he's suffered his first two stoppage losses in his last two fights, one in Spain against Kiko Martinez and the other in Bolton v Scott Quigg. However a year ago he beat Jamie Arthur to defend his British and Commonwealth titles, and this is guy is a very determined fighter, as shown by his battle with alcoholism a few years back. A lot of people will say Booth has taken this for the money, which will have been very good, but he is a warrior and it wont be an easy night for Galahad, another good fight to get some casual fans into Boxing.

Eubank Jr has his second pro fight

The other main attraction on this bill is Chris Eubank Jr (1-0, 1 KO) who doesnt really need an introduction with that name. He had a decent test in his first fight against a tough Lithuanian called Kirilas Psonko, showing some flash Boxing and proving way too good in four rounds. Looking at that performance, he doesn't look like the biggest puncher in the world, but the ability is most definitely there. This weekend he has a really difficult contest against Jason Ball (5-5-1, 4 KO's), who lives in Doncaster and won the Central Area title in his last fight by beating Ste Harkin. It was a fight screened live on Box Nation and I was very impressed with Ball, who came on really strong to win in seven. He's improved a lot since Liam Cameron stopped him in a round in April last year, and although that title win was at light middleweight, most of his fights have been at middleweight.


Finishing off my mini preview of the Channel 5 bill is another novice in Nottingham's Leigh Wood (2-0, 0 KO's), who fights in the featherweight division. I don't know a great deal about this lad, but he featured on the Fury v Pajkic undercard and boxed very well to a 40-36 points win over Scotland's Ryan McNicol, who's only ever been stopped once in 19 pro fights. This weekend he has another tricky opponent in Mansfield based Latvian Pavels Senkovs (2-40-4, 2 KO's), stopped just twice in 46 fights, and has mixed at a very decent level. He's in form as well as he drew with Jon Kays in December last year and went the distance with the talented Terry Flannigan a couple of weeks later. 

Nielsen is a top middleweight coming through

In Denmark on Saturday night, Brian Magee defends his interim WBA title against home favourite Rudy Markussen, and on the undercard is a real star of the future in my opinion in Patrick Nielsen (12-0, 6 KO's). The middleweight is only 20 years old and is starting to be matched harder in his career, which is needed to bring these prospects on. In his last fight he won the IBF Youth title by comfortably outpointing tough German Michael Schubov, he was comfortable and to go the 10 round distance with a hard man like Schubov, who's never been stopped, will have been a great learning curve. This weekend he faces Hungarian Joszef Matlocsi (30-17-1, 20 KO's), stopped just four times in his career, and has gone the 12 round distance on a good few occasions, but I also remember Paul Smith absolutely blowing him away in a round last year. He went the 12 round distance with 27-1 Italian Emanuelle Della Rosa in November, and that shows he can be a really hard man to face.


That concludes this weekend's Prospect Watch, Klitschko v Chisora preview to follow!