A Boxing
card with two intriguing storylines will take place at the StubHub Center in
Carson, California on Saturday night. The card, which will be televised by
Showtime and its sister channel Showtime Extreme in the United States will
feature a familiar storyline of former world champions beginning the road back
into contention.
Former
three-time Light-Heavyweight world champion Chad Dawson returns to the ring
after a year layoff against contender George Blades. Dawson (31-3, 17
Knockouts), who is coming off not only a year layoff, but also two consecutive
knockout losses to Super-Middleweight champion Andre Ward and Adonis Stevenson
is what the story of this fight is centered around.
The
obvious questions that Dawson will have to answer is what kind of effect has
those two knockout losses had on him and whether one year out of the ring will
result in any ring rust. At his best, Dawson has the kind of hand speed and
power that would make him an obvious favorite in the eyes of many. If however,
Dawson has not recovered from those two losses against Ward and Dawson it could
present an opportunity for George Blades (23-5, 16 Knockouts), who also comes
into this fight off of a knockout loss. Blades was stopped in five rounds by
former Light-Heavyweight world champion Jean Pascal in September of last year
and has gone 2-3 in his last five fights. Although the attention will be
focused on Dawson in this fight, it will be interesting to see what Blades has
to offer.
This
card will also feature two Welterweight fights featuring two former world
champions looking to get back in the win column in separate bouts. Former
two-division world champion Devon Alexander will return to the ring for the
first time since losing his IBF Welterweight world championship to Shawn Porter
in December of last year. Alexander (25-2, 14 Knockouts) will face former NABF
and WBC Continental Americas champion Jesus Soto-Karass.
This
fight is a classic example of a boxer versus a puncher. Alexander, who looks to
use lateral movement and quick hands to out box his opponents will likely be in
for a tough battle against Soto-Karass, who is a tough veteran and will likely
look to force Alexander into a brawl. Soto-Karass (28-9-3, 18 Knockouts) comes
into this fight off of a knockout loss at the hands of top Welterweight
contender Keith Thurman last December. Soto-Karass has always been very “Game”
every time he enters the ring and he will be in this fight for as long it
lasts.
The key
to this fight in my eyes will be whether or not Alexander can avoid Soto-Karass
for the entire fight by looking to out box him. Soto-Karass will likely look to
put pressure on Alexander and cut the ring off from the opening bell. The
winner of that fight may well be in position to face the winner of the other
headlining Welterweight bout on this card.
Former
two-division world champion Robert Guerrero returns to the ring for the first
time since his loss to Floyd Mayweather in May of last year. Guerrero (31-2-1,
18 Knockouts) entered into that fight having won eight straight fights and
there was no question that he had the kind of momentum that earned him the
opportunity to face Mayweather, who is considered by many the best pound for
pound fighter in the world.
For
twelve rounds, Mayweather out boxed a “Game” Guerrero in route to a convincing
unanimous decision. Although Guerrero was out boxed by a highly skilled fighter
in Mayweather, he is still one of the top fighters in the world in his own
right and still a top contender in the Welterweight division. An argument could
well be made that Guerrero’s loss to Mayweather was a bad style match up for
Guerrero who simply could not find a way to nullify Mayweather’s lateral
movement, precision timing, and hand speed.
Guerrero
will face former Japanese Junior welterweight and current Oriental and Pacific
Boxing Federation (OPBF) Welterweight champion Yoshihiro Kamegai. Kamegai
(24-1-1, 21 Knockouts), a veteran of twenty-six professional fights has only
one loss losing a ten round unanimous decision to Johan Perez in June of last
year. Kamegai however, who is rated number seven in the world by the International
Boxing Federation (IBF) has an 80% career knockout percentage and should be
viewed as a dangerous opponent for Guerrero.
This
could be the fight of the night in my opinion as both fighters have shown the
ability to both box and go toe to toe. Much like the Alexander-Soto-Karass
fight, this fight could have an impact in the talent stacked Welterweight
division. Even though it would seem logical that the winners of these two
fights would face each other down the road, it is a division where
realistically a number of interesting fights could be made with either of the
four. We will have to wait and see what these two fights produce that may shake
things up in the Welterweight division.
The
world championship fight on this card will be a battle for the vacant WBO world
Featherweight championship when undefeated number one contender Gary Russell
Jr. meets number four rated contender Vasyl Lomachenko. Russell (24-0, 14 Knockouts), undefeated in
twenty-four professional fights would seem to have an advantage in this fight
over Lomachenko who will only be competing in his third professional fight.
Despite
an undefeated record, some may argue that Russell has not been tested in his
career thus far. Although Lomachenko has only fought two professional fights,
winning his professional debut in October of last year, scoring a fourth round
knockout over veteran Jose Ramirez and losing a hard fought twelve round split
decision to former Featherweight world champion Orlando Salido in his first
attempt at a world title earlier this year, it is important to remember that Lomachenko
is one of the best amateur boxers in history with an incredible 396-1 record
winning gold medals in the Featherweight division at the 2008 Summer Olympics
and in the Lightweight division in the 2012 Summer Olympics.
Though
the odds seem to be in favor of the man who has more professional experience in
Russell, it will be interesting to see how Lomachenko looks in his third fight
as a professional, now with nearly one year of professional experience. Whether
or not Lomachenko can defy the odds by winning a professional world title in
only his third professional fight remains to be seen. The fight between Russell
and Lomachenko is just one fight that is part of what is an intriguing night of
Boxing where anything can happen.
Will
Lomachenko defy the odds and win a professional world title in only his third
fight as a professional? We’ll find out Saturday night.
“And
That’s The Boxing Truth.”
Saturday’s
Showtime Boxing card begins with Dawson vs. George and a Heavyweight bout
between undefeated Dominic Breazeale (10-0, 9 Knockouts) and Devin Vargas
(18-3, 7 Knockouts) at 8PM EST on Showtime Extreme. Guerrero vs. Kamegai , Alexander vs.
Sotto-Karass , and Russell vs. Lomachenko will follow the Showtime Extreme
portion of Showtime’s coverage on Showtime at 10PM EST. Check your local listings.
The
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