This Week In Boxing: July 28–30
Adrien Broner faces his biggest challenge yet when budding superstar and elite talent Mikey Garcia moves up, plus Carl Frampton is back and Zou Shiming defends his flyweight title.
Friday July 28, 2017
From Shanghai Oriental Sports Center, Shanghai, China
🏅 Zou Shiming 9–1 (2 KOs) vs Sho Kimura 14–1–2 (7 KOs)
12 rounds
WBO world flyweight title
The flyweight division experienced perhaps one of it’s greatest periods when it had talent like Roman Gonzalez, Juan Francisco Estrada, Kazuto Ioka, and guys like Donnie Nietes and Naoya Inoue seemingly on their way to join the fun. All while there existed a big money fight in former Olympian and Japaense star Zou Shiming.
But nearly all of the notable names departed the division. Those whose arrivals seemed imminent never appeared. The division turned over and an opportunity was lost.
Now the division lays in flux as Donnie Nietes fades from his prime and Kazuto Ioka remains without an elite victory on his resume.
And Shiming sits with his title that is unlikely to leave as long as they can pick the opponents they see fit for him. Choosing Kimura was a calculated decision to keep that title.
“Shining is is facing BoxRec’s 43rd ranked flyweight. That’s all you really need to know about his fight. The luster that Bob Arum attempted to project onto Shiming when he turned pro has long since eroded. Expect Shiming to win a boring decision, and to continue to remain irrelevant to the world-class boxing landscape.” — John Cudney
From SSE Arena, Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Time: 2:00 PM PDT, 5:00 PM EDT, 10:00 PM BST
TV: Channel 5 (UK)
Carl Frampton 23–1 (14 KOs) vs Andres Gutierrez 35–1–1 (25 KOs)
12 rounds
featherweight division
One year ago today Carl Frampton was surging onto pound-for-pound lists. He had overcome his disastrous American debut by completely outclassing the late Alejandro Gonzalez and went on to defeat archnemesis Scott Quigg. He followed that up with a win over Leo Santa Cruz and suddenly Frampton was among the top 5 pound-for-pound in the world.
But now Frampton sits outside of the list and a bit exposed after Leo Santa Cruz defeated him in January. Santa Cruz became everything needed to beat Frampton and now a gameplan exists on how to beat Carl Frampton.
The question is now can Andres Gutierrez utilize it?
“It could be worse. Carl Frampton cracked virtually everyone’s top 10 pound-for-pound after his win over Leo Santa Cruz, and then unfairly lost a lot of esteem after his loss in the rematch. It would be preferable to see Frampton back in another title fight (or even with a top 10 opponent), but at least Gutierrez is a top 30 Featherweight. He should bring just enough skill to allow The Jackal to remind fans of his world-class talent.” — John Cudney
From Casino Del Sol, Tucson, Arizona
Time:
TV: ESPN (US)
Sadam Ali 24–1 (14 KOs) vs Johan Perez 22–3–2 (15 KOs)
10 rounds
welterweight division
“Sadam Ali’s long road back continues against another abysmal opponent. BoxRec ranks Perez #98 at welterweight, and that’s about right. Ali’s career has been in a holding pattern since his loss, and a win against Perez isn’t going to do much to propel him forward.” — John Cudney
From Barclays Center, Brooklyn, New York
Time: 6:00 PM PDT, 9:00 PM EDT, 2:00 AM BST
TV: Showtime (US) Sky Sports Main Event (UK)
Adrien Broner 33–2 (24 KOs) vs Mikey Garcia 36–0 (30 KOs)
12 rounds
super lightweight division
Adrien Broner personifies a difficult fact for fans to accept. Those same fans who idolize the Mikey Garcia’s of the world for their skill in the ring and kind demeanors outside of it. The guys who are willing to give candid interviews and answer questions from any reporter who puts a camera in their face.
What Broner has proven is that stardom in boxing does not require elite level skill. Broner has used his charisma and quick wit to deliver some of the biggest ratings we’ve seen on premium cable boxing and he’s done it all without winning.
It’s something we’ve seen with the Mayweather-McGregor fight. McGregor has tapped several times and still is in the most lucrative fight possibly in history.
So while there are arguments abound of whether or not Broner will face into obscurity after this fight, the answer is no. Win or lose he’s here to stay. But since we’ve veered onto that topic, it bears being discussed.
Garcia is the favorite and the likely result is a Garcia decision. It won’t be the knockout that we saw in the Zlaticanin fight. That was a freak knockout and uncharacteristic of Garcia when he’s fought top level opposition.
Broner should be able to win a few rounds and make this more competitive than people anticipate, but he’ll ultimately lose a decision.
“Adrien Broner vs Mikey Garcia is a great clash of personalities and fighting styles with huge stakes for the winner and the loser. Betting odds started off at 6-to-1 in Garcia’s favor, but they have narrowed to 3-to-1 as the fight date approaches (which seems much more reasonable). If Garcia wins as expected, he will get his first taste of crossover exposure. While Broner was once hailed as a future superstar, he has retained his celebrity even as his reputation in boxing has slipped. A win here promises to relegitimize his standing in the sport.” — John Cudney
Jermall Charlo 25–0 (19 KOs) vs Jorge Sebastian Heiland 29–4–2 (16 KOs)
12 rounds
middleweight division
“Jermall Charlo makes his much-anticipated debut at 160 against Jorge Sebastian Heiland this Saturday. Charlo is coming off the most sensational win of his career, a 5th round knockout of the much-touted Julian Williams. In that fight Charlo not only scored a devastating knockout, but he also struck a chord with the boxing public for the first time by making an effective heel turn.
Charlo, unwilling to forgive Williams’s month of trash talk, spurned Williams in the moments after the bout. The crowd in the arena reacted by booing him for more than 10 minutes and Charlo earned himself an instant place in boxing infamy. To add even more intrigue, the bout is a final eliminator for Gennady Golovkin’s WBC belt, which puts the winner of Charlo-Heiland in line to fight the winner of Canelo-Golovkin (or to inherit the WBC belt if that bout never comes to pass).” — John Cudney
Rau’shee Warren 14–2 (4 KOs) vs McJoe Arroyo 17–1 (8 KOs)
12 rounds
super flyweight division
If you look at Rau’shee Warren’s record and seem unimpressed by him, there is an explanation. This is what it looks like to chase greatness in a division nobody pays any attention to. He quickly raced to big fights and when he got there wasn’t ready. He’s consistently faced good to very good opposition and with just 16 fights he’s gotten 2 losses and held a world title. This should be a great fight with 2 guys who are at a crossroads in their career.
“Rau’shee Warren has shown flashes of brilliance in his young professional career, but he has also shown a lack of consistency that has cost him 2 losses as well as his hard-earned WBA bantamweight title. McJoe Arroyo is a decent-ish opponent for him who will provide a good measuring stick for Warren’s future prospects in the sport.” — John Cudney
Jarrell Miller 18–0–1 (16 KOs) vs Gerald Washington 18–1–1 (12 KOs)
10 rounds
heavyweight division
“Jarrell Miller has some of the best mic skills in the game today and he has a great opportunity to get the attention of the sport this Saturday. Williams surprised many in his performance against Deontay Wilder this February, so Miller can make a big statement if can beat Williams even more decisively. For Williams, a win on Saturday could catapult him right back to the standing of top contender. This should be a fun heavyweight scrap.” — John Cudney
From Rabobank Theater, Bakersfield, California
Time: 7:00 PM PDT, 10:00 PM EDT, 3:00 AM BST
TV: FS1 (US)
Victor Ortiz 31–6–2 (24 KOs) vs Saul Corral 25–9 (16 KOs)
10 rounds
welterweight division
“The PBC has built up a large stable of welterweight names who are well past their prime. If Victor Ortiz wins, he will join the ranks of Devon Alexander, Luis Collazo, and Brandon Rios. And if he loses, he will almost certainly have to retire as Robert Guerrero just did.
In a possible parallel to Ortiz, Brandon Rios recently returned to the ring in an entertaining fight, but it was abundantly clear from his performance that his best days are behind him. Ortiz might win on Sunday, and he might look good doing it, but the best opportunity he could hope for at this point would be a marginal payday against someone like Danny Garcia. Hopefully he will make it through this final stage of his career without getting hurt.” — John Cudney
Justin DeLoach 17–1 (9 KOs) vs Fernando Guerrero 28–4 (20 KOs)
10 rounds
super welterweight division
“Justin DeLoach has made quite an impression recently. “The Chosen One” has racked up a number of impressive wins after suffering a shock loss early in his career. Fernando Guerrero isn’t the best opponent, but this represents another reputation-building fight as he continues the road back from his lone loss. Expect to see DeLoach paired with the PBC’s top junior middleweights sooner than later.” — John Cudney
Carlos Balderas 1–0 (1 KO) vs Eder Amaro Fajardo 3–3 (2 KOs)
6 rounds
lightweight division
Carlos Balderas was the most highly recruited American fighter coming out of the 2016 Olympics (yes, he was even more coveted than Shakur Stevenson) and he looked sensational in his pro debut last April. All boxing fans should look forward to the next step in the career of the young Balderas. He’s one to watch.
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