This Week In Boxing: September 8–9
20 year old David Benavidez fights for a world titles, Usyk kicks off the WBSS, and the best super flyweights in the world come to California.
Friday September 8, 2017
From Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, Nevada
Time: 7:00 PM PDT, 10:00 PM EDT, 3:00 AM BST
TV: Showtime (US)
🏅David Benavidez (18–0, 17 KOs) vs Ronald Gavril 18–1 (14 KOs)
12 rounds
vacant WBC world super middleweight title
It wasn’t supposed to happen like this. David Benavidez wasn’t supposed to win a world title in a fight he was heavily favored. There was supposed to be some sort of challenger or a barrier to entry that made this special. Like facing Anthony Dirrell, a gritty former world champion capable of taking Benavidez’s punch and giving him something back.
Instead, Benavidez will face and easily beat Ronald Gavril and we’ll have to wait and see when he official graduates out of the prospect stage. Gavril has fought his career almost exclusively out of Las Vegas and like all of Mayweather Promotions fighters (at least it seems that way) he’s been upset along his path toward a world title. At 31, he’s fought a prospects level of opposition and this should be the best opponent he’s seen to date.
But Benavidez has been marked as special since he was 15. He’s been in big time camps helping recognizable names prepare for their fights and it has paid off to this point. Benavidez is a heavy favorite for good reason. Not only is he skilled, but he also seems fated for this kind of success.
J’Leon Love 23–1 (13 KOs) vs Abraham Han 26–3 (16 KOs)
10 rounds
super middleweight division
J’leon Love will return to the ring after nearly a year away from the sport. He’s tried to stay relevant and in the mind of boxing fans by appearing as a color commentator on PBC events. It’s hard to tell what to expect from Love. He has not faced tough competition in a long time and Abraham Han will not be a walk in the park.
It could be argued that Han only has one legitimate loss on his record and that was when he was stopped in his war with Glen Tapia where he gave as good as he got. Han is a grinder who never lets an opponent exit an exchange without landing one of his own.
Love is getting thrown right back into the fire after a long layoff with a fight that he can easily lose.
Caleb Plant 15–0 (10 KOs) vs Alan Campa 16–3 (11 KOs)
10 rounds
super middleweight division
Another building fight for Caleb Plant. Alan Campa is an opponent that is being brought in to give Plant some rounds and expose him to the Mexican style without the risk of taking a loss.
From Estadio Deportistas Alvearenses, General Alvear, Argentina
Juan Carlos Reveco 38–3 (19 KOs) vs Komgrich Nantapech 22–4 (15 KOs)
12 rounds
flyweight division
Losing twice to Kazuto Ioka sent Reveco reeling. He significantly dropped his level of opposition and is continuing to rebuild his career. The question for Reveco is at 34, can he get back to where he was as a world champion? History tells us that the answer is no. Flyweight is a brutal and unforgiving division.
Saturday September 9, 2017
From Max Schemling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, Germany
🏅Oleksandr Usyk 12–0 (10 KOs) vs Marco Huck 40–4–1 (27 KOs)
12 rounds
WBO world cruiserweight title
The cruiserweight World Boxing Super Series kicks off with Oleksandr Usyk facing his opponent of choice, Marco Huck. The cruiserweight portion of this tournament is rich with talent and here is no exception. The most talented cruiserweight we’ve seen since Evander Holyfield takes on the most dominant cruiserweight champion of recent memory.
Yes, Huck is faded past the point of his expiration and he’s coming off a loss to another participant in the WBSS, Mairis Briedis, but when is it wise to count out an old champion? Every old champion keeps one last good performance in their back pocket after they leave their prime. Could this be the one?
Very likely it’s not. Usyk fights with the style that makes it hard for an old master to show him much. While his Ukrainian counterpart in Vasyl Lomachenko has one gear, Usyk is a more nuanced fighter. He doesn’t need to fire shots like a machine gun or dance around the ring for the sake of moving. Usyk studies. He likes to show all of the facets of his game in each fight and doesn’t like to duplicate performances.
Huck is likely to have a nightmare of a time trying to implement a gameplan of what they saw work in previous Usyk fights because often times in moments where Usyk looks vulnerable, he completely shifts something and you start to wonder if the trouble was intentional.
Usyk is favored to win the whole tournament and this will be his start. Huck will make it interesting, but won’t be able to keep up.
Noel Gevor 22–1 (10 KOs) vs Isiah Thomas 15–1 (6 KOs)
12 rounds
cruiserweight division
These are the stand-ins. Gevor is coming off a loss to Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (which is a bad sign) and Thomas to Michael Hunter (not as bad of a sign). Either way, it’ll be good to keep track of this fight as they are poised to enter the tournament should something happen. Injury, personal, machete attack, etc.
From Saryarka Velodrome, Astana, Kazakhstan
Kanat Islam 24–0 (19 KOs) vs Brandon Cook 18–0 (11 KOs)
12 rounds
super welterweight division
Kanat Islam continues to make his way toward a world title. Should he capture a world title he’d become the greatest Chinese born fighter of all time. It’s a bit misleading though because he fights as a Kazakhstani fighter and came through their excellent amateur program. Brandon Cook has the opportunity to upset all of these plans, but Islam should easily take this one.
Zhanibek Alimkhanuly 1–0 (1 KO) vs Carmelito De Jesus 18–5 (15 KOs)
6 rounds
super middleweight division
This is the fight to pay attention to. 24 year old former World Amateur Champion Zhanibek Alimkhanuly steps into the ring as a professional for the second time. You can tell how much faith they have in him given the level of opponent in just his second fight after almost a year out of the ring.
From El San Juan Hotel & Casino, San Juan, Puerto Rico
McWilliams Arroyo 16–3 (14 KOs) vs Tyson Marquez 42–8–2 (29 KOs)
10 rounds
super flyweight division
Neither of these guys will get near the title picture again, but given their history and the Mexico vs Puerto Rico rivalry, this could be one of those sleeper fights that comes up in Fight of the Year conversations.
From StubHub Center, Carson, California
Time: 7:15 PM PDT, 10:15 PM EDT, 3:15 PM BST
TV: HBO (US)
🏅Srisaket Sor Rungvisai 43–4–1 (39 KOs) vs Roman Gonzalez 46–1 (38 KOs)
12 rounds
WBC world super flyweight title
Maybe it was something in the air on the night of March 18th when Gennady Golovkin saw his knockout streak ended and he waited nervously as his win streak nearly came to an end. That was the night Roman Gonzalez, who had his sights set on continuing his destruction of the lighter weight classes, would see his own streak come to an end.
What ultimately ensued when Gonzalez took on Srisaket Sor Rungvisai was a close fight with knockdowns and fouls. With blood streaming down his face, Gonzalez had to grind through his toughest opponent since… his last fight where he failed to turn in one of his signature performances against Carlos Cuadras.
And in the end Gonzalez’s winning streak came to an end. There were (and still are) shouts and cries over Sor Rungvisai’s dirty tactics and how they stole victory from Gonzalez, but that is a diversion. That is the smokescreen to what the real problem might be. Roman Gonzalez is 30 years old fighting below 118 pounds. He’s a fighter who puts on a significant amount of weight between fights and is frequently seen in training trying to rid his body of fluid. His introduction to American fans involved several beatable opponents that would lose to anyone in the top 5 at 112 and possibly the top 10 as well.
If Gonzalez had shown signs that he was slowing down in those fights, it was easy to ignore because of his immense talent and unique in-ring ability. If it’s true that Gonzalez is beginning to leave his prime, that same talent is going to enable him to stay competitive for as long as he can take a punch given how far he’s falling.
But how long can he stay at the top? While he took the loss to Sor Rungvisai, it’s hard to imagine anyone thinking that Sor Rungvisai is actually better. Naoya Inoue is on the undercard and has his sights set on taking the crown at 115 which will be decided when Gonzalez steps in with Sor Rungvisai another time.
Gonzalez has had a magical run coming up from minimumweight and through sublime skill has forced the boxing world to take notice. How much longer before he passes that torch on?
🏅Naoya Inoue 13–0 (11 KOs) vs Antonio Nieves 17–1–2 (9 KOs)
12 rounds
WBO world super flyweight title
The full arsenal Naoya Inoue brings each time he steps in the ring won’t be on display just yet. Antonio Nieves has come up short in each of his attempts at fighting upper tier opposition. It’s highly likely Inoue will have his way, make a big splash in his American debut, and start the hype train rolling toward Inoue vs the winner of Sor Rungvisai-Gonzalez.
And that’s too bad because Inoue is the best fighter in the world under the age of 25. If you’ve never seen him fight before, this will be a treat.
Juan Francisco Estrada 35–2 (25 KOs) vs Carlos Cuadras 36–1–1 (27 KOs)
12 rounds
super flyweight division
This is very likely the fight to steal the show. Two Mexican warriors fighting on the sacred ground of the StubHub Center. It doesn’t get any better than this. Add on that they’re both highly skilled fighters around the same age who desperately need a win to stay relevant at 115 pounds.
Estrada has chased a rematch with Roman Gonzalez for years. He’s enjoyed the distinction of being the one fighter during Gonzalez’s magnificent run to stand up to him and emerge as an equal. Estrada didn’t just lay down, but instead took the fight to him and while he came up short, many felt he’d nearly closed the gap on a fighter that was in another tier altogether.
Estrada went on to move up in weight and unify titles at flyweight while Gonzalez continued to steamroll various levels of opposition and turn down a rematch.
Cuadras is in a similar boat, however given Gonzalez lost his very next fight he doesn’t have the long history that Estrada does. While Estrada is going to fight for vindication that he’s always been better than Gonzalez, Cuadras just wants to take back his title.
These two are going to have a war in what is a stacked card.
