James Kirkland v Brian Vera
DATE: 11/22/2008
VENUE: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
PREDICTION: Kirkland mid to late stoppage
Not really the smartest fight for top light middleweight James Kirkland to take, Vera has been competing at Super middleweight for a few years now so is the bigger man, and he is coming off great wins over Max Alexander and Andy Lee. Despite these disadvantages Kirkland is very strong at the weight and has destroyed his last 4 opponents inside 2 rounds. Vera may stand up to him for a few rounds but I think Kirkland has a great career ahead of him and I would be surprised if he didn’t dispatch Vera inside the distance.
Rey Bautista v Heriberto Ruiz
DATE: 11/22/2008
VENUE: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
PREDICTION: Bautista late stoppage
This should be a decent fight, Bautista was regarded as one of the top guys in the division before being blown out in a round by Daniel Ponce De Leon, he has come back well and won his last 3 fights all against decent opponents, Ruiz is another decent opponent but he has just fallen short when he has been stepped up in class, therefore Bautista should win, and is a decent puncher so may get the stoppage.
Matthew Hatton v Ben Tackie
DATE: 11/22/2008
VENUE: MGM Grand, Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
PREDICTION: Tackie points win
Tackie has already shared the ring with Matthew’s better known brother Ricky, and although he is coming off 4 straight losses he would be my favourite to win this one. Hatton is a decent domestic fighter and even though he has really shown some of his best form of late I think he falls short when stepping up to this level. Tackie has shared the ring with the likes of Kostya Tszyu, Kendall Holt and Juan Lazcano. He has never been stopped and always performs well and pushes his opponents to the limit. The fight will probably be left in the hands of the judges but Tackie may just have too much.
Steve Molitor v Celestino Caballero
DATE: 11/21/2008
TITLE: WBA & IBF Super Bantamweight Title
VENUE: Casino Rama, Rama, Ontario, Canada
PREDICTION: Molitor Points win
This is one of the toughest fights I have had to call for a while and I have to say I have no idea who will win this one, I am guessing it will go to a split decision or should be very close. Caballero has a big height and reach advantage and is a great fighter, but Molitor is tough and is a tricky southpaw who hits a lot harder than his record suggests. I have changed my mind a few times, Molitor is the undefeated fighter and I do like him but I think Caballero will be the toughest opponent he has faced to date. Caballero is the current defending WBA champion he has made 8 defenses of that title while IBF champion Molitor has made 5 defenses. I think I am going to stick with Molitor to get the points win, but it is with no great confidence.
Matthew Marsh v Rocky Dean
DATE: 11/21/2008
TITLE: British Super Bantamweight Title
VENUE: York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
PREDICTION: Marsh Points win
This will be the 3rd time that these two have squared off in the ring, Marsh won both contests on the cards in close battles, Dean has had a tough career and has faced some of the best domestic fighters around so the record of 14-9-2 does not really do him justice. He will be coming here to win and will certainly not give marsh an easy ride, however Marsh has also improved since the last time these two met and I would be surprised if he didn’t win.
Sam Sexton v Colin Kenna
DATE: 11/21/2008
VENUE: York Hall, Bethnal Green, London, United Kingdom
PREDICTION: Sexton mid round stoppage
Recent Prizefighter winner Sam Sexton steps in against journeyman Kenna, Kenna who has also appeared on Prizefighter has lost 6 of his last 7 fights and should not be a match for Sexton who should win inside the distance, unless he can reproduce the form that saw him go the distance with fighters such as Roman Greenburg and recent Danny Williams destroyer Albert Sosnowski.
Steffen Kretschmann v Marcel Zeller
DATE: 11/18/2008
VENUE: Kugelbake-Halle, Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, Germany
PREDICTION: Kretschmann Early to mid round stoppage
Battle of the punchers, these guys have had 31 knockouts between them in only 35 fights, Kretschmann 11 from 12 and Zeller 20 from 23, so this fight almost guarantees one of these guys will not be going the distance, Zeller despite having far more experience is the underdog here, he is 6’1 and averages around 215-220lbs, he has been very carefully matched since two early losses in his career and has mainly fought inexperienced. Kretschmann is a 6’5 southpaw and will have a decent 10-15lb advantage, he is also the home town guy and is tipped to go onto bigger and better things, I suspect he will be the one standing when this one is over, I would be surprised if Zeller lasted more than 3-4 rounds.
Konstantin Airich v Alexander Jakob
DATE: 11/18/2008
VENUE: Kugelbake Halle, Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, Germany
PREDICTION: Airich points win
A very interesting fight, Airich was involved in one of the most controversial fights certainly that I have ever seen when squaring off to Danny Williams in May earlier this year, Airich went on to lose that fight by way of stoppage when he ran out of steam after being way up on the scorecards, his promoter throwing the towel into the ring to save him after ringing the bell half way between rounds in the previous round. Anyway since then he returned with a victory over the inexperienced Vaclav Cihlar, he can certainly punch but how much ability he has I am not convinced. He faces another tough opponent in the form of Alexander Jakob who is more experienced with 30 fights and he has never been stopped, most of his opponents have been limited but he has completed the distance a number of times. Airich is the obvious favourite but he will have to have made improvements since the last time I saw him if he is going to win this one.
Mahir Oral v Alexander Sipos
DATE: 11/18/2008
VENUE: Kugelbake-Halle, Cuxhaven, Niedersachsen, Germany
PREDICTION: Oral Points
Sipos once regarded as a top prospect himself has somewhat drifted out of contention with 3 losses in his last 5 fights, one of these losses actually came to Oral when he beat him over the 12 round distance. I would be surprised if this fight went any other way, Sipos is tough and should last the distance but Oral is the more skilled and should out work him, winning fairly comfortably on the cards.
Isaac Hlatswayo v Delvin Rodriguez
DATE: 11/17/2008
VENUE: Emperor's Palace, Kempton Park, Gauteng, South Africa
PREDICTION: Hlatswayo Points win
What a tough fight to call, and also a really good match up, home town hero Hlatswayo has to be the favourite he has competed at a much higher level and his only defeat to date coming over the distance with current world champion Kendall Holt. He holds wins over the like of Phillip N’Dou, Nate Campbell and Robert Medley, so with experience like that and also having the home town advantage it would be crazy to bet against him. However Rodriguez will certainly be no push over he is a hard puncher and has a good work rate, he also has a number of decent names on his record, Oscar Diaz, and Troy Browning stand out, so don’t rule him out. I personally think the odds are stacked too highly in the favour of Hlatswayo who should win by a decision.