Boxing

CANELO ALVAREZ WINS

INOUE WINS BY STOPPAGE (IN ROUND 6 AND I DID SAY OVER BY ROUND 7 IN THE WRITE UP)

Sunday 12th May - George Kombosos Jr v Vasily Lomachenko

George Kombosis Jr (23 Fights - 21 Wins (10 KOs) - 2 Losses) meets Vasily Lomachenko (20 Fights - 17 Wins (11 KOs) - 3 Losses) for the vacant IBF Lightweight Title , and whilst it might be an interesting match up in some respects i think Loma comes away with the belt here unless hes regressed alot since his last fight , which i dont think he has. Kombosos Jr has only lost two in his career and they were back to back losses to Devin Haney , by wide margin unanimous decisions , he got back on track by beating Maxi Hughes for the IBO Lightweight title , for me that was a close fight and i personally thought Hughes had done enough but the judges decided otherwise. Lomachenko hasnt been seen since losing a UD to Haney back in May of last year , i think that fight went down to the wire and that it was a lot closer than the judges had it tbh , he can be considered unlucky in some respects not to have walked away with the belts in that one in my honest opinion. Despite the fact that hes getting on in years now , Loma is still one of the best boxers out there , and he showed that when he fought Haney whose alot younger and bigger than him and is a name on alot of peoples P4P lists. I think Lomas' ring IQ , footwork and overall skill set surpasses that of Kombosos Jr and can only see one result here unless Kombosos Jr puts in a life time best performance. I think it'll be a good fight to watch but for me Loma takes the title.

Vaisly Lomachenko To Win

Saturday 11th May - Lauren Price v Jessica McCaskill

Another solid bout to look forward to , Price (6 Fights - 6 Wins (1 KO)) challenges McCaskill (16 Fights - 12 Wins (5 KOs) - 3 Losses - 1 Draw) for her IBO , Ring and WBA titles and as i say has all the hallmarks of being a good fight to watch. McCaskill comes into the fight very lucky not to of been relinquished of her titles by Sandy Ryan last time , when the judges pegged it as a draw but i and a few others had Ryan winning whilst Price beat Silvia Bortot on points. Price isnt as experienced as McCaskill but she has a solid resume , in the amateurs as well as in the pro ranks , she won Gold in the Olympic games as well as the European games along side a whole host of other titles , and as well as that she played football for Cardiff City and captained the Welsh national side. Considering she's only had six pro fights this is a big step up for Price i have to say but i dont think she'll be out of her depth as shes a very talented , aggressive fighter and i have a feeling that shes going to put it on McCaskill from the get go. McCaskill is one of the best female fighters out there tbh , and never side steps a challenge , two of her losses coming against Chanetelle Cameron and Katie Taylor who are elite level boxers , and she was the first to defeat Celia Braekhaus and then repeated the feat again. Neither are huge punchers but both do have some stopping power , but i have a feeling that this is going to go the distance and i think (and hope) that the exciting prospect Lauren Price gets her hand raised at the end.

Lauren Price To Win .. By Decision

LAUREN PRICE WINS (by stoppage)

LOMACHENKO WINS (by stoppage)

Lauren Price done well last night , and Loma was on another level , absolute masterclass , schooled Kombosos Jr

Saturday 18th May -

Emanuel Navarette v Denys Berinchyk
Decent match up for the vacant WBO Lightweight title , Navarette (40 Fights - 38 Wins (31 KOs) - 1 Loss - 1 Draw) is a fighter with a very unconventional style , you just dont know what hes gonna do next , hes awkward and the punches come at you from strange angles but theres no doubting that when he lets his hands go you're in a world of trouble. His last fight against Robson Conceicao ended in a draw , kind of fair in all honesty but i think Navarette edged it but there you go. Before that he beat Oscar Valdez by unanimous decision , and though he beat Liam Wilson by ninth round TKO in his fight prior to that he did look poor in that fight , as if he werent really interested in it , or is it just me ? , i dunno , perhaps he didnt rate Wilson as highly as some of his other opponents , he just didnt seem to be focussed on the job in hand like he usually is , but he got the job done and here we are. His opponent is the unbeaten and touted Ukranian Denys Berinchyk (18 Fights - 18 Wins (9 KOs)) whose an Olympic Silver medallist , and beat Anthony Yigit in his last fight , he won by UD but for me he should of done better against someone who has been beaten by most of the other top tier fighters from the division. I think Navarette is gonna have to be switched on in this one , as Berinchyk looks capable of giving him a hard night if he isnt , but given that Navarette is younger by 6 years and more experienced in the pro's and i have no doubt he'll be up for this and want to impress after his last time out draw and make a statement now hes going up in weight. Exciting fight where both hold chances , but im gonna side with Navarette.

Emanuel Navarette To Win

Oleksandr Uysk v Tyson Fury
And here we are , the long awaited bout for the undisputed heavyweight title of the world , the first time its happened since 1999 with the Lewis and Holyfield fight. This one has been a long time coming , and has had a few stop starts , mainly thanks to Fury swerving tbh but hopefully its happening now and i hope its one to enjoy. Fury (34 Fights - 33 Wins (24 KOs) - 1 Draw) comes into this on the back of a contraversial split decision against Francis Ngannou in his first pro boxing fight , now i know that was a pure cash grab but for me he should have put Ngannou away or at least easily outboxed him but he didnt , he was made to look slow and shoddy if we're being honest , it could be that he is on the decline or it could be that he didnt take Ngannou seriously , my take is its a bit of both .. but im sure , looking at the training videos ive seen he is taking this one seriously , and so he should as imho Uysk is by far the most skilled opponent of Furys career to date. Uysk (21 Fights - 21 Wins (14 KOs)) stopped Daniel Dubois when last seen , a bit of controversy was the low blow (i think it was) but in the end he picked Dubois apart and stopped him. Uysk is for me one of the best boxers we've seen , his skillset and ring IQ are excellent , and though people often say he doesnt have stopping power i would argue that he does , hes finished a few in his time , hes just more known for peppering his opponents rather than one shot KO power. He reigned supreme in the Cruiserweight division beating all before him which included names like Gassiev , Briedis , Glowacki , Bellew et al and is surely one of the greatest CWs of all time (if not the best) , and he carries this legacy on into the Heavyweight division .. with his biggest challenge to date now happening. I personally think Fury knows this is his biggest challenge to date and thats why he kept putting the fight off , he wanted to be in what he considered peak physical condition , but in peak condition or not i think hes gonna have a hard time , i think the trilogy fight against Wilder took alot out of him , and for me were probably his best wins , along with the Klitschko fight , although in all fairness Klitschko did look a shadow of his former self that night and Fury didnt want the rematch .. i look through his resume and i really dont see a GOAT there , as ive said before AJ has a better resume that Fury. All the antics that come with Fury and the mind games aint gonna work with Uysk , hes laser focused on the job in hand and he doesnt seem to let anything distract him from the job in hand. Alots being made of Furys size and weight , a good biggun beats a good little un so the saying goes , but thats not always the case , and though , yes , the differences are indeed wide , you look at when Uysk fought AJ whose heavier and 6'6" , he handled that perfectly well and im pretty sure he'll have a gameplan in place and will have sparred plenty of big lads in sparring to ready him for this. Fury on the other hand seems to have trouble with the 'smaller' fighters and southpaws , Wallin and Cunningham both troubled him and it can be argued that the Wallin fight should of been stopped due to the cut Fury recieved. Now being troubled by those types of fighters doesnt bode well tbh as Uysk is far better than either of those , he hits harder and hes got the speed and movement to trouble Fury. I feel that Fury is slowing down or it looks that way to me and he looks easier to hit , and with the recent cut he recieved in training i can see Uysk possibly targeting that area for some serious pressure which could cause problems for Fury. Fury looks to have shed quite a few pounds which shows hes taking this seriously but if he comes in to light then it could take it out of him , i think he should take the fight to Uysk and put it on him and not let the Ukranian dictate the pace and take and control of the fight , and rough him up in the clinches , take it out of Uysk a bit , as if he lets Uysk dictate matters the fight is gonna be fought at a high pace , as he has a great engine on him , and i think Fury will be struggling in the later rounds. In all honesty this could go either way , a tip top Fury is a danger to anyone but i just feel that Uysk is gonna be too much for him , and hes hungry for this , plus he missed the birth of his daughter as he was in training only for the fight to be postponed so i think he is gonna be well up for this. I think Uysk takes this and becomes the undisputed Heavyweight champion of the world. My first guess would be by decision but if the bout is fought at a high tempo then i can see a possible stoppage for Uysk later on in the championship rounds.

Oleksandr Uysk To Win

Joe Cordina v Anthony Cacace
Decent bout on the undercard of Uysk v Fury and its an intruiging match up that i'm looking forward to watching. Welshman Cordina (17 Fights - 17 Wins (9 KOs)) comes in on the back of a deserved majority decision against Edward Vasquez , and before that beat the fearsome and then unbeaten Shavkat Rakhimov by split decision , that win was a bittersweet one tbh as he'd KO'd Kenichi Ogawa in the second round in his previous fight to win the IBF Super Featherweight title , but due to an injury he had to pull out of his scheduled bout with Rakhimov and the IBF stripped him of the title (which was a bit harsh when you consider the amount of champions who sit on their belts these days without defending them) , so he had to go out and do it all again , and he did ! For me that was his best win to date , and helped to showcase what a good , solid fighter he is. Northern Irishman Cacace (22 Fights - 21 Wins (7 KOs) - 1 Loss) arrives in decent nick having won his last six fights , since his first and only loss to Martin Joseph Ward for the British and vacant Commonwealth Super Featherweight Titles , he won the British Super Featherweight belt by beating Sam Bowen by split decision back in 2019 and won the IBO Super Featherweight title in his penultimate fight when beating Michael Magnesi in September of 2022 , he retained that title in his last fight by outpointing Damien Wrzesinski in May of last year. Both belts are on the line so i think this makes for an interesting domestic dust up. .... Cacace is a good boxer and a switch hitter which could make things awkward for Cordina , but for me , Cordina is the better boxer with better fundamentals , and i think he hits harder. Should be a good fight to watch , abit of too'ing and fro'ing , not one sided but i think Cordina will get stronger as the fight progresses and in my personal opinion is a level above Cacace and will come out on top in a hard fought bout.

Joe Cordina To Win

Jai Opetaia v Mairis Briedis
A re run of their bout back in July of 2022 when Opetaia relieved Briedis of his IBF and Ring Cruiserweight titles , and im thinking it should be a good re match. Opetaia (24 Fights - 24 Wins (19 KOs)) looks to reinforce his credentials here and proving his last time win over Briedis was no fluke by beating Latvia's Mairis Briedis (30 Fights - 28 Wins (20 Wins) - 2 Losses) , that first encounter was a proper battle and a good one to watch , Opetaia had his jaw broken and if i remember correctly Briedis had his nose broken , as i say a proper battle and i am thinking its gonna be pretty much the same again , although for me , things look more in Opetaias' favour this time round as hes been keeping busy since that fight , having had two fights , beating Jordan Thompson by fourth round TKO and stopping Ellis Zorro last time in the opening round , whereas Briedis hasnt been in the ring since that encounter so im expecting a little bit of ring rust , added to that is the fact that Brieidis is now 39 years old (compared to Opetaias 28) and for me that has to be in Opetaias favour here but you cant write Briedis off , hes strong , technically solid and can bang , and his two losses have come to Opetaia and current HW champ Oleksander Uysk back when he reigned supreme in the Cruiserweight division. Since that last meeting you can tell that Opetaia has gotten better , his overall game has improved and hes full of confidence and i think that could play a big part here. And i think that makes this one a harder match for Briedis personally , especially when you add in the lay off factor , its not gonna be easy for Opetaia as Briedis is as tough as they come but i think he wears him down as the fight goes on , and despite the fact that Briedis has never been stopped i can envisage a stoppage for Opetaia , probably late on , but im not over confident about that tbh , but i do think he beats Briedis again here.

Jai Opetaia To Win

Frank Sanchez v Agit Kabayel
Another decent bout for the Uysk / Fury undercard and one im interested in watching i have to admit. Cuban Sanchez (25 Fights - 24 Wins (17 KOs) - 1 No Contest) comes into the fight unbeaten , stopping Junior Fa last time on the 'Day Of Reckoning' card in Saudi , whilst Kabayel (24 Fights - 24 Wins (16 KOs) also arrives with his '0' intact and was a surprise winner last time , also on the 'Day Of Reckoning' card , when he stopped the unbeaten prospect Arslenbek Makhmudov in the fourth round , that surprised alot of people and brought him into the heavyweight picture. Sanchez has a height and reach advantage which im sure hes gonna try and capitalise on if he can , but then Makhmudov had a sizeable adavantage in both and look what happened there ! Neither have fought anyone who i would consider top tier , Efe Ajagba is probably the biggest win on Sanchez' list , whilst Makhmudov is the biggest on Kabayels so both are pretty much untested but Sanchez has that Cuban pedigree and i think hes the better boxer of the two , and though hes not noted for his punching power he does possess a decent punch imho. I can see Sanchez outboxing Kabayel , dictating the pace of the fight and wearing Kabayel down. Kabayel could spring another 'shock' but i have a feeling that Sanchez is gonna be too good for him.

Frank Sanchez To Win

Sergey Kovalev v Robin Sirwan Safar
Another decent looking fight that im looking forward to , mainly to see how Kovalev (40 Fights - 35 Wins (29 KOs) - 4 Losses - 1 Draw) gets on , always liked watching him but hes getting on abit now (41) and hasnt been since he beat Pulev by unanimous decision back in 2022. Before that he lost to Canelo Alvarez in 2019 , so i think ring rust could well be an issue here , and from what i saw of him in training he didnt look anywhere near his old self looking slow and lethargic so i really dont know what to expect from him come the night to be honest. His opponent is the unbeaten Swede Robin Sirwan Safar (16 Fights - 16 Wins (12 KOs)) , dont know that much about him i have to say having only seen a couple of his fights to date but from what ive seen he aint bad and he can certainly bang , but looking through his resume he hasnt really fought anyone of note as yet , and Kovalev will certainly be the biggest name on his record so far , how will it go ? Well all depends on how much ability Kovalev retains to be honest , from what ive seen recently i think hes gone downhill and he could well struggle against a younger , bigger (height and reach advantage) and hard hitting opponent whose hungry and wants to rise in the ranks. Both can punch so i think theres a high possibility that a stoppage could be on the cards , Kovalev will be wanting to prove he can still mix it and Safar will be wanting to make a statement of intent. I think Safar takes this , although obviously i wouldnt write Kovalev off completely , but i think his age and lack of ring activity could well play a huge part in the result here

Robin Sirwan Safar To Win

Mark Chamberlain v Joshua Oluwaseun Wahab
Another decent looking fight on the undisputed heavyweight under card , and i think it has the potential to be an explosive bout as both can hit hard. Chamberlain (15 Fights - 15 Wins (11 KOs)) has beaten everyone before him thus far , stopping eleven of his fifteen opponents , including his last , fellow Brit Gavin Gwynne , who he stopped in the fourth round here in Riyadh winning the vacant WBA Inter Continental Lightweight title .. his last four fights have ended by way of KO/TKO and im sure that he'll be looking to end this fight the same way. Wahab (24 Fights - 23 Wins (16 KOs) - 1 Loss) won his last fight , beating Shogbesan by 11th round TKO , back in March of last year , before that he lost his unbeaten record to the decent enough British fighter Liam Dillon , whose no where near the level of Chamberlain imho so i think Wahab could well have his work cut out for him here. Chamberlains probably the best Wahab has faced to date , and he has a thunderous left hand which im sure he'll be looking to land as early as possible , and given that Wahab hasnt seen a ring in anger in over a year i think the Englishman is gonna prove too much for him and walk away with the vacant WBC Silver Lightweight title , very likely by a stoppage.

Mark Chamberlain To Win .. By Stoppage

Just added Kovalev v Safar and Chamberlain v Wahab write up ..

Cheers Slick

Well its fight night and i cant wait .. gotta admit i do think the fight is 50/50 although i do favour Uysk slightly , but i think im rooting for Uysk because i genuinely want Fury and his side show gone from the sport , John Fury headbutting a member of the Uysk team earlier this week was a step to far for me (and like everyone else i did notice it was the smallest and youngest looking of the team) , he should of been charged for assault at the very least and banned from attending any future fights .. i dont wanna see this shit and neither does any true boxing fan .. I just hope we get a good , clean fight and that the better man wins

Buffer mis-said the weight Winrew , hes 223 not 233 so only slightly heavier than when he faced AJ

Robin Sirwan Safar To Win Safar Wins
Mark Chamberlain To Win .. By stoppage Chamberlain Wins by stoppage
Frank Sanchez To Win Kabayel Wins
Jai Opetaia To Win Opetaia Wins
Joe Cordina To Win Cacace Wins
Oleksandr Uysk To Win Uysk Wins
Emanuel Navarette To Win Berinchyk Wins

Not a bad card so far .. Safar won but didnt look anything special imho , more a case of Kovalev isnt the warrior of old really ... Mark Chamberlain looks a helluva decent fighter with a good future .. Sanchez didnt show anything at all , it was as though he really didnt want to be there , taking nothing away from Kabayel who done a job on him good and proper .. Cacace was a surprise tbh , didnt expect that but shite refereeing in that one with Cacace hitting Cordina late in the third or the fourth played a part i think .. but cant take it away from Cacace ..

Fury looking good gotta say , Uysk has to change tactics and come up with a plan