Saturday 16th August
Moses Itauma vs Dillian Whyte
Not particularly amped for this i have to say but as a step up for Itauma (12 Fights - 12 Wins (10 KOs) i suppose it aint to bad in all honesty , but Whyte (34 Fights - 31 Wins (21 KOs) - 3 Losses) hasnt looked anywhere near his best in his last few fights .. since his sixth round TKO loss to Tyson Fury hes beaten Jermaine Franklin (MD) in a fight that imho could of gone either way , Christian Hammer retired in the third round , and then a seventh round stoppage of Ebeneezer Tetteh .. he won them all but he has looked laboured and a shadow of his former self i have to say but he can still bang and its gonna be interesting if he can land his trademark left hook , think everyone wants to see how Itaumas chin is gonna hold up , as ive said before his brother , Karol , was 'the next best thing' but then got caught and KOd by a virtual unknown in Ezequiel Maderna handing him his first pro loss and though i doubt thats gonna happen here it is heavyweight boxing so one punch can alter a fight completely. Wind the clock back to say 2018 and i can see that this would be a proper test for Itauma but as it stands today i think Whyte has gone past his sell by date , he still has heart and he'll throw hands but hes nowhere near the level he was back then and he does tend to have some lazy habits ie dropping his hands which he really cant afford to do against someone as quick and heavy handed as Itauma. From what ive seen Whyte looks in good shape and though he may not be the force of old im hoping that hes gonna come in and test Itauma , i honestly cant see him winning but i can see him troubling Itauma if he lands cleanly and i think hes Itaumas hardest test to date having been in with the likes of Fury , Joshua , Povetkin , Chisora , Parker etc .. his three losses have all come to what you'd call 'top tier' opponents in Fury , Joshua and Povetkin (who he beat in the rematch) so hes been in with some big names , knows the ropes and as i say will hopefully test Itaumas mettle. Will also be interesting to see how Itauma deals with things if Whyte can manage to back him onto the ropes and start landing as i cant recall that ever happening to him , and he looks as though he likes to maintain distance rather than get in close. This could be over in the first round , or drag on and thats what i would prefer , to see Itauma taken a few rounds , see how he reacts to being dragged into a dog fight but i cant see it going that long on all the recent evidence , for me Itauma takes him out before the mid way rounds , Whyte has a punchers chance but i honestly think Itauma will get him out of there early doors but it is gonna be interesting to see what Itauma does if the second half of the fight arrives and Whytes still in there. Incidentally Whyte seems to be very susceptible to an uppercut with all three of his losses coming by KO (by an uppercut).
Moses Itauma To Win
Nick Ball vs Sam Goodman
Looking forward to this one as Nick Ball (23 Fights - 22 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Draw) is always an entertaining fighter and is now , i think , our sole world champion , so hopefully he can retain his belt. Unbeaten Aussie fighter Sam Goodman (20 Fights - 20 Wins (8 KOs)) was last seen UD'ing the Mexican Cesar Veca Espinoza over ten rounds back in March of this year .. decent showing that but he should of been facing The Monster Inoue , but due to injuries was forced to withdraw twice .. Goodman , for me , is technically a better boxer than Ball and i see him having success from behind the jab and with his counter punching but trying to keep Ball of him for twelve rounds is a big ask and i feel that in the latter half of the fight we could see Goodman tire and thats when Ball will seize the ascendency. Ball is a busy , come forward fighter whose relentless and always throwing , and hes gonna be throwing hard shots to the body and upstairs which will i think ultimatley take their toll on the Australian. Ball is not gonna allow Goodman to fight off the front foot due to his style and whilst Goodman is comfortable on the back foot i think its big ask for him to do twelve rounds like that if im honest. I can see a scenario where Goodman is probably up on the cards and he he gets caught in the mid to late rounds , should be a good fight but i see Ball keeping hold of his title in this one
Nick Ball To Win
Filip Hrgovic vs David Adeleye
Cant say that im particularly hyped about this one if im being honest as ive never been a fan of either boxer , personally speaking i think both have been hyped but neither have really anything in their respective resumes to suggest they're world beaters , but it could be an interesting fight .. Hgrovic (19 Fights - 18 Wins (14 KOs) - 1 Loss) beat a washed up Joe Joyce by UD when last seen in April of this year and before that he suffered his first and only loss in the pro's to Daniel Dubois by an 8th round TKO .. Adeleye (15 Fights - 14 Wins (13 KOs) - 1 Loss) arrives after a TKO of Jeamie Tsikeva in the sixth round but i thought he was behind in that fight until the stoppage tbh , before that he beat Solomon Dacres with a first round stoppage , which for me is probably the best win of his career thus far , and before that he lost by stoppage to Fabio Wardley. As i say i dont think either have lived up to the hype about them , Hrgovic often seems lazy in his fights and dis interested whilst Adeleye has the talent i think but hasnt yet shown it. At this stage i think Hrgovic has been in with the better opposition and i get the feeling that hes gonna be too tough , too resilient and know too much for Adeleye , hes not the sort to be taken out by just the one punch from what ive seen of him so far and i feel hes gonna pick Adeleye apart all night long with his jab and could well walk him onto something in one of the later rounds.
Filip Hrgovic To Win
Ray Ford vs Abraham Nova
Dont know what to expect from this one as Fords original opponent Anthony Cacace had to withdraw due to an injury and i really dont know how ready Nova will be at short notice to be honest. Nova (27 Fights - 23 Wins (16 KOs) - 3 Losses - 1 Draw) is a capable enough boxer but has only won one of his last four fights , he lost to O'Shaquie Foster by split decision back in February '24 and followed that up with a UD loss to the unbeaten Andres Cortes , no shame in either loss as both are decent boxers , he then drew against the average Humberto Galindo , he got back to winning ways last time (June) by beating German Ivan Meraz , by third round retirement , but that was basically a gimme fight tbh to get him back to winning ways as far as im concerned .. Ford (19 Fights - 17 Wins 8 KOs) - 1 Loss - 1 Draw) has won his last two fights convincingly by unanimous decision , before that he suffered his first loss to our very own Nick Ball by split decision in Riyadh .. think this one will go to Ford , think that he'll outbox Nova basically , Nova likes to come forward and try and pressure you and Ford doesnt mind fighting fire with fire so i can see a few fireworks in this one , both have decent enough chins so not expecting a stoppage but it wouldnt come as a major shock tbh. As i say i think Ford takes this one , probably by a comfortable UD
Ray Ford To Win
Hayato Tsutsumi vs Qais Ashfaq
Think this one is a mis match in all honesty , unbeaten Japanese Hayato Tsutsumi (7 Fights - 7 Wins (4 KOs) has stopped his last four opponents and in all honesty i can see the same happening here against Ashfaq (17 Fights - 13 Wins (5 KOs) - 3 Losses - 1 Draw). Tsutsumi may very well be the next big thing to come out of Japan imho , he makes things look so easy , he has a solid amateur background and seems to have an old head on his 26 year old shoulders. Ashfaq has lost two and drawn one of his last four outings , and whilst not being a bad boxer hes just not gonna have enough to beat Tsutsumi i feel. Ashfaq is a come forward type of fighter and i can see him just walking on to one from Tsutsumi , i see an early stoppage in this one tbh.
Hayato Tsutsumi To Win
