Saturday 8th April - Jesse Rodriquez v Cristian Gonzalez
Undefeated WBC Super flyweight title holder Jesse 'Bam' Rodriguez (17 Fights - 17 Wins (11 KOs) meets Cristian Gonzalez (16 Fights - 15 Wins (5 KOs) - 1 Loss) meet for the vacant flyweight title and to be honest i dont know what to expect with this one .. I know about Bam but i have to admit i dont know alot about Gonzalez , mainly because he's Mexican and he's been fighting pretty much unknown opponents for the entirety of his career thus far , so its hard to gauge whats gonna happen. The flyweight division is a bit of an enigma really as it can throw up fighters who have done nothing and beaten no one in their careers then suddenly bring off exceptional performances , but i dont know i dont think thats going to be the case here , Bam has defeated three big names in his last three fights .. Carlos Cuadras (UD) , Srisaket Sor Rungvisai (TKO) and lastly Israel Gonzalez (UD) , despite none of them being the force of old they're all good fighters , and Gonzalez in the last one was a particularly tough fight that saw Rodriguez dig deep. The best that Gonzalez has faced imho is the unbeaten Angel Ayala , who handed him his sole defeat to date , he lost that by split decision. So he's definatley no mug but i think Bam is gonna have to much for him , although as i say i dont know too much about Gonzalez so this could all go pear shaped tbh lol
Jesse Rodriguez To Win
Saturday 8th April - Shakur Stevenson v Shuichiro Yoshino
Shakur Stevenson (19 Fights - 19 Wins (9 KOs)) meets Yoshino (16 Fights - 16 Wins (12 KOs)) in this title eliminator to meet the winner of Devin Haney and Vasily Lomachenko (if that one actually goes ahead) . Stevenson is a former two weight world champion and is now trying to win world titles in a third weight category , but he has to get through Yoshino first. Which in all honesty i think he'll do , Stevenson is one of the best out there imho , hes a pure boxer , he has fast feet , and he drifts in and out of range tempting his opponents to throw then moves and counters , he has fast hands and his timing is impeccable i think. Yoshino is in for a difficult night if you ask me , especially as its his first foray outside of his native Japan. I think Yoshini is stepping up a level here , he hasnt faced anyone of Stevensons calibre before , probably his best opponent so far was either Ito or Nakatani , in his last two fights and both of whom he stopped. But he's going to have to step it up i think if hes to trouble Stevenson , out boxing him isnt going to happen so his best chance is a KO , which looking at his record could be possible but looking at the way Stevenson fights and how good a defence he ha si really cant see that happening. For me Stevenson wins this on the way to meet either Haney or Loma.
Shakur Stevenson To Win .. By Decision
Saturday April 8th - Jared Anderson v George Arias
Potentially a good heavyweight bout on the undercard of the Shakur Stevenson fight against Shuichiro Yoshino (write up for that one above) featuring two unbeaten fighters , so someones gonna lose their '0' ! Anderson (13 Fights - 13 Wins (13 KOs)) has been on the lips of alot of people for a while as a potential contender and you can see why considering the power he carries , all his fights have ended in stoppages and he hasnt been past the sixth round yet , in his last 5 fights he hasnt been past round 2 , and considering his last bout was against the durable Jerry Forrest , for the vacant WBO International HW title , thats quite something tbh. It should be noted as well that Anderson was at one time Tyson Furys main sparring partner so he'd of obviously learnt a thing or two from those experiences alone. Arias (18 Fights - 18 Wins (7 KOs)) has beaten two (previously unbeaten) prospects in his last two fights , Alante Green and Cassius Chaney , winning both by split decision. Whilst he doesnt have the power of his opponent , from what i have seen he can box and has head movement ala Mike Tyson (just doesnt possess the KO power of Iron Mike lol) .. obviously having more fights and ring time Arias is a little more experienced that Anderson , but i think hes gonna need all of that knowledge here if hes to get through this unscathed. Should be an interesting fight but its one where i can only see one outcome to be honest , Anderson has a height , reach and power advantage and i can only see another win for Jared Anderson and another win by stoppage.
Jared Anderson To Win .. By Stoppage
Saturday 8th April - Murodjon Akhmadaliev v Marlon Tapales
Potentially either of these boxers could be Inoue's future opponent given that Akhmadaliev (11 Fights - 11 Wins (8 KOs)) and Tapales (38 Fights - 35 Wins (18 KOs) - 3 Losses) meet for the WBA (Super) and IBF Super Welterweight titles .. Currently in the grasp of the unbeaten Akhmadaliev , winning them back in 2020 when he defeated Daniel Roman. Tapales , despite being only three years older than his opponent , is vastly more experienced in the pro's but Akhmadaliev has a good pedigree in the amateurs , (winning a bronze in the 2016 Olympics and a gold in the 2017 Asian Games as well as a silver in 2015 and a silver in the world amateurs in 2015) , but for all that i'd personally say that Akhmadaliev is the better boxer and carries more power although Tapales is no slouch i have to say , but i think hes gonna have to go some to wrest the titles away from Akhamadaliev to be honest. Tapales was last seen in May of last year when he dropped Jose Estrella in the second round , that was his third stoppage in a row , whilst Akhmadaliev was last in the ring a month later of the same year when he stopped Ronny Rios in the last round. They do have one opponent in common Ryosuke Iwasa , a decent enough boxer it has to be said , Tapales met him in 2019 and was stopped in the eleventh while Akhmadaliev fought him in 2021 and stopped him in the fifth round , as i said earlier Akhmadaliev definatley carries more power and throws alot of punches and i can see him out punching Tapales and out working him here. Should be a decent fight to watch but i think the current champ retains his titles.
Murodjon Akhmadaliev To Win