Saturday 12th October -
Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol
Well this is the fight i wanna see , more than the undisputed between Uysk and Fury , and most true boxing fans will be the same i'm sure .. Two of the best pound for pound fighters out there at the moment , someones gotta lose their '0' and someones gotta win and i think it has the potential to be a great fight and for the fighters , the winner gets hailed as the undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion of the world. Beterbiev (20 Fights - 20 Wins (20 KOs)) is a beast , no other way to describe him really , hes stopped every opponent whose got in the ring with him which is quite something really considering the quality of opposition hes faced , whilst Bivol (22 Fights - 22 Wins (11 KOs)) has also beaten everyone before him and whilst he hasnt the stopping power of his opponent he does possess decent power he does have sublime ring skill / IQ. Stylistically they are polar opposites , and whilst most people rate Bivols skill set alot underestimate Beterbievs technical skills and IQ which is at least on a par with Bivols i'd say personally. The thing that Bivol does have in his favour is hes a master at maintaining range and distance , whereas Beterbiev is more of a come forward fighter. This is as 50/50 as they come imho , and a case can be made for both fighters .. Boils down to can Bivol keep Beterbiev at range and can he take the power shots and how will he cope with them round after round .. He has a solid chin it has to be said , but then hes never faced someone like Beterbiev before (and remember in the amateurs Betebiev beat Uysk which is saying something) , and this kinds reminds me of the Beterbiev / Gvozdyk bout in some regards where Gvozdyk used his jab to good effect , used good combinations and countered well but eventually Beterbievs relentless pressure eventually wore him down , whilst i think Bivol is levels above Gvozdyk i think the fight could well pan out the same way with Bivol using distance , his slick footwork and counters (along with decent combinations) to keep Beterbiev at bay , but for how long can he keep that up with the ever throwing Beterbiev coming after him ? .. both have great engines so i cant see either lagging in the later rounds , but the constant barrage that Beterbiev is gonna throw is i think gonna have an effect on Bivol eventually / at some point. I think Bivol will start well and probably rack up a few rounds on the cards but i can see from the mid rounds onwards Beterbiev wearing him down with his relentless , stalking style , catching him here and there , and i think by the late rounds this could have an accumulative effect on Bivol , but its totally possible that Bivol does manage to keep out of the way as he has excellent footwork and from what i've seen manages to avoid most shots thrown at him .. but for me Beterbiev is very under rated , people think hes just a puncher with unbelievable power (which he is) but his fundamentals are excellent as is his timing , footwork and skill at cutting off the ring. Bivols guard is top notch as is his jab so its gonna be hard for Beterbiev to catch him cleanly but i think overtime Beterbiev does what he does best , figure out his opponent and eventually wear his opponent down , and start catching him. Its also entirely possible that Bivol can keep Beterbiev guessing , as ive said hes a quality defensive fighter and Beterbievs style will allow countering opportunities for Bivol where he counters and pivots out .. as i say its one of the most intriguing and interesting fights for a long while and both boxers , win or lose , still deserve to be in the lb for lb list , but im a long time Beterbiev fan and i think (hope) that he can get the job done although im not 100% as either could win depending on how the fight pans out , but i have to stick with with Beterbiev.
Arthur Beterbiev To Win
Chris Eubank Jr v Kamil Szeremeta
Chris Eubank Jr (36 Fights - 33 Wins (24 KOs) - 3 Losses) makes his return to the ring after a lengthy layoff to face former European Middleweight Champion Kamil Szeremeta (29 Fights - 25 Wins (8 KOs) - 2 Losses - 2 Draws) , its not a fight that would of immediatley jumped out at me if im being honest but i suppose after the lay off hes had Eubank Jr wants an easier fight to get back into it , no slight on Szeremeta there but if Eubank Jr is to be considered a contender for world titles he should be facing better opposition imho. Eubank Jr was last seen beating Liam Smith , stopping him in the tenth round , which made up for the fourth round loss he suffered at Smiths' hands in his penultimate bout. He was much more assured in the rematch , and beat Smith convincingly in my eyes , and im surprised that its took this long for him to get back into the ring , though he has signed a new promotional deal in the interim so maybe thats something to do with it. Szeremeta drew his last fight in February of this year , but prior to this he'd been on a four fight winning streak , however it has to be said that the opposition were pretty low level and Eubank Jr will be a massive jump in class here from what hes been facing of late. Has to be said that his two losses to date have come against quality opponents in Gennady Golovkin (2020) and Jaimie Mungia (2021) when challenging for world titles but it also has to be said that it seems that when he steps up to face class opposition hes failed and i think thats gonna be the case here , as for me Eubank Jr is at least a level above Szeremeta and if hes not suffering from ring rust from time out of the ring then he should be dominating and putting away Szeremeta. I understand that this is probably just a 'run out' for Eubank Jr but given his talent i would much rather be watching him face someone who is at least ranked in the top 15 of one of the organisations (WBA . WBC , WBO or IBF). As it stands i think Eubank Jr wins and very probably wins convincingly.
Chris Eubank Jr To Win
Fabio Wardley v Frazer Clarke
After their back and forth battle last time i'm looking forward to this one i have to say , i think Wardley (18 Fights - 17 Wins (16 KOs) - 1 Draw) edged it but a draw was a fair enough decision to be honest as a good case could be made for Clarke (9 Fights - 8 Wins (6 KOs) - 1 Draw). I have to say that i fancy Wardleys chances in this rematch , but i do have some lingering doubts , the main two are the fact that the scar tissue around his nose seems to be opening up regularly now which could be a problem and also the fact that he seemed to gas fairly early in the first fight. Clarke is the better boxer theres no doubt , and he had long spells in the fight where he looked more in control and the more composed of the two but he was hurt when Wardley got to him and i think that could well be a telling factor in this one as Wardley would of learned from that encounter and will hopefully have adjusted accordingly. Wardley only knows one way to fight , which is good for us i gotta say , and i see this one going the same way as the first , all action , blood and a lot of heart on show. I see Clarke trying to control the fight and counter whereas Wardley will be on the attack and looking for the openings to take advantage of. That first fight was the hardest that Clarke has had since hes been in the pro's whereas Wardley has been battles all through his career , amateur and professional , and i think hes better suited to these sort of fights to be honest. Both will have learned more from that first fight and will be implementing whatever tactics they and their trainers have discussed but i cant see nothing but another back and forth cracker of a fight. I think it'll be close once again but for me i see Wardley digging the deeper and emerging with his hand held up come the end.
Fabio Wardley To Win
Jai Opetaia v Jack Massey
Interesting bout that i'm quite looking forward to , Aussie Jai Opetaia (25 Fights - 25 Wins (19 KOs)) defends his IBF Cruiserweight title against Derbyshire lad Jack Massey (24 Fights - 22 Wins (12 KOs) - 2 Losses). I wouldnt describe this one as a top fight but its definatley an interesting one , Massey has only lost twice in his career , first time against Richard Riakporhe back in 2019 and then in 2023 he lost to heavyweight Joseph Parker , both by unanimous decision , and hes only been down once in his career to date (i think) and that was against Riakporhe , so i think its gonna be interesting to see how he copes with the power of Opetaia here. Alot of people are writing Massey off completely , and whilst i think its unlikely that he wins this one i dont think he can be written off as a no hoper and the fact that hes been the distance with the likes of both Riakporhe and Parker proves hes tough , durable and has a decent chin and he can box especially off the back foot. I see Opetaia starting well and quickly , but if Massey can withstand the onslaught i see him coming into it more in the latter half of the fight. Like i say i cant see Massey winning this tbh but he could give Opetaia a tough night.
Jai Opetaia To Win
Skye Nicolson v Raven Chapman
Another decent womens bout and another decent fight for the Beterbiev vs Bivol undercard , and one i'm looking forward to i have to say as one of em is gonna lose there unbeaten record. Nicolson (11 Fights - 11 Wins (1 KO)) won the WBC World Featherweight title in her penultimate fight by beating the decent Sarah Mahfoud by unanimous decision and she followed that up with another unanimous decision win in her first defence against Dyana Vargas back in July of this year. Chapman (9 Fights - 9 Wins (2 KOs)) retained the WBC Featherweight International title , which she won back in March 2022 , in her fourth defence of the belt last time by beating Yohana Sarabia by a UD. This is an intriguing match up i think as though i think Nicolson is the more skilled boxer of the two , Chapmans workrate and punch output makes things interesting for me. Chapman punches hard and means everything she throws , which could lead to some clinching from Nicolson but that could prove disasterous as Chapman is good on the inside and she often goes for the body if she finds herself in that position. Nicolson will probably be counterpunching and catching Chapman , from what ive seen so far both are up for this fight and as i say im looking forward to it , think its gonna be a close one , cant see a stoppage tbh think its gonna go to the cards , and im 50/50 as to who gets it if im being honest , but im gonna go with Skye Nicolson albeit with a bit of hesitation , although a Chapman wouldnt surprise and id like to see her take it as shes a Brit.
Skye Nicolson To Win
Ben Whittaker v Liam Cameron
Another bout im looking forward to and another one for the stacked Beterbiev / Bivol card , this one definatley throws up some interesting questions for me and for Whittaker imho. Whittaker (8 Fights - 8 Wins (5 KOs)) is definatley a talented individual , theres no doubt about that , but so far in his fights he has had a tendency to showboat and lark about and against someone like Cameron i dont think hes gonna be able to do that or hes gonna get chinned. Hes looked good in all his eight fights to date but the showboating for me does detract from his skillset , as i say thats come against lesser opposition against what he faces here though. Cameron (30 Fights - 23 Wins (10 KOs) - 6 Losses - 1 No Contest) came back to boxing in 2023 after failing a drug test after he beat Nicky Jenman to retain his Commonwealth Middleweight Title back in 2018 , he was subsequently banned for four years and announced his retirement but found his way back into the ring after a battle with the drink and the loss of his step daughter in a road accident so hes done well to fight his demons and get back to where he is. He made his comeback in 2023 and won his first three fights before meeting Lyndon Arthur last time for the vacant WBA Inter Continental Light Heavyweight Title , he lost by a split decision but put up a good fight in defeat , so for me hes gonna be a live threat to Whittaker. As i say Whittaker is skilful and has an abundance of talent , but i do question whether he has enough 'pop' in his shots as he climbs the ladder , this one will no doubt reveal more and as he meets better opposition hopefully the showboating will come to an end. Whittaker is 6 years younger than Cameron and has a 3 inch height advantage , and despite lacking the experience of Cameron i think he'll outbox his opponent for the majority of the fight. I see Whittaker winning come the bell , but can also see Cameron having his moments as well and dont think it will all be one way traffic.
Ben Whittaker To Win