Squared Circle: Weekend Preview for a Massive Weekend of Boxing
Squared Circle: Weekend Preview for a Massive Weekend of Boxing
Breaking down the big weekend boxing fights including Errol Spence Jr. and more.
By Jonathan Snowden
Last week the boxing schedule was sparse, top heavy and largely self-explanatory. Even the most casual fan knows all about Manny Pacquiao and Anthony Joshua's size and physicality speaks for itself.
This week is a different story. It's the kind of weekend, packed full of boxing, that this feature was created for. Which fighters actually matter and which shows are likely to deliver interesting bouts? That's not always easy to determine. And that's why we're here.
What follows is a rundown of every boxing card on American television. Who's worth checking out and who can you skip to binge watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix? Who's likely to win—and why? You'll find that here, weekly, in this running series.
Network: Estrella TV
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions
Undercard bouts: Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (15-0) vs. Derrick Findley (23-18-1)
Interest Level: Surprisingly High
Golden Boy has a track record of below average to terrible fights on their club shows. But this one is different, both in concept and execution.
Soto-Karass and Kamegai aren’t on the upswing. They aren’t great, or even middling, prospects. Neither is going to be world champion.
Who cares?
They are going to fight hard, throw a lot of punches and they’re gonna bleed. Someone will have their hand raised after 10 rounds of great action. Fights like this aren’t hard to book and they always please hardcores and casual fans alike. Yet somehow no one thinks to put them together. Kudos to Golden Boy here.
On the undercard, Shabranskyy is a legitimate prospect taking on the well tenderized Derrick Findley. This should be a shellacking.
Network: Showtime
Promoter: Salita Promotions
Undercard bouts: Eudy Bernardo (21-0) vs. Mason Menard (30-1), Alexey Zubov(10-0) vs. Constantin Bejenaru (10-0), Bakhtiyar Eyubov (10-0) vs. Courtney Jackson (8-0)
Interest Level: Medium
It's great to see Showtime getting back to Prospect vs. Prospect cards of late on their B-shows. If none of these names are familiar, don’t worry—they probably shouldn't be.
Almost none of the boxers on display have fought in major bouts on US TV and many of them hale from Eastern Europe. The success of Golovkin has opened the door to American television for many. And, though you don't know them yet, know that they are the A-sides here.
Network: NBC
Promoter: Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Steve Cunningham (28-7-1) vs. Krzysztof Glowacki (25-0)
Interest Level: High
Errol Spence has been pushed harder than any other welterweight prospect in recent memory. Everything about him suggests a big, bright future. Chris Algieri, a ticket-seller with boyish good looks, is there to put up a heck of a fight no matter the outcome. His job is to compete, even if he feels overmatched. Which he, most likely, will.
Spence is fast, powerful and gifted. Algieri, simply put, is not.
This is a brilliant piece of matchmaking by PBC. Algieri isn’t a big puncher, which means he can land when Spence makes mistakes and still not do enough to change the fight over the long run. Algieri struggled with the handspeed of Amir Khan and Pacquiao. Spence, too, will likely give him fits. And, though he used movement to get him past Ruslan Provodnikov, I don't think he's slick enough to evade someone like Spence.
If Cunningham has much left, the undercard attraction is theoretically quite fun. He’s been in many, many wars and at 39, I can’t imagine that he’s really in the best frame to deal with a banger like Glowacki. It probably gets ugly for USS Cunningham—which means the Polish fans in attendance will be going wild for their man.
Network: Unimas
Promoter: Top Rank Boxing
Undercard bouts: Christopher Diaz (15-0) vs. Ray Ximenez (23-0)
Interest Level: Low
Felix Verdejo returns to Unimas for some reason. It's become a bit of a pattern for him. Just when it looks like he's going to become a bonafide HBO fighter, a dull decision win sends him back to cable television backwaters.
What does this fight do other than keep Verdejo busy? I guess he has to do something. Rodriguez isn’t a threat here. He's too small and not nearly talented enough to give Verdejo any trouble. He should look spectacular here.
Diaz and Ximenez, in theory, are equals. But, though both are undefeated prospects, Diaz is really the guy being showcased and should dominate. Anticipate Ximenez to switch stances far too frequently and make some rookie mistakes that lead him to being stopped.
Network: CBS Sports Network
Promoter: RJJ Promotions
Undercard bouts: Neeco Macias (11-1) vs. Limberth Ponce (10-2)
Interest Level: Medium/Low
Chris Van Heerden is a pretty good fighter. He’s got size, talent, skills, and he’s a southpaw. There's no denying Errol Spence took him to school. And Errol Spence is fighting on a more interesting card on the same night this comes on. You should probably watch that instead.
But Van Heerden’s beaten plenty of decent guys and will again. Claggett just isn't quite on his level. Class will show here—too bad no one will watch until the next day on DVR.
Network: Showtime
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment/Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Jose Pedraza (21-0) vs. Stephen Smith (23-1) Chad Dawson (33-4) vs. Cornelius White (23-4)
Interest Level: Medium/High
You ever get a weird feeling about something you’re watching on TV? Like you look at the listings, and there’s a Mountain West Football game on between two teams that you kinda remember reading might be good? And it’s on nationally because NBC Sports or whoever overspent on stuff a couple years back before everyone was cutting the cord and cable money looked likely to last forever? So you sit and watch, but you're not sure why?
That’s how I feel about this show.
Gary Russell Jr. won his biggest career fight in his last bout against Jhonny Gonzalez. That was more than one year ago. What the future holds is not immediately career.
In his present, at least, Patrick Hyland looms. He's here because, well, I assume there’s a contractual obligation for someone behind the curtain to fill, and this does it. Russell’s hyper fast hands probably win him a clear decision, even if he pounds them into dust on Hyland’s face.
There’s a world title fight as the chief attraction on the undercard. Jose Pedraza won a belt last year and “defended” it by being handed a suspect decision win over Edner Cherry. Smith is a slightly-above-domestic level British fighter who got knocked out by Lee Selby. Selby doesn’t knock out a lot of world class fighters.
Chad Dawson opens the Showtime broadcast, because two previously blown chances at a comeback weren’t enough. We need a third.
Network: Fox Sports 1
Promoter: Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Immanuwel Aleem (15-0) vs. Jonathan Cepeda (17-1), Kyrone Davis (10-0) vs. Junior Castillo (9-0)
Interest Level: Medium/Low
Tuesday night fights return to FS1, and we’ve got a showcase for Ivan Redkach to look forward to. After getting stopped last year against Dejan Zlaticanin, Redkach seems likely to land somewhere in the lightweight top ten. He may never be a long reigning champ, but at 30, he may be around on television for a few more years.
Cruz was a promising fighter once, but after four losses, it's likely his best is long past. He won’t even have a size advantage over the larger than average Redkach.
On the undercard, Immanuwel Aleem looks like a legitimate future contender, and Davis/Castillo features a battle of archetypes as the “Guy who wears a lot of Belts” takes on the “Hispanic KO Mystery Artist” in a fight that could really go either way.
Last week the boxing schedule was sparse, top heavy and largely self-explanatory. Even the most casual fan knows all about Manny Pacquiao and Anthony Joshua's size and physicality speaks for itself.
This week is a different story. It's the kind of weekend, packed full of boxing, that this feature was created for. Which fighters actually matter and which shows are likely to deliver interesting bouts? That's not always easy to determine. And that's why we're here.
What follows is a rundown of every boxing card on American television. Who's worth checking out and who can you skip to binge watch Gilmore Girls on Netflix? Who's likely to win—and why? You'll find that here, weekly, in this running series.
Jesus Soto-Karass (28-10-3, 18 KOs) vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai (26-3-1, 23 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 15thNetwork: Estrella TV
Promoter: Golden Boy Promotions
Undercard bouts: Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (15-0) vs. Derrick Findley (23-18-1)
Interest Level: Surprisingly High
Golden Boy has a track record of below average to terrible fights on their club shows. But this one is different, both in concept and execution.
Soto-Karass and Kamegai aren’t on the upswing. They aren’t great, or even middling, prospects. Neither is going to be world champion.
Who cares?
They are going to fight hard, throw a lot of punches and they’re gonna bleed. Someone will have their hand raised after 10 rounds of great action. Fights like this aren’t hard to book and they always please hardcores and casual fans alike. Yet somehow no one thinks to put them together. Kudos to Golden Boy here.
On the undercard, Shabranskyy is a legitimate prospect taking on the well tenderized Derrick Findley. This should be a shellacking.
Main Event Prediction: Yoshihiro Kamegai by Split Decision
Nikolay Potapov (14-0, 6 KOs) vs. Stephon Young (14-0-2, 6 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 15thNetwork: Showtime
Promoter: Salita Promotions
Undercard bouts: Eudy Bernardo (21-0) vs. Mason Menard (30-1), Alexey Zubov(10-0) vs. Constantin Bejenaru (10-0), Bakhtiyar Eyubov (10-0) vs. Courtney Jackson (8-0)
Interest Level: Medium
It's great to see Showtime getting back to Prospect vs. Prospect cards of late on their B-shows. If none of these names are familiar, don’t worry—they probably shouldn't be.
Almost none of the boxers on display have fought in major bouts on US TV and many of them hale from Eastern Europe. The success of Golovkin has opened the door to American television for many. And, though you don't know them yet, know that they are the A-sides here.
Main Event Prediction: Nikolay Potapov by Unanimous Decision
Errol Spence Jr. (19-0, 16 KOs) vs. Chris Algieri (21-2, 8 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 16thNetwork: NBC
Promoter: Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Steve Cunningham (28-7-1) vs. Krzysztof Glowacki (25-0)
Interest Level: High
Errol Spence has been pushed harder than any other welterweight prospect in recent memory. Everything about him suggests a big, bright future. Chris Algieri, a ticket-seller with boyish good looks, is there to put up a heck of a fight no matter the outcome. His job is to compete, even if he feels overmatched. Which he, most likely, will.
Spence is fast, powerful and gifted. Algieri, simply put, is not.
This is a brilliant piece of matchmaking by PBC. Algieri isn’t a big puncher, which means he can land when Spence makes mistakes and still not do enough to change the fight over the long run. Algieri struggled with the handspeed of Amir Khan and Pacquiao. Spence, too, will likely give him fits. And, though he used movement to get him past Ruslan Provodnikov, I don't think he's slick enough to evade someone like Spence.
If Cunningham has much left, the undercard attraction is theoretically quite fun. He’s been in many, many wars and at 39, I can’t imagine that he’s really in the best frame to deal with a banger like Glowacki. It probably gets ugly for USS Cunningham—which means the Polish fans in attendance will be going wild for their man.
Main Event Prediction: Errol Spence Jr. by Unanimous Decision
Felix Verdejo (20-0, 14 KOs) vs. Jose Luis Rodriguez (18-8, 11 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 16thNetwork: Unimas
Promoter: Top Rank Boxing
Undercard bouts: Christopher Diaz (15-0) vs. Ray Ximenez (23-0)
Interest Level: Low
Felix Verdejo returns to Unimas for some reason. It's become a bit of a pattern for him. Just when it looks like he's going to become a bonafide HBO fighter, a dull decision win sends him back to cable television backwaters.
What does this fight do other than keep Verdejo busy? I guess he has to do something. Rodriguez isn’t a threat here. He's too small and not nearly talented enough to give Verdejo any trouble. He should look spectacular here.
Diaz and Ximenez, in theory, are equals. But, though both are undefeated prospects, Diaz is really the guy being showcased and should dominate. Anticipate Ximenez to switch stances far too frequently and make some rookie mistakes that lead him to being stopped.
Main Event Prediction: Felix Verdejo by 2nd Round KO
Steve Claggett (23-3-1, 16 KOs) vs. Chris Van Heerden (23-2-1, 16 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 16thNetwork: CBS Sports Network
Promoter: RJJ Promotions
Undercard bouts: Neeco Macias (11-1) vs. Limberth Ponce (10-2)
Interest Level: Medium/Low
Chris Van Heerden is a pretty good fighter. He’s got size, talent, skills, and he’s a southpaw. There's no denying Errol Spence took him to school. And Errol Spence is fighting on a more interesting card on the same night this comes on. You should probably watch that instead.
But Van Heerden’s beaten plenty of decent guys and will again. Claggett just isn't quite on his level. Class will show here—too bad no one will watch until the next day on DVR.
Main Event Prediction: Chris Van Heerden by Unanimous Decision
Gary Russell Jr. (26-1, 15 KOs) vs. Patrick Hyland (31-1, 15 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 16thNetwork: Showtime
Promoter: DiBella Entertainment/Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Jose Pedraza (21-0) vs. Stephen Smith (23-1) Chad Dawson (33-4) vs. Cornelius White (23-4)
Interest Level: Medium/High
You ever get a weird feeling about something you’re watching on TV? Like you look at the listings, and there’s a Mountain West Football game on between two teams that you kinda remember reading might be good? And it’s on nationally because NBC Sports or whoever overspent on stuff a couple years back before everyone was cutting the cord and cable money looked likely to last forever? So you sit and watch, but you're not sure why?
That’s how I feel about this show.
Gary Russell Jr. won his biggest career fight in his last bout against Jhonny Gonzalez. That was more than one year ago. What the future holds is not immediately career.
In his present, at least, Patrick Hyland looms. He's here because, well, I assume there’s a contractual obligation for someone behind the curtain to fill, and this does it. Russell’s hyper fast hands probably win him a clear decision, even if he pounds them into dust on Hyland’s face.
There’s a world title fight as the chief attraction on the undercard. Jose Pedraza won a belt last year and “defended” it by being handed a suspect decision win over Edner Cherry. Smith is a slightly-above-domestic level British fighter who got knocked out by Lee Selby. Selby doesn’t knock out a lot of world class fighters.
Chad Dawson opens the Showtime broadcast, because two previously blown chances at a comeback weren’t enough. We need a third.
Main Event Prediction: Gary Russell Jr. by Unanimous Decision
Ivan Redkach (19-1, 15 KOs) vs. Luis Cruz (22-4, 16 KOs)
Key Info
Date: April 19thNetwork: Fox Sports 1
Promoter: Haymon Boxing
Undercard bouts: Immanuwel Aleem (15-0) vs. Jonathan Cepeda (17-1), Kyrone Davis (10-0) vs. Junior Castillo (9-0)
Interest Level: Medium/Low
Tuesday night fights return to FS1, and we’ve got a showcase for Ivan Redkach to look forward to. After getting stopped last year against Dejan Zlaticanin, Redkach seems likely to land somewhere in the lightweight top ten. He may never be a long reigning champ, but at 30, he may be around on television for a few more years.
Cruz was a promising fighter once, but after four losses, it's likely his best is long past. He won’t even have a size advantage over the larger than average Redkach.
On the undercard, Immanuwel Aleem looks like a legitimate future contender, and Davis/Castillo features a battle of archetypes as the “Guy who wears a lot of Belts” takes on the “Hispanic KO Mystery Artist” in a fight that could really go either way.