By Lee Smith: There are a couple of Brits fighting this weekend in some interesting fights. All are at different stages in there career and if any of them were to lose then there careers would be taking a huge huge step back. However, I am predicting that won’t happen.
Derek Chisora is fighting virtually unknown Argentinian Hector Alfredo Avila in a comeback fight having lost his last 3 fights. Chisora is actually a lot better than his 15-4 record shows; having only lost to top class opposition. He is a former British and Commonwealth champion. When he was just 14-0, he signed to fight Wladimir Klitschko for the World Title. The fight never took place and Chisora eventually lost the titles to now World Title Contender Tyson Fury on Points.
Further defeats to Robert Helenius by split decision in controversial circumstances and Vital Klitschko for the WBC title on points followed. His last fight was a 5th round stoppage loss to former 2 weight world champ David Haye. This weekend is huge for Chisora. A loss would surely signal the end but a win here and a few more after could put him back into title contention. Chisora might not be the greatest fighter but he is definitely entertaining in and outside of the ring and he isn’t one to sidestep any opponent having agreed to fight both Klitschko’s, Tyson Fury, Robert Helenius and David Haye despite the fact he has only had 19 fights.
At 29 yrs, he is still relatively young for a heavyweight but a win on Saturday is a must for Chisora and I think he will deliver the goods. Prediction Chisora Win by TKO 3rd
Nathan Cleverly defends his WBO Light Heavyweight Title against Robin Krasniqi at the Wembley Arena London. I like Cleverly but as far as I am concerned the only decent name on his record is Tony Bellew (and I don’t see Bellew as ever being good enough to really do anything in the Light Heavyweight Division). So far, Cleverly has defended his title against Aleksy Kuziemski, Tony Bellew, Tommy Karpency and Shawn Hawk. I’m sorry but those are very poor opposition when you consider the division has big name fighters such as Bernard Hopkins, Chad Dawson, Tavoris Cloud, Jean Pascal, Beibut Shumenov and Lucien Bute. I don’t know why Cleverly isn’t getting the fights with these fighters. He’s been champ long enough and surely some of these guys must have approached him for a fight or he should of tried to get fights with these guys but you don’t know what goes on behind scenes. Anyways, I think after he deals with Krasniqi he has to target these guys. He is now reaching his prime and he has to start targeting the big fights or they will just pass him by and he will become just another world champ who never really made that step up to the elite level. Prediction Cleverly Win by UD 12
Tyson Fury is fighting American Steve Cunningham at Maddison Square Garden this Saturday in an IBF Title eliminator with the winner expected to face Kubrat Pulev for the spot as mandatory challenger to Wladimir Klitschko. I personally think that Fury’s previous fight against Kevin Johnson would have been classed as a tougher fight than this as Johnson is a natural Heavyweight and went 12 rounds with Vitali Klitschko. That’s not taking anything away from Cunningham who is a former IBF Cruiserweight Champ but I just think at 36 years old and with a massive height and weight disadvantage he won’t be able to handle Tyson Fury.
Cunningham also isn’t the most powerful with less than 50% KO ratio and that’s in the cruiserweight Division so he certainly won’t have the power to KO Fury who has only ever been down once in his life (against Pajkic which Fury won by TKO in 3rd). A lot of people who haven’t seen a great deal of Fury think he is just a loud mouth kid, which he is but he has the talent to back that up and at just 24 yrs old he can improve a lot. I think Fury will dominate Cunningham from the opening bell breaking him down slowly and taking him out in the later rounds. Prediction Fury Win by TKO 10th
Predictions?
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