Which Upcoming Fight Are You Most Looking Forward To? 14/11-14/12

By Boxing News - 11/15/2014 - Comments

macklin4323Jacob Cullen: Boxing season is in effect, with a number of bouts around the corner, I want to know which YOU are most anticipating.

This weekend 15/11/2014 – Return of the Mack, Klitschko vs Pulev

This weekend sees the Return of Matthew Macklin after his 8 round fight on the Smith vs Abraham card. He faces off against Jorge Sebastian Heiland in what should be a routine victory for Macklin, but as many know Macklin is coming off the back of a poor performance in Germany and was last year knocked out by GGG Gennady Golovkin.

Heiland boasts a record of 24-4-0 and has not been stopped in any of his losses. However he has never faced off against any top middleweight and has fought the same fighter (Mateo Damian Veron) three times in the last two years, I expect Macklin has trained very hard for this fight, knowing Eddie Hearn has guaranteed him a big fight next year in Ireland (Possibly vs Andy Lee) and will win via TKO.

The undercard is tailored very much at the Irish fight fans with the young Olympic Silver Medallist John Joe Nevin making his Irish debut and Spike O’Sullivan taking on Anthony Fitzgerald.

This card will be shown live on Sky Sports.

Elsewhere Wladimir Klitschko defends his IBF, WBA (super), WBO & IBO heavyweight titles against the unbeaten Kubrat Pulev.

Always the taller man, I expect Klitschko to win by late stoppage, I don’t think Pulev is capable of getting on the inside and will attempt to use his jab which means he will be picked apart gradually. A lot of fighters believe they are the one to knock out Klitschko until they actually get the opportunity and realise just how good a boxer he is.

I really want to see Klitschko face a taller fighter like a Deontay Wilder or Tyson Fury but I don’t see either happening, instead I see him retiring as the champion like his brother Vitali.

Like them or not they have been dominant figures in heavyweight boxing for a long time and are exceptional athletes.

This fight will be shown live on Eurosport and HBO.

22/11/2014 – Repeat or Revenge (Cleverly vs Bellew Rematch) & Pacquiao vs Algieri

For my Preview & Prediction on the Cleverly vs Bellew PPV please read my last article.

In Macao, China Manny Pacquiao defends the WBO welterweight title he won off Timothy Bradley against Chris Algieri, a lot of people see this as an easy fight for Manny, but it’s intriguing fight I believe. Manny is fast approaching his 36th birthday and he is again facing a younger, hungrier and unbeaten champion. This fight has either come far too early for Algieri in terms of where he is at or at the right times in terms of has Manny taken him as serious as he would have let’s say Tim Bradley. I haven’t seen much of Algieri except when he won his WBO light welterweight title for Ruslan Provodnikov, he definitely has skills and if he can set up his jab with Manny and frustrate him you just don’t know.

My prediction is that Manny will win this fight on a CLOSE points decision.

This fight will be shown live on Boxnation in the UK.

29/11/2014 – BAD BLOOD

This card may not have much attention over the pond but I can assure fight fans around the world this is a highly anticipated card in the UK, fair play to Frank Warren for organising such a great card (If none of them pull out) since being overshadowed by the ever-growing Matchroom stable.

The fight MOST people are looking forward too is Billy Joe Saunders vs Chris Eubank Jnr, it’s such an interesting fight being that on paper Saunders and Eubank have had a similar amount of fights, yet Saunders has won British, Commonwealth & European titles and has fought three unbeaten fighters in his last three fights. Eubank on the other hand has fought 18 times stopping almost all of his opponents, however he has fought no one worth a mention. At this stage he should have at least fought a decent domestic name but he has not, however people still genuinely believe he is going to destroy Saunders. I disagree I don’t think Eubank’s power is what people believe, most opponents he has knocked out have been stopped many times before, I believe Saunders will out work him and win a points decision.

I’m not a huge fan of Eubank Jnr in all honesty, which is partly down to his dad, instead of building his own boxing persona he is basically emulating his dads personality. Often known for his mind games during his own pro career this seems to be the tactics Jnr has now adopted, they have skipped all three scheduled public appearances and press conferences. I don’t understand why fight fans like Eubank Jnr to be honest he is not just confident he’s arrogant. His dad claiming he will be greater than Floyd Mayweather, and saying he could be Golovkin is just delusional. If he goes on and wins then good luck to him but I would rather see Saunders win and go on to face either Koborov or Lee.

The other main event on the card sees Tyson Fury take on Dereck Chisora in their rescheduled rematch, the first of which Fury won comfortably.

With a mandatory place for the WBO title held by Klitschko up for grabs both fighters will lay it all on the line. Chisora is a better boxer now than he was when they first squared off, having been in against some top Heavyweights, Fury on the other hand has been unlucky having had two fights with David Haye cancelled. His last fight of note was a knockout victory over two-time IBF cruiserweight champ Steve Cunningham where he was floored in the second round.

I believe Fury can pose Klitschko some huge problems should he get past Chisora, he’s 6’9 and has good boxing skills however there remains question over his ability to take a decent shot. I would rather see Fury go on to face Klitschko rather than Chisora who I don’t believe would have a chance. That being said if Chisora can keep up pressure every round and land a big shot on Fury he has a chance.

I predict Fury on a comfortable points decision or late stoppage.

Fight card shown live and exclusive in the UK to Boxnation

13/12/2014 – Khan vs Alexander, Thurman vs Bundu

This is a triple header card that will take place at the MGM grand in Las Vegas, the winner will supposedly be given the Mayweather fight in May. Also on the card is Demetrius Andrade but I don’t know too much about him except that he is WBO light Middleweight champion and destroyed Brian Rose from the UK.

First of all I’m a Khan fan, which is rare in the UK it seems, Khan is always in exciting fights win or lose he has a massive heart and lighting quick hands however, his defence is not great and he is prone to counter shots like against Danny Garcia who up to the point Khan had beaten on for two rounds. A lot of people seem to think this is a routine win for Khan, I don’t understand that theory as Alexander is a two weight world champion and have great skills. I still believe Alexander would beat Porter in a rematch. Alexander maybe doesn’t have the power to knock Khan out like a Danny Garcia did so I believe this will go to the score cards where I believe Khan will win.

As to my opinion on Mayweather Khan, I will get a lot of hate for this but I believe it will be a great fight, Khan will be a completely different fight to Mayweather’s last opponents who have all been flat footed come forward fighters, Khan is very fast that is a fact and I believe he will cause Floyd problems however I do believe Floyd will adapt as he always does, grab and hold and win a points decision. Having said this I give Khan a chance to win and in all honesty I don’t know if Floyd will take this fight. It all comes down to the saying styles make fights, Khan is a greater boxer than everyone he has lost too, however his chin hasn’t stood up, I don’t see Floyd being able to knock Khan out. Many people will just automatically go against Khan and say ‘he will get knocked out easy’ but if you look beyond his losses and look to some of his great performances like Malignaggi, Kotelnik, Judah, Maidana, Collazo he is more than capable of fighting a great fight. Now I’m not saying any of those fighters are even close to a Mayweather but the fact remains Mayweather hasn’t dealt with speed AND work rate for a long time, I do still however believe Mayweather wins and would prefer to see Khan take on Kell Brook at Wembley.

As for Keith Thurman, Khan, Floyd, Brook and Pacquiao should ALL steer clear of this guy, he’s the real deal and a devastating finisher, it’s yet to be seen against the elite level but I think he will thrive on the challenge. As for Bundu he’s off the back of a shock victory over our very own Frankie Gavin, he’s unbeaten BUT he’s 39 and not a big puncher. I see a Thurman stoppage within 6.

This card will be shown live on Showtime & Boxnation.

Personally I’m most looking forward to the BAD BLOOD card, 3 close to 50/50 fights with Saunders vs Eubank, Fury vs Chisora & Skeete vs Gavin.

We all have opinions and these are mine, people will disagree with a lot of them. I believe in researching most fighters before I come up with a decision on who I think will win. Don’t base your opinion on everyone else’s. Comment below with your own opinions. I may have missed a few cards from around the world so if there is a different fight coming up that you are looking forward to then comment below.

Thanks for reading!



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