By Gav Duthie: We only have to wait until next saturday for the big rematch between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana but there is plenty going on in the meantime to keep us occupied. There are 7 intriguing fights over the next 7 days to keep a close eye on with plenty at stake and with all likelyhood a couple of titles changing hands.
(Tokyo, Japan)
Fri 5 – Akira Yaegashi 20-3 (10) v Roman Gonzalez 39-0 (33)
WBC flyweight
(Belfast, Northern Ireland)
Sat 6 – Kiko Martinez 31-4 (23) v Carl Frampton 18-0 (13)
IBF Super Bantanweight
(Cincinnati, Ohio)
Sat 6 – Roberto Ortiz 31-0-1 (24) v Lucas Matthyse 35-3 (33)
WBC Silver Light Welterweight
Sat 6 – Adrien Broner 28-1 (22) v Emmanuel Taylor 18-2 (12)
Sat 6 – Andre Berto 28-3 (22) v Steve Chambers 24-3-1 (6)
(Laredo, Texas)
Sat 6 – Juan Diaz 39-4 (19) v Carlos Cardenas 21-8 (14)
(Las Vegas, Nevada)
Thu 11 – Luis Ortiz 21-0 (18) v Lateef Kayode 20-0 (16)
Interim WBA heavyweight Title
Yaegashi v Gonzalez
Despite a patchy looking record Yaegashi has impressed since winning the WBC Flyweight title Japanese compatriot Igarashi in April last year. He has made three successful defences since that night. His latest victory against Zaleta was a close uninspiring performance until he stopped him in the 9th round. His streak is likely to run out tomorrow night against the undefeated Roman Gonzalez. It could easily be said that Gonzalez hasn’t really had any career defining fights despite being a 2-weight world champion, Minimumweight and Light Flyweight (both WBA). Gonzalez knows he will have to move through the divisions if he wants to be considered a top p4p fighter and a win tomorrow would be a great start.
Gonzalez TKO 8
Martinez v Frampton
I’m getting more nervous for Frampton the closer the fight comes. The fact that ‘The Jackal’ has already beaten Martinez could work to the Spaniards advantage. I don’t think Frampton is taking him lightly but it can be difficult being a favorite when your not the champion. Before the knockout Martinez did hurt Carl so he will be aware that the champion will be going for the knockout. Frampton was ahead by 4 rounds on two of the judges scorecards and by 2 rounds for the other again emphasizing he need for Martinez to go in for the kill. British fight fans have been waiting a long me for Frampton to become a champion so he can face the likes of Quigg, Santa Cruz and Rigondaux.
Frampton KO 5
Matthyse v Ortiz
This is a real break out fight for Ortiz as despite him being undefeated in 32 fights he is not hugely known. We all know how dangerous Matthyse is but Molina showed up his weakness to counter punches and overhand rights. Ortiz has been the WBC silver welterweight title since 2011 and has made 8 defences. As a result of this success he is ranked #5 by the WBC and is eyeing Danny Garcia if he wins. This promises to be an all action bout and for me Matthyse usually comes out on top of those.
Matthyse KO 8
Broner v Taylor
A little less inspiring than Ortiz as an opponent but Taylor’s last win over Karim Mayfield cannot be ignored. He survived an 8th round knockdown in the fight but rallied to win a close unanimous decision. Taylor is decent but really struggled with the lateral movement of Algieri. He should get a more straight forward fight with Broner. Adrien needs to focus fully on this fight and forget about Maidana rematches and world titles at 140lbs for the time being.
Broner UD 10
Berto v Chambers
Both fighters haven’t fought in a over a year. Andre Berto failed in July last year with his last comeback attempt against the dangerous but highly beatable Jesus Soto Karass. To be fair to Berto he injured his shoulder badly in the third round and only used his left hand from that point on showing great courage. He even managed to knock Karass down in round 11 only to be stopped in 12. He is only 30 and is a two time Welterweight champion so surely he can’t be finished yet, can he? Chambers has also lost his last two bouts against Luis Collazo and Eddie Gomez. This should be a far easier proposition than Karass was but Berto needs to impress.
Berto KO 6
Diaz v Cardenas
Nobody could ever accuse Juan Diaz of rushing his comeback as he faces his fifth journeyman opponent in a row since last April year. Despite being out of the game from 2010-2013 Diaz is still only 30 years old so still has a bit of time on his side. Half of Cardenas defeats have been knockouts so after going the distance in his last two fights ‘The baby bull’ will be looking for the stoppage. Diaz was only 26 when he retired after his second defeat to Marquez but I think if he impresses on saturday he will look to step up in class.
Diaz TKO 4
Ortiz v Kayode
The winner of this becomes the interim WBA heavyweight champion and would quite likely be the mandatory opponent for Ruslan Chagaev. Its very hard to pick a winner as both are at similar stages of their career and the only name of any note in either record is a 4th round stoppage victory for Ortiz over Monte Barrett. The Nigerian Kayode is trained by Freddie Roach so he must see some potential with the fighter or he wouldn’t waste his time. Ortiz is said to be in great shape and his trainer Caicedo has ruled out comparisons with fellow poor conditioned Cuban’s Mike Perez and Odlandier Solis.
Ortiz UD 12
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