TODAY, a double-header will most likely be the year?s final fistic extravaganza.
These two simultaneous welterweight bouts will happen in Las Vegas- brought to us by two competing promoters, Top Rank and Golden Boy Productions.
Timothy Bradley will face off with Diego Chaves while Amir Khan trades leather with Devon Alexander.
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Both of these bouts assume significance in the talent-laden welterweight division, as the winners are automatically potential opponents of either Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao, should their much ballyhooed superfight implode (again).
BRADLEY-CHAVES. Bradley is coming off a loss to Pacquiao in their rematch and is looking to re-establish his name as a top contender in this division.
Chaves isn?t a household name and though he carries a pretty decent record (23-2, 19KOs), he hasn?t faced top-notch opposition.
In his last fight, he lost via disqualification to Brandon Rios. Chaves is notorious for his roughhousing tactics and that DQ loss came about because he incurred excessive penalties cumulatively.
The last foul came courtesy of a beautifully planted elbow, which would have made Dennis Rodman turn green with envy.
I hate to belabor the obvious, but Bradley is on the comeback trail, and he sees Chaves as a credible, but beatable opponent who could give him a competitive fight and at the same time, make him look good.
However, Bradley has the tendency to get baited into brawls similar to what happened in the RuslanProvodnikov fight. Ring generalship is the key here, and Bradley needs to be remember that just has to be faster, not stronger than the heavy-handed Chaves.
KHAN-ALEXANDER. This is the more competitive bout as each fighter has a legitimate chance of defeating the other.
Khan is on a three-fight win streak, the last one, a unanimous decision victory over the very competitive Luis Collazo. Alexander is 2-1 in his last three fights, with the loss inflicted by Shawn Porter. His latest victory came at the expense of Jesus Sotto Karass The speed advantage and superiority in boxing skills goes to Khan, but power and durability favors Alexander (26-2, 14KOs).
To control the fight, Khan (29-3, 19KOs) must pump that left jab continuously and throw combinations. Alexander needs to bring the fight to Khan and find a way to land something solid on his suspect chin.
I see this fight going the full route with Khan controlling the early stages and Alexander surging in the middle rounds. Unless the latter finds a way to hurt Khan and score a knockout (which is not unlikely by the way), Khan will probably prance and preen his way to a decision win.
CASIMERO. John ReilCasimero (20-2, 12KOs) will also see action today as he embarks on a new chapter in his career, campaigning this time as a flyweight.
In his last fight, Casimero won via 1st round knockout against Mauricio Fuentes, but his effort was all for naught as he was stripped of the IBF light flyweight title for his failure to make weight.
Santos has a record of 14-3, with 8KOs and this bout has been billed as a title eliminator for the IBF flyweight diadem.
The bout will take place in Salon Las Palmas in Monterey, Mexico but I am not the least bit concerned about the Mexican?s home-court advantage.
If you recall, Casimero was on a receiving end of a violent attack by Argentinian hooligans in his title-clinching effort against Luis Alberto Lazarte back in 2012.
If there?s anything that Casimero has in ample supply, it?s valor and gumption. Good luck ?Quadro Alas?!
LAST ROUND. It?s on my cousin, Janice Fabroa-Kintanar, who recently celebrated her birthday. Cheers!
