Bernard Hopkins vs. Chad Dawson 2
With Nathan Cleverly and Beibut Shumenov choosing to face bums and no-hopers, while Tavoris Cloud reels from his ‘loss” to Gabriel Campillo, it seems we must look to Chad Dawson and Bernard Hopkins and hope for some excitement at 175lbs. Ismail Sillakh is looking the next big thing, but the avoidance has begun, so don’t expect him to get a shot until it’t forced. Pascal is playing the waiting game as well. Given their career histories, as well as the first 4 minutes of fight 1, I am not optimistic about Hopkins-Dawson being a barn-burner. The truth is Hopkins intimidated Pascal out of their two fights, and I do not believe Dawson is vulnerable to that head game. Nobody dominates Bernard Hopkins, but much like James Toney a few months back, this may be the fight where Hopkins finally shows his age. Dawson by dull unanimous decision.
Yuriorkis Gamboa vs. Brandon Rios
I love this fight, and I hope it goes forward, but I have a bad feeling about fighters who skip press conferences. Both fighters are taking risks, but especially Gamboa. If Rios loses, he is still exciting, and sells tickets. If Gamboa loses, it will be the bigger hype machine getting derailed, and it will likely not be pretty for him. His questionable chin will be what does him in. He has superior boxing skills, and may even take a big lead at first. I liken this fight to the first between Miguel Cotto and Rios’ stablemate Antonio Margarito. You can run, but you can’t hide. Gamboa’s also going to find his vaunted power minimized, having moved up two divisions, and taking on an iron-chinned Rios. Rios by late TKO in a wildly entertaining fight.
Paulie Malignaggi vs. Vyacheslav Senchencko
Malignaggi has still been outboxing fighters at 147, and figures to be capable of doing the same against Senchenko. The Ukrainian has been protected throughout his career, and is only ranked as highly as he has been (#5 Ring Mag), because of his alphabet belt. Other than that, he is largely untested. Built like a miniature Klitschko, he is too slow and robotic to legitimately defeat a slickster like Malignaggi. However, the fight is taking place in the Ukraine, and I believe Senchecnko is smart enough to punch in spots, go defensive, and land body shots during clinches. This should be enough to “confuse” the judges, and score a hometown decision. Senchencko by bad decision.
Felix Sturm vs. Sebastian Zbik
I am not a Sturm fan, mostly because of his dull style and countless questionable victories, but you have to give him this… he is taking on some tough contenders, and staying active. You could easily have scored Zbik-Chavez Jr. for Zbik, and Sturm often goes quiet for minutes ata time, allowiong afighter like Zbik to look busy. However, Sturm is capable of that same cover up and body punch style that Chavez used to impress the judges. Plus, Sturm has a good jab, and can make it difficult for a light-hitting fighter like Zbik to get inside. Sturm has not won a fight legitmately for quite some time, but I think Zbik presents the right style to get his name in the mix again. Sturm by legitimate decision.
