Guys, we have honest to goodness fights this week for the first time since mid December. The weekend is headlined by a big PBC card on Showtime, but there is also a notable show Down Under and a BeIN Sports En Español card headlined by a solid Mexican prospect. It is good to be back.
Wednesday, January 17th
Anthony Mundine (47-8, 27 KOs) v Tommy Browne (35-6-2, 15 KOs), middleweights & Jai Opetaia (13-0, 10 KOs) v Benjamin Kelleher (7-0-2, 4 KOs), cruiserweights, Australia – FOX Australia, 3 AM Eastern
Anthony Mundine has long been a top domestic draw in Australia, but he also hasn’t won a fight since 2014. In his prime Mundine was a little better than he got credit for internationally, but he is 42 now and well past that. Yet, there are still significant stakes here for the former rugby star. Reports are that should Mundine prevail here, he will be lined up to be sacrificed to Jeff Horn in an Australian “super fight” of sorts in terms of drawing power. That would be a good payday for Mundine, though probably not ideal for his health at this point. Jai Opetaia is a decent Olympic prospect on the show too.
Saturday, January 2oth
Errol Spence Jr (22-0, 19 KOs) v Lamont Peterson (35-3-1, 17 KOs), IBF welterweight title & Robert Easter Jr (20-0, 14 KOs) v Javier Fortuna (33-1-1, 23 KOs), IBF lightweight title & Marcus Browne (20-0, 15 KOs) v Francy Ntetu (17-1, 4 KOs), light heavyweights & Adam Kownacki (16-0, 13 KOs) v Iago Kiladze (26-1, 18 KOs), heavyweights – New York – Showtime, 9 PM Eastern (with Youtube prelims)
Look at this, a major fight card. Lamont Peterson is a live underdog in any fight at worst, but he figures to be overwhelmed here most likely. Stylistically this will probably be a good watch though. Spence is an aggressive fighter too and Lamont has been as well in the second half of his career. Robert Easter Jr hasn’t lived up to early prospect hype exactly, but he is still a good young titleholder. Javier Fortuna is on a similar level to Denis Shafikov and Richard Commey, two guys that have given Easter a lot of trouble already, so that could be a good fight. He is smaller than those two though. Finally, Browne and Kownacki are good rising young fighters under the PBC banner who will have their bouts broadcast on Showtime’s Youtube page. I am not sure what time that will start though.
Emanuel Navarrete (22-1, 19 KOs) v Glenn Porras (31-6, 19 KOs), super bantamweights – Mexico – BeIN Sports En Español, 11:30 PM Eastern
Emanuel Navarrete is a 22 year old Mexican prospect that is just running through the midlevel Mexican domestic scene. With Zanfer Promotions behind him, Navarrete is definitely one to watch even though he remains a bit crude. The loss on his record came when he was 17 in a four round fight. This will probably be another walkover as the young prospect has been mowing down this level for his last few fights, but he’s still worth a watch.
