Tomorrow night on Fox Sports 1, Premier Boxing Champions brings an absolute behemoth of a card. Let’s take a quick look at each of the eight fights to see what we are getting into.
Jamal James (23-1, 10 KOs) v Mahonry Montes (35-7-1, 24 KOs), welterweights – Once considered a failed prospect, Jamal James is a re-emerging contender at the weight following consecutive wins over Diego Chaves and Abel Ramos. Unfortunately, Montes here is a step in the wrong direction. Other than once being in a competitive scored loss to Ashley Theophane, Montes has been firmly controlled by every upper echelon fighter he has faced. James should fare no differently in there against him. PBC on FS1 main events are rarely big fights, but they are usually more compelling than this one.
Willie Monroe Jr (22-3, 6 KOs) v Javier Maciel (33-6, 23 KOs), middleweights – Two time failed middleweight title challenger Willie Monroe gets the co-main event slot in another mismatch. Willie was never going to succeed against a prime GGG and Billy Joe Saunders was a horrible stylistic matchup in that both men do the same thing only Saunders is a little better, but I still do look at him as a real good fighter. He can easily outbox guys with the right style on a reasonably high level. I’m not actually all that familiar with Maciel as he is largely based out of Argentina, but his resume doesn’t suggest that he will pose much of a threat to Willie as he makes one last run towards a belt. Unfortunately, he is unlikely to excite in the ring here or at any point in his final run. Willie Monroe is just not that guy.
Jamontay Clark (13-0, 7 KOs) v Jeison Rosario (15-1-1, 11 KOs), junior middleweights – This is a different look of a fight than the two above it on the bill. Unlike in the other fights, neither man here has much potential to even get to a title fight in my view. It is well matched though. Both men stepped up once and did not do well. Jamontay Clark got an absurdly wide decision over Ivan Golub that he did not deserve while Jeison Rosario was thrashed by Nathaniel Gallimore. Both have recently picked up a slightly redemptive in over Dominique Dolton and Justin DeLoach respectively though. The winner moves forward and the loser can no longer be considered even a fringe prospect. I like it.
Eimantas Stanionis (6-0, 5 KOs) v Levan Ghvamichava (18-3-1, 13 KOs), welterweights – This is the real main event of this show for hardcore fight freaks like you and I. 2016 Lithuanian Olympic gold medalist Eimantas Stanionis is taking a massive step up here despite it only being his seventh pro fight at 24 years old. Ghvamichava, styled “The White Wolf,” is not a world level contender, but he’s a really solid mid-level guy. He’s been reasonably competitive in losses to Sergey Lipinets and Yordenis Ugas, for example. Stanionis has only faced club fighters, so The White Wolf is an exciting change of pace and the first real challenge for his promising young career. I am legitimately excited to see how this one plays out.
Efe Ajagba (5-0, 5 KOs) v Curtis Harper (13-5, 5 KOs), heavyweights – Speaking of early stage, 24 year old Olympic prospects from Rio, Nigerian heavyweight slugger Efe Ajagba is really turning some heads. He isn’t Stanionis and he isn’t taking a big step up here, but heavyweights develop slowly and peak late. Ajagba has all the time in the world. The Nigerian is clearly a good athlete in his full sized, 6’5″ frame and he has been scoring highlight reel knockouts so far in his young career. This is the biggest showcase of Ajagba’s career to date. Hopefully he delivers another big finish.
Sebastian Fundora (9-0, 5 KOs) v Antonio Urista (10-2, 2 KOs), welterweights – I called Efe Ajagba a full sized heavyweight at 6’5″. What then do we make of a 6’6″ welterweight? That is what 20 year old Sebastian Fundora is. In that sense the 20 year old is a bit of a novelty act as he will tower over everyone else at the 147 lb limit, but he showed he is at least a little more than that in stopping a fellow unbeaten in his previous PBC on FS1 opportunity. Obviously he won’t be able to stay at this weight long term and does show some awkwardness in the ring, but Fundora has some basic skills. He also has an understanding that he should always be at range even if he can’t necessarily figure out how to always stay there. He’ll have an eight inch height advantage in this one.
Antonio Russell (11-0, 9 KOs) v Nick Otieno (31-14, 13 KOs), bantamweights – Featherweight titleholder Gary Russell Jr has two brothers coming up the ranks behind him. 25 year old Antonio isn’t the blue chipper that the baby of the family in Gary Antuanne definitely looks to be, but that doesn’t mean he has no promise. In truth it has been hard to get consistent video on Antonio across his young career so far. For that reason I do look forward to this opportunity to see him in action on a televised broadcast. Otieno is a relatively low level journeyman from Kenya who is also listed at 44 years old. Needless to say, Antonio will have every opportunity to show what he can do in the ring here.
Omar Juarez (debut) v Devon Hostler (3-8, 3 KOs), lightweights – Nationally decorated 19 year old amateur standout lightweight Omar Juarez is set to make his debut on the show as well. It is a bit of an odd decision for PBC to put this on national television, but why not I guess? They certainly have the time on the broadcast. I have never actually seen him fight, however, so I have no opinion on his likely future. His club fighter opponent Devon Hostler promises EXCITEMENT though. Hostler has finished all three of his wins and been finished on all eight of his losses. In fact, he’s never even seen a third round. What do you think is going to happen here?
Recent former surprise super middleweight titleholder Caleb Truax is also in action here at home in Minneapolis, but by all accounts there are no plans to televise his bout. That is a bit strange given that absolutely gigantic block of time PBC has come Friday night. They could give him an easy win and hype him as a future challenger to David Benavidez, for example. It is a sellable fight given Truax’s recent title reign even if no hardcore fan would buy it as competitive. That is what Top Rank or Matchroom would do. It is smart promoting. Yet, here he is off television. I figure one of two things is happening here. Maybe Truax and his team want a low pressure tune up out of the spotlight. That would be a rare decision, but an understandable one. More likely to me is that Caleb and PBC don’t have plans of working together in the future and he’s just here to sell local tickets. It would make perfect sense for PBC to ignore airing his fight if he plans on running off to ESPN, DAZN, or elsewhere afterward.
Anyway, I digress. The 6:30 PM Eastern start time is technically a prelim broadcast with the main show starting at 8 PM and beginning with Ajagba-Harper. It is all on FS1 though. The distinction is more for ratings purposes than anything else and won’t be meaningful in actually watching the show.
