It’s GGG-Canelo 2 fight week at last. Let’s take a look at Saturday night’s PPV undercard.
Jaime Munguia (30-0, 25 KOs) v Brandon Cook (20-1, 13 KOs), WBO junior middleweight title
It looks like Jaime Munguia’s second title defense is going to get the co-headline spot. Being the only title fight besides the main event, this makes sense. This is also guaranteed to be a good action fight. Really, any Munguia fight is bound to be a brawl. He’s a defensively limited pressure fighter with very real power. No one is going to have much of a problem hitting him so as long as they can stand in there in throw with him. Sadam Ali couldn’t while Liam Smith could, somewhat. Unfortunately, Brandon Cook is actually a step down from both of those men. He does have a good domestic win over fellow Canadian and power puncher Steven Butler, but he was soundly dominated in his biggest step up against Kanat Islam on the road in Kazakhstan. One thing he did show in that fight was a tremendous amount of heart though. Despite taking tons of punishment, Cook plowed forward until he was finally stopped in the ninth. Munguia is a much bigger hitter than Islam, but he’s also not as technical so he shouldn’t land quite as much. Still, there is little chance Brandon Cook goes 12 rounds with Jaime Munguia. That much is for sure. What we do get, however, should stylistically be all action before Brandon falls.
David Lemieux (39-4, 33 KOs) v Spike O’Sullivan (28-2, 20 KOs), middleweights
Limited French-Canadian power puncher David Lemieux gets a favorable matchup against the UK’s Gary “Spike” O’Sullivan in the undercard’s middle fight. Like both other fights leading up to the main event, Lemieux-O’Sullivan has action written all over it too. Both men are come forward, offense minded fighters. General consensus here is that Lemieux will use his huge power to flatten O’Sullivan sooner rather than later in this one like he has in other similar matchups like with Curtis Stevens and Glen Tapia. While I definitely acknowledge that as a very realistic possibility, I also wouldn’t quite be willing to put money down and bet on it. David Lemieux is an extremely limited fighter. Yes, he has had some great success on this sort of low world level in recent years, but he doesn’t really effectively set up his offense if his opponent uses any kind of movement. Nor is Lemieux a particularly adept defensive fighter. I do think Spike is probably basic enough to get starched here, but I wouldn’t be the least bit surprise if he was able to get in first either.
Roman Gonzalez (46-2, 38 KOs) v Moises Fuentes (25-5-1, 14 KOs), super flyweights
Former consensus top pound for pound fighter Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez returns for the first time following his knockout loss to Srisaket Sor Rungvisai about a hair over a year ago. All the questions here are about the all time great in terms of where he is at both physically and mentally. Is he an old 31? Generally that is past prime for someone fighting in the flyweights. How is he going to take a shot? Can he find that flowing aggression that made him an outstanding four division titleholder? The good thing here is that Mexican contender Moises Fuentes is a competent enough foe for us to find some answers against too. If Chocolatito is still an elite fighter, he’ll dominate. If he is completely shot, he’ll lose. If what he has left is somewhere in between those extremes, we’ll end up with a a fight that corresponds accordingly. You have to figure that the Nicaraguan flyweight legend still needs to be the favorite here, but there is plenty of intrigue anyway. One other interesting little note is that Moises Fuentes has actually been in this position before. All time great minimumweight Puerto Rican Ivan Calderon had dominated 105 and 108 for years, but like Chocolatito he had lost a pair of fights to end his era. He tried to make one last go of it at world level against Fuentes and Moises swatted him into retirement. Can he become a two time legend killer come Saturday?
Also in action are top Golden Boy prospects Vergil Ortiz Jr (10-0, 10 KOs) and Alexis Rocha (11-0, 8 KOs). Their fights will be available as a free stream starting at 6 PM on at least the FITE app and likely on ringtv.com. If you’re looking to stream the PPV as a whole, those are also your two options in America there. HBO PPV will also be broadcasting it via traditional cable distribution. The online streams will not feature the HBO broadcast, but instead Golden Boy’s own international feed. All ways to watch the PPV on a screen will be $84.99. The card will also be shown in about 400 movie theaters nationwide thanks to Phantom Events if you live nearby one. I’ve had a great experience watching a major show like that in the past.
