Canelo vs. Kirkland: Is the Mandingo Warrior ready to take the Cinnamon Challenge?

05/11/201505/09/2015 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night Saul “Canelo” Alvarez takes on James Kirkland live on HBO from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas. The matchup has been delayed over the last few years but the time has come to see if the Mandingo Warrior is ready take the cinnamon challenge. Unlike the Mayweather vs. Pacquiao PPV, which by the way will be replayed during Saturdays broadcast, the odds are in the fans favor of a two-way action fight!

Back in 2012, all systems seemed a go in terms of the likelihood for making Canelo vs. Kirkland a reality. Inter-turmoil on the James Kirkland’s side stopped this bout from being made, robbing fans of yet another potentially fun and meaningful matchup. Fast forward to late 2014, it took another super fight in Canelo vs. Cotto to fall thru in order to secure James Kirkland a date with destiny.

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Mayweather vs Pacquiao: Benjamins and Bragging Rights

05/01/201505/01/2015 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night Floyd Mayweather meets Manny Pacquiao in a legacy fight for the ages. Only a select number of privileged people will take in the fight live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, broadcasted by both Showtime and HBO on PPV for 100 smack-a-roos including HD. With an estimated 100,000 fans heading for Sin City the stakes are as high as they come for both of these 1st-ballot Hall of Famers. Can Pacman apply the type of pressure that’s needed in order to breakdown Floyd’s defensive wall? Or will Money Mayweather add another notch to his resume that will probably be more respect as time passes?

Instead of hashing out all of the details that got us to this place lets jump right into the deep-end. When the boxer vs. puncher style-clash is presented to the boxing public at an elite level it generally creates a debate. If truth be told it’s one of the oldest arguments on the books and the back and forth never truly goes away.

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Lucas Matthysse and Ruslan Provodnikov on a Highway to Hell

04/17/2015 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night Turning Stone Resort and Casino will host an HBO event that will likely be the leading candidate for fight of the year by night’s end. Stylistically speaking this is as close to a hardcore-fight fans dream matchup as any other on the busy spring fight schedule. Lucas “The Machine” is set to do battle against Ruslan “The Siberian Rocky” Provodnikov with the victor possibly facing the co-feature bout winner between Terrance Crawford and Thomas Dulorme. Who will survive this firefight that promises to produce enough electricity to light up all of New York City?

Ruslan Provodnikov came up the hard way both in and outside the ring. From his humble begins as a member of a communal tribe in Western Siberia to grinding his way up the ranks on ESPN2’s Friday Night Fights. Ruslan has out kicked his coverage long ago and overachieved beyond his natural skill set. His coming out party was a war with Timothy Bradley now two summers ago. He followed that narrow-points loss to Bradley with an obliteration of Mike Alvarado.

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Garcia vs. Peterson/Quillin vs. Lee: Will either underdog upset the PBC apple-cart?

04/10/201504/10/2015 Chris Carlson

The PBC on NBC returns in primetime with a solid doubleheader to whet the appetites of us hardcore fans. The main event between Danny Garcia and Lamont Peterson is stylistically matched very well and should keep a channel-surfing mainstream-sports fan occupied. The co-feature matches power with power in the form of Peter Quillin versus Andy Lee with Lee’s middleweight belt at stake. Will either underdog knock-off one of the favorites and give the Premier Boxing Champions the surprise it’s been lacking?

The debut of the PBC on NBC was a smash-hit in the ratings department back on March 7th. Unfortunately the only real entertainment on that night was the second-half of an otherwise one-sided fight between Keith Thurman and Robert Guerrero. This card on Saturday night in Brooklyn, New York, live from the Barclays Center should be a lot more compelling.

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Stevenson vs. Bika/Beterbiev vs. Campillo: Saturday’s PBC on CBS Screams Premium Cable Showcase

04/04/201504/02/2015 Chris Carlson

(Photo credit: Amanda Kwok / PBC on CBS) Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions return on CBS for an 80’s-esque throwback this Saturday afternoon live from the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Canada. The main event matches the current lineal light heavyweight champion Adonis Stevenson against tough-as-nails and former super middleweight titleholder Sakio Bika. The co-main event features another step in the promising career of Arthur Beterbiev when he faces Gabriel Campillo.

The CBS broadcast harkens back to the days when boxing was a staple on terrestrial television in the afternoon, a time when the general public recognized more than just a few big names in boxing. Considering the promotion behind this event on CBS it’s too bad the top of this card wasn’t put together with more effort. No disrespect to Sakio Bika, who cut his teeth against the best fighters in his weight class in the last ten years or so. Of late though it appears the best days are behind the iron-chinned Bika. In the first of his two fights versus Anthony Dirrell something seemed different. He didn’t have that same spunk and what became obvious to see only worsened in the rematch.

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Kovalev vs. Pascal: The Krusher takes the show on the road to face Pascal in Canada

03/15/201503/14/2015 Chris Carlson

This Saturday night live on HBO from the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada, Sergey Kovalev takes his show on the road to face former lineal 175 pound champ Jean Pascal. Can Pascal pull off another upset on his home turf or will the Krusher continue his winning ways? Plus, heavyweight contenders collide in the co-feature when Steve Cunningham and Vyacheslav Glazkov meet in the squared circle.

If there was any question of his supremacy Sergey Kovalev made it crystal clear who the top light heavyweight in the world was in his last outing. In the process the “Krusher” delivered a performance for the ages dominating future hall of famer Bernard Hopkins.

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It’s Do or Die for Andre Berto and Josesito Lopez on PBC’s Spike TV Debut

03/13/201503/13/2015 Chris Carlson

After a successful debut last Saturday night in primetime on NBC, the (PBC) Premier Boxing Champions will make its Spike TV debut this Friday night for what will become a monthly boxing series on the network. The main event features a classic back-against-the-wall matchup that should produce an entertaining scrap. The card will take place in Ontario, California, from the Citizens Business Bank Arena. The co-feature matches former welterweight champion Shawn Porter versus hungry contender Roberto Garcia.

Andre Berto was an HBO sweetheart after he climbed the ranks from prospect, to contender, and eventually champion. Every step of the way he looked every bit the part sporting elite hand speed and plenty of punching power.

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Broner vs. Molina/Thurman vs. Guerrero: 4 Fighters 2 Crossroad Fights on NBC

03/07/201503/06/2015 Chris Carlson

Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions on NBC brings boxing back on free television with the winners likely to get a bump in terms of overall marketing reach and the potential viewership. All four fighters in the co-main events will face a crossroads in their respected careers. Two promising young boxers face two veteran fighters that have already been through the ringer a time or two.

Al Haymon will of course have a plan to feature the newly crowned Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder on NBC but the favorites for this Saturday night’s card are crucial to the success of the PBC on NBC as well. Adrien Broner being a full fledge named fighter in the sport and a young counterpunching knockout artist who remains unbeaten in 25 fights Keith Thurman.

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Golovkin vs. Murray: Martin plans to ruin GGG’s yearly European vacation

02/21/201502/21/2015 Chris Carlson

Gennady Golovkin meets Martin Murray in a place very familiar to each with Golovkin’s middleweight titles on the line. Most of the debate stateside for the outcome of this bout is not about who will win but how long Martin Murray can last. The majority of experts feel Murray doesn’t have the right style or enough power to keep Triple G off of him. Many believe at some point Martin’s pipes will burst under Gennady’s constant pressure.

This fight will mark the third time Martin will have challenge for a world title, the first coming in a draw to former 160 pound champ Felix Sturm. The second came against the lineal middleweight champion at the time, Sergio Martinez. Both contests were razor close decisions that could have gone Murray’s way had he not be the road fighter in the champions home country. Monte Carlo isn’t a home affair for Martin it is however somewhere he’s comfortable with and could help him if this fight goes the distance.

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Alvarado vs. Rios 3: Who will be the last man standing?

01/22/2015 Chris Carlson

A third installment of the spirited ongoing battle between Mike Alvarado vs. Brandon Rios should be, barring a draw, decided this Saturday night on HBO. The fighter that has more left in the tank will prevail in this matchup of modern day warriors. The rubber match will take place in Denver, Colorado and Alvarado hopes this bout ends differently in front of his hometown faithful.
This pair of Mexican-American boxers more than lived up to their heritage’s long history of entertaining slugfests. In their first tilt Alvarado took the early lead only to succumb to Bam Bam’s pressure and power, losing by TKO in the 7th round.

In their second affair Alvarado looked sharp in the opening frame until a Rios jab shook up Mike in the 2nd round. At the end of that round Alvarado was cut above his right eye and seemed already shopworn at such an early stage of the fight.

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