Andrzej Fonfara faces an unknown foe Joe Smith Jr., in a 10 rounds light heavyweight bout in the main event on primetime NBC. The co-feature offers up a rematch from a razor-close fight last August between Juan Carlos Payano and Rau’shee Warren. Fonfara vs. Smith Jr. could be good TV bout but Haymon could have matched Fonfara with a more recognizable name. This would have given the event a fighting chance in a wave of critics that always point toward the PBC. The card will take place in Chicago, Illinois, at the UIC Pavilion.
The television opener features a nice step-up fight for rising 154-pound prospect Erickson Lubin, as he takes on Daniel Sandoval in a bout schedule for 8 rounds. Lubin is a talent to be reckoned with and will only add more depth to the suddenly hot junior middleweight division. This is a good decision by Al Haymon to get Lubin some exposure as he climbs the ranks.
Many loyal followers of the sport are anti-anything to do with the PBC and a stay-busy main event on NBC primetime only adds fuel to the fire of hate. This is not a shot at Andrzej Fonfara, who deserves a stay-busy opponent having fought quality opposition in 3 of his last 4 times out. Fonfara was in the running for a matchup versus Sergey Kovalev and a rematch against Adonis Stevenson. Some media types have labeled Joe Smith Jr. as a club fighter with no chance in hell to upend the ‘Polish Prince’.
To be fair Smith’s only recognizable boxer on his brief resume is ShoBox participant Will Rosinsky. Joe’s single loss was due to a broken jaw suffered in his seventh pro fight. Smith Jr. fractured his jaw not once but twice forcing him to retire. A quick YouTube search will show highlights and even a few short bouts. Judging by the tape, Smith looks to have some power and puts his punches together nicely with decent hand speed. Obviously, this will be the biggest stage and most difficult challenge of his career.
Lucky for Joe, Fonfara’s style lends itself to being open for incoming fire, so expect a two-way battle for the first chunk of Saturday night’s main event. Once Fonfara is able to warm-up some, his power shots to the body and head will be the difference-maker. Let’s hope for the sake of the casual viewing audience that we get a good TV-scrap.
The co-feature is a much-deserved rematch off their August meeting that saw a back and forth action fight. The style-clash was strange to say the least in a bout that saw some great exchanges, wild looping misses by both men, and the two getting tangled up on the inside. This boxer versus puncher matchup began with Rau’shee Warren starting fast by using his lightning-quick hands and solid movement on the outside to fluster Payano.
Juan Carlos soon closed the gap on Warren and was able to land the shorter, harder shots on the inside. The pressure that Payano brought bothered Warren forcing him to resort to a clinch. It will be very interesting to see how quickly the referee will warn Rau’shee, if in fact he clinches excessively in the rematch. Soon thereafter, the fight took a turn to sloppiness with both getting a little dirty and missing with wide-shots.
Warren recalibrated his offensive weapons by countering effectively in spots, closing the championship rounds stronger. Point-deductions and a questionable knockdown created a somewhat controversial outcome.
In the second tilt expect a similar pace but a bit cleaner action, less ugly brawl. If Warren can keep Payano honest behind his jab and by counter punching he will get his hand raised. Payano needs to stay aggressive but this time, create enough space for his offense instead of smothering his work and being susceptible to Warren’s tie-up techniques.
My Official Predictions for the night are Payano by SD, Lubin by late TKO, and Fonfara by UD.
Written by Chris Carlson Host of The Rope A Dope Podcast at blogtalkaradio.com/ropeadoperadio
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