by Alan J Kindred: Saturday starts with Sturm-Sato in Germany and although I won’t be able to view this one live I have a feeling it is going to be a good fight. For the WBO Super Middleweight title Karoly Balzsay 20-0 (14) defends against former middleweight titlist Maselino Masoe 29-5 (27). The line here says Balzsay should win a decision or perhaps a late stoppage although you can never count out a puncher like Masoe in a fight that could provide some thrills. In the main event from Germany we have WBA middleweight titlist Felix Sturm 31-2 (13) defending his title against the young Oceanic Pacific title holder Koji Sato 14-0 (13). You could say that Sato’s opposition is a bit limited and that he has a long shot punchers chance.. I think it could be a good action fight though although Sturm’s experience should pull it out for him. Its hard to say for sure because you never know with undefeated punchers even if they have been fighting unknowns. This is one fight card that I wish was televised in my area.
In Mexico we have a fight card featuring the Daniel Ponce De Leon 35-2 (31) vs Marlon Aguilar 21-6 (16). De Leon is coming off a devastating loss to Juan Manuel Lopez. Aguilar has been stopped four times in his career and the guess here is he gets stopped a fifth time.
On the HBO card there are two pretty good bouts. In the opener we a battle of undefeateds in Lamont “Havoc” Peterson 26-0 (12) against Willie “Small Leonard” Blaine 20-0 (3) for the interim WBO 140 jr.welterweight title. I think this bout will be a classic chess match and maybe a bit boring for some due to the lack of KO power from these two. Peterson has a little more power than his record suggest though. For me this is a hard fight to call due to the fact I haven’t seen to much of Blaine in action. I guess I’d call this on a pick’em fight. In the main event for the WBO 122 lbs title we have potential superstar Juan Manuel Lopez 24-0 (22) defending his title against WBO 118 titlist and long time veteran Gerry Penalosa 54-6 (36). Many experts view Penalosa as a tough test for Lopez. Four of his six losses are by split decision and he has never been stopped. He also held the WBC 115 title over ten years ago so he is a fighter of accomplishment. However at 36 years old he is giving up a huge age gap because Lopez is just 25. Lopez has stopped 12 in a row now and will certainly be looking to be the first to stop Penalosa. The line here is that Lopez blows him away just like he did to De Leon and the others since. I think Lopez is the best 122 since Wilfredo Gomez. I know thats high praise but this kid is impressive.
The Saturday night SHO card. In the opener we see the return of Super Middleweight Allan “Sweetness/Ghost Dog” Green 27-1 (19) against Carlos De Leon 21-2 (14). Green with his only loss against puncher Edison Miranda via decision has rattled of some nice wins since and is looking to make a statement hoping to climb the ladder at 168. De Leon is fresh off a win over Buddy McGirt jr and a close loss to tough trial horse Fernando Zuniga. He has had some ups and down in his career but the guess here is he is going to have another down against the talented Green. I think Green wins here by early rounds stoppage.
In the main event for the WBC 168 Super middleweight title we have Carl Froch 24-0 (19) defending his title against former middleweight champion Jermain Taylor 28-2-1 (17). This is an interesting bout on paper as well as the long time build up to the fight. Froch was just a confident prospect not that long ago but now he has a title. With wins over notables such as Magee, Reid, and Pascal, Froch has proven that he is indeed a very tough customer. A win over a name like Taylor though would catapult him to potential superstardom in the UK and the US especially if he wins in a dominant fashion. It seems however that most experts from both sides of the pond are thinking Taylor will be to much for Froch. I’m on the contrary to that though as I think Froch’s strength and heart will carry him to victory. I know that Froch is giving up a slight height and reach advantage but I think he is more of a true super middleweight than Taylor. Taylor will probably get off to an early lead with his piston like jab peppering Froch but as the fight wears on the strength difference will begin to show and Taylor will be holding on by the late rounds to lose a close but unanimous decision in a crowd pleasing fight. Jermain has proven me wrong before but I just think Carl Froch is to strong for him.
In other action Saturday night former European middleweight titlist Howard Eastman 45-6 (35) battles prospect Lennox Allen 9-0 (5).
Readers I hope you enjoyed the weekend fight previews so stay tuned for the reviews on sunday.
Until then, enjoy the fights!!