Today’s Deep Boxing Menu Kicks Off with a Heavyweight Super-Fight

Three world champions are in action today and also a former world champion and we’re not even talking about Saudi Arabia. Welcome to the new world order of boxing where two or more significant shows overlap seemingly every weekend and a man needs more than two eyes to keep track of all of them in real time.

December is historically a slow month for boxing but history doesn’t stand still. The big heavyweight shebang in Diriyah will cast a long shadow, burying the opposition in a tsunami of words, but that is of no consequence to some boxing promoters who are contractually obligated to their live-streaming partners to provide a steady stream of fresh content no matter the competition.

Two of the title-holders – WBO super bantamweight champion Emanuel Navarrete and IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (pictured) – are in action on the same card in Puebla, Mexico. Their bouts will air on ESPN+.

Navarette (29-1, 25 KOs) has won 24 straight and is defending his title for the fourth time in the last seven months. He is the ironman of active title holders and on the short list of fighters in the running for Fighter of the Year. His opponent, fellow Mexican Francisco Horta, is unbeaten in his last 13 starts, elevating his record to 20-3-1 (10), but he’s fought only one fight scheduled for more than eight rounds and that was back in May of 2015.

On paper this is a shameless mismatch.

Anjacas (31-1-2, 21 KOs) will be making the eighth defense of the title he won from McJoe Arroyo. The talented Filipino opposes Miguel Gonzalez (31-2, 8 KOs), a mystery fighter who, except for one fight, has fought exclusively in his native Chile.

Brooklyn

In the main go of the SHOWTIME card at Barclays Center, Jermall Charlo (29-0, 21 KOs) risks his undefeated record and his WBC world middleweight title against Dennis Hogan (28-2-1, 7 KOs). It’s the third defense for Charlo who previously held a world title at 154 pounds and has fought three of his last four fights in this building.

Jarmall Charlo, like his twin brother Jermell, packs a big punch but in his last two fights he was extended the distance by Matt Korobov and Brandon Adams and consequently his aura lost some of its sheen.

The opposite applies to Hogan. An Australian by way of Kilcullen, Ireland, Hogan saw his stock shoot up a hundredfold while losing to 12-round majority decision to Mexico’s undefeated knockout artist Jaime Munguia this past May in Monterrey, Mexico. The crowd booed the decision and several pundits called for an investigation of female judge Woleska Roldan who awarded Munguia eight rounds and had previously come under fire for scoring the Horn-Pacquiao fight 117-111 for Horn.

Topping the undercard is a 12-round middleweight match between Chris Eubank Jr and the aforementioned Korobov with the winner becoming the mandatory challenger for the Charlo-Hogan winner.

Montreal

David Lemieux (40-4, 34 KOs) returns to the ring after a 15-month absence to fight Max Bursak (35-5-2,16 KOs). It’s Lemieux’s maiden voyage as a super middleweight.

Lemieux’s co-promoter Camille Estephan says this fight is a litmus test for the former IBF middleweight champion to see if he can carry his power to the next level. Bursak, a 35-year-old Ukrainian, has never been stopped.

Lemieux’s hiatus was elongated by a hand-injury so it won’t be surprising if this fight goes the full 10. Bursak previously challenged WBO 168-pound title-holder Gilberto Ramirez and lost every round.

The chief undercard fight has even less intrigue. It pits the giant Russian heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (6’5 ½”, 261 pounds) against former WBC heavyweight title holder Samuel Peter.

There was a time when Peter, the erstwhile Nigerian Nightmare, was considered the hardest punching heavyweight since a prime Mike Tyson, but that was long ago. He’s now 39 years old and playing out the string. The guess is that he hangs on for a few rounds before bowing out with an alleged injury, whereupon Makhmudov will improve his pro ledger to 10-0 (10 KOs).

—–

Here at The Sweet Science, our first priority will be to keep you informed of the goings-on in Saudi Arabia. We’ll get the result up fast and then, somewhat later in the day, publish a more in-depth story about the event by Hall of Fame boxing writer Thomas Hauser.

Stay in touch.

Check out more boxing news on video at The Boxing Channel 

To comment on this story in The Fight Forum CLICK HERE