You might have heard that there is a boxing event taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas this Saturday. The home of the Las Vegas Raiders (I still can't get used to that) was christened in 2020 during the pandemic. Since it opened up there has been talk of placing a major fight in this state-of-the art building. Well, the time has come with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez facing Terence Crawford in the main event that will be broadcast on Netflix.
But attached to this bout is an undercard. By today's standards is pretty good. No, it's not 'Revenge: the Rematches', but it doesn't feature Butterbean and Mia St. John, either. Some solid match-ups are on this bill. Here's a look at what takes place before the nights featured entree.
- Serhii Bohachuk vs Brandon Adams: this junior middleweight contest is a rematch of a 2021 bout that took place in Puerto Rico that was televised on the short-lived 'Ring City USA' series on NBC Sports Network that actually did a very good job of showcasing young talent that went onto to do some significant things later in their career (O'Shaquie Foster and William Zepeda come to mind).
Golden Boy Promotions
What I remember about this contest is that Bohachuk was starting to gain momentum in this tightly contested affair, and then was struck by a left hook from Adams who looked like he was starting to get walked down.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdOO3SEu4Vg
But from that point, while Adams career has stalled out, Bohachuk under the guidance of 360 Promotions (headed by Tom Loeffler) has steadily become a world-class 154-pounder. His lone loss since that point was a hotly contested 12 round battle with the highly regarded Vergil Ortiz. He is now currently rated number six by Ring Magazine and has crafted a well-earned reputation for being one of the most fan-friendly fighters in the sport.
Does Adams have his number, or does what happened in '21 be proven to be an aberration? According to @fight_ghost (on Twitter, who cares about these sort of particulars), Bohachuk is a 6-to-1 favorite.
- Christian Mbilli vs Lester Martinez: While Alvarez-Crawford is being contested for the undisputed super middleweight championship of the world, it's Mbilli who is the top rated contender at 168 by Ring Magazine. He brings an all-out assault from the beginning of every fight and doesn't let up. Now, he has looked vulnerable at times, but that's part of the fun.
Ring
The reality is that Mbilli was/is more deserving than the last few challengers that faced 'Canelo' but he simply represented a bit too much risk for the reward he brought to the table. But there's no doubt that he would've given a much better effort than the likes of William Scull, Edgar Berlanga and Jermell Charlo. But...maybe that's why he didn't land that assignment. That's the way this game works, unfortunately.
In Martinez he's facing an undefeated hard-nosed professional who wont back down from him. This is a fighter who has come up the hard way and hasn't gotten a ton of exposure but has earned respect from insiders. He's rated as high as number three by the WBA. There's a reason why Mbilli is only a slight 1.5 to 1 favorite, here.
What's odd is that even though Mbilli is the WBC interim champion, this is scheduled for some reason as a 10 rounder. Folks, I have no idea why, I just work here.
- Callum Walsh vs Fernando Vargas Jr: Here's a clash of two marketable and undefeated junior middleweights that has turned into a bit of a grudge match. Walsh, has had a steady push from Loeffler and the UFC, which is precisely why Vargas Jr. thinks he's a bit of a built up fighter. On the flip side, Walsh looks at this as an opportunity to further advance his career and quiet Vargas.
360 Promotions
Both Walsh and Vargas are southpaws who have exhibited above-average pop. You could argue that both have benefited from favorable matchmaking, but let's be honest, doesn't everybody nowadays? The winner of this contest moves up the ladder, while the loser takes his first professional defeat. Per fight ghost, Vargas is favored 3-to-1 coming in.
Regardless, this is the type of fight that simply doesn't take place nearly enough in the modern game.
THE MONSTER
OK, what is largely being overshadowed by this weekend is the the latest outing from the undisputed junior featherweight champion, Naoya Inoue, who faces Murodjon Akhmadaliev from the IG Arena in Nagoya, Japan on Sunday morning.
'MJ' is a quality fighter, who once held two of the belts in this division not too long ago. He is ranked second in the division by Ring Magazine but he is a southpaw. Which is important because in recent bouts Luis Nery and Ramon Cardenas have both sent 'the Monster' to the canvas with left hands. (And yeah, Cardenas is not a left-hander, but it was a rear left that sent Inoue down back in May)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFhXeh2I65c
My sense is that Inoue has put extra emphasis on keeping that right hand of his high and near his cheek in proper defensive position as he faces Akhmadaliev. I look for Inoue to proceed with caution in this fight before shifting gears in the later part of the fight.
3KR
This week's edition of 'the 3 Knockdown Rule' with Mario Lopez and yours truly has been released, with a full preview of this weeks big card from Las Vegas:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vh820Km7MiI
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