What happens if you get punched by Superman Gennady Golovkin? According to that video, nuclear fusion and the biggest explosion the world has ever seen. Matthew Macklin agrees. It’s easier to look back on last week and make jokes than it is to look forward to this week, because there’s really not much on. The biggest fight is the heavyweight rematch between Tony Thompson and David Price and after that, it’s slim pickings.
- Tony Thompson vs. David Price, Saturday, WealthTV, Liverpool. The central question going in to this fight is whether Thompson’s 2nd round KO of Price in February was a complete fluke. I believe it probably was. Price (15-1, 13 KO) got caught blind behind the ear in a fight that he’d otherwise been winning and went down like a sack of potatoes. He’ll be more cautious this time round and will look to pick Thompson (37-3, 25 KO) apart before perhaps going in for the kill after round 6. Price will always have to be careful, though. Much like Wlad Klitschko, the enormous Scouser wasn’t blessed with a chin to match his physical bulk.
- Eleider Alvarez vs. Allan Green, Friday, ESPN2, Hartford Conn. You know, this might not be too bad. Light heavyweight Allan Green (32-4, 22 KO) is one of boxing’s perpetual underachievers, a bit of a headcase who has never managed to get his shit together mentally. But he’s a physical specimen and is good enough to beat second tier opponents, which makes him a good gatekeeper. He’ll be a test for Alvarez (12-0, 8 KO), a Colombian fighting out of Montreal. The heavy handed South American has sparred with the likes of Jean Pascal and has knocked off a decent number of lower level opponents north of the border. I see this fight as quite evenly matched. If I’m forced to make a call I’ll go with Alvarez — one can never underestimate Alan Green. Aussie featherweight Billy Dib (35-2, 21 KO) aims to bounce back from a loss to Evgeny “The Mexican Russian” Gradovich on the undercard, facing local boy Mike Oliver (25-3, 8 KO). It’s hard to give Oliver much of a chance, as he has no chin and no power — not a great combination for a professional boxer. But despite those glaring flaws, Oliver isn’t afraid to mix it up, which makes him exactly the kind of opponent Dib needs to look good.
- The Rest. On Friday you can see Mexican junior bantamweights David Carmona (15-1-3, 8 KO) and Danny Flores (14-4, 8 KO) clash on Telemundo… There’s one of those neat little Prizefighter tournaments in London on Saturday, this time in the junior welterweight division, with lightweight Kevin Mitchell (33-2, 24 KO) fighting the dreaded TBA on the same card… There’s a card in Germany on Saturday night headlined by Felix Sturm (37-3-2, 16 KO), who fights unheralded Montenegrin Predrag Radosevic (27-0, 9 KO). Edison Miranda is fighting on the undercard, if anybody cares anymore.
