What’s worse than the tepid undercard to Manny Pacquiao vs. Chris Algieri? Top Rank Promotions’ attempt to get down with the youth with their trash talk gifs creator (example pictured above). Not only is it so very “How do you do, fellow kids,” it also stole the name of friend of the site David Greisman’s column, Fighting Words.
That’s enough gif-griping, though — it’s a big fight week, which means we’re previewing the Pacquiao vs. Algieri undercard and the rest of the week’s boxing besides. There’s quite a lot of quality stuff on, including a cruiserweight grudge match in England and flyweight champ Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez fighting in Japan. This Tuesday also sees the return of HBO’s The Fight Game With Jim Lampley, if that’s the kind of thing you’re into.
The Manny Pacquiao Vs. Chris Algieri Undercard
- Zou Shiming Vs. Kwanpichit Onesongchaigym. Chinese flyweight hope Shiming (5-0, 1 KO) continues to learn the pro trade and make buckets of cash in Macau. He’s up against Thailand’s Onesongchaigym (27-0-2, 12 KO), a game regional level fighter. Onesongchaigym isn’t quick and doesn’t hit that hard, but he does let his hands go and has an impressive commitment to the body. He’s just the kind of guy that the quick-handed Shiming can combine with to put on a good show without ever being at risk of losing.
- Vasyl Lomachenko Vs. Chonlatarn Piriyapinyo. Between Daniel Geale, Blake Caparello and Alex Leapai, Australia has had a pretty bad year in boxing. Thailand might catch up after this Saturday, though, with another Thai fall guy (Piriyapinyo) being fed to a house fighter. Featherweight Lomachenko (2-1, 1 KO) is just a terrifying beast and Piriyapinyo (52-1, 33 KO), will be no match for him. Hopefully the Ukrainian fights one of the division’s other leading lights next.
- Jessie Vargas Vs. Antonio DeMarco. Sadly I don’t see this junior welterweight match-up being competitive either. DeMarco (31-3-1, 23 KO) is a plodder at the best of times and has a lot of miles on the clock for a 28-year-old. Vargas (25-0, 9 KO), is much more technically adept and should be able to keep his Tijuana opponent at bay fairly easily. He’s consistent, if boring, is Vargas, and won’t do a late fade like fellow mover Jorge Linares did against DeMarco three years ago.
The Rest Of The Week’s Boxing Schedule
- Roman Gonzalez Vs. Rocky Fuentes, Saturday, beIN Sports Espanol, Kanagawa Japan. Gonzalez (40-0, 34 KO) is one of the best fighters in the world at any weight. He’s an offensive machine and a pleasure to watch. Fuentes (35-7-2, 20) isn’t any kind of defensive master, so it’s likely to be a painful night for him. The card is actually headlined by top junior lightweight Takashi Miura (27-2-2, 20 KO), who fights Mexico’s Edgar Puerta (23-4-1, 19 KO)
- Nathan Cleverly Vs. Tony Bellew, Saturday, AWE, Liverpool. Once top light heavyweights, Cleverly (28-1, 14 KO) and Bellew (22-2, 14 KO) first fought three years ago, with Cleverly coming away with the majority decision win. Since then both men have been stopped by the division’s best (Sergey Kovalev in Cleverly’s case, Adonis Stevenson in Bellew’s). This fight’s at cruiserweight and may be decided by who has bounced back better from their loss. I’d favour Cleverly’s superior footwork and handspeed over Bellew’s heavier hands, assuming the Welshman isn’t traumatised by his encounter with the Krusher.
- Shane Cameron Vs. Kali Meehan, Saturday, Auckland. What can I say about this? It’s a trans-Tasman clash of two past-it heavyweights who were never that good to begin with. Even the TV promos aren’t convincing.
- Felix Diaz Vs. Adrian Granados, Friday, beIN Sports, Tulsa Okla. Undefeated Dominican welterweight prospect Diaz (15-0, 8 KO) takes on Mexico’s Granados (13-2-2, 9 KO) in what could be a fun one. Granados’ two losses belie solid skills and an ability to throw punches in bunches, while Diaz is strong but lacks polish and is a bit of a bum rusher.
