There’s a bigger name fighting this weekend, but despite his Mexican redhead status, Canelo Alvarez’s hair has nothing on Oleksandr Usyk’s. And Usyk’s fight is better, too!
We did miss some meaningful action by virtue of your TQBR proprietor being on vacation this week; you can catch up on Dusty Hernandez-Harrison, Shinsuke Yamanaka and Hozumi Hasegawa in the links there.
- Canelo Alvarez vs Liam Smith, Saturday, HBO Pay-Per-View, Arlington Texas. This is a crap PPV main event but Canelo’s big enough that he demands it these days, sadly. Alvarez is moving down to 154 to face Smith, a guy who, from what I’ve seen, likes his combination punching both up and downstairs. But he’s never faced anyone very good, and his status as a top-10 junior middleweight says more about the bottom end of the division than it does him. The undercard has a solid-ish fight between fringe middleweight contenders Gabriel Rosado and Willie Monroe.
- Krzysztof Glowacki vs Oleksandr Usyk, Saturday, klodtv.com, Poland. What a terrific cruiserweight fight, on paper. Usyk is brimming with potential, so much that the idea of him facing Glowacki — one of the best if not THE best in the division — after just nine fights isn’t ridiculous. This is a huge, huge step-up fight for a really talented boxer and you have to love the risks both side are taking here.
- Ishe Smith vs Frank Galarza, Friday, Bounce, Las Vegas. Does anyone really want to see Ishe Smith at this point? He’s really dragged a remarkable amount of TV time out of being on “The Contender” forever ago and not really fighting in a style most appreciate. He’s also just 3-3 in his last six. He’s still connected to Floyd Mayweather, is all I can figure. Galarza, at least, has a more fan-friendly approach, although he’s coming off his first loss (a KO) to prospect Jarrett Hurd.
