The later few weeks will eager the desk well within the boxing global. As an anticipated big-fight summer time approaches, the middleweights and featherweights will tug heart degree and detail a variety of aggressive bouts that detail one of the fastest and maximum robust opponents on the earth.
Up first is Janibek Alimkhanuly in a middleweight identify protection towards Steven Butler and Rolando Romero going through Ismael Barroso in a WBA intervening time youth welterweight identify bout. Each be able to arise out from the remains of their categories, however victories on Saturday are a ways from assured. Is Alimkhanuly the most efficient middleweight or does that honor belong to anyone else?
On Would possibly 20, Katie Taylor makes her homecoming bout in Eire. She’ll face any other undisputed champion in Chantelle Cameron and guard her undisputed girls’s youth welterweight championship. Is that this the must-see girls’s boxing matchup we’re on the lookout for?
Ben Child, Nick Parkinson and Michael Rothstein have a look at the next fights and independent what’s actual and what’s no longer.
Actual or Now not: Janibek Alimkhanuly is the most efficient middleweight then GGG
Actual-ish. Alimkhanuly is the most efficient middleweight within the section apart from Gennadiy “GGG” Golovkin, or even that may be up for debate. Alimkhanuly was once a 2016 Olympian who, like Golovkin, is a proud consultant of Kazakhstan. The 30-year-old is 13-0 with 8 knockouts and is headlining the next Supremacy Rank on ESPN card.
Alternatively, Alimkhanuly hasn’t at all times been as important as one may believe. He may have regarded higher in a 2021 TKO victory over an overly washed Hassan N’Dam at the Terence Crawford-Shawn Porter undercard. He dropped a couple of rounds towards Denzel Bentley in his WBO middleweight identify protection extreme November.
Alimkhanuly will have to be crushing combatants in an overly susceptible middleweight section out of doors of Golovkin. He’s a -3000 favourite over Butler, with the over/below at 5.5 rounds. Alimkhanuly could be probably the most highest 160-pounders on the earth, however he wishes larger wins if he’s moving to proceed to stand nondescript combatants. — Child
Actual or Now not: Leigh Timber will avenge his loss to Mauricio Lara within the rematch
Actual. Lara’s damaging nature when he fights within the U.Okay., and the truth that he prohibited Timber in seven rounds in February, is good-looking compelling proof that the Mexican will have to be anticipated to accumulation his WBA featherweight identify when the pair meet once more in a rematch at Manchester Enviornment on Would possibly 27.
Lara is ESPN’s Number one at 126 kilos and his punching energy has evident him two times quietness house crowds in England. In 2021, he was once unknown at the global degree when he prohibited Josh Warrington, upcoming the arena featherweight Number one.
However Timber was once forward on all 3 judges’ scorecards (58-56, 58-56 and 59-55) on the future of the stoppage, triggered by way of the boxer’s educator’s Ben Davison dropping by the wayside. Timber was once unsatisfied together with his educator’s intervention on the future, then he have been floored by way of a crunching left hook, and he had proven just right keep an eye on of the tussle till the 7th around.
With a couple of changes and inflexible self-discipline to a way to defuse Lara’s energy punching — as he had achieved for a lot in their first tussle — Timber can win a slender issues choice next this generation. The Nottingham boxer has achieved it sooner than to drag off a amaze win, when he produced extreme around KO wins to defeat Michael Conlan and Can Xu in global identify fights. Lara’s warning is simple, however the Mexican leaves gaps in his protection as he is going at the assault. If Timber can make the most of the openings Lara leaves, he can patiently form up a issues manage to win again the belt. — Parkinson
Actual or Now not: Terri Harper vs. Cecilia Braekhus is a greater matchup than Chantelle Cameron vs. Katie Taylor
Now not actual. Harper-Braekhus is a pleasant tussle. It’s. However it’s additionally a tussle between a fighter who might not be the most efficient in her section (Harper) towards a former Negative. 1 pound-for-pound fighter who’s not the most efficient on the earth — perhaps at the border of the Supremacy 10.
Optimistically the winner of Harper-Braekhus faces unified youth middleweight champion Natasha Jonas for what could be an overly subtle tussle. However there’s disagree method that tussle compares with Taylor-Cameron. Now not alike. May not be in the similar sun gadget.
Taylor and Cameron are each undisputed champions — Taylor at light-weight, Cameron at youth welterweight. Each are within the ESPN pound-for-pound Supremacy 10. And each are nonetheless of their primes or very, very alike to it. Cameron is a great puncher and really clever fighter. Alternative than Taylor’s tussle towards Amanda Serrano extreme April — and in all probability her first tussle towards Delfine Persoon — that is moving to be Taylor’s maximum tricky check to life.
In the case of expectancies and identify reputation, Taylor-Cameron is on the higher stage of ladies’s boxing. Harper-Braekhus is a degree under that. — Rothstein
Actual or Now not: Rolando Romero is a govern fighter at 140 kilos
Now not actual. Rolando Romero is a deeply unserious contender at youth welterweight. His highest win to life is towards Anthony Yigit, who in some way got here in 5.2 kilos over the prohibit for his or her tussle in July 2021. Gervonta “Tank” Davis carried Romero for a couple of rounds of their tussle extreme Would possibly sooner than Davis became it up a notch and collected the stoppage win.
Now to be honest to Romero, beating Alberto Puello this Saturday may have helped Romero’s try to be taken extra severely. However Puello was once pulled from the tussle and misplaced the WBA identify then checking out certain for a prevented substance. Ismael Barroso (24-3-2, 22 KOs) was once selected because the alternative. One has to miracle if Botirzhon Akhmedov (9-2, 8 KOs), who misplaced a crack choice to Puello extreme yr, may were the easier possibility with Puello out. However regardless, it’s as much as Romero to turn out he if truth be told has the chops to hold with the most efficient youth welterweights on the earth. — Child
