April 2022 - Week V
Saturday April 30, 2022
Taylor v. Serrano
New York City
Where to Watch - DAZN
Undercard - 6PM Main Event - 9:15PM (Central Time)
Hype for this Card - 9/10. First off, you have Amanda Serrano facing Katie Taylor a #1 vs. #2 pound for pound matchup with the unified Lightweight belts on the line. Probably the biggest matchup of all time in Women’s Boxing. On top of that, Franchon Crews Dezurn fights Elin Cederroos to unify all four Super Middleweight Belts. If that’s not enough, there is a matchup between two Super Welterweight veterans Jessie Vargas and Liam Smith. They’re a combined 59-6 and have pretty much fought anyone who’s anyone including Canelo, Pacquiao, Broner, Munguia etc. Finally, you get a couple upcoming prospects in recent Flyweight gold medalist Galal Yafai and US Olympian Light Heavyweight Khalil Coe. Not sure if those last two are going to make it to the broadcast, but not a bad fight in the bunch.
Main Event - Women’s Lightweight 135 pounds Unified WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO and The Ring Titles
Katie Taylor #1 (20-0-0) Underdog
vs.
Amanda Serrano #2 (42-1-1) Favorite
What’s at Stake
The unified WBA, WBC, IBF, WBO, The Ring titles and Women’s Pound for Pound #1 are all up for grabs here. Basically, whoever wins can claim to be the best women’s boxer on the planet. Serrano owns the WBC and WBO Featherweight belts, but they aren’t on the line as this will be fought at Lightweight.
Katie “Simply the Best” Taylor
35 years old from Ireland, Taylor is the current unified Lightweight champion. And while she’s only fought 20 matches professionally, she’s won everything you can possibly win in the amateur ranks. From a 2012 Olympic Gold, to 5 World Championships, 6 European Championships, 5 EU Championships and 1 European Games Gold. So you get the picture that when she was ready to make her pro debut in 2016, it didn’t take long to win belts there as well. Taylor is a highly technical boxer that is able to outskill her opponents and win on points. She dosen’t rely as much on her strength as evidenced by her relatively low knockout percentage. Only 6 in 20 fights. If Taylor is able to avoid a KO from Serrano’s power punches she has a good shot if it goes to the cards as she’ll likely have a better percentage of punches landed.
Amanda “The Real Deal” Serrano
33 years old from Puerto Rico, Serrano has done basically everything you can do at the professional level. She’s held belts at seven different weight classes. That is a lot of versatility , where Taylor has been at Lightweight her whole career. In fact, she’s the only women to have success in that many weight classes. The only man being Manny Pacquiao. I’m kind of surprised that Taylor is currently the pound for pound #1 myself, but I don’t follow women’s boxing as closely and at this level we’re probably splitting hairs between #1 and #2 anyway.
As far as Serrano in the ring, she fights with a level of aggression that can’t be matched by a lot of other fighters. In past fights you’ll see that she is able to outwork and overwhelm with flurries of punches that don’t stop. Not to mention that these punches are coming with power and accuracy as well. The test for Serrano here is going to be her defense in my opinion. Will she be able to do enough damage to offset Taylor’s technical strikes that could cost her the match on points.
Pick to Win
This match will probably go one of two ways. Serrano by stoppage or Taylor if it goes to the cards. I think Serrano will just be too much for Taylor to handle here though.
Serrano by KO in 9.
Undercard
Jessie Vargas vs. Liam Smith - This should be a solid fight that pits two super welterweight veterans against each other. I don’t know much about either, and don’t know how much of a future in the division they have with guys like Fundora, Charlo, Tszyu and Castano, but it should be entertaining.
Galal Yafai vs. Miguel Cartgena - Yafai is the 2020 Olympic gold medalist at flyweight in his 2nd pro fight. In his 1st fight he already captured the International WBC belt. It’s a minor belt but being given that opportunity, you can see what people think he can do. He’ll most likely be fighting for world titles soon.
Franchon Crews Dezurn vs. Elin Cederroos - Another unification fight for women here. All 4 Super Middleweight belts on the line with 2 belonging to each. Neither fighter really has much name recognition, but the stakes should make this an interesting one to watch.
Saturday April 30, 2022
Valdez v. Stevenson
Las Vegas, NV
ESPN+
Undercard - 9PM Main Event - 11PM
Hype for this card - 8/10. This will be the first time I’ll be able to see Stevenson or Valdez fight, plus it’s a belt unification, so I’m always up to watch two guys pushing in all their chips. It’s like a game 7 in the playoffs. On top of that, you have two prospects on the undercard. One legitimate in Olympian Keyshawn Davis and one maybe not so much that’s just being pushed by promoters in Nico Ali Walsh. (Yeah, he’s Muhammad Ali’s grandson).
Main Event - Super Featherweight 130 pounds WBC, WBO Unified Super Featherweight World Title
Oscar Valdez #2 (30-0-0)
vs.
Shakur Stevenson #1 (17-0-0)
What’s at Stake:
The winner becomes the Unified WBO, WBC Super Featherweight Champion. Not only that, someone’s 0 has got to go, as both are coming in with undefeated records. Oscar Valdez may have a little bit more to lose here as a 31 year old, he may face a tougher road back to another title if he loses.
Oscar Valdez
31 years old from Mexico, Valdez is the reigning WBC Super Featherweight belt holder. He’s coming off his first defense of his title back in September, handing fellow undefeated Robson Conceicao the first loss of his career. Valdez prides himself on his aggressive power punching and is considered a bit of a knockout artist with 23 KOs in his 30 fights. He’s going to have a challenge with Stevenson’s agility and willingness to avoid confrontation though. Either way, his style usually makes for really entertaining fights so it will be fun to see how it plays out.
Shakur Stevenson
24 years old from New Jersey, Stevenson is the current WBO Super Featherweight belt holder. At 24, Stevenson is just a kid compared to other belt holders, but he was able to fly through the ranks due to his amateur pedigree. He won the silver at Bantamweight in the 2016 Olympics. Stevenson hangs his hat on being able to out maneuver opponents. He’s lightning fast and maintains great defense. While he’s not really known for his power, he’s a great technical striker with amazing hand speed, amassing enough hits to easily win out on judge’s cards. While it makes him a great boxer, it also draws a bit of criticism. It’s clear that Stevenson is often happy to win rounds without engaging too much. His recent win vs. Nakathila even drew boos from the crowd after only 132 punches landed between the two the entire match. For comparison, most boxers land 20/round. I’ll be looking to see how he can outscore Valdez, while avoiding getting hit with the KO.
Pick to Win
I hate to say, I think this can be a boring match. Stevenson may want to play it safe and stay out of range from Valdez’s power, winning on the cards.
Stevenson by Unanimous Decision.
Undercard
Keyshawn Davis vs. Esteban Sanchez - Davis is a guy to watch. Won silver at the 2020 olympics and is going to be competing for a belt after a few more tune ups I think. Tons of technical skill combined with precision power shots were on display in his last fight against Jose Zaragoza in a 2 round knockout. Sanchez is a step up in class, but expecting a win here.
Nico Ali Walsh vs. Alejandro Ibarra - Ali Walsh is being pushed so hard by promoters. He’s being given every opportunity earned or not and he hasn’t exactly shined. Technically 4-0, Ibarra should be a tougher challenge than anything previous, but I’m betting the matchmakers know what they’re doing here and Ali will be able to sneak by.