by: José A Maldonado, MFA
It’s easy to lose sight of the bouts that take place a week or so following a big fight, especially when the big fight involves arguably the worst robbery of the past decade or so, as occurred in the Manny Pacquiao-Timothy Bradley match last week. Make no mistake about it: people will still be discussing Bradley’s ultra-controversial decision victory over Pacquiao for years to come, so it’ll be easy for many fight fans to overlook the rather solid scraps taking place the week immediately following this huge event.
Although this weekend’s bouts do not involve any megastars, it does include the son of a legend seeking to prove his legitimacy as a title holder as well as a pair of heavyweights hoping to get back into title contention. So without further ado, here is a list of fights you should keep your eye on, and who knows, maybe the action in these fights will cure your bad decision hangover.
Tomasz Adamek vs. Eddie Chambers – Newark, New Jersey
No doubt about it: this one will be close. Pittsburgh’s Eddie “Fast” Chambers (36-2-18 KOs) will be making his return to the ring after being away for over a year. Hopefully he’s used this time to work on the deficiencies exposed by Wladimir Klitschko in the one-sided beating Chambers received back in 2010. Since then he’s only fought once and going into this bout, perhaps he should have taken a tune up. That is because Tomasz Adamek, though only about an inch taller, will have the hometown advantage fighting in his adopted Newark. Adamek (45-2-28 KOs) is a tough brawler who always comes to fight and is coming off his own bad encounter with a Klitschko, his coming against Vitali, whom absolutely destroyed the Polish hero. Adamek, nonetheless, fought as recently as March and will not be battling ring rust like Chambers will. Chambers’ superior boxing skills, though, may even this one out. Should be entertaining to see who edges out his opponent for a position as a contender.
Ryan Rhodes vs. Sergey Rabchenko – Manchester, England
The last time Ryan Rhodes (46-5-31 KOs) got a shot at a title he bravely endured a shellacking for 12 rounds at the hands of Saúl “Canelo” Alvarez before referee Hector Afu finally stepped in to stop the junior middleweight championship bout. The fight was his first outside of the UK, after which he returned home for a confidence-building points win over little-known Siarhei Khomitski in his native Yorkshire at 161 pounds. Now he’s back at 154 and ready to try for another belt, this time for the European light middleweight title against Sergey Rabchenko (20-0-15 KOs) of Belarus. Unlike Rhodes, Rabchenko has traveled extensively throughout his career, though he hasn’t beaten anyone of note. What makes this an intriguing bout is that, though Rhodes has faced better opposition and this will be Rabchenko’s toughest fight by far, Rabchenko has proven to be quite adept at fighting on the road. Should Rhodes win, expect him to defend his title several time at home against some mediocre challengers. A win for Rabchenko, meanwhile, would give him some much needed exposure and might even get him a decent fight in the States.
Scott Quig vs. Rendall Munroe – Manchester, England
Quig vs. Munroe is this weekend’s sleeper bout. It pits two talented boxers who, though at different stages in their careers, are looking to prove something. At only 23, Lancashire’s Quig (24-0-17 KOs) has already become a star in the UK, even winning the BBBofC’s super bantamweight title last year. This weekend he hopes to add the vacant WBA title as he takes on Rendall Munroe who, at 32, wants to show the world that he still belongs near the top of the 122-pound weight division. With an impressive win over Victor Terrazas and tough decision loss to Toshiaki Nishioka, Munroe has the clear advantage experience-wise; Quig, nonetheless, is younger, not to mention he’ll be fighting in front of an always raucous Manchester crowd. Couple this with the fact that Munroe doesn’t punch very hard while Quig has proven to have a rather weak chin, and you’ve got the ingredients to what could be this weekend’s best fight.
Miguel Vázquez vs. Daniel Attah – El Paso, Texas
Mexico’s Miguel Vázquez has been on a tear as of late. Since dropping a decision to Canelo Alvarez in a 2008 rematch (Alvarez won their first encounter, Vázquez’ debut), Vázquez has gone on a 9-fight winning streak that he hopes to extend this Saturday on the Julio César Chávez-Andy Lee undercard in El Paso, Texas. He owns impressive victories over Ji-Hoon Kim, Briedis Prescott, Leonardo Zappavigna, and Ammeth Díaz. His only other loss came to Timothy Bradley 5 years ago. This guy has clearly earned his way onto the HBO card and a win over Nigeria’s Attah, the consummate gate keeper, will launch him into even bigger bouts. Attah (26-10-1-9 KOs) has been stopped in half of his defeats and is on a three fight skid. A loss, though, will most likely not too much in his career since, for some reason, promoters prefer to use his name as a means to raise their fighters’ status. Expect the 25-year old Vázquez (30-3-13 KOs) to dominate in what should be a great opportunity for fight fans to see a boxer who is on the rise.
Julio César Chávez Jr. vs. Andy Lee – El Paso, Texas
We know what Andy Lee must be thinking: “Finally.” He’s won 13 fights in a row, has not been afraid to travel, and has even taken bouts in community rec centers to stay busy, and now he can finally fight for a world title on Saturday. You may remember that, back in March, he was supposed to featured on HBO’s undercard of the Sergio Martínez – Matthew Macklin bout. Lee’s management and promoter Lou DiBella could not agree on an opponent, so Lee was dropped. He was also considered as a potential challenger for WBA champ Felix Sturm, but Sturm instead chose to fight Sebastian Zbik (whom Chávez beat) in Germany, leaving Lee again without a dance partner. The mere name would suggest that Lee (28-1-20 KOs) is an underdog, but not so fast. He’s faced solid competition, has more amateur experience, and is two inches taller than his Mexican counterpart. Chávez, on the other hand, has pleaded with his handlers to get him in the ring with better opponents. They’ve responded by putting him in the ring with some more than serviceable fighters, but Lee is clearly his best opponent to date. If Lee can use his jab and use his power to back up the champ, he has a good chance of winning. The crowd will be against him, though, and with each fight, Chávez (45-0-1-31 KOs) has shown slight improvement. Whether it will be enough will be evident on Saturday night in a fight that is sure to produce some high drama – let’s just hope it has nothing to do with the scorecards.
José A Maldonado is senior staff writer at punchrate.com and a contributing writer for proboxinginsider.com
