Weekend Fight Preview 2: Andre Ward, Eddie Chambers, Edison Miranda, Aurthur Abraham

Showtime - Friday Night

Andre Ward (15-0, 10 Ko's) vs Jerson Ravelo (18-2, 12 Ko's)

Ward, the former olympic gold medalist and the other super prospect from Goossen Tutor Promotions that will be featured this weekend, is looking to continue his ascension up the ranks.

His opponent, Jerson Ravelo, is a good fighter, but his only real competition was when he stepped in the ring with then undefeated Allen Green, finding himself on the losing end of a lopsided decision.

At 22 years old, Ward can slowly develop his boxing skills and record at the professional level.  He has already proven to be a great champion in the amateur ranks and should eventually do the same in the super middleweight division.

Under-card: Eddie Chambers (30-1, 16 Ko's) vs. Raphael Butler (31-4, 24 Ko's) 

Eddie Chambers will be looking to avenge his recent loss to Alexander Povetkin in what would have propelled him to receive a shot at the IBF heavyweight title.  

After showing that he had the ability and speed to land clean punches on Povetkin in the first three rounds, he began to falter in the middle of the fight.  He stopped throwing any punches and was engulfed by Povetkin's relentless pressure, resulting in a wide unanimous decision loss. 

Raphael Butler stands in front of him and his journey back to the top contender spot in the lackluster heavyweight division.

Showtime - Saturday Night

Edison Pantera Miranda (30-2, 26 Ko's) vs King Arthur Abraham (26-0, 21 Ko's) II

Their first match up was a grueling battle that ended in a controversial decision.  After watching the fight it is apparent that Abraham's jaw was broken before the "intentional" head butt from Miranda, that many believed caused the ailment. 

Miranda, fore the most part, seemed to dominate the fight and would have won the bout if it wasn't handled so horribly by the referee (and if he wasn't in Abraham's backyard). Forget the fact that he let the doctor work on Abraham during his 5 minute timeout, and the fact that he couldn't make anything that resembled a quality decision in the ring.  He deducted two points for a very weak head butt (should have been 1) and deducted 3 more points for very questionable low blows.

Before any of the controversy started, Abraham was losing rounds due to his low work rate.  He really showed us nothing except that he is one tough mother f-er, finishing the last 7 rounds with a highly visible severly broken jaw.

Miranda claims the fight would have been his if not for the deducted points (we agree) and Abraham claims that the only reason he didn't win more convincingly was due to the fact that his jaw was fractured in two places.  It wasn't very hard to get these two back in the ring together to settle the dispute. 

If Abraham can get through Miranda (not and easy task by any means), it seems he will be a possible future opponent for The Ghost, Kelly Pavlik.

Catch the first match on Showtime tonight @ 10:00 pm (EST) on SHO 2 and directly before the rematch at 6:00 pm (EST).

Weekend Fight Preview 1: Andre Berto and Cristobal Arreola

Once again Showtime and HBO have decided to hold two compelling boxing events on the same evening. And once again, it would be tough to pick one or the other.

HBO - Saturday Night

Andre Berto (21-0, 18 Ko's) vs. Miguel Rodriguez (29-2, 23 Ko's) 

Although facing mid-level talent up to this point in his young career, Andre Berto has defeated every opponent in an overwhelmingly convincing fashion.  He is built with an even combination of great speed and power, and we think he is the best young prospect in the talented welterweight division.

His opponent, Miguel Rodriguez, is a slight step up in class from Berto's previous foes and has never been stopped within the time limit.  However these factors should not play a part in another dominating victory for Andre Berto.

Berto's camp is content with having him slowly develop and build his unblemished record (which is a smart decision considering the talent at the top of the division). He is only 24 years old and will be challenging for the world title soon enough.

Chris Arreola (24-0, 21 Ko's) vs. Chazz Witherspoon (23-0, 15 Ko's)

Ever since our meeting with Cristobal Arreola's promotor, we have heard nothing but good things about this heavyweight prospect out of Los Angeles, CA.  Heard. We were under the impression that his last two fights were supposed to be televised, but somehow fell through due to unforeseen circumstances.  It will be great to finally see him in action.

From the clips on the Goossen Tutor Promotions website and YouTube, this ugly mug, standing at 6'4" and 250 lbs, looks like one bad mother (his trunks are even sponsored by a bail bonds company; see left).  

Chazz Witherspoon will be Arreola's first major test inside the ring.  If the pressure of fighting on the main stage doesn't get to The Nightmare, then he should be able to take care of business on his way to possibly becoming the first Mexican heavy weight champion of the world (and finally an American one at that).

Showtime fight preview to come...

Calzaghe vs. Jones: Pavlik Not Gonna Happen

The BBC reported that Joe Calzaghe's promoter, Frank Warren,  is currently working out a deal with former pound-for-pound #1 fighter, Roy Jones Jr. The fight, that Calzaghe claims will be his last, should take place sometime this fall. 

"Fighting the greatest fighter of the 1990's would be the perfect way to finish off my career... This is a case of famous last words, but I think that'll probably be it for me, so my message to my fans is enjoy it now because after this, it'll be the end." 

Calzaghe has also ruled out the possiblilty of a meeting between himself and the undisputed middleweight champion, Kelly Pavlik.  Pavlik is coming off a dominating 3rd round TKO victory over Calzaghe's training partner Gary Lockett. 

Joe admitted "that Pavlik is a good fighter and looked very impressive against Gary, but I'm in a different league" (money where the mouth is Joe).  " Kelly is just establishing himself and is not as big a star as Roy Jones, he's a legend."

So, it seems that Calzaghe will end his career with a victory over another over-the-hill fighter whose name will look great on his undefeated resume.  We do respect his decision to retire at age 37, having accomplished a great deal in his long career.  But, it's too bad that he is opting out of what could have been the fight of the decade.