TWO FIGHTS AND TWO FIGHTERS TO WATCH - DAVIS VS GARCIA UNDERCARD

Two of the biggest names in boxing, let alone the lightweight and super-lightweight divisions, go head to head this weekend as the 28-0 Gervonta Davis takes on the 23-0 Ryan Garcia in Las Vegas. 

This isn’t just a one-fight card though. The undercard is one of the best undercards you are likely to see this year and we’ll be taking a look at a couple of fights and a couple of fighters for you to watch out for.

Fight To Watch: David Morrell Jr vs Yamaguchi Falcao

Widely regarded as one of boxing’s best-kept secrets and one of the most avoided fighters in the super-middleweight division, Cuban David Morrell Jr has made quite a start to his professional career.

He picked up the WBA Interim World title in just his THIRD fight as a professional at the age of 22 and then claimed the full title less than a year later in his fifth fight against Mario Abel Cazares. 

This though is a kid who can quite literally do it all. With the renowned Cuban amateur style combined with lethal power out of his southpaw stance, he’s one of the most exciting boxers on the planet right now and he’s only just getting started. 

Standing in his way here though is the 2012 Olympics bronze medalist Yamaguchi Falcao. In contrast to Morrell Jr’s start to life in the pro ranks, Falcao’s debut was ruled a no contest after he, along with his opponent that day, Martin Fidel Rios, were both disqualified. After suffering his first loss back in 2019, he has remained unbeaten since and comes into this fight off the back of a busy end to 2022 having fought three times in four months. 

Expect Falcao to start fast in the fight and try to walk Morrell Jr onto big shots off the back foot but the Cuban will more than likely assert his dominance on the fight in the mid-rounds and go hunting for the stoppage towards the end of the fight.

Fight To Watch: Bektemir Melikuziev vs Gabe Rosado

In a rematch of their thrilling 2021 encounter, this is a fight that you certainly do not want to miss. 

A silver medalist at the 2016 Olympics, Melikuziev was faultless through his first seven fights as a professional with six stoppage wins coming from those seven victories. 

Meanwhile, Rosado has seen himself become a world-level ‘gatekeeper’ with a record of 26 wins from his 43 fights, including 16 losses and one draw. 

The first fight between the pair was interesting, to say the least. After surviving an early onslaught which included climbing off the canvas in round one, Rosado showed his experience to find a punch from the gods which sent Melikuziev into another universe and gave Rosado one of the biggest wins of his career. 

Since that fight, Melikuziev has won four on the bounce whilst Rosado has suffered three straight losses, all on points. 

The way the fight goes probably won’t be too dissimilar to the way the first fight went, just with a completely different outcome. Rosado knows he can hurt his Uzbek opponent but also knows he can be hurt so he’ll be well aware that he could do with landing another hail mary punch to help guide him to victory. Whether he will though is a completely different story. Expect Melikuziev to be a lot more patient this time and take himself out of the line of fire a little bit more and instead of going hell for leather, pick his punches much better and look to break Rosado down then walk him onto something big.

Fighters To Watch: Elijah Garcia & Floyd Schofield Jr

Two prospects on the undercard to watch out for are the middleweight sensation Elijah Garcia and the lightweight contender Floyd Schofield.

A slick southpaw standing at just over six foot, Garcia isn’t afraid to mix it in the pocket despite his size and he’s already built up a reputation for his work to the body which has seen him claim 12 stoppage victories from his 14 fights to date. He takes another step up in class this weekend as he fights the hard-hitting Kevin Zambrano with the current WBC Latino champ looking to progress from #11 in the rankings into the top 10 at the age of just 19.

Like Garcia, the undefeated Floyd Schofield has already started to make some big noise on the global scene as well as the American scene despite his young age of just 20. 13-0 with 10 knockouts so far, he’s worked his way up to #8 in the WBA world rankings having won the International lightweight title. Cool, calm and calculated, he’s already shown maturity beyond his years so far in his professional career and it would be no surprise to see him pick up another emphatic victory against Jesus Valentin Leon this weekend.