Fury Vs Wallin Fight Card
FIGHT WEEK
Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez and the return of Adrian Broner highlight another busy weekend of boxing
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EDDIE HEARN: Our Joshua vs Fury negotiations NO LONGER WITH DANIEL KINAHAN; Oscar Valdez with the Knockout of the Year Over Miguel Berchelt, Wins Belt; Deontay Wilder vs Tyson Fury 2 ON THIS DAY FREE FIGHT; Canelo vs. Yildirim: Fight Week Is Here; Oscar Valdez Accurately Predicts His Stoppage Of Miguel Berchelt. Otto Wallin Vs Dominic Breazeale. The Chief Support And Most Intriguing Matchup On This Adrien Broner Showtime Card. Sweden’s Otto Wallin (21-1) was a completely unknown quantity when he was selected by #1 Heavyweight Tyson Fury to be his opponent for his Mexican Independence Day fight. Otto Wallin wants a shot to avenge his defeat against Tyson Fury after causing the Brit a huge scare and leaving him requiring 47 stitches in their first fight. The Swedish heavyweight was. Also on the card: Robert Easter vs. Ryan Martin, junior welterweights; Otto Wallin vs. Dominic Breazeale, heavyweights; Prediction: Broner KO 7; Background: Broner garners the attention of a elite athlete but the truth is he hasn’t had success for years. The four-division titleholder hasn’t won a fight since he narrowly outpointed Adrian. Deontay Wilder vs. Tyson Fury II, billed as Unfinished Business, was a heavyweight professional boxing rematch between undefeated and reigning WBC champion Deontay Wilder and undefeated former unified WBA (Super), IBF, WBO, IBO, The Ring, and lineal champion Tyson Fury, for the WBC and vacant The Ring, and lineal heavyweight titles.
JANELSON FIGUEROA BOCACHICA (16-0, 11 KOs) VS.
MARK REYES JR. (14-0, 12 KOs)
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SEAN MCCOMB (11-0, 5 KOs)
VS. GAVIN GWYNNE (12-2, 2 KOS)
Background: McComb, a 28-year-old southpaw, is one of the top young fighters from Belfast, Northern Ireland. He isn’t particularly powerful but he has demonstrated consistently against second-tier opposition that he’s good boxer. He’s coming off a unanimous-decision victory over Siar Ozgul this past August, which was the second scheduled 10-rounder of his career. Gwynne, a 30-year-old Welshman, had been a good prospect but ran into problems in 2019 and last year. He has lost two of his past three bouts, both setbacks coming in British title fights. Joe Cordina outpointed him in August 2019 and James Tennyson stopped him in six rounds a year later. McComb hopes to build on his momentum; Gwynne is fighting to remain relevant.***
MIGUEL BERCHELT (37-1, 33 KOs)
VS. OSCAR VALDEZ (28-0, 22 KOs)
: Berchelt’s WBC titlePound-for-pound ranking: Berchelt, Honorable MentionOdds: Berchelt 3-1 favoriteAlso on the card: Gabriel Flores Jr. vs. Jayson Velez, junior lightweightsPrediction: Berchelt KO 10Background: The Mexicans were scheduled to meet in December but the bout was postponed after Berchelt tested positive for COVID-19. Berchelt will be making the seventh defense of the belt he won by stopping Francisco Vargas in the 11th round of a classic brawl in January 2017. The 29-year-old, a terrific boxer who can also end any fight in an instant, has stopped his past five official opponents. He was last in the ring this past June, when he knocked out Eleazar Valenzuela in six rounds in Mexico City. However, the fight wasn’t sanctioned as a result of coronavirus restrictions. Thus, the result is not recognized. Valdez, a 30-year-old who lives in the Los Angeles area, is a former 126-pound beltholder who will be fighting for a 130-pound title for the first time. He’s coming off a solid performance against Jayson Velez this past July, putting the Puerto Rican veteran down three times and stopping him in the 10th and final round. That was his second fight at 130 pounds. Valdez has been training alongside Canelo Alvarez in the camp of Eddy Reyenoso.***
ADRIEN BRONER (33-4-1, 24 KOs)
VS. JOVANIE SANTIAGO (14-0-1, 10 KOs)
: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Conn.TV/Stream: ShowtimeDivision: Junior welterweight (140 pounds)At stake: No titlesPound-for-pound ranking: NoneFury Vs Otto Wallin Fight Card
Odds: Broner 14-1 favoriteAlso on the cardFury Vs Wallin Full Fight Card
: Robert Easter vs. Ryan Martin, junior welterweights; Otto Wallin vs. Dominic Breazeale, heavyweightsPrediction: Broner KO 7Fury Vs Wallin Fight Cardiff
Background: Broner garners the attention of a elite athlete but the truth is he hasn’t had success for years. The four-division titleholder hasn’t won a fight since he narrowly outpointed Adrian Granados in February 2017, four years ago. He is 0-2-1 since then, although the losses came against Mikey Garcia (140 pounds) in July 2017 and Manny Pacquiao (147) in January of 2019. He drew with Jessie Vargas between those setbacks. The good news for Broner is that he’s only 31. And he will be fighting Santiago at 140 pounds, at which he won’t be giving away size and strength advantages. Broner will have been out of the ring since the Pacquiao fight, which was more than two years ago. Santiago is a 31-year-old unknown from Puerto Rico. He has a gaudy record but has faced no one of note. His highest-profile victory might’ve been a decision over a faded DeMarcus Corley in 2017. He has won 12 consecutive fights since a draw in his third outing. On the undercard, heavyweights Otto Wallin and Dominic Breazeale hope to position themselves for a title shot. Wallin (21-1, 14 KOs) bounced back from his loss to titleholder Tyson Fury by stopping Travis Kauffman in August. Breazeale (20-2, 18 KOs) is coming off a first-round knockout loss against then-champion Deontay Wilder in May 2019. The Los Angeles-area fighter has failed in two attempts to win a major title.***
DAVID AVANESYAN (26-3-1, 14 KOs)
VS. JOSH KELLY (10-0-1, 6 KOs)
Prediction: Kelly SDBackground: Avanesyan, a 32-year-old Armenian-Russian based in the U.K., hopes to bolster his position as a title contender. The pressure fighter is the European welterweight beltholder and is ranked in the Top 10 of all four major sanctioning bodies. He lost to Lamont Peterson and Egidijus Kavaliauskas in a span of three fights in 2017 and 2018 but has scored three consecutive knockouts since, the last against Jose del Rio in December 2019. Kelly, a 26-year-old from England, is at a crossroads. He was a rising prospect until he drew with Ray Robinson in June 2019, a fight many believe the American deserved to win. The 2016 Olympian must prove against Avanesyan that he can compete at a high level if he hopes to contend for a world title one day.