FIGHT WEEK

Miguel Berchelt vs. Oscar Valdez and the return of Adrian Broner highlight another busy weekend of boxing

Wallin, who made his name in a competitive setback against Tyson Fury, outboxed Dominic Breazeale to win a one-sided decision and bolster his credentials as a legitimate contender on the Adrien Broner-Jovanie Santiago card in Uncasville, Conn. Wallin (22-1, 14 KOs) used his superior speed and skillset to pick apart Breazeale (20-3, 18 KOs) for. 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. 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, who has now claimed an impressive win over Dominic Breazeale, had fought no-one of note prior to his fight with Fury, while Tom Schwartz still hasn't claimed a win to talk about. Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury is slated to take place this summer Results. February 27 - London, England. Tommy Fury def.Scott Williams KO2 (4 rounds - light heavyweight); February 27 - Auckland.

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JANELSON FIGUEROA BOCACHICA (16-0, 11 KOs) VS.
MARK REYES JR. (14-0, 12 KOs)

When: Wednesday, Feb. 17Where: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, ConnTV/Stream: Showtime (ShoBox: The Next Generation)Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)At stake: No titlesPound-for-poundranking: NoneOdds: NAAlso on the card: Vladimir Shishkin vs. Sena Agbeko, super middleweights; Alejandro Guerrero vs. Abraham Montoya, lightweights; Timur Ferefov vs. Argenis Espana, middleweightsPrediction: Bocachica KO 8Background: Bocachica and Reyes are legitimate 147-pound prospects. The former might be best known for having knocked down Teofimo Lopez in sparring a few years ago (see video) but the 22-year-old boxer-puncher from Detroit seems to be a complete fighter. He last fought this past October, when he stopped Nicklaus Flaz in the first round. That was Bocachica’s ShoBox debut. Reyes, a 24-year-old from Tampa, Fla., is building a reputation as power puncher. He has stopped 12 of his 14 opponents, including his last nine. He’s coming off a 47-second knockout of Diego Vicente Perez in November. Both Bocachica and Reyes are fighting in their first scheduled 10-rounder.

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SEAN MCCOMB (11-0, 5 KOs)
VS. GAVIN GWYNNE (12-2, 2 KOS)

When: Friday, Feb. 19Where: Bolton, EnglandTV/Stream: ESPN+Division: Lightweight (135 pounds)At stake: Vacant Commonwealth titlePound-for-pound ranking: NoneOdds: NAAlso on the card: DP Carr vs. Dean Dodge, junior lightweights; Darren Tetley vs. Samuel Antwi, welterweightPrediction: McComb UDBackground: 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.

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MIGUEL BERCHELT (37-1, 33 KOs)
VS. OSCAR VALDEZ (28-0, 22 KOs)

When: Saturday, Feb. 20Where: MGM Grand, Las VegasTV/Stream: ESPNDivision: Junior lightweight (130 pounds)At stake: 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 11^th 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 10^th and final round. That was his second fight at 130 pounds. Valdez has been training alongside Canelo Alvarez in the camp of Eddy Reyenoso.

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ADRIEN BRONER (33-4-1, 24 KOs)
VS. JOVANIE SANTIAGO (14-0-1, 10 KOs)

When: Saturday, Feb. 20Where: Mohegan Sun, Uncasville, Conn.TV/Stream: ShowtimeDivision: Junior welterweight (140 pounds)At stake: No titlesPound-for-pound ranking: NoneOdds: Broner 14-1 favoriteAlso on the card: Robert Easter vs. Ryan Martin, junior welterweights; Otto Wallin vs. Dominic Breazeale, heavyweightsPrediction: Broner KO 7Background: 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.

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DAVID AVANESYAN (26-3-1, 14 KOs)
VS. JOSH KELLY (10-0-1, 6 KOs)

When: Saturday, Feb. 20Where: SSE Arena, LondonTV/Stream: DAZNDivision: Welterweight (147 pounds)At stake: No titlesPound-for-pound ranking

Fury Vs Wallin Fight Card Game

: NoneOdds: Kelly 1½-1 favorite

Fury Vs Wallin Stats

Also on the card: Anthony Fowler vs. Jorge Fortea, junior middleweights; Amy Timlin vs. Carly Skelly, junior featherweights; Florian Marku vs. Rylan Charlton, welterweightsPrediction: 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.

Otto Wallin looked like a threat to any heavyweight on Saturday night.

Wallin, who made his name in a competitive setback against Tyson Fury, outboxed Dominic Breazeale to win a one-sided decision and bolster his credentials as a legitimate contender on the Adrien Broner-Jovanie Santiago card in Uncasville, Conn.

Wallin (22-1, 14 KOs) used his superior speed and skillset to pick apart Breazeale (20-3, 18 KOs) for most of the fight, including some hard, eye-catching left hands from the southpaw.

Breazeale, a two-time title challenger, was the aggressor but most of his shots were wild and telegraphed, which allowed Wallin to avoid them.

Breazeale seemed to be tired and discouraged by the middle rounds, when it was clear that he was in over his head. However, he had his best rounds late in the fight, when he was able to trap Wallin on the ropes and land some power shots.

The problem for Breazeale was that it was too little, too late. He simply hadn’t accomplished enough to make the fight competitive. He landed only 16% of his punches, according to CompuBox. Wallin connected on 35% of his shots, 41% of his power punches.

The scores were 118-110, 117-111 and 116-112, all in Wallin’s favor. Boxing Junkie scored it 118-110 for Wallin.

Fury Vs Wallin Fight Cardiff

“We knew coming in that I had better footwork, better speed, so I wanted to use that,” Wallin said. “And I have good defense, too. He hit me here and there but nothing too serious.

Fury Vs Wallin Fight Card

“I said before the fight that I just gotta do what I’m good at and that’s what I tried to do.”

The 30-year-old Swede has now won two consecutive fights since the loss to Fury. He stopped Travis Kauffman this past August.

He was asked who he would like to fight next but only said that he wants to continue to get better.

“My ultimate goal is to be champion,” he said. “But I have to keep improving, I’m not there yet. I’ve got a lot of work to do, I’m getting better. I’m not so focused on who I fight,

“I just want to fight, keep it stepping it up and when I get another shot, I’ll be ready for it.”

Breazeale, 35, was coming off a first-round, one-punch knockout loss to Deontay Wilder. That means he now has lost two one-sided fights in succession. He’ll have to decide whether he wants rebuild at his age.