Fight Week Preview
It's not a super busy weekend for the sweet science. It is an important one though. We get two massive cards, one on each side of the Atlantic.
The action kicks off in Dublin, Ireland, as Chantelle Cameron looks to play a spoiler to Katie Taylor's homecoming for the second time in six months. Cameron, 18-0 (8) Northamptonshire, UK pulled a major upset in outpointing Taylor and doing the impossible, getting a decision over the Irishwomen. She scored a majority decision in a fight she largely dominated. She will be putting her undefeated record and all of the super lightweight titles on the line against Taylor, 22-1 (6) of Ireland. If Cameron wins she has a good argument for Fighter of the Year, regardless of gender.
Also on the card is touted prospect Paddy Donovan 11-0 (8), of Limerick, Ireland, who will put his unblemished record on the line against tall, rangy Brit Danny Ball 12-1-1 (6), of West Midlands UK. Donovan last fought on the Taylor-Cameron I undercard and stopped Sam O'maison in six lopsided rounds. Ball will be the best fighter the Irishman has faced to date. Ball has won three in a row since his stoppage loss to Ekow Essuman. The Brit last fought in May and stopped Jamie Robinson in eight.
We will get another look at the upcoming prospect "The Diva" Gary Cully, 16-1 (10) of Naas, Ireland. Cully looks to bounce back from his first career loss, a third-round stoppage at the hands of Jose Felix. Cully will battle Reece Mould, 18-1 (6), who has won five in a row since his 9th-round stoppage loss to Leigh Wood in 2021.
The action moves to Las Vegas, Nevada, for the final Showtime PPV ever as David Benavidez, 27-0 (23) collides with Demetrius "Boo Boo" Andrade, 32-0 (19), in a 12-round non-title fight. Benavidez looks to make a bid for Fighter of the Year as well. He has already recorded an impressive unanimous points victory over Caleb Plant in the Spring. "Boo Boo" finally gets the big-time fight that has long escaped him. The now 35-year-old native of Providence, Rhode Island, last fought in January and pummeled Demond Nicholson at the Capital One Arena on the undercard of Tank Davis vs Hector Garcia.
In the co-main event, we get a 10-round non-title fight featuring the return of Jermall Charlo32-0 (22), who returns from a two-and-a-half year layoff and battles former welterweight world title challenge Jose Benavidez, 28-2-1 (19) who bounced back from his thrilling loss to Danny Garcia by stopping Sladan Janjanin* in five back in August. The undercard also features two world title fights as Hector Garcia, 16 -1 (10), puts his WBA Super Featherweight title on the line against Lamont Roach, 23-1-1 (9), who has won four fights in a row since losing his first world title shot to Jamel Herring in a less than memorable but competitive 12-round decision. Rpach has been out of the ring since last July when he outpointed Angel Rodriguez over 12-rounds
Also on the card is fan favorite Puerto Rican KO artist and IBF Junior Featherweight champ Subriel Matias, 19-1 (19), who takes on undefeated Uzbekh challenge Shohjahon Ergashev, 23-0 (20). Ergashev last fought over a year ago as well and stopped Angel Martinez in five rounds.
