Saturday Night Boxing: 21st July

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by Dan Williams
TWO of the greatest pound-for-pound fighters on the planet go toe-to-toe in the early hours tonight, but most expect the fight between Bernard Hopkins and Ronald ‘Winky' Wright to be a bit of a bore.

This is a contest for the purists rather than action lovers.

The fighters areclosely matched in terms of skill, but are both masters of defence and usually employ cagey tactics and prefer to sit back and wait for their opponents to attack. The bookies can't split them either. Most have Winky, at 35 seven years B-Hop's junior,as a marginal favourite, but Ladbrokes can't split them.

“It's a 50-50 fight between two seasoned pros. We're expecting a cagey, tactical affair and so are the punters,” said the firm's Nick Weinberg.

And layers aren't expecting a knockout, with over 11.5 rounds available at around a skinny 1-5. In terms of boxing ability, Winky probably has the edge. The slick southpaw will be happy to fight his usual game, hiding behind his ramrod jab and impeccable defence, looking to pick off Hopkins and build up a healthy lead to take into the latter stages.

Hopkins would prefer Winky to come and fight, but as this is unlikely to be the case he may find he is forced to be the aggressor. The former undisputed middleweight champ is the bigger, stronger man, and will look to rough up Wright on the inside and attempt to throw him around the ring. And Hopkins has an unbelievable record against southpaws. He has faced ten in his career and knocked out nine of them. Despite his age, heshows no signs of becoming any weaker and is renowned for his incredible fitness and healthy lifestyle.

But Winky may be too slick for the old dog. He should be able to frustrate Hopkins and beat him at his own game, but it will be close.

Recommendations
W Wright, 2pts 10-11
Draw, 0.5pt 18-1

racingpost

vbookie event-
http://www.thedailypunt.com/forum/td...g-competition/

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Don't blink.

That is the message ahead of Enzo Maccarinelli's WBO cruiserweight title defence against Wayne Braithwaite in Cardiff this weekend.

Drama looks assured as these two massive punchers collide on another good-looking ITV bill that has the potential to sizzle.

Maccarinelli, at 26 thought to be approaching his peak, is a red-hot favourite with the layers to beat the Guyana-born, New York-based Braithwaite.

However the Welshman still needs to answer questions about his durability after being decked by the likes of Bruce Scott, Lee Swaby, Mark Hobson and Buster Keeton in a pro career that began back in 1999.

Braithwaite, like Maccarinelli, is a noted banger and so despite the bookmakers chalking the Briton up as a 1/6 favourite it could very well be a case of who lands first here.

Maccarinelli comes into the fight off the back of two facile first-round KO wins while Braithwaite has fought just once since 2005.

He looks up against it in the Valleys this weekend but the 22-2 southpaw has mixed in far better company than Maccarinelli and only loses to the very best.

The two losses on his regime came against current undisputed cruiser king Jean-Marc Mormeck and former WBO title challenger Guillermo Jones.

There is no shame in that and even despite said defeats there are plenty of people within the game who are convinced he can spring a shock in Wales.

Maccarinelli is a huge puncher and has come on a bundle since he started working with Enzo Calzaghe, but the truth of the matter is this is a massive step up for him and as Nicky Cook demonstrated last wekend the difference between being a solid champion in the UK and a legitimate world-class operator can be vast.

As well as those two early recent wins, Maccarinelli has also stopped the previously unstoppable Marcelo Dominguez and with 20 wins inside the distance in 26 victories it's clear that the man can bang.

Braithwaite, though, is a seasoned operator who is a devastating puncher himself. He will view this as possibly his final roll of the dice at world level and punchers drinking in the last-chance saloon are a dangerous breed.

The form guide points to Maccarinelli but at 7/2 Braithwaite won't be without his backers.

However, I feel the best bet looks the 5/6 about the fight lasting less than 6.5 rounds.

The pair have amassed 38 KO wins between them and given that both still need to provide answers regarding their durability, this one could be over in a hurry.

Also in Cardiff Alex Arthur goes for WBO super-featherweight glory against Kobo Gogoladze.

Arthur, a decorated amateur with just the one defeat (to Michael Gomez, memorably in 2003) on his record, starts as favourite against the Georgian (now based in America).

Gogoladze is no spring chicken at 34 and gets his chance after solid wins against the likes of Carl Johanesson, Antonio Davis and Tyrone Harris.

However, Arthur just looks that bit more polished and the Edinburgh native, who is huge for the weight, looks a decent bet to win this one by decision at 2/1.

Across the pond this weekend we have an intriguing catchweight contest between Bernard Hopkins and 'Winky' Wright.

Hopkins is a 42-year-old ex-con who, rather like a nice bottle of Merlot, seems to be maturing with age.

Wright is a much avoided, have-gloves, will-travel type who is rightly regarded among the world's best pound-for-pound fighters.

The layers can't split them and many people fancy Hopkins to prevail on account of this match being made at 171lbs.

Wright is essentially a light-middleweight while Hopkins looked better than ever when he moved up to light-heavy to beat Antonio Tarver last year.

However, that fight was a year ago and at 42 such inactivity can be detrimental.

Hopkins is as game and as tough as they come (he learned to box while doing a 25-year stretch for armed robbery) but I fancy Wright here for several reasons.

The 51-3-1 (25) Washington DC native is a masterful fighter and despite turning pro back in 1990 there are not many miles on the clock.

He has upset the odds in the past against the likes of Felix Trinidad and Shane Mosley (twice) and, Floyd Mayweather aside, I see him as the finest defensive fighter currently donning gloves.

It's a cliche but the fact remains what you can't see you can't hit and I fancy Wright to be just that bit too cute for 'B-Hop'. The points win is available at 5/4 (Ladbrokes) and should be jumped on from a small height.

Bettingzone

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Sat/Sun
19:30 Alex Arthur (1/3) Draw (25) Koba Gogoladze (4)
19:45 Souleyman Mbaye (3/19) Draw (33) Gavin Rees (8)
21:30 Enzo Maccarinelli (1/3) Draw (33) Wayne Braithwaite (7/2)
02:00 Michael Katsidis (3/19) Draw (25) Czar Amonsot (193/35)
02:00 Oscar Larios (15/8) Draw (20) Jorge Linares (11/21)
04:00 Ronald Wright (10/11) Draw (18) Bernard Hopkins (17/13)