Boxing Preview: July 30th.
Photo by Steven Ryan/Getty Images
While still in the summer holiday period, so to speak, boxing is giving us a couple of interesting cards this weekend, one at European level in the UK and one more starry world class one in the US. Let’s take a look.
Chris Billam-Smith vs Isaac Chamberlain
Cruiserweight
First up, a solid contest between two fighters trying to make the jump from British to world level. Both of them have worked their way back into contention after losses a few years ago knocked them off course- Chamberlain to Lawrence Okolie, CBS to Richard Riakporhe- though Chamberlain’s path has certainly been the more disrupted as he took time out due to managerial disputes, injury, and a far greater effect from the lockdown period as he’d been training in the US at the time.
Chamberlain’s loss is the fight fans will most remember him for to date, and he’ll be hoping to replace that ‘highlight’ - not just because he lost, but because it was a howlingly awful clinch-fest of a fight and Okolie was not the only one responsible. From his most recent fights, he does seem to still be prone to occasionally fall into clinches, but less so than previously- and he’ll have to be careful, since Billam-Smith has worked since his own loss on really controlling the movement and space in front of him in the ring, and if Chamberlain falls in on him you’d expect him to have some answers ready.
Past that, Chamberlain, who has always been a fighter who comes behind the jab but spent a lot of time in both the Okolie contest and the win over Luke Watkins just after it conceding ground after he threw it, has also looked to have been working on advancing directly and controlling that center line, so it’ll very much be a contest of who can get their jab working best and force their opponent back. Given that he’s fought at a much higher level in the last two years and because you never know how much that initial instinct has been vanquished until tested at a high level, the smart play might be to lean to Billam-Smith, but Chamberlain is a different sort of fighter to Tommy McCarthy and won’t cede that center line that easily whether he’s advancing or not, so it’ll be a mental test for both as to who can hold their nerve.
The rest of the card doesn’t quite stack up for quality, but it does give us the frankly quite insane Joe Pigford, a man who seems to power up when hit on the chin. This is an odd one to highlight since he’s not going to be a world champion in this 154 division or anything close, as far as relevance goes, and the level of his opponent is difficult to judge having only fought once outside of Ghana- a loss in Nigeria- but Pigford never stops throwing, never defends, and never backs up, so it’s unlikely to be a boring one. Beyond that, we’ll also see Caroline Dubois in her third fight as a pro, Mikael Lawal, another cruiserweight seeking to progress up towards British level, heavyweight Frazier Clarke in his second bout, against a real opponent after the farcical out-of-the-crowd callout from his debut, and fellow Olympian Ben Whitaker, making his own debut at light-heavyweight.
Danny Garcia vs Jose Benavidez Jr
light-middleweight
This is an odd fight to comment on because, well, both fighters have done fuck all for several years. Technically this is Benavidez welcoming Garcia to 154lbs for the first time, but given that he is no bigger and actually started his career lower before bouncing chaotically around the weights, it’s not really a test of size in that respect.
Beyond that, Garcia is obviously the vastly more experienced of the two. Although Benavidez’ only has one loss- to Terence Crawford, that’s mostly just because other than that he hasn’t fought at anywhere near a similar level (it’s also worth noting that both of them have incredibly dubious wins over the hellaciously unfortunate Mauricio Herrera).
Stylistically, Garcia is… well, a guy who really doesn’t care how he gets it done, so long as he does. His fights aren’t often pretty, though they’re also usually not boring, Benavidez’ best shot is probably to keep him discomfited and moving back with a jab, since although Garcia is by no means unhittable in exchanges and Benavidez can do work there, Swift is the more comfortable and doesn’t get himself as wildly out of shape - Benavidez showing in his comeback fight in November against Argentine Franciso Emmanuel Torres that for all he can still land good work, he’s incredibly vulnerable after he’s done it. You could easily see this one ending on one of Garcia’s infamous no-look-hooks or something similar as Benavidez rocks back on his heels having landed his own work.
Also on this card, rising 140lb star Gary Allen Russel steps in against Rances Barthelemy. There was a time when Barthelemy looked like he might be a long term champion himself, but it’s long since proven that he’s awkward more than he is really good- tricky to work past the length and jab of but prone to falling apart a bit once an opponent does. Since GAR’s attacking footwork and pressure is excellent, and his power telling, expect a contest in which the early rounds are a little cagey but by the middle Russell should be landing his power confidently. That said, with only one loss on his record and that not by knockout, Barthelemy isn’t going to go away easily and it may be a test of Russel’s mentality as to how he reacts to an opponent who’s consistently a bit weird and unpredictable and willing to be dirty as he tries to turn the fight his way. Russel is the expected winner here but it should be of interest.
The other notable fight is a heavyweight scrap between Adam Kownacki and Ali Eren Derizem. Kownacki is looking to rebound after consecutive losses to Robert Helenius, and although Derizem is a little less experienced with this sort of just-below-world-level fight, he’s no patsy as a comeback fight and though the quality on here won’t be slick, neither is a fighter who shies from engagement (Kownacki having refused to slow down even when taking a huge beating from Helenius in their second fight). We’ll also see Sergey Derevyanchenko looking to regroup after three consecutive losses, and a spate of prospects.