Scott Christ (4-1-1)
Avanesyan is not an elite guy, but his losses have either come against good fighters (Egidijus Kavaliauskas, Lamont Peterson) or early in his career (Andrey Klimov, who isn’t a
bad fighter, either). He’s definitely beatable, but he has been tearing through opponents in his last three fights, and don’t forget that Kerman Lejarraga had high hopes before he met Avanesyan.
Neither guy has fought since Dec. 2019, so nobody should have an activity advantage in itself. The question may be more about improvements Kelly has made in the gym versus the older Avanesyan possibly rusting a bit more and losing some of his momentum before he could ever take true advantage.
Gabriel Flores Jr vs Jayson Velez
Scott Christ (4-1-1)
Velez is what he is, a solid gatekeeper sort at this point in his career, so the question is mostly whether or not Flores gets past the gate. Flores is young, doesn’t turn 21 until May, and has some good skills, which he’s been able to show off on various Top Rank undercards and in one makeshift main event last summer.
Velez is a step up for him, though. Now 32, Velez has generally lost to the better fighters he’s faced, and while I think he’s a good matchup for Flores right now, I expect the prospect to get through it. Velez will basically have to overpower Flores to have any chance. Flores’ lack of pop is really his biggest concern, because while he’s clearly a good boxer, the question of whether he’s a great one is also still up in the air. I think he’s good enough already to get past this step, but the jury will still be out further up the ladder.
Brett Carlsen/Getty Images and Steven Paston/PA Images via Getty Images
This Saturday night on FOX (8 pm ET), IBF super middleweight titlist Caleb Plant will defend his belt against former titleholder Caleb Truax in a 12-round main event.
This is a bigger fight than just the components of the matchup. We’ve got a clear favorite here for sure, and it’s another kinda lousy FOX main event, in all honesty, which they’ve made a regular thing at this point.
But Plant (20-0, 12 KO) is fighting to maintain his spot in line for
the fight in boxing, which is very possible for later this year. If Plant can win and retain his belt, he will stay headed toward a unification bout with Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez holds the WBC and WBA belts, and he wants all four. There’s already talk of him fighting Billy Joe Saunders, the WBO titleholder, in May.
The Good Men Project
Become a Premium Member
We have pioneered the largest worldwide conversation about what it means to be a good man in the 21st century.
Your support of our work is inspiring and invaluable.
There’s No One Home in My House of Pain
Musical story challenge about missing my kids soft rock & acoustic covers
I will forever stand by my belief that music heals. My hope for these Musical Story Challenges (and my new-found obsession with them) is that they mend more hearts than
mine, one note at a time.
It’s a little past supper time and Ohhh, ohhh, ooooh,
Valery Sharifulin\TASS via Getty Images and Alex Livesey/Getty Images
Canelo and GGG are BACK on DAZN this weekend! Don’t miss the returns of Canelo Alvarez and Gennadiy Golovkin, with Canelo facing Callum Smith on Dec. 19 and GGG taking on Kamil Szeremeta on Dec. 18! Sign up for DAZN today!
After over a year out of the ring and a ton of outside the ring contract issues and whatnot, Canelo Alvarez returns on Saturday (Dec. 18, DAZN, 8 pm ET) to face Callum Smith, with Smith defending the WBA super middleweight title, and the vacant WBC belt also at stake.
Will the Mexican superstar Canelo win real world titles in a fourth weight class, or does Callum Smith have the tools to pull the upset?