Timothy Bradley vs. Manny Pacquiao 2
This is the big one... lots of opinions... lots of possibilities. How much of Pacquiao is left? Has he recaptured the killer instinct? Is Bradley at his peak? Will he be more dangerous after the 2013 he had? Will the judges try too hard to right a wrong by giving Pacquiao undeserved rounds? This is a hard one to pick for me, but as there is every reason to think that Bradley will be better, and Pacquiao will be worse, I should pick Bradley. There is also every reason for Arum to be stalling, as he is running out of opponents, and seems to not want to risk anyone against Provodnikov. A trilogy is what he will go for. Pacquiao by controversial decision, in a B+ action fight.
Beibut Shumenov vs. Bernard Hopkins
A unification is the only way Shumenov reenters the conversation. It is also the only way Hopkins gets to lay claim to be more of a champion that killer Kovalev, or linear champ Stevenson. The HBO/Showtime shutdown stops the unification of these, unless Stevenson jumps ship with Haymon, and Main Events refuses to play the game with Kovalev. Either way, Shumenov is remarkably inexperienced for a several years pro... even if he is likely peaking. he also fights in the perfect style for Hopkins. Unless he gets old in one night, which at 49 is always a possibility, look for Hopkins to win a wide UD, in a fight about as exciting as the Murat match was... which was decent.
Raymundo Beltran vs. Roman Martinez
Beltran should have been the one anointed to lose his WBO belt to Terrance Crawford, but now it looks like he will have to win another match to earn that fight as a challenger. Beltran beat Burns, only to be screwed with a draw. Crawford beat Burns so wide they could not take it from him, and now Martinez has to rebound from his loss to Garcia, in order to redeem himself and Puerto Rico (he was the last PR champ the island had). Beltran still has more momentum, and is a more prime fighter. Martinez is more than a live underdog, in fact, come betting time, he may not even be one. However, he had been overrated for a while before Garcia beat him, anyway... and there is nothing like Beltran fight to fully expose a man.
APRIL 2014 BOXING PREDICTIONS PART 2
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
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