Cesar Cuenca vs. Edvard Troyanovsky
Cuenca's record is impressive... not beating 48 people, but doing it without knocking out anyone. Even if he was trying to go the distance, to only have 2 KOs is quite impressive. He even won on the road to gain the IBF belt at 140lbs, showing he can dominate enough,to win in such circumstances. However, he has yet to run across Russian-level corruption. Troyanovsky can probably do enough to make it an ugly fight, and muddle the picture to judges. Cuencas boxing skills will only be enough for the first few rounds. Troyanovsky by close controversial decision.
James De Gale vs. Lucien Bute
I don't know what Bute has done to earn another crack at his old belt, but the name recognition is what we are going on here. DeGale-Groves 2 would have been a big fight had Groves won his title shot last month against Badou Jack, but he did not, and the start-over is apparent. Bute may be back at his most comfortable division, but the memories of what happened to him are still there. A safety first Bute, who is not letting his brutal body punches go, is nothing for DeGale to be concerned with. DeGale by UD, or late KO, depending on how badly he wants it.
Jurgen Brahmer vs. Thomas Oosthuizen
This fight is only worthy of covering, because the 175lb division is so hot right now. The belt is meaningless, but the winner will be the IBO and WBA regular champion, meaning when the Wards, Stevensons, Fonfaras, Beterbievs, and Kovalevs rush to avoid one another, they may come calling to this "champion" Brahmer is annoyingly resilient, and Oosthuizen has shown a lack of motivation both in and out of the ring. yet, this is his promoters promotion, and he is at his peak, while Brahmer has to be getting old one of these days. Oosthuizen by MD.
Erislandy Lara vs. Jan Zaveck
Lara is one of those fighters having a bit of a hard time finding fights at 154lbs in 2016. This once hot division has really cooled. He already fought Canelo and Trout, and the Charlos are his stablemates. Not much left for Lara to do here, unless people want to see the stink-fest that he vs. Demetrius Andrade would be. Other than that, he is biding his time until GGG or Cotto decide to move down. Zaveck has heart, but at this stage, little else. He will put the ear muffs on, hoping to time Lara against the ropes as Angulo was able to do. Lara by late TKO on cuts, after winning every round.
Arthur Abraham vs. Martin Murray
The battle of two men who put the ear muffs on, and get outboxed. Do we really need to watch this fight, to see what will happen. Kudos for Abraham for taking this fight, but he is the B-team. He was at middleweight, and is now at super middleweight. No one has been paid more for being as such, but Murray is a hard-luck challenger. We know what happens here. Martin Murray will win 8 of 12 rounds, but will lose the decision. There is no way Sauerland let's Abraham take the fight, if they haven't bought the judges. Maybe one day Murray gets to fight for a belt in the UK, but he also should learn to move his hands more.
Hassan N'Dam vs. Sam Soliman
The IBF keeps digging up the same people to fight for it's belt.. the least important in the 160lb division. However, GGG will likely be the new champion soon, as he is unifying with current champion Lemieux. N'Dam is easy to drop, but impossible to stop. Soliman is not a puncher. The Australian has had one heck of a career, but his body is finally starting to break down, and limit his athleticism. Given that, plus the European location, one has to feel the Frenchman will do just enough. N'Dam by UD, in an awkward match.
NOVEMBER 2015 BOXING PREDICTIONS PART 1
Chris Strait
www.convictedartist.com
