For my boxing heads, this is gonna be a helluva match. It was supposed to happen in December 2020, but Berchelt was diagnosed with Covid-19.

The high-output action fighter Berchelt is the favorite for most, but Valdez is a tough dude who's now training with Eddy Reynoso (Canelo's trainer). Valdez once suffered a broken jaw if the 5th rd of a bout and went on to win by decision.

Berchelt has honestly been matched quite safely in his career. Hasn't faced many pure boxers, so Valdez's approach here will be interesting. If Berchelt wins, Bob Arum has suggested that he plans to match him with the young phenom, Shakur Stevenson.

The undercard of Berchelt vs Valdez will feature 2 of my favorite prospects right now: "The Dominican Kid" Elvis Rodriguez, and 18 yr old Puerto Rican killer, Xander Zayas.

DON'T MISS THIS FIGHT!

Earlier in the day, another long-awaited fight will take place as hyped prospect Josh Kelly takes on the battle-tested and hard hitting David Avanesyan.

If you watched Andy Ruiz Jr defeat Anthony Joshua in NY, you might remember Josh Kelly on the undercard getting a gift draw against Ray Robinson. Many feel he should've lost that fight. He tried as he always did to fight like Roy Jones Jr. Liked to rely on reflexes, and the slower Robinson began to time and catch him. Kelly is now out to prove he's top teir. The jury is still out on that one.

There's a fight on this undercard I don't want to miss. It's against Florian Marku and Rylan Charlton. Both undefeated prospects with young careers, each one 1 draw on their record. This one should also produce some fireworks.

And here's my obligatory reminder that Claressa Shields fights March 5th in a fight that will make her undisputed for a 2nd time in a 2nd weight class. She's already undisputed at 160. This win will make her undisputed at 154. Her opponent Marie-Eve Dicaire, is the #2 154 lber in the world while Claressa is #1. This is historic. That fight will be a $29.99 PPV on FITE TV.

and changing the fight from jr Welter to Welter like he's done before.

Surely you can understand why I forgot about this one lol. He claims he's back, blah blah blah. He's taking on an undefeated Puerto Rican prospect who's never fought outside of Puerto Rico. Is Broner doesn't pull this one off, he's probably done.

Also on this card is Otto Wallin vs Dominic Breazeale. Otto Wallin gave Tyson Fury one of his toughest fights to date, but that's currently Wallin's claim to fame. Breazeale got starched by Wilder in 1 rd, but will be considered a really good win for Wallin if he pulls it off. I'm interested in seeing how Wallin performs.

Also on this card, Robert Easter Jr take on Ryan Martin. Martin's only loss was to Josh Taylor who's widely considered the best in the 140 lb division. Easter Jr. recently moved up to 140, so this should be a good one as well.

Stopped that boy in the 6th in an exciting fight. Kelly started out very well, had a lil strut from getting confident, but Avanesyan was very patient and consistent with his pressure. Dropped Kelly twice and Kelly's corner threw in the towel. Beautiful perseverance there. That's 4 stoppage wins in a row for Avanesyan. This was for a European title which lines Avanesyan up for a legit title shot. Here's a little context. One of Avanesyan's 3 losses was a KO loss to Kavaliauskas in 2018. Kavaliauskas' only loss is a KO loss to Terence Crawford in rd 9. Levels.

The fight with Ray Robinson really showed Kelly had a LOT to prove. We'll see where he goes from here.

Marku also stopped Charlton on this card. Marku boxed well the entire fight despite being dropped out of nowhere earlier in the fight. Then dropped Charlton in the 8th while his corner went on to throw in the towel.

Funny how the main and co-main ended very similarly here.
Very good night of boxing in the UK on DAZN.

Over on ESPN, Elvis Rodriguez goes the distance for the first time in a fight that was a good test for a prospect. He wins easily. Xander Zayas also goes the distance but for the 2nd time in his young career in a dominating performance.

Though it might get stopped

app

They waited like 5 minutes to show the replay even. Berchtel was chasing with his chin out and had already taken plenty of damage. Was a matter of time, and still came off as a stunner.

Knocked out cold at the end of round 10.
This looks bad. Ok Berchelt is moving now after a minute or two still on the ground. Wow. Valdez showed out tonight.

Funny that Tim Bradley previously said he'd stop the fight if Berchelt was his fighter and Andre Ward said he was on shaky legs only a few punches from being knocked out cold and then BAM. Valdez was landing that left hook all night.

He says he doesn't wanna be 80 yrs old, talking about who he should've fought in their prime. Wants the good fights now. Omg, I hope this fight happens very soon.

Robert Easter Jr won a boring decision against a less-than-clever opponent in Ryan Martin, who simply followed him around the ring, never cut off the ring or came up with anything to offset Easter's jab.

Otta Wallin also beat Dominic Breazeale in a shutout. Wallin can box his ass off, but doesn't seem to have much power. This wasn't an exciting card for ShoBox.

Berchelt had been one of my favorite fighters to watch over the past several years. Shocking to see him get his ass kicked all night. And then that ko. Jesus Christ.

I remember you saying Berchelt was your guy. Earlier this week, Adam Abramowitz said this about Berchelt:

"I like Berchelt a lot. I think he’s going to win on Saturday. I’d also like to point out that he’s been matched wonderfully during his career. How many pure boxers has he fought, how about guys with real speed?"

The lack of diversity in his opponents' fight styles caught up to him tonight.

Berchelt really got exposed. He had nothing for Valdez. And it shows why Stevenson's been calling him out too. It'll be interesting to see how he comes back from this.

Yeah, I won't kick Berchelt too much while he's down, but I can't say I was the biggest fan. I knew Stevenson would give him work, but Valdez surprised me and everyone else. That damn Eddy Reynoso really does make elite fighters over there. Hell now I can't wait to see how Andy Ruiz returns. If this Stevenson vs Valdez fight comes off, that's going to be a very technical one. I got Stevenson as the most technical, pure boxer currently at 130 and would pick him to win against anyone who can't completely out-muscle him. That fight would either be great or so technical that it's boring to casuals... kinda like Roy Jones Jr. vs Bernard Hopkins 1 (people tend to forget that fight actually happened lol). Who would you pick?

I don't think since Quigg. I have watched a lot of Shakur though, and like you, I don't really see anyone at 130 beating him (though that Loma fight he wants still looks very interesting to me, idk what happens there). Valdez looked really good in this fight, obv, but there were still some holes there. I might go back and watch some of his other fights, but right now, gotta go with Shak.

Nm