Box Office – Fight Picks: Josh Taylor Returns To Face Teofimo Lopez And Sunny Edwards Makes Matchroom Debut!
Last week was a bit of a quiet week on the boxing front but this week there is a lot of action on both Friday and Saturday night. This week we have picked out four fights in an action-packed weekend across 3 continents for you to keep an eye out for. Josh Taylor returns to face Teofimo Lopez, Sunny Edwards makes his Matchroom debut, Canizales faces Matellon and Jaime Munguia takes on Sergiy Derevyanchenko in this week’s fight picks!
Carlos Canizales vs Daniel Matellon
Two top 10 light Flyweights will face off on Friday in Buenos Aires, in an eliminator for the WBA world title, as former WBA champion Carlos Canizales faces unbeaten former interim champion Daniel Matellon.
Canizales has been a perennial top 10 light Flyweight for many years, bursting onto the scene in 2016, when he took then-WBA Champion Ryoichi Taguchi to a draw in Japan. 14 months later Canzales would finally get another shot at the title, beating unbeaten Reiya Konishi via UD, again in Japan. Canizales would hold the title until 2021, when he was eventually stopped by Esteban Bermundez in Mexico, after being ahead on all 3 cards. Canizales has had 3 wins since to move into position for this eliminator.
Unbeaten Daniel Mattellon will look to become the latest Cuban defector to win world honors. Mattellon who has had a rather under-the-radar career in Latin America, fighting mainly in Panama, won the interim WBA title via a majority decision win against Erik Lopez and made one defense of the crown against former Minimumweight champion Jose Argumedo in June 2021. At 35 years of age, this is probably the last chance for Mattellon to get a shot at gold at 108lbs.
The winner of this bout will likely face former world champion Hekkie Budler for the vacant title, as it looks increasingly likely that WBA, WBC, and Ring Magazine champion Kenshiro Teraji will be vacating his titles and moving to Flyweight in the near future.
Sunny Edwards vs Andres Campos
Sunny Edwards makes the fourth defense of his IBF Flyweight title at the OVO Arena on Saturday against unbeaten Chilean Andres Campos.
Edwards makes his Matchroom debut in a bout he should be winning quite stylishly, in his usual counter-punching style, completely neutralizing any offense from Campos. Edwards is coming off a fantastic win against former Light Flyweight champion Felix Alvarado in November and will hope to kick on to unifications with promotional stablemates Julio Ceasar Martinez, and Jesse Rodriguez.
With promoter Eddie Hearn talking up a potential Rodriguez fight in the Autumn. Edwards will look to land the long-awaited unification bout.
This bout will mark the first time Campos has left South America. 13 of his 14 bouts took place in his native Chile, with the other taking place in Argentina.
Quite frankly Campos shouldn’t be causing Edwards any trouble, and “Showtime” will look to put on a showcase performance. The bout is available on DAZN.
Josh Taylor vs Teofimo Lopez
Josh Taylor end his 16-month hiatus and will defend his WBO, and Ring Magazine Super Lightweight titles against former unified Lightweight Champion Teofimo Lopez in a fight that promises to be explosive in New York on Saturday.
With both men coming off of shaky performances against Jack Catterall and Sandor Martin, both fights that they arguably should have lost, the bout perhaps is not the huge fight that it could have been. However, both men when being eager to put the wrongs right on Saturday.
Should Taylor win one would imagine a rematch with Jack Catterall could be on the cards, if not this then a move up to welterweight could be a possibility. If Lopez comes out victorious, bouts with Devin Haney, Regis Prograis, and Ryan Garcia are attractive options. The fight is available on ESPN, and Sky Sports
Jaime Munguia vs Sergiy Derevyanchenko
Former WBO light middleweight champion Jaime Munguia will continue his middleweight campaign, in his toughest test at 160 lbs against veteran contender Sergiy Derevyanchenko on Saturday in an intriguing match-up.
Munguia won the WBO title in 2018 and enjoyed a two-year title campaign including an impressive victory against Liam Smith. He moved up 6l bs to middleweight in 2020, but frankly, his level of competition has left a lot to be desired.
Derevyanchenko has been the near man at middleweight in recent times. Coming up short in three attempts at world honors, in razor-close fights with Gennadiy Golovkin, and Danny Jacobs, as well as a rather wide points loss to Jermall Charlo. At 37 years of age, the Ukrainian is in the last chapter of his career and will look to get one last opportunity at world gold.
The winner of the bout will be in a prime position for fights with world champions Jermall Charlo, or Janibek Alimkhanuly. The fight is available live on DAZN.
Also, Read SPOTLIGHT ON SUNNY EDWARDS- Matchroom Debut And 4th Defence Of IBF Flyweight Title This Saturday!
