We have notable fights on Friday AND Saturday this weekend, with Shakur Stevenson defending his pair of 130-pound belts against Robson Conceicao on Friday night, then Joe Joyce taking on Joseph Parker for an interim WBO heavyweight title. on Saturday from the UK.
Those fights and THREE MORE! Who do you have this weekend?
Scott Christ (63-29)
There is nothing that Robson Conceicao does better than Shakur Stevenson, I don’t think so. Stevenson could get to a 12-round decision here, but I think he could be looking to inflict some damage, especially if he breaks the Brazilian’s spirit by dominating the first half or two-thirds of the fight, which I hope he does.
So I’m going with Shakur for stoppage. I think he’s getting to a point where he’s gaining that confidence that could make him take more risks in fights that he’s dominating. If I’m wrong, well, you know, whatever, man. I see this is one-sided regardless. Stevenson TKO-10
Will Esco (73-19)
Shakur Stevenson is without a doubt one of the best young boxing talents in the game. His methodical style, which relies heavily on range and defense mastery, usually doesn’t make for the most exciting fights to watch, but there’s no denying his effectiveness.
Robson Conceicao is a pretty decent fighter, but he doesn’t have any special attributes that, in my opinion, would give Stevenson any real problems. In fact, I expect this to be pretty one-sided on the cards, something like 11-1. Stevenson UD-12
John Hansen (70-22)
Barring a casual injury, Shakur Stevenson wins this fight handily. The question is, will it be remotely entertaining?
Shakur Stevenson is boring. If that seems inappropriate or harsh, talk it over with Shakur Stevenson. The man himself said that he was very sorry to be boring. He has made tentative steps towards entertainment since then in his fights with Jamel Herring and Oscar Valdez. It’s a commendable effort, and hopefully the trend continues.
Unfortunately, one of the biggest threats to recovery is unhealthy relationships with people that trigger and encourage your unhealthy habits. And Robeson Conceicao vs Stevenson is like yin and yawn. Opposing forces, perfectly intertwined. Dance partners in monotony.
Conceicao fought a bewildering strategy of limited participation and outright avoidance in a losing effort against Oscar Valdez. Stevenson then overpowered Valdez, who was unable to use his power to shake or threaten Stevenson through twelve rounds. Boxing isn’t entirely transitive, but Conceicao lacks Valdez’s power and aggressiveness, and arguably at least some of his talent. It’s a recipe for tedium, and the reason Scott and I competed to see who could squeeze the most syllables out of the word “suck” during our podcast preview of this fight.
Shakur Stevenson is a tremendously talented fighter and I am looking forward to enjoying his work. Hopefully, this Conceicao fight is just a cheat day on his boredom diet, and not a total relapse into monotony. Stevenson UD-12
Patrick Stumberg (75-17)
One of the saddest recurring stories in boxing is “man, but what if I could punch?” There have been so many great fighters that were a bit far from being true monsters. That’s Robson Conceicao; he is a great offensive fighter with visible and audible bloodlust in his punches, but his lack of finishing ability puts a limit to his potential.
That’s going to be especially apparent here. While aggression is hypothetically the best way to deal with Stevenson, Conceicao doesn’t hit hard enough to prevent Stevenson from taking the chances he leaves when he throws. Stevenson has to be hesitant to fight back and too damaged to move properly if Conceicao wants to win and I’m not sure the latter is capable of making that happen. He may find some early success on the front foot, but once Stevenson slows down and deploys his much faster hands, he’ll get worse for Conceicao in a hurry. Still, I expect him to have a little more success than Oscar Valdez just because of the strength of his pedigree. Stevenson UD-12
Scott Christ (63-29)
Part of me wants to pick Parker here, and as far as any “competition” with this thing goes, I’m well out of the running, largely due to things like, “Part of me wants to pick ___ here.” ”, and then I do it, and no!
Anyway, I’m going with Parker here. I think the smart money is in Joyce’s durability and pressure to take down Parker in the later rounds, whether it’s getting a late stoppage from Parker avoiding him and getting on the scorecards. But Joyce also takes a lot of punches, and clean ones, and Parker is a better fighter than Bryant Jennings, today’s Carlos Takam (still tough, mind you) or Christian Hammer. Parker, though, is going to have to respond the way I think, but I don’t know if he can still do it when there’s pressure, which is to stand his ground and take shots, or at least take shots while moving, because his last two fights with Derek Chisora has been terrible preparation for fighting someone other than Derek Chisora. This will largely come down to which style he wins, even more so than most fights. parkerud-12
Will Esco (73-19)
To be fair, I don’t really have a strong bias on who’s going to win this fight because sometimes it can be hard to judge what you’re going to get out of Joseph Parker. Joe Joyce may be limited in some areas, but he’s certainly a strong, determined guy who will make Parker work for it, if nothing else.
In theory, I think Parker should be able to use his faster feet to stop Joyce from being able to set up her power, but I think Parker tends to get carried away by lapses where Joyce will be able to close the gap. I wouldn’t be surprised if this fight was a bit stinky, but I think Joyce could improve this on the cards as she impresses the judges more with her aggression. joyce md-12
John Hansen (70-22)
Joe Joyce’s victory over Daniel Dubois made me appreciate him in a whole new light. One thing I didn’t remember before researching for this pick, though, was that Joyce was losing that fight on the cards at the time of the stoppage.
Crushing power is a wonderful weapon for a heavyweight. But the Joseph Parker who faces Joyce on Saturday will be seven years older than Dubois and far more experienced against top-level opponents. One of Parker’s biggest criticisms is his tendency to make a Pass/Fail effort instead of trying to shine, and that probably helps his chances here. He has made cards and decisions against big hitters, and was the first man to go all the way with Anthony Joshua and end Joshua’s 20th fight, the start of 20 career knockouts for him.
Lots of reasons to second-guess my initial instinct to pick Joe Joyce, for sure. Fights like this make me happy that these predictions are strictly for entertainment purposes and don’t require us to bet real money to spend. I’ll agree with the big guy, while still giving Parker credit for his survivability. Joyce UD-12
Patrick Stumberg (75-17)
A completely scarred Joseph Parker runs circles around Joe Joyce. “The Juggernaut” is the slowest man in the universe; he is a heavy sack full of sawdust who wished he was a real boy. Vangelis’s ghost follows him and plays the tune every time he crosses the street. His fights can be filmed at 10 fps. Every time his brain asks his fists to punch, the request must be submitted in triplicate and reviewed by two senior managers. He is the only living creature with 1200 ping. His 1-2 have commercial breaks in the middle. He has been ticketed for using the left lane of the sidewalk. It floats like the Hindenburg and bites like it too.
But let’s be honest, when was the last time Parker was fully online? Whether it’s a physical or mental block, the guy just can’t seem to put his speed, technique and footwork together in a full 12-round offense, and Joyce doesn’t need many lapses to deal game-changing damage. . Also, while Joyce has an almost pathological aversion to guarding against right hands, Parker is the more likely of the two to hit the mark.
Parker is going to use his head like a speed bag for uncomfortably long periods of time, but Joyce is going to pummel him with punches and crush his abdomen in the middle. Expect a one-sided start for Parker, a late snowball for Joyce, and Joyce denting her thanks to a pivotal knockdown. Joyce SD-12
Quick Picks!
Amanda Serrano vs. Sarah Mahfoud
Scott: Serrano TKO-5 Wil: Serrano TKO-6 John: Serrano TKO-7 Patrick: Serrano TKO-7
Hannah Rankin vs. Terri Harper
Scott: Harper UD-10 Wil: Harper UD-10 John: Harper UD-10 Patrick: Harper UD-10
Maxi Hughes vs. Kid Galahad
Scott: Galahad UD-12 Wil: Hughes SD-12 John: Hughes UD-12 Patrick: Galahad UD-12
