December 7 Bombs Away! Heavyweight Clash on Dunes DAZN Preview
By Robert Brizel, Head Real Combat Media Boxing Correspondent
Diriyah, Saudi Arabia (November 29th, 2019)– National Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day, which is celebrated annually on December 7, commemorates the attack on Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii, during World War II. Many American servicemen and women lost their lives or were injured on December 7, 1941.
Seventy-eight years later, on Saturday, December 7, 2019, it’s heavyweight bombs away, as DAZN, Sky Sports, Matchroom Boxing, TCB Promotions, Team Sauerland and others will present Clash on the Dunes at newly constructed Diriyah Arena in. Seven interesting bouts will be presented, including five consecutive rock’em sock’em heavyweight bouts of extreme importance to the future picture of the heavyweight division.
Three preliminary bouts will be featured to open the Diriyah card.
Opening the DAZN card will be eighteen-year-old David McWater and Tim VanNewhouse middleweight prospect Diego Pacheco, 7-0 with six knockouts, Los Angeles, California, the 156 and 165 United States Silver Gloves National champion in 2016 and 2017, and the 2016 National Junior (Under 17) amateur champion, will fac Ukrainian journeyman trial horse Levan Shonia, 15-17 with 11 knockouts, Kiev Ukraine. Pacheco is predicted to win by six-round unanimous decision. Fourteen of Shonia’s opponents have a combined 145-0-3 at the time he fought them, including Pacheco. Shonia has never been stopped or knocked out, so Shonia is a dangerous ‘test’ not to be underestimated.
Dave Coldwell British super-bantamweight southpaw prospect Ivan ‘Hopey’ Price, also known as ‘Drago’, 1-0, Leeds, Yorkshire, United Kingdom, debuted on November 2, 2019, with a four-round decision win over Joel Sanchez, in a bout as yet unrecorded on BoxRec. Price will debut in a four-rounder against Swedi Mohamed, 12-6-1 with three knockouts, Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania, a 2018 World Boxing Federation African Bantamweight title challenger. Although Mohamed lost that bout to Tapiwa Tempo in Zimbabwe, Tempo was overweight, so the African title remains vacant. Mohamed has gone the distance 13 times
In four and six round bouts, so the bout could an even matchup as Price lacks experience, though he has rumored to have done a great deal of championship sparring in Los Angeles.
Price is predicted to win by four-round unanimous decision in a close bout.
Here Come The Heavyweights
Russian 2012 Olympic heavyweight Bronze Medalist Mahammadrasul Majidov, who defeated Anthony Joshua to win the 2011 World Amateur Boxing Championships, the 2013 AIBA boxing champion, and a 2016 Olympian, 1-0, Baku, Azerbaijan, will face British journeyman Tom Little, 10-7 with three knockouts, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, United Kingdom, in an eight-rounder. Little has gone ten rounds previously and was stopped in the fifth round of a 2018 British English BBB of C vacant heavyweight title against rising contender Daniel Dubois, so Little has hard cor experience. Majidov is favored by eight-round unanimous decision or seventh or eighth round stoppage in a tactical bout.
Top ten worldwide heavyweight contender Dilian ‘The Body Snatcher’ Whyte, 26-1-1 with 18 knockouts, Brixton, London, United Kingdom, will face fading Polish contender Marius Wach, 35-5 with 19 knockouts, Krakow, Poland, in a late added attraction. Whyte-Wach was originally scheduled for 2017, and will now finally take place, with Whyte predicted to knockout or stop the 39-year-old Wach between rounds four and eight-so it will depend upon how long Wach manages to hang around-before he goes. Whyte, anxious for a rematch with Joshua, ranks up there with the Michael Hunter versus Alexander Povetkin winner on this card, Kubrat Pulev, Oleksandr Usyk, and the still suspended Jarrell Miller as the leading candidates to face the winner of Anthony Joshua versus Andy Jr. rematch on this card. Whyte, whose post-fight drug tests after his recent win over Oscar Rivas has raised questions, has been officially cleared for this bout by the British Boxing Board of Control.
Rapidly rising prospect Filip Hrgovic, 9-0 with seven knockouts, Zagreb, Croatia, the 2016 Olympic Bronze Medalist in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, the current World Boxing Council International Heavyweight title, will face former world title challenger Eric Molina, 27-5 with 19 knockouts, Weslaco, Texas, in defense of his WBC International title. Hrgovic is predicted to win by eighth or ninth round stoppage in an overall one-sided bout. The bout could end earlier, is Hrgovic can demonstrate jab speed and do quality work faster than his previous bouts. Hrgovic is on the rise, and the 37-year-old Molina, nearing the end of his career, can do at most survive in a critical test bout.
In a life and death battle which is the preliminary bout to the main event, former World Boxing Association regular World Heavyweight champion Alexander Povetkin, 35-2 with 24 knockouts, Chekhov, Russian Federation, age 40, will face heavyweight contender Michael Hunter, 18-1 with 12 knockouts, Las Vegas, Nevada. Hunter was ready to face Joshua when Jarrell Miller was pulled out earlier this year, or if Ruiz pulled out as well, though Andy Ruiz Jr. got the opportunity instead. Hunter is a former world cruiserweight title challenger (lost only a decision to Usyk), he is hungry and extremely dangerous. This is a do or die bout for Povetkin, who either wins by decision or Hunter knocks him out., Hunter lacks the experience to decision the more ring savvy Povetkin, and will need the power to finish Povetkin. True to form, Povetkin will have to outwork Hunter, and either decision him or stop him. Hunter has youth on his side, Povetkin has the smarts, but if he loses, his career ends. Short of finishing Povetkin, Povetkin wins, so Hunter will have to finish him as he is unlikely to get the bout on the cards. Judging should be neutral and fair in this highly interesting crossroads bout. Hunter is dangerous, n doubt, so perhaps the win here will go to the fighter who wants it a little bit more. Hard work will provide the ultimate answer as to who fights the better fight in their clash on the Saudi Arabian dunes.
In the main event, Anthony Joshua is predicted to win by 12 round unanimous decision over Andy Ruiz II in their high stakes rematch, which could actually trigger a third rubber match, in the mold of Jack Johnson versus Sam McVea, Muhammad Ali versus Smokin’ Joe Frazier, Riddick Bowe versus Evander Holyfield, and Floyd Patterson versus Ingemar Johannson. To understand the style of Andy Ruiz Jr. is to understand the inside power hitter. Simply put, Joshua cannot stand in front of Ruiz and trade. If it is a war of power, the same thing will happen again and Joshua will get knocked out. Without ego, Joshua ahs to give Ruiz an education and take him to school, outboxing him at a distance, tiring him and break him down. After seven or eight rounds, the flatfooted Ruiz will get tired. Ruiz has dropped weight for this bout, but that is a mistake. Ruiz’ power comes from his frame and ring generalship. Andy will move faster, but will lack the power. By losing weight, Andy has changed the nature of the game, and ironically will become more likely to fight Joshua’s style of fight.
Andy’s best chance is to do exactly as he did before, and lure Joshua into the same confusing trap. Joshua, being not stupid, must bring a different fight to the table as Patterson did again Johannson in their second meeting in June 1960 at the Polo Grounds in New York. Joshua will fight smarter and more careful, as Deontay Wilder did against Luiz Ortiz in their recent rematch, and look for the pinpoint openings which will expose Ruiz. Respect is a key. Joshua is not Alexis Arguello, but he can still break Ruiz down. This could also be a mystery fight, with both fighters taking their game to an entirely new level of performance. Joshua is predicted to win by 12 round unanimous decision. If not, Ruiz knocks him out. Joshua did get off the canvas against Wladimir Klitschko. Surviving Andy again, if this Joshua goes down again, will be considerably more difficult, given the pressure Ruiz brings and his fast footwork now that he is lighter. In a close bout, several knockdowns could affect scoring in either direction. Expect the scorecards to be relatively consistent, however. Joshua versus Ruiz II is somewhat of a mystery high stakes bout in an unknown venue. Joshua must counter punch effectively and accurately to neutralize Andy’s power and win the rematch, with superior ring generalship and control of the ring. Extreme desert style heat could affect one or both of the combatants in the same way as Muhammad Ali was affected in his 1980 as Vegas titular challenge against Larry Holmes.
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