Busy weekend for prospects

As pointed out in the Scott Quigg piece an awful lot of solid prospects seem to be fighting this coming weekend. So lets take a look at the best of the bunch.

On the same card as Scott Quigg are several noteworthy British fighters. Firstly Martin Murray (19-0 with 7KO's) who fights for the Commonwealth title at Middleweight on the Sky Sports 1 card. Although not a youngster at 27 Murray is a bit of an under achiever in the pro's having turned over in later 2007 and not really advancing swiftly in his nigh on 3 years in the paid ranks. Having been a solid amateur his professional career has only really been highlighted by his victory in on of the Prizefighter competitions in 2008. Now with Hatton Promotions (who are promoting the card on Friday) we should expect to see big things from Murray as he tries to muscle in with the other top British Middleweights like Darren Barker and Matthew Macklin, perhaps chasing down the winner of their fight. Although talented he won't want to waste too many years fighting the likes of his up coming opponent Peter Mitrevski Jr.. Wins against the likes of Cello Renda, Kevin Concepcion, Danny Butler and Siarhei Khomitski are the only real names on his record and are British level at best (barring Khomitski who's a solid European journeyman).

Also on the card is the highly touted Matty Askin, Askin is a massive and young Cruiserweight from Blackpool, England who stands at 6 foot 4, has a 77'' reach and yet is still growing into a man. Aged just 21 his career is only just really beginning. Despite debuting back in November 2008 as a relatively raw 19 year old out pointing experienced British journeyman Paul Bonson Askin impressed. More impressive however was the fact he'd only been boxing for since he was 16 and had come straight from winning the ABA Cruiserweight championship earlier in 2008. Born on Christmas eve 1988 (exactly a year after me oddly), he powered his way through older fighters more experienced fighters stopping 3 of his 6 opponents. Included in those was Matthew Ellis who was dispatched inside 2 minutes by a fighter growing in confidence and in power. On the card he fights Lee Kellett who is returning to the ring after 15 months out training local kids in Barrow -In-Furness' “Furness Fight Factory”. Although to me Lee is a local fighter I think he'll be beaten, and probably stopped by the emerging Askin, a talent that seems on the way up whilst 31 year old Kellet should put up a good fight Askin will invariably impress.

State side will also see action for up and coming fighters. The biggest name on show will be Shawn Porter the former amateur star who seems set to make waves in the professional game. Shawn has been compared to Andre Berto for having a similar fast powerful style and similar build, standing at just 5 foot 7 whilst fighting as a Light Middleweight. “Showtime” as he's known is one of the most exciting young American fighting today, and arguably one of the most gifted having raced through his first 15 fights in explosive fashion stopping 12 early. Though he faces a legendary name in Ray Robinson on Friday night the “new” Ray doesn't compare to the original and so expect him to be steam rolled by Porter.

The main event on the card sees the Dominican Republic born Fernando Guerrero (18-0 15KO's) Fernando Guerrero facing his biggest test yet in Ishe Smith. The biggest win so far for Guerrero has been a majority decision over Ghana born veteran Ossie Duran though in Smith Guerrero meets a solid challenge. Smith, a fighter in the first series of The Contender has failed to really push on with his career and now seems to have become a stepping stone fighter with losses to Sechew Powell, Joel Julio and most recently Daniel Jacobs. A loss to Guerrero would see Smith's career being that of a gate keeper though victory for Fernando will likely see him stepping up to world title level in his next few fights. Skilled, powerful and a southpaw Guerrero could be a problem for anyone on his day, problem is with Smith arguably fighting for his career and a tough nut to crack, this is a potential banana skin.

If the above fight is an exciting one, one of the chief support bouts should have you salivating in anticipation. Popular Philly fireman Lanard Lane (12-0 7KO's) will face fellow unbeaten fighter Mike Dallas Jr (14-0-1 with 5KOs). Although it's truly a pick 'em fight that shows what boxing is all about I have a feeling the older more powerful Lane will come out victorious in what could turn out to be the fight of the weekend. The fight, like the previous two are on a card in Southaven dubbed “The best of the Best” and are part of the “ShoBox” event shown on Showtime.

On ESPN however they are fighting back with a terrific card of their own. Headlined by Zab Judah's contest with Jose Armando Santa Cruz the fighter that takes my eye is Sadam Ali, a fighter recently featured in Ring Magazine's one to watch. Currently with a record of 7-0 (3) the 21 year old Welterweight/Light Middleweight faces the 7-7 Julias Edmonds. Though the fight is probably a “safe” one for Ali at this point in his career against a limited fighter with no pop Edmonds doesn't get stopped easily (his one stoppage loss came from an ear injury) so Ali will be doing 6 rounds for the first time. Although he's a talented youngster his career seems to be handled well and perhaps as it should be at this point with plenty of time for him to develop.

Also on the card is 28 year old Alex Perez a Welterweight southpaw who is 11-0 (7) and like Ali he's having a relatively easy nights work with Edvan Dos Santos Barros (who's record is 10-9-1). Unlike Ali Perez doesn't have 8 or 9 years to improve and having debuted in 2004 he should have taken his career much more seriously than he has.