By Jackie Kallen
There are going to be some really interesting fights at the US Bank Arena in Cincinnati this Saturday night. Native son Adrien Broner is bringing the action home when he faces 18-2 Emmanuel Taylor. Broadcast on Showtime, this promises to be a solid night of action.
Photo: Hogan Photos
Taylor’s last outing in July was a win over previously-unbeaten Karim Mayfield. Though he was down in the 8th round, Taylor managed to rack up enough points to win a rather lacklust decision. Prior to that fight, he lost a decision to Chris Algieri. His only other loss was a split decision L to Prenice Brewer in 2011.
Certainly not in Broner’s class as a top-tier contender, Taylor is not considered to be a serious threat to Broner. He would not have been chosen as an opponent if the Broner team felt he was a risk. They are expecting the equivalent of a sparring session.
Since his embarrassing loss to Marcos Rene Maidana last December, Broner has chosen more carefully. His fight against Carlos Molina in May was an easy one, with Broner winning almost every round.
Far more appealing may be the fight between Lucas Martin Matthysse and undefeated Roberto Ortiz from Torreon, Mexico. Not too many boxing fans are familiar with Ortiz since he has always fought in Mexico. His KO ratio of 75% is almost as high as Matthysse’s 85%. Both men can punch.
Ortiz is 2 1/2″ taller, though their reaches are almost the same. They are close in age. Still smarting from his loss a year ago to Danncy Garcia, Matthysse is hungry for this win. He stopped John Molina in April of this year, but a solid win over Ortiz puts him back where he wants to be.
The third fight on this card is another good one. 28-3 Andre Berto will go up against 24-3 Steve Upsher Chambers. It would appear that Chambers is a perfect match for Berto. He is coming off two losses (including a KO loss last year to Eddie Gomez.) Berto is also coming off two losses (including a KO loss to Jesus Soto Karass.) Neither man has fought in over a year.
The main difference here is punching power. Chambers has very little KO juice, while Berto has the ability to put a man to sleep when he hits him just right. If he is able to cut off the ring and corner Chambers, he can make this an easy fight. If he ends up boxing the whole night, it could easily go the distance.
