Arthur Abraham (25-0, 20 KO’s) will defend his IBF middleweight championship on Saturday against Elvin Ayala (18-2-1, 8 KO’s) in Germany. The pressure is on “King” Arthur who is not only risking his title, but also a potential lucrative fight in the USA if he fails to impress. The Armenian born German recently lost two major opportunities to cash in when popular Irish prospects John Duddy and Andy Lee were injured and disappointed in their latest fights.

The mega fight that Abraham so desperately wants is Kelly Pavlik. Pavlik, (like Abraham) is facing a mandatory opponent before taking on a big Pay Per View fight this summer. If Abraham does not annilihate Ayala, he will be relegated back to take on top European fighters and will lose his chance at a big name opponent like “Winky” Wright.

Ayala on paper does not seem to pose as much of a threat. The American has two losses to “Contender” participant David Banks. Banks was recently thrashed by Edison Miranda who Abraham has beaten. I expect Arthur to win this fight in a mid round stoppage . If the champ comes in fully focused we could see an early and brutal KO.

Boxing’s next mega fight will be on April 19′th in Las Vegas, Nevada when two legends clash for the Light Heavyweight Championship of the World. It will be Bernard Hopkins (48-4-1, 32 KO’s) vs Joe Calzaghe (44-0, 32 KO’s) in what many observers believe will be a career defining fight for both participants.

Oddly, many fight fans including the media have seemingly written Hopkins off. Most feel that at the age of 43, the man known as the “Executioner” no longer possesses the physical attributes needed to be victorious. Chuckboxing questions this synopsis. If you watched Hopkins last PPV fight vs Winky Wright the word “snoozefest” might come to mind. However, I was impressed with the effort because Winky is a very crafty fighter that has never been overwhelmed throughout his Hall of Fame career spanning 17 years and 56 pro fights. It would have been very foolish of B-Hop to force an all out assault against such a talented and defensive minded fighter like Winky. Instead, Bernard intelligently used his classic veteran tactics to simply outbox Wright in order to preserve the win.

Before that Hopkins beat Antonio Tarver by landing nearly 40% of his power punches which resulted in a 5′th round knockdown (*note Tarver had not been knocked down in his 3 previous fights against Roy Jones Jr). Also, you can”t forget the fact that both Wright and Tarver are awkward south paw fighters that present problems for almost all orthodox styled opponents.

Hopkins literally relishes playing the role of underdog. Against Felix Trinidad and Antonio Tarver the Philadelphia fighter found himself not being favored. Even when he was picked against Oscar DelaHoya many observers secretly believed B-Hop was not going to beat the Golden Boy. In all 3 instances Hopkins passed these challenges with flying colors.

Calzaghe known as “The Pride of Wales” is considered by most to be Hopkin’s most difficult task by far. And please understand, I’m not telling you to take Bernard Hopkins to win this fight. All I’m saying is be very careful, because betting against “the Executioner” has been proven before to be a fatal mistake!

ESPN2 plays host Friday night to an important crossroads fight. Former Jr Middleweight champion Kassim “The Dream” Ouma (25-4-1, 15 KO’s) takes on “The Contender” participant Cornelius Bundrage (27-3, 16 KO’s). Both fighters are in dire need of a victory. Ouma has taken on much higher level of opposition while Bundridge is the bigger stronger man.

Ouma’s inactivity (1 fight in 15 months) is very disturbing. However, in that time he quit smoking cigarettes which obviously affected his in ring performances, especially in his last fight in which he failed to finish well ultimately costing him a split decision loss to journeyman Saul Roman. Ouma’s strength is his movement and punching placement. He throws a ton of punches, but more importantly he lands a high percentage of them. He lacks punching power, but makes up for it in tenacity.

Ouma’s life story is absolutely amazing. Kidnapped as young a child by Ugandan rebels, Ouma was forced to kill before the age of 10. After escaping the army Ouma began boxing as an amateur. He amassed a solid 62-3 record, but sadly couldn’t make the trip to the 1996 summer Olympics in Atlanta because of fianancial problems. Subsequently he defected to the USA during an amateur competition and turned pro. Ironically, while in Uganda he was never shot despite being in the army, but when he moved to America, he was shot twice in Florida in December 2002. According to Kassim, his father was beaten to death by the Ugandan army in retaliation for his leaving the country.

Bundrage has the tools to win this fight. Nicknamed “K-9″ Cornelius fights like a rabid dog. He has fantastic in fighting skills and throws lethal uppercuts.

I predict Ouma to win by decision or possibly a late round TKO. I just don’t think K-9 at the age of 34 can consistently win rounds against Ouma, who insists he’ll put on the performance of a lifetime. One thing is for sure: the winner will move on to bigger pay days, the loser will be forced to strongly consider retirement from boxing.

In an unbelievable ” Fight of The Year” candidate lightweight champion Joel Casamoyer (36-3-1, 22 KO’s) won a brutal 10′th round TKO over Michael Katsidas (23-1 20 KO’s). All I can say is Wow!…I thought Cass would win but not quite like that!

The Cuban scored a flash knockdown early in the 1’st, followed by a another legit knockdown 30 seconds later. Katsidas stormed back and made the fight very competitive. The Aussie used his usual “always in your face” strategy. Cass countered by using his feet and finding a way to consistently land left hooks.

In a funny way I think he brilliant start almost hindered him as he thought the fight was all but over. But Katsidis showed incredible resolve to find his way back into the fight. In fact, he had Casamayor reeling a couple times with some bone jarring overhand rights. In the 6′th round Katsidas landed a scorching left/right combination to the head that put Casamoyer through the ropes!

But Casamayor quickly recovered from the shock of Katsidis’s comeback back and made key adjustments. Most importantly he started to box more in his usual counterpunching backfoot style.

In what turned out to be the final round Katsidis came out in the 10′th and attacked Casamayor like a bull from the gate. Obviously trying to wrest control of the fight back Katsidas then seemingly walked straight into another vicious left hook that pretty much ended it. Katsidas bravely got up, but the fight was stopped moments later when he Cass landed a flush right hand that had the Aussies eyes rolling.

Superb win for Casamayor at an advanced age and Katsidis gets nothing but credit in defeat here. Casamayor deserves a mega fight against the likes of Manny Pacquiao. Katsidas proved once again (even in the loss) that he is a true warrior.

Heavyweight contender Tye Fields (40-1, 36 KO’s) will look to pick up his 20′th consecutive win on Thursday when he takes on Roderick Willis (14-2-1, 8 KO’s) at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Fields uses a combination of punching power and high output. The man known “Big Sky” has a massive frame as he stands 6′8 and weighs 275 lbs. In his last fight Fields knocked journeyman Chris Koval down and out with a powerful body shot. After the fight the he called out big names like Hasim Rahman and Nicolai Vaulev. His promoter Bob Arum of Top Rank has yet to put Fields in with a world beater. This has been frustrating to fight fans who want to see what Fields can do against better competition. For now Tye will have to settle with fringe contenders and former champions. Thursday night will be no different as Willis figures to pose little threat. In his last fight Willis nearly ended former world champion Michael Moorer’s comeback bid in losing a split decision in Puerto Rico. Willis takes the Fields fight with just 3 days notice. I expect this fight to go less than 4 rounds , with Fields all out assault being to much for the 35 year old Texan.

IBF featherweight champ Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero (25-1-1, 15 KO’s) stopped challenger Jason Litzau in the 8′th round in Leemore California. Litzau (23-2, 19 KO’s) fought hard but was simply outclassed. Guerrero knocked down Litzau once in the eighth. The gutsy challenger rose off the canvas only to be sent down again by a punishing combination that saw him counted out at 2:25 of the round.

It will be interesting to see who Guerrero faces next? Orlando Salido (29-9-2, 19 KO’s) is the top rated IBF contender. Salido beat Guerrero by decision in late 2006. However, Salido tested positive for the steroid nandrolone after the fight. Salido had a follow-up blood test the day after at LabCorp, a nationally recognised blood lab, and the findings were negative of any steroids.

Rematch? Well first Salido must take out tough 22 year old Austrailan Billy “The Kid” Dib (17-0, 9 KO’s) on March 9′th at the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa, Cabazon, California. Stay tuned!

Israel Vazquez (43-4, 31, KO’s) outlasted and outpointed Rafael Marquez (37-5, 33 KO’s) to retain his WBC 122-pound championship on Saturday night. In the process the two arguably added themselves to greatest trilogy in boxing’s rich history.

The star studded crowd in the Los Angeles suburbs of Carson as well as the viewing audience on Showtime witnessed a fight that was unforgettable in its drama, skill and intensity.

I really thought Vazquez was hurt and might be going out of the fight when he was dropped to the canvas in the fourth round. However, in the end he was hammering Marquez all over the ring. There was a high level of skill, with Vazquez the aggressor, constantly pressing forward. Marquez returned with very hard jabs, hooks and right hands himself.

Watching the back-and-forth fury, I marvelled at the level of conditioning, the pride and the heart of these great fighters. Each took punishment and delivered it, with first one, then the other, getting on top.

At the finish, I felt Vazquez had won narrow decision. I was not surprised or disturbed when it was announced to be a split decision. New Jersey’s Tom Kaczmarek had Marquez up 114-111, surprisingly giving just four rounds to Vazquez. The California judges got it right, Max De Luca scoring the fight 114-111 and Dr. James Jen Kin 113-112 in Vazquez’s favor.

There was controversy, of course, when Marquez had a point deducted for a not-terribly-low left hook in the 10th round. But I felt it was coming since Marquez had been warned three times in the contest. I must be mention though that without the point deduction, the fight would have been scored a draw.

The fight was fast, furious and fascinating. It seemed to me that each was keeping the other guessing and on full alert throughout. The fight was literally a masterpiece! Both combtants went bell to bell, second to second without a let up.

It was Israel Vazquez who closed out the fight with the big finish. The last round must have been absolute hell for Marquez, his left eye closing from below. But he held on to the surprise of many (and certainly me). What we got was a full-distance fight to close out this amazing trilogy.

If there is a part 4 I would like to see each man to first take on have an easier assignment. After three fights, several knockdowns, cuts, bruises, blood and guts, I think Vazquez and Marquez deserve a break from each other after giving boxing fans a memory of a lifetime!

Thanks for reading Chuckboxing.com more to come!