All photos by Amanda Westcott/Showtime
WBA Super Welterweight world champion Erislandy “The American Dream” Lara is set to defend his world title and settle his score against Vanes “The Nightmare” Martirosyan when the two meet in the main event of a Showtime Championship Boxing tripleheader featuring the top 154-pound talent in the sport on Saturday, May 21 from The Chelsea, inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Live televised coverage on Showtime begins at 9:00 pm, EST/6:00 pm, PST and features unbeaten IBF Junior Middleweight champion Jermall Charlo taking on former champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout and his twin brother Jermell Charlo battling top challenger John Jackson for the vacant WBC Super Welterweight title.
Read on for staff predictions for each bout and let us know who you think will win.
Jermell Charlo
vs.
John Jackson
Liam Brady, Staff Writer/Graphic Designer
I feel Jermell Charlo will walk away with the vacant WBC belt in this fight. John Jackson can be a tad wild, and when on the offensive, his stance gets mixed up. His right foot sometimes leads, despite being an orthodox fighter.
This, as well as lapses in concentration, leaves him open to shots, which was evident against Andy Lee.
As a consequence, I believe Charlo (the much quicker, and better boxer, in my opinion) will outland, and outclass Jackson throughout the fight. I am picking Charlo by decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Charlo
Jack O’Connell, Staff Writer
In this case of boxer (Jermell Charlo) vs. brawler (John Jackson), Charlo should be too technically sound for the crude Jackson to handle.
Charlo is a tightly woven pure boxer that looks for countering opportunities. Luckily for him, Jackson will provide plenty of instances to counter. Jackson reminds me of a slightly neater Ricardo Mayorga–he will virtually walk straight at you and bomb away with power shots. Charlo should have no problems picking off the wide open Jackson.
However, Charlo also has a bad habit of inactivity. Against Vanes Martirosyan, he gave away a lot of rounds simply by not throwing. This shouldn’t change the outcome of the fight, but I expect Jackson to win a few rounds by scoring while Charlo holds back.
Jackson will keep the fight interesting, but Charlo will walk away with a shiny new belt. Charlo by decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Shelbi Keyes, Staff Writer
John Jackson’s best chance at victory lies in his power. Jermell Charlo is the better boxer with more ring experience, but if he comes out aggressive early on in the fight, landing clean shots–he could make things interesting.
If Jackson isn’t able to affect Charlo with his power punches within the first couple of rounds, Charlo will use his jab and straight right to easily outbox Jackson.
I believe Charlo is hungry enough that he will win via TKO late in the fight. I see Charlo wearing Jackson down by out boxing him throughout the beginning rounds and finishing the fight with the power he is so eager to show off.
Prediction: Charlo
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
I remember John Jackson getting dropped by Andy Lee with a one-punch knockout on the Sergio Martinez vs. Miguel Cotto undercard. Jackson, for all intents and purposes, was beating Lee soundly before getting caught with a sneaky hook that ended it.
Since then, Jackson has won two fights since but hasn’t fought in almost a year. This time he’s facing Jermell Charlo.
Jermell is more experienced with five more fights. In his last fight, he was able to stop former champion Joachim Alcine and won a decisive victory over Vanes Martirosyan, the fight before.
Jermell, unlike his twin Jermall, is the more patient of the two. Sometimes a little too patient. However, he has one of the best one-twos in boxing.
I think Charlo becomes a world champion, which makes both brothers champions simultaneously in the same weight class, something we haven’t seen since the Klitschko’s.
However, Jackson is a live dog. He has a hell of a punch, but if he doesn’t fight like Randall Bailey and tries to stick to his gameplan of working the body first, he has a decent chance.
However, I think Charlo is the better technical boxer and should control the fight and land that beautiful one-two with ease leading to a mid-to-late round stoppage, or unanimous decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This fight should be interesting for a couple of reasons. Jermell Charlo is the better boxer, but against Vanes Martirosyan he showed that he is cautious of a guy with power. John Jackson has power.
If Charlo goes through spurts of inactivity, you would expect Jackson to turn it up and press the action and it’s at that point that things will get interesting because Jackson has the tendency to leave himself wide open when he’s winging power shots.
If Charlo boxes and is at least somewhat active behind his jab I don’t see why he can’t cruise to a decision victory. Jackson has the proverbial punchers chance, but I think Charlo is sharper and more technical and should win a comfortable decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Jermall Charlo
vs.
Austin Trout
Liam Brady, Staff Writer/Graphic Designer
I see this fight being tentative at first, due to both fighters’ opposing stances, and their desire to box, rather than pressure or brawl.
Although Austin Trout can get wild, as shown by his fights against Joey Hernandez and Daniel Dawson.
However, I do see Charlo coming away with the win, due to his jab, his speed, and his overall class as a boxer.
Prediction: Charlo
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Charlo
Jack O’Connell, Staff Writer
I am not completely sold on Jermall Charlo. The way he manhandled Cornelius Bundrage to win the IBF belt was impressive, but Bundrage wasn’t exactly championship level to begin win. Charlo followed this up by smashing Wilky Campford, which proved nothing.
Now he’s facing Austin Trout, a proven world-class fighter who’s looking to get back on top. Is Charlo good enough to hold off Trout? I don’t believe so.
Trout has undeniable boxing craft under his belt. What makes him so skilled is his timing and punch placement. Trout knows exactly when to counter and what punch to use. Against Miguel Cotto, Trout picked his spots masterfully, picking off Cotto over and over. Trout also excels at unconventional defense. He smothers very well on the inside, while he can turn circles effortlessly from the outside. He’s truly a multi-dimensional fighter.
After a clumsy loss to Erislandy Lara, Trout has taken four recovery bouts, looking more assertive and determined in each one. Trout is hungry, he’s ready to get back on top.
Charlo is a polished boxer puncher with a fair amount of sting to his blows, but he’s too one-dimensional to handle Trout. Besides punching power, Charlo doesn’t offer anything that should repel Trout. Prepare for the rise of the Trout Nation once again.
Prediction: Trout
Shelbi Keyes, Staff Writer
Jermall Charlo takes on Austin Trout in the second bout of the evening on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan. On paper, this fight looks as if it is going to be the most competitive fight of the night.
Trout became well known in the boxing world after upsetting Miguel Cotto in 2012, but he followed the big win with two consecutive losses against Saul Alvarez and Erislandy Lara. Trout is far from a walkover opponent–he also has notable wins over Joey Hernandez, Delvin Rodriguez and Daniel Dawson.
Jermall, the older of the twin Charlo brothers, won the IBF belt when he beat Cornelius “K9” Bundrage last September and defended his title in November against Wilky Campfort. It’s undeniable that Trout has faced stiffer competition up to this point and he will easily be Charlo’s toughest opponent to date.
This fight is undoubtedly going to be action packed and I see this fight being a lot closer than most people think. Charlo is fighting to keep his IBF title and stay undefeated, while Trout is looking to redeem himself in the junior middleweight division.
Both boxers have great jabs and like to fight at a range. Ultimately I think Charlo’s power will be the difference in this fight. I can see him dropping Trout but I would be shocked if he is able to stop him. I am predicting a Charlo win via unanimous decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
This is a tough task for Charlo as Trout his most dangerous opponent to date. Charlo hasn’t faced or defeated anyone on The Ring’s Middleweight top ten rankings on the way to his Championship. However, Trout is the first on that list that Charlo will defend against. This a huge step up in competition for Jarmall, who is ranked behind his twin brother, Jermell on that same list.
Trout, on the other hand, has a slight edge in experience. He beat Miguel Cotto to become a world titlist before suffering some major setbacks in the following year, dropping back-to-back losses to Canelo and Lara in 2013. However, He’s won four straight since and he’s made some changes in his corner, as he now trains under Barry Hunter out of Headbangers in DC.
That said, I think Charlo has the best shot at winning. Charlo is aggressive, but calculated. He uses his jab to set up his power shots and I think he will be patient enough to control the pace. He also has decent power. If he gets too aggressive with Trout–a southpaw known for punching from unorthodox angles and positions–it could trouble the slightly inexperienced Charlo.
However, if Charlo can keep Trout in front of him, or in the center of the ring, I think he can win a convincing unanimous decision.
Prediction: Charlo
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This is the main event for me. I think Jermall Charlo is the better of the twins and he’s got a chance to show what he’s made of against a well-established ex-champion.
I love the more aggressive style that Austin Trout has shown under the tutelage of Barry Hunter. But, being more aggressive can leave Trout open to eating some leather and I think that’s where Trout will wish he was facing the more feather-fisted of the Charlo brothers.
I think Jermall will earn Trout’s respect early, making him tentative and either win by decision or late stoppage.
Prediction: Charlo
Erislandy Lara
vs.
Vanes Martirosyan
Liam Brady, Staff Writer/Graphic Designer
I pick Erislandy Lara by decision in this fight. I feel Vanes Martirosyan will try his best to pressure Lara, and make him uncomfortable, as others have tried against him.
But Lara will be too elusive, too quick, and will pick him off from long range, en route to a wide points win.
Prediction: Lara
Ardy Ajoste, Graphic Designer
Prediction: Lara
Jack O’Connell, Staff Writer
The first matchup between these two was ugly. Head butts, long stretches of inactivity, Erislandy Lara doing laps around the ring while Vanes Martirosyan swings wildly. Let’s hope the second time around things run a bit more smoothly.
What version of Lara will show up, however? Will he plant his feet, stand his ground, and actually fight? Or will he go jog around the ring for 12 rounds and run away (pun completely intended) with the fight? Against a come-forward bruiser like Martirosyan, expect Lara do get in some decent cardio.
Lara should have no problem pot shotting Martirosyan from a distance. The jab will stick in place, accompanied by a couple crisp straight lefts. Martirosyan will chase and chase, scoring a few pushing right hands, but I expect things to be one-way traffic going Lara’s way.
However, I feel a disturbance in the boxing force. I sense robbery. Under the backing of promoter Al Haymon, Lara has not been a massive drawing force. Reportedly, his last fight against Jan Zaveck barely drew 300 people.
Martiroysan, while no superstar, has at least a more action-focused style to please fans. With a title belt, he would be given better marketability for future fights. If boxing is supposedly as corrupt as we think it is, I wouldn’t be surprised if Lara lost his belt by way of crap decision. Let’s hope not.
Prediction: Lara
Shelbi Keyes, Staff Writer
Erislandy Lara is looking for redemption Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas in a rematch against Vanes Martirosyan. The two met four years ago in Las Vegas in a back-and-forth battle in which Lara dominated in the early rounds, but Martirosyan came on strong late before the bout was stopped due to a cut.
The fight ended in a technical draw because each man was ahead on one scorecard and the third was even. Not surprisingly, Lara and Martirosyan are both confident they will finish what they started four years ago.
Lara is a great technical boxer with a high ring IQ–he knows when to attack and he knows how to stay out of harm’s way. Lara’s accuracy and power make him extremely dangerous. His ability to work the ring coupled with his 75-inch reach mean he is often able to control the pace of the fight, frustrating his opponents.
Martirosyan has an impressive right hand and is always moving when throwing punches, which makes it hard for his opponents to counter. Martirosyan is also a well-conditioned fighter who has the stamina to go all 12 rounds when necessary. However, if he wants to pull off the upset on Saturday night, he needs to be more aggressive than he has been in recent fights.
I am expecting an exciting fight with both fighters looking for vengeance. I believe Lara’s ring intelligence along with being the more polished boxer will set him apart this time around. I am predicting Lara will be able to outbox Martirosyan and win via unanimous decision.
Prediction: Lara
Brandon Glass, Staff Writer
It should come as no surprise that I had Erislandy Lara winning the first fight against Vanes Martirosyan over four years ago. I expect Lara to win this fight, as he is the technically superior fighter. I’m not Harold Lederman. I don’t give fighters credit for coming forward alone, as was given to Vanes in the first matchup.
How effective are they in mounting an offense while coming forward? Especially when there are fighters like Lara, who can counter and punch effectively while moving backwards. To be fair, Vanes did land some solid punches during exchange, but Lara’s movement and counters frustrated him for most of that fight.
While Martirosyan is a serviceable Jr. Middleweight, I think he’s becoming more of a litmus test for world champions than becoming a champ, himself. The level of competition he and Lara both have faced, combined with how well they fared against that competition, speaks to how much they improved.
Lara has the edge in prominent opponents and I think he wins this fight more decisively than the first time–and that’s only if he doesn’t get the stoppage in the later rounds.
Prediction: Lara
Amber Williams, Photographer
Prediction: Lara
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This could be a snoozer or exciting–depends what each guy brings to the table. I’d like to see both be aggressive, but that probably won’t happen. Vanes Martirosyan talks a good game, but he always goes through spells of inactivity in a fight and seems to cry foul when he isn’t awarded a decision. If he’s active, good things can happen.
Erislandy Lara is happy to do his best Willie Pep impression and duck and dodge all of Martirosyan’s punches all night, but when pressed (like he was against Alfredo Angulo) he’s also shown that he can fire back.
Lara can win this fight by throwing five punches circling around the ring for 12 rounds, but nobody wants to see that and that won’t do the Cuban’s career any favors.
If Lara puts the pedal to the metal he will gain a lot of fans and put an emphatic end to this two-fight rivalry. Either way, I think Lara is too skilled for Vanes and wins this one to retain his title.
Prediction: Lara
