Photo by Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions
On Saturday, July 2, 2016, Jamel “Semper Fi” Herring (15-0, 8 KOs) takes on two-time world title challenger and rugged Russian, Denis Shafikov (36-2-1, 19 KOs) live on ESPN as part of the Premier Boxing Champions series.
We spoke with Herring this week and asked him to break down some of the boxing matchups that will take place in the coming months.
Here Is What Jamel Herring Had to Say:
Deontay Wilder vs. Chris Arreola – Chris Arreola is a tough guy and has heart, but at that level it takes more than that. Arreola always comes to fight, but looking at his fight versus Bermane Stiverne and how he took Stiverne’s punches, it’s going to be another crazy night. Unless Arreola comes with a miraculous game plan, I think it’s going to be another victory on Deontay Wilder’s end.
Terence Crawford vs. Viktor Postol – That’s a tough one. A lot of people are knocking it just based on the fact that it’s pay-per-view. They’re not looking at the calibur, they’re just looking at the price. You have to give Viktor Postol a lot of credit. I thought Lucas Matthysse would be a world champion by now. Who would’ve thought that Postol would’ve knocked out the knockout artist. But, having said that I still have to go with Crawford. Crawford knows how to adjust and he doesn’t punch light himself, plus I believe Crawford is the sharper of the two. I just don’t want the fact that it’s pay-per-view to take away from the fact that it’s a good fight.
Leo Santa Cruz vs. Carl Frampton – I’m a fan of both of the guys. I feel that Leo Santa Cruz is going to be the bigger man in this fight, but I also feel like his activity is going to set him apart. If you look at Carl Frampton’s last fight with [Scott] Quigg, he was boxing beautifully in the beginning of that fight, but then he began to get tired and he started to get hit with a lot of clean shots. We all know that Leo doesn’t stop coming so I think his work rate is going to be the deciding factor.
Canelo Alvarez vs. Liam Smith – I’m a Canelo Alvarez fan, but I’m siding with the rest of the general public on this one. It’s not so much that he’s not fighting [Gennady] Golokvin, it’s more so the way that he portrayed himself after his last fight. He made it seem like “we don’t f**k around” and then he gives up the title. It’s like Canelo’s got too many people and too many things going on around him. Taking nothing away from Liam Smith, but I think Canelo will win.
Catch Jamel Herring vs. Denis Shafikov live on ESPN on Saturday, July 2, 2016 from the Santander Arena in Reading, Pennsylvania starting at 9:00 pm, EST.
