Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Saturday, November 23, 2013, live from Macau, Filipino icon, Manny Pacquiao (54-5, 38 KOs) makes his triumphant return to the ring against Mexican-American bad ass, Brandon Rios 31-1. 23 KOs).
The vacant WBO International Welterweight title will be on the line, making this a 12-round bout with the winner likely becoming the mandatory challenger for Timothy Bradley’s WBO Welterweight championship.
Opening up the nights televised action is the much-hyped Chinese Olympic hero, Zou Shiming (2-0, 0 KOs) as he takes on Juan Tozcano (4-0, 1 KOs).
In the second bout of the evening, Andy Ruiz (20-0, 14 KOs) faces Tor Hamer (21-2, 14 KOs) in a clash of Heavyweights.
And in the final undercard bout, the “Mexican Russian” Evgeny Gradovich (17-0, 8 KOs) takes on Billy Dib (36-2, 21 KOs) in a rematch from March, which saw Gradovich take Dib’s IBF Featherweight title in an upset.
In a separate card being held in Manchester, England, Super Middleweight titlist Carl Froch (31-2, 22 KOs) defends his WBA and IBF belts against George Groves (19-0, 15 KOs).
Read on for Round By Round Boxing’s staff predictions for Saturday nights championship bout between Carl Froch vs. George Groves and the Macau quadruple header, headlined by Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios.
Click here to view the RBRBoxing staff’s records up to this point.
Zou Shiming vs. Juan Tozcano
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Gabriel Rivas, Contributing Writer
Zou Shiming is a two-time Olympic gold medalist. He is trained by Freddie Roach and this will be his third professional bout. I’m going with resume alone with this one.
Prediction: Shiming
Rob Anthony, Contributing Writer
Bob Arum’s Chinese boxing experiment continues at the Cotai Arena on Saturday with some interesting undercard bouts. We’ll see the return of Zou Shiming, a Chinese Olympic hero against Juan Tozcano. I don’t think Bob is quite ready for Shiming to be greatly challenged yet, so just on general principle he will be triumphant in front of his adoring Chinese countrymen and fans.
Prediction: Shiming
Juan Carlos Burgos, Contributing Writer
Zou Shiming, the Olympic gold medalist, will get to put on a show in front of the hometown crowd. A bit old for a Flyweight to be starting a career, Shiming has had a long amateur career and I see him using that experience to outbox Juan Tozcano to a easy victory over a fighter we don’t know much about.
Prediction: Shiming
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Juan Tozcano is 4-0, 1 KOs. But, the combined record of his opponents is 2-21-3. Tozcano doesn’t have the amateur pedigree that Zou Shiming does, so I think the difference in skill should be evident early. While I don’t think Shiming is the real deal, I do think he is good enough to defeat Tozcano.
Prediction: Shiming
Andy Ruiz vs. Tor Hamer
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Gabriel Rivas, Contributing Writer
Both fighters are smart and have amateur backgrounds. However, I believe that Ruiz will a walk away with the decision. Ruiz is a tough Mexican fighter and once he begins to impose his will, Hamer will begin to crumble. His response to a better fighter in Vyacheslav Glazkov—a fight in which he quit after the fourth round—illustrates that although he is very intelligent, he has problems with adversity. Instead of sticking through and risking injury, he took the smart route and quit. It shows a lot about his intelligence, but not so much about his fighting spirit.
Prediction: Ruiz
Gabriel Polanco, Contributing Writer
Andy Ruiz is a perfect example of “you should not judge a book by its cover.” He is a chubby, dough faced, goofy looking kid. That being said, his hand speed rivals most in his division and his potential is through the ceiling. He hammers Tor Hamer easily, padding his schedule through an easy night.
Prediction: Ruiz
Juan Carlos Burgos, Contributing Writer
Both fighters have decent amateur credentials and look to make the jump to contender status. Andy Ruiz is the bigger man and should use that to his advantage. Tor Hamer must avoid getting backed up by the bigger man as he doesn’t respond well to constant pressure as was the case in his loss to Vyacheslav Glazkov when he quit on his stool. Ruiz will be able to apply enough pressure to earn the victory.
Prediction: Ruiz
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Most people see Andy Ruiz and dismiss him as a punching bag. Although his flabby physique can fool you, he has an impressive amateur background and is trained by Freddie Roach. Ruiz does have some skills–including a decent jab–but I think that if Hamer can dig deep and weather the early storm from Ruiz, he can have some success in the later rounds. I wouldn’t be surprised if Hamer pulls the minor upset, but I’m going with Ruiz by mid-rounds stoppage.
Prediction: Ruiz
Evgeny Gradovich vs. Billy Dib
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Gabriel Rivas, Contributing Writer
The IBF Featherweight Champion Evgeny “The Mexican Russian” Gradovich fights in a rematch against the fighter he took the belt from, Billy Dib. In their bout earlier this year, Gradovich took the fight on short notice but was still able to land solid shots against a fighter with twice as many fights. This time a round, a better-prepared Gradovich will seek to cement his status as a Featherweight fighter. Gradovich, whose nickname denotes his style–a style more like Chavez Sr. than any Russian fighter today–will come forward with more intensity this time around. Dib has a great chin, but he will get pressured and outworked by Gradovich.
Prediction: Gradovich
Gabriel Polanco, Contributing Writer
Former Featherweight champion, Billy Dib, will be attempting to avenge his upset lost to Evgeny “The Mexican Russian” Gradovich and take back his IBF title. Gradovich took the first fight on a three week notice and slugged his way to a hard earned victory over Dib. With one defense of his title under his belt, Gradovich has had more than 3 weeks to prepare for Dib this time around, so expect an even worse beating of Dib by The Mexican Russian, ending before the final bell.
Prediction: Gradovich
Rob Anthony, Contributing Writer
Evegeny Gradovich vs. Billy Dib (who is a 50 Cent/SMS fighter) is a rematch of an upset that was broadcast on Friday Night Fights on ESPN earlier this year. I think Dib–who’s had several months to stew over this loss–will get his revenge and claim Evgeny’s Featherweight strap.
Prediction: Dib
Juan Carlos Burgos, Contributing Writer
In this rematch, Billy Dib will have to figure out a better way to get through Evgeny Gradovich’s high guard. Gradovich is not hard to find, but even so, his defense did give Dib problems at times in the first bout. Gradovich will come forward and apply pressure as he usually does. Look for Dib to stick and move and use his athleticism to keep Gradovich on the outside and not be forced into a brawl. Dib needs to turn this fight into a stinker, but I don’t think Gradovich will give him that chance. I look for the champ to impose his will and retain his title via decision.
Prediction: Gradovich
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Evgeny Gradovich vs. Billy Dib was an exciting ESPN Friday Night Fights matchup earlier this year in which Dib lost his IBF title. He’s been hungry to win his title back, but didn’t do much to show his skill level in his last bout against Mike Oliver—also on Friday Night Fight’s. I think Dib is going to run into a wall again against Gradovich, and although he may know what to expect, the “Mexican Russian” is just more relentless and skillful than the Aussie.
Prediction: Gradovich
Manny Pacquiao vs. Brandon Rios
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Gabriel Rivas, Contributing Writer
Brandon Rios is considered to be one of the best Light Welterweights in the world. However, his style forces him to take a lot of punishment and he is most comfortable fighting on the inside. Manny Pacquiao has been a world champion in eight divisions. He has come back from knockouts twice in his career and I do not see his last knockout stopping him from being the offensive machine we have seen in the past. I predict this fight to be very similar to Pacman’s fight with Margarito–but it will fare worse for Rios. Rios has never been in the ring with someone as fast and powerful as Pacquiao and this fight can quite possibly end in a stoppage. Rios can take a punch, but even Alvarado almost stopped him in their previous fight. Furthermore, Rios wants to work on the inside but Pacquiao’s “punches in bunches” will be too much for Rios to handle. Rios was getting outboxed in his fight with Alvarado and if Pacquiao chooses to box in a smart way, there will be trouble for Rios. I have Pacquiao winning this fight in spectacular fashion and putting his name back into the list of possible opponents for Floyd Mayweather.
Prediction: Pacquiao
Gabriel Polanco, Contributing Writer
Manny Pacquiao returns to the ring, almost one year after a hellacious 6-Round knockout by Mexican great Juan Manuel Marquez, to fight former Lightweight champion, Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios. I think Rios will go out there and test Pacquiao’s chin right away. Will it stand up against Rios? I think yes, just not without some shaky moments. I believe there will be a few knockdowns, one at the very least on both sides. It will definitely turn out to be a war, with Rios’ iron chin and will, against Pacquiao’s unbreakable fortitude; overall a slugmatch and a possible FOTY. I have Pacquiao by a very close decision, a fight where Rios’ stock will rise and his name shine.
Prediction: Pacquiao
Rob Anthony, Contributing Writer
There are several reasons why this fight is intriguing. One being that Brandon Rios has a huge chip on his shoulder because he believes that Bob Arum hand picked him for Manny Pacquiao as a tailor-made opponent who will make Pacquiao look good and put him on a comeback to prominence in the boxing world. There’s also the fact the Alex Ariza–who was a long time staple in the Pac-Man camp–is now helping train Brandon Rios, and there’s bad blood between him and Pacquiao’s trainer Freddie Roach. The bad blood bubbled over during the week in a spat during a Rios work out session. The most interesting tidbit about this fight is the return of Pacquiao. Is he still worth PPV money? Is he still a global icon “in the ring” anymore? Will he fight more cautious after being knocked out so violently by Juan Manuel Marquez? All interesting questions that will get answers this Saturday. I think Brandon Rios is a tailor-made opponent for Pacquiao. Rios does have some boxing skills and he did reach the finals of the U.S. Olympic trials. You don’t make it to that point of amateur boxing by being a brawler. But, boxing with U.S. amateur hopefuls and boxing against Pacquiao are two very different things. Rios likes to smile and laugh at his opponents after feeling their power, and realizing they cant hurt him. He won’t be smiling or laughing after being hit cleanly by a full strength Pacquiao with a chip on his shoulder and possibly with his career as a major draw on the line. I’m picking a very game Pacquiao to get his mojo back and possibly put his name back into the mega-fight sweepstakes with Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Prediction: Pacquiao
Juan Carlos Burgos, Contributing Writer
Manny Pacquiao is coming off a brutal KO loss suffered at the hands of Juan Manuel Marquez. The million dollar question is, how much does Pacquiao have left in the tank? Brandon Rios is also coming off a loss and even though he is the younger fighter he has mileage on his odometer as well. The key for me is how will Manny react when he gets hit by Rios? Pacquiao will have to use his superior foot and hand speed to create angles against the more plodding Rios. Unless Pacquiao is shot, Rios can’t rely on his typical come forward style and take 3 punches to land 1. If that is his strategy I think it’s a recipe for disaster, unless again, Pacquiao is done as a fighter. The saying in boxing goes that great fighters always have one last great performance in them. I believe Pacquiao still has one in him. I like Pacquiao over Rios.
Prediction: Pacquiao
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This matchup got a lot more intriguing after the brouhaha in the gym between Freddie Roach and Team Rios. Some claim it may have been scripted drama, but whatever the case, it certainly upped the intrigue for me. I expect Brandon Rios to be in shape and ready to tirelessly come forward against Manny Pacquiao. Rios looks physically bigger than Pacquiao, but at the end of the day I don’t think that will matter as much as people think. I don’t think Pacquiao will be worn down or pushed around. I think Pac-Man will be sharp and ready to strike from different angles—ala vintage Manny—and he will bust Rios up en-route to a mid-to-late round stoppage. Robert Garcia needs to be on his A game because if Rios eats shots from Pacquiao all night—like he loves to do against other opponents—he’ll need someone to save him.
Prediction: Pacquiao
Carl Froch vs. George Groves
Gabriel Rivas, Contributing Writer
Carl Froch has only two losses in his career: One against the true Super Middleweight champion Andre Ward and another against Micheal Kessler. Froch is battle-tested and holds two Super Middleweight world titles. George Groves is undefeated and has quick hands, but I see Froch taking this one mostly because he is more experienced and more powerful.
Prediction: Froch
Gabriel Polanco, Contributing Writer
George Groves is like that schoolyard bully every child deals with in school. On Saturday night, Froch will be playing the “goofy, lanky kid who was picked on enough to almost cry, then the next day just kicked the bullies ass.” Yes, Groves is a the bigger man, but he is also the inexperienced, untested, and the less skilled of the two. It will be a pleasure to the eyes, when Froch deals him his first defeat, Lucian Bute style, on Saturday night.
Prediction: Froch
Rob Anthony, Contributing Writer
Groves has been needling Carl Froch and doing everything he can to win this battle psycologically
before the two every step into the ring. I think an on edge and focused Carl Froch will be mentally tough
and with the support of a large and frenzied UK crowd he will squeak by with a Split decision.
Prediction: Froch
Juan Carlos Burgos, Contributing Writer
Carl Froch is now 36 years old and his tendency to start slow could one day haunt him. Does George Groves have it in him to exploit that? The 25-year-old Groves has youth on his side, along with decent power. He lacks the championship pedigree that Froch has. I look for Froch to take the young challenger to deep waters with a mix of boxing and brawling to earn the victory.
Prediction: Froch
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
I like Carl Froch and I think he’s on the brink of breaking the top 10 pound-for-pound list. An impressive win against Groves will go a long way in justifying his status. He’s a lot older and more experienced in the ring than George Groves, which may or may not be a good thing. Although Groves has a high KO percentage, he has not faced the level of competition that Froch has. Even at the age of 36, I think Froch’s athleticism and technique will be too much for Groves.
Prediction: Froch
