Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Saturday, January 25, 2014, live on HBO, undefeated WBO Jr. Lightweight champion Mikey Garcia (33-0, 28 KOs) and two-time world title challenger and current No. 1 contender Juan Carlos Burgos (30-1-2, 20 KOs) square off in New York City at the famed Madison Square Garden.
In the biggest fight of his career, Burgos will attempt to dethrone one of boxing‘s hottest commodities in Garcia.
Garcia always comes ready to fight, but he has spent much of the time in the buildup to this fight talking about Yuriorkis Gamboa and Manny Pacquiao, seemingly dismissing Burgos.
Will that comeback to haunt him?
Opening up HBO’s broadcast will be two undefeated Heavyweight’s, Bryant Jennings (17-0, 9 KOs) and Artur Szpilka (16-0, 12 KOs).
Jennings, who is the more notable fighter, will look to stamp his arrival on his first HBO broadcast with a big win.
Will we see the birth of a new star in the Heavyweight division?
Read on for Round By Round Boxing’s staff predictions.
Click here to check out the staff records up to this point.
Bryant Jennings vs. Artur Szpilka
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Brendan Montenegro, Sr. Corespondent
“Jennings, Jennings, Jennings” is what people will be screaming after this fight. This will be Bryant Jennings’ first showing on HBO after having plenty of fights on NBC Sports. Jennings is one of the two U.S. Heavyweights looking for a chance to take on Wladimir Klitschko and take over the Heavyweight class. Jennings will show great boxing skills in this fight and will go for the knockout late in the fight. This fight will set up a possible fight with Deontay Wilder, which will be a main event to showcase American Heavyweights.
Prediction: Jennings
Lenin Acevedo, Photographer
Not the most exciting division, but with two undefeated fighters there’s always some sort of excitement. I like Artur Szpilka and I think with patience he could give Bryant Jennings some real trouble. However, he has some flaws that Jennings will use to his advantage. Szpilka tends to fight low, which causes him to load his jabs at times. Jennings will see this and keep his jab on Szpilka’s face all night. I say Jennings by decision.
Prediction: Jennings
Gino Garcia, Contributing Writer
Bryant Jennings vs. Artur Szpilka is a fight with big stakes for the Heavyweight division. One of these undefeated fighters will go home with a loss. I am not convinced that Jennings can handle the heavy hitting southpaw toward the later rounds. Szpilka wins in eight by TKO.
Prediction: Szpilka
Jose Sotomayor, Contributing Writer
This will be a barn burner in the Heavyweight division. If I am correct, one of these fighters will go down. Artur Szpilka is a Polish native with a pretty good record. History has shown that Polish fighters are very tough and gritty. In spite of that, Bryant Jennings seems to have better ring generalship. This is a toss up.
Prediction: Jennings
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Bryant Jennings is getting his first shot on HBO and a chance to impress boxing fans who will find any and every reason to complain about the Heavyweight division. At this point, even the king of the division–Wladimir Klitschko–is not fan favorite so the Heavyweight division is up for grabs in a sense. Deontay Wilder has captivated a lot of people with his sensational KO percentage and while Jennings is not that type of force, he is skilled and can make some noise. I think this is a good step up in terms of competition and viewership for Jennings and as long as he doesn’t try to do too much too early, he may be able to take Szpilka out in the later rounds.
Prediction: Jennings
Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Carlos Burgos
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Brendan Montenegro, Sr. Corespondent
Mikey Garcia is a legit fighter, and to answer the question everyone was asking, “Why Juan Carlos Burgos?”, well it’s because Juan Carlos Burgos is tough-as-nails. Even though Garcia wins this fight, he will not walk through Burgos, this fight will be action packed and in the middle of the ring.
Prediction: Garcia
Lenin Acevedo, Photographer
Maybe I’m just going by name recognition, but Mikey Garcia is winning this fight! I’ll give credit to Juan Carlos Burgos, he’s no pushover and he has good ring movement. Still, I see him coming up short versus Garcia. Mikey is a slow starter, so we’ll see Burgos winning some early rounds until Garcia lands some big shots and it’ll all be in the bag from there. I predict a TKO in the 10th for Garcia.
Prediction: Garcia
Jordan Echavez, Contributing Writer
I think Mikey Garcia is a top five pound-for-pounder. The mixture of power and boxing intelligence will overwhelm Juan Carlos Burgos in my opinion. They both have Rocky Martinez on their resume, and although many feel Burgos should have gotten the win instead of a draw, the way Garcia took out Martinez was more impressive. I think Garcia takes Burgos out in the mid rounds. Just can’t see anyone giving Garcia problems until he moves up to 140 pounds.
Prediction: Garcia
Gino Garcia, Contributing Writer
Mikey Garcia vs. Juan Carlos Burgos should steal the show this Saturday night. This is a great matchup that I think can go either way. Garcia will have to be cautious of the left hook from Burgos. On that same note, the strait right of Garcia can certainly end this fight at any point. In the end, I think Garcia is a more experienced boxer and will control the tempo of the rounds. Garcia wins by UD.
Prediction: Garcia
Jose Sotomayor, Contributing Writer
Many fans are questioning the selection of Mikey Garcia’s opponent, Juan Carlos Burgos. Don’t be fooled, this will be an exciting action-packed fight. This fight pits two of the divisions most active fighters against each other with one of them likely to force the action. Look for knockdowns to occur on numerous occasions with Mikey Garcia winning via late KO.
Prediction: Garcia
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
Mikey Garcia is a certifiable star in the making. I think he will continue his ascension up the pound-for-pound rankings with an impressive win over Juan Carlos Burgos. Burgos is tough-as-nails and while I think he did enough to beat Rocky Martinez, this bout will just be another failed attempt at the title. It’s tough to go against my namesake, but Garcia will win by KO. If Garcia does indeed win in dominant fashion, I think a bout versus Gamboa–not Pacquiao–should be made.
Prediction: Garcia
