Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Saturday, December 13, 2014, Timothy Bradley (31-1, 12 KOs) takes on Diego Chaves (23-2, 19 KOs) in a 12-round Welterweight bout, live from The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.
Bradley, of Palm Springs, California, will be making his return to the ring after dropping his first professional bout to Manny Pacquiao in April of this year, while Chaves, of Buenos Aires, looks to put the debacle disqualification against Brandon Rios behind him.
Also on the card will be will be an intriguing matchup between Andy Lee (33-2, 23 KOs) and undefeated Russian contender, Matt Korobov (24-0, 14 KOs) for the vacant WBO Middleweight title.
Opening the night will be the battle tested Mauricio Herrera (21-4, 7 KOs), of Riverside, California, who will be making the first defense of his interim WBA Light Welterweight title, against Jose Benavidez Jr. (21-0, 15 KOs), of Phoenix, Arizona.
All three fights will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing, beginning at 10:00 pm, EST.
Read on for RBRBoxing’s staff predictions for the HBO triple header and let us know who you think will win.
[yop_poll id=”91″]
[table id=1 /]
Mauricio Herrera
vs.
Jose Benavidez Jr.
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
This is a very exciting matchup. I don’t see this one making it to the scorecards. Although Mauricio Herrera has the experience, I like the undefeated Jose Benavidez.
Prediction: Benavidez
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Mauricio Herrera is just brutal to fight. He’s got sneaky skills and he can hit you with any punch. In fact, he might be one of the most accurate punchers in the game.
He’s certainly a truth-teller, and that’s what we’re going to find out Saturday–is Jose Benavidez the truth?
Herrera will be at a pretty severe height disadvantage, and I’m not sure if he can overcome it enough to soundly defeat this young fella. That said, Benavidez, despite sparring with Manny Pacquiao, has never been in a real fight as difficult as this. I’m going with the veteran to pull it out. Herrera on points.
Prediction: Herrera
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
This is an interesting matchup. Jose Benavidez has a really good amateur background, but nothing that I’ve seen from him as a professional suggests that he’s ready to beat a rugged, hard-to-hit pro fighter like Mauricio Herrera.
Herrera is not the guy I would want my fighter facing as his first step up fight and I think Benavidez will realize early that “El Maestro” is as difficult as advertised. I like Herrera by decision.
Prediction: Herrera
Andy Lee
vs.
Matt Korobov
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
I like Matt Korobov to stop Andy Lee. I expect a war. Korobov is on the way up and Lee has shown recent signs of having chinks in his armor.
Korobov will be too much for Lee to handle although Lee will be as valiant as he always is.
Prediction: Korobov
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
This thing could be fun. In fact, Andy Lee is usually an absolute blast to watch. Matt Korobov is a solid fighter, but Lee is a handful who will be winging bombs from the start.
Both guys are southpaw, so it will be interesting to see how they handle each other. It’s pretty simple–if it’s a tactical fight, Lee is in trouble. But if it’s a firefight, Korobov might be catching some z’s.
I like Korobov to pull out the win in what should be an excellent bout.
Prediction: Korobov
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
I must admit, I love watching Andy Lee. He’s got really good skills and punching power. What he lacks in defensive ability, he makes up with balls.
Korobov didn’t wow me in his last HBO outing, but he’s got some decent skills and a good amateur background. I certainly think he can win, but I’m going with Lee based on the fact that this may be one of his last chances to win a title at 160.
Neither man stands a chance against Gennady Golovkin, so enjoy the title while you can!
Prediction: Lee
Timothy Bradley
vs.
Diego Chaves
Tony Calcara, Staff Writer
I like Timothy Bradley. Diego Chaves has proven tough–very tough. Bradley has a good beard of his own and, quite simply, he is just a better boxer and a better fighter.
Not saying it will be easy, but I look for Bradley to win.
Prediction: Bradley
Lou Catalano, Senior Writer
Timothy Bradley could make this an easy fight. He’s got brilliant, top ten boxing ability. But he’s also got a skull as thick as cement, and he loves to brawl.
If he goes Provo on us, we’re going to see a war and he could be in trouble. Here’s hoping for his sake that he uses his skills to take a very dangerous Diego Chaves to school.
Bradley by wide decision.
Prediction: Bradley
Alex Burgos, Editor-in-Chief
I like Diego Chaves, but all of his fights in the states have been tough! If he would be developed, maybe he could be a champion, but he’s being thrown in there with some established contenders or champions.
But, I guess that’s what separates the good from the really good.
Unfortunately, I think Chaves is in another fight where the other guy is just better at this point. The style of this fight really depends on how frisky Tim Bradley wants to get. He can make it easy on himself by moving and using his speed to befuddle Chaves. Something tells me he’s not going to do that.
Bradley has already threatened to “Get Ghetto” if Chaves gets dirty–like he allegedly did against Brandon Rios–but hopefully we get a night of no point deductions or DQ’s. Regardless of the style of fight, I think Bradley takes it by decision victory.
Prediction: Bradley
