A Look into the Month of October in Boxing

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0If you thought September was a bad month for boxing you’re not going to think too much of October’s schedule. With the exception of the under-matched Gennady Golovkin bout there aren’t any fights containing guys you will see on anyone’s Pound for Pound list.

I guess this is what happens when Showtime “invest” nearly all their budget on one fighter. There are however a lot of domestic level fights in Germany, Australia, Mexico and the UK; I have tried my best to pick the “biggest” fights out of a bad bunch and just think, a month ago nobody knew who Artur Beterbiev was, perhaps October will see the emergence of another star.

October 1
Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam vs. Curtis Stevens
TV – ESPN 2
Venue – Barker Hangar, Santa Monica, California

We really don’t know too much about French based fighter N’Dam N’Jikam (30-01, 18 KO’s), except that the only loss on his record was on points against the only really recognisable name (Peter Quillin) he has faced. His opponent Curtis Stevens (27-04, 20 KO’s), will be hoping for a third straight win since his knock-out loss to GGG last November, this should be a good competitive bout.
Pick – This one’s a toss up but something tells me Stevens will win on points.

October 4
Jhonny Gonzales vs. Jorge Acre
TV – Televisa, beIN Sports en Espanol
Venue – Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico

WBC World featherweight champ Jhonny Gonzalez (56-08, 47 KO’s) goes up against experienced, fellow countryman, Jorge Arce (64-07, 49 KO’s) in a stay busy fight he is very much expected to win.

Pick – Gonzales to Win with a devastating knockout.

October 8
Sam Soliman vs. Jermain Taylor
TV – ESPN 2
Venue – Biloxi, Mississippi,
Co-Feature Andre Dirrell vs. Nick Brinson

Despite Australian fighter Sam Soliman (44-11, 18 KO’s) being 40, he has been on great form over the past few years and hasn’t lost a fight since 2008, unlike his opponent, the faded Jermain Taylor (32-04, 20 KO’s) who, despite his legal issues still somehow gets a shot at the IBF middleweight title. Southpaw Andre Dirrell (22-01, 15 KO’s) fights in the Co-feature against Nick Brinson (16-02-02, 6 KO’s).

Picks – Both Soliman and Dirrell to win by stoppages.

October 11
Lee Selby vs. Joel Brunker
TV – Sky Sports (UK)
Venue – 02 Arena, Greenwich, London, UK
Co feature – Anthony Joshua vs. Denis Bakhtov

Welshman Lee Selby (19-01, 7 KO’s) fights for this IBF Featherweight Title eliminator against undefeated Australian Joel Brunker (27-0, 15 KO’s) The card also features highly rated Heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua (8-0, 8 KO’s) in his hardest fight to date against Russian Denis Bakhtov (38-09, 25 KO’s)

Picks – Selby to win on points and Joshua to win Via KO

October 18
Gennady Golovkin vs. Marco Antonio Rubio
TV – HBO
Venue – Stub Hub Center, Carson, California
Co-Feature Nonito Donaire vs. Nicholas Walters

Probs to Marco Antonio Rubio (59-6-1, 51 KO’s) for taking the fight with Boxings most avoided fighter Gennady Golovkin (30-0, 27 KO’s) the hard hitting Mexican might fancy his chances of an upset but It should be business as usual for “triple G”, the undercard fight between Filipino Nonito Donaire (33-02, 21 KO’s) and hard hitting Jamaican Nicholas Walters (24-0, 20 KO’s) should be a lot more competitive though.

Picks – Golovkin to win by knockout and Nonito Donaire to win on points in a great fight.

Last Months Picks 5-0