Smorgasbord

The list of significant fights on different cards this weekend is as long as any I ever remember. First, in a pair of fights in which an upset could derail Showtime's historic six-man tourney at 168 pounds, I like Mikkel Kessler and Andre Ward to both take care of business via knockout over Gusmyl Perdomo and Shelby Pudwill (what a great name for a tomato can!), respectively. In the rematch of their headbutt-shortened draw in June, I'll take Rodel Mayol in an upset of Iván Calderón. The 34-year-old Calderón has a huge home-field advantage, but I didn't like the way he looked in June: he was hit more than usual in that first bout (and he didn't seem to take the shots all that well), Mayol's style clearly bothered him, and looked like his legs were a bit shaky. On the undercard, I'll take Román Martínez over Vicente Martín Rodríguez. In Nuevo Vallarta, I'll take Fernando Montiel by knockout over Alex Valdez, and I like Donnie Nietes over Manuel Vargas by decision. In Monterrey, I see Cristian Mijares letting his hands go a bit more and breaking the losing streak with a decision victory in a rematch with Nehomar Cermeño.

On to Mexico's Independence Day bouts: in Puebla, I like Edgar Sosa over Omar Soto and Saul Álvarez over Carlos Leonardo Herrera, both by knockout. In Cancún, I think Jorge Arce will win by knockout over Simphiwe Nongqayi, and Humberto Soto will get past Aristides Pérez the same way. Pérez's 16 previous opponents collectively have 13 total wins. How that guy got a title shot is beyond me, but Pérez is going to pay the price for his inexperience.

Gancho is 68-20 on the year.