Fight Week: Chris Eubank Jr. stays busy as he awaits big fight

27.09.2021 23:14

FIGHT WEEK

CHRIS EUBANK JR. WILL FACE SVEN ELBIR IN A STAY-BUSY FIGHT AS HE AWAITS A POSSIBLE SHOWDOWN WITH BILLY JOE SAUNDERS OR LIAM WILLIAMS.

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DANIELE SCARDINA (19-0, 15 KOs) VS. JUERGEN DOBERSTEIN (26-4-1, 7 KOs)

When: Friday, Oct. 1
Where: Allianz Cloud, Milan
TV/Stream: DAZN
Division: Super middleweight
At stake: No titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: Francesco Patera vs. Devis Boschiero, lightweights
Prediction: Scardina UD
Background: Scardina, the 168-pound contender from Italy, is well traveled. The 29-year-old started his career in the Dominican Republic, moved his base to Miami and is now fighting primarily in his native country. The capable boxer-puncher, ranked by three of the four major sanctioning bodies, has built a gaudy record but has yet to face elite opposition. He will fight Doberstein for a minor 168-pound title in what has become Scardina’s home venue, the Allianz Cloud in Milan, his hometown. Doberstein, a native of Kazakhstan who lives in Germany, rebounded from a seventh-round knockout loss to former titleholder Juergen Braehmer in 2019 by outpointing Roman Hardok in six rounds last October. That was his most-recent fight.

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CHRIS EUBANK JR. (30-2, 2 KOs) VS. SVEN ELBIR (18-1, 14 KOs)

When: Saturday, Oct. 2
Where: The SSE Arena, London
TV/Stream: Sky Sports (in U.K.)
Division: Super middleweight
At stake: No titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: David Avanesyan vs. Liam Taylor, welterweights
Prediction: Eubank KO 5
Background: Eubank, ranked No. 1 by the WBA and No. 3 by the WBC, has his eye on a big prize. The 32-year-old Englishman reportedly could face either former titleholder Billy Joe Saunders or Liam Williams before the end of the year or early next year. However, he must get past Elbir in a stay-busy fight first. The 27-year-old Berliner has won consistently but has never faced anyone at Eubank’s level and has fought only his home country. Eubank has won four consecutive fights since he lost a unanimous decision to then-titleholder George Groves in 2018, including a breakout decision over James DeGale in February 2019. He followed that with a second-round TKO over Matvey Korobov, who had to quit with an injury, and a one-sided decision over Marcus Morrison this past May. He has looked good under the tutelage of Roy Jones Jr.

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MIGUEL VAZQUEZ (43-10, 17 KOs) VS. OLIVER FLORES (30-3-2, 19 KOs)

When: Saturday, Oct. 2
Where: Verite Social Venue, Monterrey, Mexico
TV/Stream: ESPN+
Division: Junior welterweight
At stake: No titles
Pound-for-pound ranking: None
Odds: NA
Also on the card: NA
Prediction: Vazquez UD
Background: Vazquez is still at it. The 34-year-old former lightweight champion, who reigned between 2010 and 2014, but is only 4-5 in his last nine fights and hasn’t recorded a significant victory since he outpointed Denis Shafikov more than seven years ago. The polished technician last fought in April, when he stopped journeyman Isai Hernandez Renteria in seven rounds at the same venue at which he’ll fight on Saturday. Vazquez lost a disputed split decision to Lewis Ritson the previous October in Ritson’s home country of England. Flores has experience against elite opposition but has come up short each time, losing by stoppage to Miguel Berchelt and Takashi Uchiyama and by decision to Felix Verdejo. The Nicaraguan has won back to back fights since the setback against Verdejo but hasn’t been in the ring since September 2019, two years ago.