A Saturday press conference is in the works for smack-talkers Adrien Broner and Paulie Malignaggi.
Weekend Preview: Hopkins vs. Arnaoutis
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DEMETRIUS HOPKINS vs. MIKE ARNAOUTIS Rounds / weight class: 10 rounds / welterweights Location: Ontario, Calif. Television: ESPN2 The backdrop: Hopkins (29-1-1, 11 KOs) has fought only once in 19 months, easily outpointing faded Jesse Feliciano in a meaningless bout in March. That could leave Philadelphian with some rust. He is trying to climb back to contender status after his disappointed split-decision loss to Kendall Holt in 2008. Arnaoutis (22-5-2, 10 KOs) also is trying to reestablish himself as a player in the division at 30 after losing three of his last four fights. The New York-based Greek’s performance in a one-sided loss to Delvin Rodriguez in April was particularly weak. Also fighting: Francisco Contreras vs. Eric Cruz, 8 rounds, junior welterweights Rating the card: C. Hopkins and Arnoutis are well-established fighters, which is a plus. But they both might be in decline, which is a minus. At least they should be hungry. We’d rather watch Contreras (14-0, 13 KOs), a big punching Dominican based in New Jersey. Cruz (7-3-3, 7 KOs) is tough and also has pop but might be overmatched here. SATURDAY ULISES SOLIS vs. ERIC ORTIZ Rounds / weight class: 10 rounds / flyweights Location: Reno, Nev. Television: Fox Sports Net / Fox Sports en Espanol The backdrop: This card is part of the events commemorating the 100th anniversary of the historic Jack Johnson-Jim Jeffries fight in 1910. Solis (30-2-2, 21 KOs) has won two straight since he lost his 108-pound title to Brian Vilora by an 11th-round knockout last year, including a sixth-round KO of tough veteran Bert Batawang in March. Solis is THE RING’s No. 8-rated junior flyweight. Ortiz (32-10-3, 21 KOs) briefly held a junior flyweight title in 2005 but, at 33, is no longer a contender. He has been stopped in two of his last three fights, the latter a fourth-round KO against Luis Concepcion for an interim flyweight title in April. Also fighting: Mark Melligen vs. Anges Adjaho, 10 rounds, welterweights Rating the card: C+. Solis shouldn’t have too much trouble with Ortiz, who appears to have little left. The Melligen-Adjaho fight could be interesting. Melligen (18-2, 13 KOs) has a substantial following in his native Philippines. Adjaho (25-2, 14 KOs), from Benin but based in New York, was giving Antonio DeMarco some trouble before he was stopped in the ninth round in his last fight, almost exactly a year ago. |