Parker vs Whyte: The Much Maligned Undercard:

Parker vs Whyte: The Much Maligned Undercard:

By Matthew Dean

Saturday night at the O2 is headlined by the bruised former heavyweight opponents of Anthony Joshua – Dillian Whyte and Joseph Parker. However for the fans who show up early rather than just the main event, there are some other tempting battles to watch.

The bout is being shown on Sky Sports Box Office and being covered by TALKSPORT radio.

Dereck Chisora (28-8, 20 KOs) vs Carlos Takam (35-4-1, 27 KOs)

12 rounds Heavyweight

The heavyweights clash for the WBA International Heavyweight belt and this is possibly the last chance saloon at elite level for one of these warriors. The fighters themselves will be conscious of this as Chisora is 34 and Takam 37. The winner will likely get a few more big fights and for the loser it will be over, at least at this level.

Both men are ranked in the WBC top 15. Both are tough and can punch. Takam showed plenty even in his 10th round stoppage loss against Joshua last year and Chisora is capable of beating Takam but he is inconsistent in his fighting career. So you have to wonder if the desire is still there? But with the big men as we all know one punch alone can change a matchup.

Prediction : Takam stoppage.
Katie Taylor (9-0, 4 KOs) vs Kimberly Connor (13-3-2, 5 KOs)

10 rounds. WBA & IBF Lightweight titles

Irish star Katie Taylor is back after unifying the lightweight division earlier this year with her WBA belt and IBF belts on the line. She is aiming to be the undisputed champion and this is the next step on that road by completing her IBF mandatory defence. Taylor is the fighter who beat the fighter who beat Connor. The American lost to Victoria Noelia Bustos, who Taylor dominated in winning the IBF title, earlier this year. Connor has to date never fought this side of the Atlantic. She will undoubtedly hope for 3rd time lucky and will try to wrest the title from the champion but with the Irish star’s dream of more belts and possible matchups against the like of WBO champion Rose Volante in mind the American is unlikely to spoil the dream.

Prediction: Taylor points.

Conor Benn (12-0-0 9KOs) vs Cedrick Peynaud (6-5-3 4KOs)

10 rounds, Welterweight for the vacant WBA Continental Welterweight Championship

After their 1st fight last December the son of the Dark Destroyer has sworn to be better. After twice pulling himself from the canvas Benn floored Peynaud and ground out a points win over 6 rounds. He acknowledged having to dig deep in their first fight and says he is now ready to show his class in the squared circle. Both Benn & Peynaud have fought one other opponent since each other, stopping them in the 4th and the 8th rounds respectively, however Benn’s famous father will be urging his son on and Conor will be more respectful of the Frenchman’s abilities in his quest to further impress.

Prediction: Benn stoppage

Joshua Buatsi (6-0-0 4KOs) vs Andrejs Pokumeiko (17-14-1 13KOs)

10 rounds for the Vacant WBA International Light-Heavyweight strap.

Buatsi was originally scheduled to take on Ricky Summers but the former title challenger withdrew from the fight. Buatsi is only in his 7th fight in the paid ranks and his Latvian replacement opponent’s record suggests that he isn’t the biggest step up in class. However let’s not overlook that he can certainly punch a bit, has considerable fight experience and has shared a ring with Dmitry Chudinov and Enrico Koelling. Opponent changes can be difficult at short notice having prepped for a certain type of fighter but the Olympic bronze medallist has promised to prey on any weaknesses and put on a show for all as he lets out his frustrations inside the ring.

Prediction: Buatsi stoppage.

Nick Web 12-0, 10 KOs) vs Dave Allen (13-4-2, 10 KOs)

12 rounds, British Heavyweight title eliminator.

This has been added to the card as a replacement fight after Kell Brook (37-2, 26 KOs) vs Brandon Cook (20-1 13KOs) was called off due to injury then subsequently the replacement Sam Eggington (23-4 15KOs) was also injured.

Webb has long been after a fight with Allen and finally gets his chance, the reward will be an opportunity against Hughie Fury the current strap-holder. Webb is taking a step up in class but is eager to show what he can do.

The undefeated Webb knows that a win against a popular fighter like Allen would catapult his name towards the top of the heavyweight mix. Allen is looking to bounce back from a defeat to French Olympic gold medallist Tony Yoka so Webb is already expecting a war on fight night but is confident.

Prediction: Webb stoppage
Anthony Fowler (6-0-0 5KOs) vs Craig O’Brien (8-0-0 0KOs)

8 rounds, Super-Welterweight

Anthony Fowler the 2014 Gold medalist at the Commonwealth Games is a relative novice to the pro ranks, but proved during his amateur career he is a quality fighter. He wants to progress up the ranks quickly and despite only 1 of the fights so far going the distance he can’t afford to look past O’Brien. The Irish Super Welterweight champion knows this is a big chance to make a name for himself and will want to utilise the opportunity to further his own unblemished record.

Prediction: Fowler stoppage

Frank Buglioni (21-3-1 15KOs) vs Emmanuel Feuzeu (10-7-2 4KOs)

8 rounds Light-Heavyweight

Buglioni is looking to bounce back from his shock loss against Callum Johnson in March and rebuild towards title glory. The Spaniard having lost 5 of his last 7 fights should be that ideal transition point for the Londoner.

Prediction: Buglioni stoppage.

Charlie Duffield (5-1-0 5KOs) vs Reinis Porozovs (11-14-1 7KOs)

4 rounds Light-Heavyweight

The light-Heavyweight is on a 2 run stoppage winning streak, rebuilding since his first career loss. The Latvian’s record is inconsistent so should be ideal for Duffield to continue learning his craft.

Prediction: Duffield stoppage.

The undercard is the appetiser before for the main event. My thoughts are, if you are paying a lot of money to go and watch a fight live, go to the undercard as well. It always amazes me how many people arrive only to watch the headline fight. Not to mention how disappointing it must be for the people in the ring to see empty seats. Sometimes the undercards are composed of unfamiliar names unless you are a die-hard follower of the sport. However it is a wonderful experience to see some of the stars of the future as they learn their trade. Many years in you can look back and remember I remember when they started out.

This undercard is action packed with names that we will be seeing in bright lights in the future.