NEW RULE CHANGE: YOU CAN NOW ENTER GAMES AS MANY TIMES AS YOU WANT
The next group of games are just about ready to go and they kickoff on May 31st with one of the biggest fights in UK history, the rematch of Carl Froch and George Groves. The action continues the following week with the action-packed fight between Miguel Cotto and Sergio Martinez. We close out the games on June 28th with Terrence Crawford and Yuriorkis Gamboa. As always, here is our analysis on the key matchups in the games (fighter salaries in parenthesis):
May 31 – HBO
Carl Froch ($4,900) vs. George Groves II ($4,800)
Froch: Froch, 36, was the busier fighter in the first fight (64 punches per round). Can he fight at that pace in rematch? Froch KO PCt.: 68%
Groves: landed 42% of his power shots in first fight and threw 43 punches per round. Groves KO Pct.: 75%
May 31 – Int’l TV
Felix Sturm ($4,400) vs. Sam Soliman II ($4,500)
Sturm: Felix, 35, got avg'd just 30 punches thrown per round in 1st fight and just 14 jabs per round (3 landed). Sturm avg'd 26 jabs thrown per round (9 landed) in controversial loss to delaHoya. Sturm KO PCt.: 40%
Soliman: King Soliman, 40 yrs. old, avg'd 18 landed/80 thrown in first fight. Will Sturm let him dictate the pace again? Soliman KO Pct.: 33%
June 7 – HBO PPV
Sergio Martinez ($5,100) vs. Miguel Cotto ($4,700)
Martinez: 39-yr-old Martinez returns after 14 mo. layoff. He's the naturally bigger man. Martinez's KO Pct.: 51%
Cotto: Cotto looking to become 1st Puerto Rican fighter to win titles in 4 different wgt. classes. He'll be motivated by MSG crowd. Cotto's KO Pct.: 74%
Andy Lee ($5,100) vs. John Jackson ($4,500)
Lee: Lee's won 4 straight since KO loss to Chavez. Will be pumped fighting at MSG. Lee's KO Pct.: 65%
Jackson: son of Julian 'Hawk' Jackson won 4 straight since loss to Willie Nelson. Jackson's KO Pct.: 79%
June 14 – HBO
Ruslan Provodnikov ($5,300) vs. Chris Algieri ($4,500)
Provodnikov: Provodnikov big puncher with huge edge in experience over Algieri. Provodnikov's KO Pct.:64%
Algieri:huge step up in class for Algieri, who will need to use every inch of ring at Barclay's. Algieri avg'd 90 punches thrown per round in last 3 fights (49 jabs per round). Algieri's KO Pct.: 42%
Demetrius Andrade ($4,800) vs. Brian Rose ($4,600)
Andrade: first title defense for 29 yr. old Andrade. He landed 9 of 39 jabs per round vs. Martirosyan. Andrade's KO Pct.: 65%
Rose: first fight on U.S. soil for UK's Rose. Rose's KO Pct.: 26%
June 21 - Showtime
Robert Guerrero ($5,100) vs. Yoshihiro Kamegai ($4,400)
Guerrero: Ghost returns after 11-mo. layoff following one-sided loss to Mayweather. Guerrero's KO Pct.: 50%
Kamegai: Kamegai avg'd just 50 punches thrown per round in loss to Johan Perez. Kamegai's KO Pct.: 81%
Vasyl Lomachenko ($4,900) vs. Gary Russell Jr. ($5,100)
Lomachenko: following upset loss to Salido, decorated amateur Lomachenko in deep again vs. talented, yet untested Russell. Avg'd just 37 punches thrown per round vs. Salido. Lomachenko's KO Pct.: 50%
Devon Alexander ($4,800) vs. Jesus Soto Karass ($4,400)
Alexander: underwhelming Alexander needs to look good and worn Soto Karass should be the right opponent. Alexander's KO Pct.: 52%
Soto Karass: how much is left in the tank after wars with Thurman, Aydin, Berto, Maidana & Rosado? Soto Karass KO Pct.: 44%
June 28 - HBO
Terence Crawford ($5,100) vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa ($5,300)
Crawford: first defense for Crawford- on home turf vs. dangerous under achiever Gamboa. Crawford KO Pct.: 70%
Gamboa: Gamboa's 2nd fight at lightweight. Looked sluggish in last outing vs. Darleys Perez. Gamboa's KO Pct.: 70%.
