Our selection from last week came from the rematch between WBA lightweight world champion Darleys Perez (32-2-1, 20 KOs) of Colombia and local United Kingdom favorite contender Anthony Crolla (30-4-3, 12 KOs). The fight like their first one once again took place at the Manchester Arena (formerly M.E.N Arena), Manchester, Lancashire, United Kingdom hometown of Crolla. The first fight ended in a draw but many felt Crolla had done enough to have earned a winning decision. There would be no need for scorecards this time around as Crolla ended an evenly fought fight abruptly with a body shot in round 5. Corolla’s victory also got us winning again as we chose Crolla to beat Perez.
This week we have decided to choose from the matchup between unbeaten Eleider Alvarez (18-0,10 KOs) of Canada by way of Colombia vs. Isaac Chilemba (24-2-2, 10 KOs) of South Africa. The bout will be on the undercard of the main event which features IBF super middleweight world champion James De Gale vs. former holder of the same belt and local favorite Lucian Bute. The Alvarez-Chilemba fight will be a WBC light heavyweight eliminator with the winner set to face current champ Adonis Stevenson. Site venue will be the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. Showtime will air the bouts.
Chilemba has been down this road before. In 2013 he faced United Kingdom native Tony Bellew twice. The first fight ended in a draw. The second fight he lost by decision to Bellew in a final world title eliminator. Bellew went on to challenge for a world title in his next bout albeit unsuccessfully. Chilemba seems very determined to be successful this time around. Alvarez has been steadily improving. He certainly looks the part. He doesn’t quite have the experience that Chilemba has but seems like he has the physical tools to fight at another level. Some odds makers have placed Chilemba at a very small underdog at +125 to the slight -145 favorite Alvarez. We are selecting Alvarez to step up to his biggest challenge to date and successfully triumph.
Disclaimer: Boxing360’s Pick of the week is strictly for entertainment purposes only
