Showtime Championship Boxing comes from the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, Nevada this Saturday night, with a world title eliminator the main attraction. Unbeaten prospects, Chris Colbert and Hector Luis Garcia go head-to-head for a shot at the WBA super featherweight title.
WBA interim champion, Colbert was due to face the current WBA titlist, Roger Gutierrez, but the Venezuelan had to withdraw after testing positive for COVID-19, giving Garcia the opportunity to step in.
Colbert (16-0, 6 KOs) is definitely one to watch and won his belt with a clear points win over Jezzrel Corrales, dropping the Panamanian along the way.
‘Primetime’ has defended twice since, stopping Jaime Arbeloa in 11 rounds in July 2020, and he was last out in July last year. There, the 25-year-old faced his toughest test on paper, against Tugstsogt Nayambayar, and took another impressive wide win on the scorecards.
Garcia (14-0, 10 KOs) is largely an unknown quantity, mainly fighting in his home country, with the odd appearance in the USA thrown in.
The 30-year-old southpaw was out twice in 2021, stopping Miguel Moreno in four in July in Dominican Republic, and then taking an eight round points win over Isaac Avelar in Minneapolis in December.
Prediction: Colbert should be able to deal with the opponent change, and, with Garcia taking a marked step-up, the pick is for Colbert to take victory over the distance.
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Ancajas clashes with Martinez
There was a time when Jerwin Ancajas was heavily touted to be the the next Manny Pacquiao, but the Filipino hasn’t quite hit the heights of his compatriot as yet.
Regardless, the 30-year-old has been IBF super flyweight champion since 2016, and he will make the tenth defence of that crown on this bill against Fernando Daniel Martinez of Argentina.
‘Pretty Boy’ won his title with a points win against McJoe Arroyo in his home country, but his defences have taken place all over the world, taking in the likes of Macau, England, Australia, Mexico and the USA.
He holds stoppage wins over the likes of Jamie Conlan (TKO6) and Israel Gonzalez (TKO10), and the only blot during his title run was a 2018 draw with Alexandro Santiago in Oakland.
Ancajas (33-1-2, 22 KOs) has won three straight since, and his last defence came in April last year, a points win over Jonathan Javier Rodriguez Valles.
Martinez (13-0, 8 KOs) is fighting in the USA for the first time, but has only fought twice since December 2019.
The 30-year-old’s last outing came in August 2021, a fourth round stoppage of journeyman, Gonzalo Garcia Duran in Dubai.
Prediction: Martinez seems like he is taking a big leap into world class, and that should play into Ancajas’ hands, and I favour the Filipino to retain in the later rounds.
Russell faces Postol
There’s an intriguing step-up fight for Gary Antuanne Russell and the Maryland native is in a ten rounder at super lightweight against Viktor Postol (31-3, 12 KOs), the former WBC champion.
Russell (14-0, 14 KOs) has won all of his contests early, whilst Postol hasn’t been seen since August 2020, where he gave then WBC and WBO champion, Jose Ramirez, all he could handle before losing a majority verdict.
Prediction: The Ukrainian is on the decline though, and Russell can win, but may well need the cards for the first time.
Remaining Undercard
Viktor Slavinskyi (13-0-1, 6 KOs) is coming off a split decision win against Leduan Barthelemy last June, and the Ukrainian takes on the faded former contender, Claudio Marrero (25-5, 18 KOs).
The Dominican has been in with, and lost to, the likes of Kid Galahad (RTD8), and Jesus Rojas (KO7).
Prediction: Slavinskyi can come through on the cards in this super featherweight contest set for eight.
In six round action, Justin Cardona (6-0, 3 KOs) can take a points win in his lightweight clash with Joshua Draughter (4-1-1, 1 KO), and at super welterweight, Micky Scala (4-0, 2 KOs) can do the same against Jose Manuel Gomez (3-1, 3 KOs).
In scheduled four rounders, Angel Barrientes (7-1, 5 KOs) should take a decision win against Brian Cannady (10-2, 6 KOs) at super bantamweight, and at super middleweight, Chavon Davis makes his debut, and he can win before the end of his meeting with Nathan Davis Sharp (4-3, 4 KOs).
