UFC welterweight Anthony Smith shared his opinion on Uzbek fighter Bogdan Guskov.
"He's good. He's fast, he counterpunches well and moves well. He's not as big as I thought he would be. He's a little small for a flyweight, but he makes up for it with power and speed. He has a big arsenal of different skills. I'm willing to fight anybody, it doesn't matter to me. Of course he wants to fight me. I have a name, one of the biggest names in the division, and he's trying to make a name for himself. I understand that and I don't resent it one bit. When the time comes, it will happen and I'll give him that opportunity."
Saul Alvarez, the outright super middleweight champion of the world, reacted to the news that Ryan Garcia failed a doping test ahead of his fight with Devin Haney, the WBC bantamweight champion of the world. Canelo urged not to judge Ryan ahead of time.
"I advise everybody to wait. Don't judge ahead of time. We need to wait and see what happened and then we can discuss it," Alvarez told YouTube channel Fight Hub TV.
The bout between Garcia and Haney took place on April 21, ending with Ryan winning by majority decision. At the same time, Haney retained the championship belt, because Garcia failed the weigh-in before the fight.
Anthony Smith, a former challenger for the UFC bantamweight championship belt, spoke out about a possible fight between Alex Pereira and Magomed Ankalaev.
"Ancalaev is a good wrestler and is capable of handling Pereira. But if he stands opposite Alex and exchanges punches with him, Pereira will knock out Ankalaev. That will absolutely happen in that case. But if Ancalaev fights smart, throws tekdowns and can keep Pereira down, then I think he'll have a good opportunity, even though he's not the best finisher. Since each round starts in the standup, Pereira can utilize his striking and conditioning and he can get back up to his feet, staying safe for the rest of the round. When the next round starts back on the feet, you don't want to be in there with Alex Pereira for too long. I think this is going to be an interesting confrontation. It's definitely one of the toughest tests for Pereira in the division. Mohammed has the skills and ability to handle him," Smith said.
Former world champions Tony Bellew and Carl Froch disagreed on who they would choose as their opponent among current flyweight leaders Artur Beterbiev and Bivol.
Tony Bellew: "Bivol. Bivol, by all means. Who would you rather fight?"
Carl Froch: "I think Bivol is too hard to beat. I'd rather stand across from Beterbiev and put up a fight because he's missing and I'd have my chances against an opponent I can hit. I just don't think I could hit Bivol. He's too smart, isn't he? Bivol is fast, he's smart, he moves. But if I was at the right weight for me, I liked fighting boxers. Stylistically, Beterbiev sets traps, and if only you fall into one of them, you're on the canvas, you get lights out. Beterbiev is a welterweight with the hardest punch since Adonis Stevenson."
Michael Bisping, former UFC middleweight champion and current commentator and analyst, shared his opinion on the upcoming fight between Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg.
"AlexandrePantoja is a phenomenal fighter. He has no weaknesses. He knows how to throw punches, he knows how to wrestle, he has world class jiu-jitsu. Can Erceg win? I love Steve, he's a good guy. But not this time. I wish him all the best and hope he can prove me wrong. Pantoja is too experienced. But you can never know for sure. In MMA gloves, one punch is enough. But of course, my favorite is Pantoja," Bisping said on his YouTube channel.
Conor McGregor, former UFC champion in two weight classes, has called for a lifetime ban on Ryan Garcia, who failed a doping test before his fight with WBC bantamweight champion Devin Haney.
"Failed the weigh-in and cheated - lifetime ban. Sad to see it, sad to talk about it. Sad and a little sickening. Don't come near me when you see me, Ryan Garcia. I'm really disgusted. What's the matter? What are you letting yourself do? Crazy," - wrote McGregor on social networks, but after a while deleted his post.
Recall, in the doping sample of Garcia were found traces of the banned drug ostarine. Now Haney wants the result of the fight with Garcia to be changed to "failed".
Freddie Roach, a renowned boxing trainer, has praised Jaime Munguia's skills as he prepares for his upcoming match. Munguia is set to face Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez on Saturday at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas during the Cinco de Mayo weekend celebrations. Roach highlighted improvements in both offense and defense, essential for this high-stakes bout.
UFC welterweight Anthony Smith has spoken out about his upcoming bout with Vitor Petrino.
"For me, the underdog status doesn't matter. The bookmakers don't know what they're talking about. This story is not about whether the bookies think I'm going to win or lose. In betting matters, it's all about where the money goes. So it just seems to me that a lot of Brazilian fans are betting on Vitor. He's only at the very beginning so far, but next, maybe he'll have five or six losses in his career and hopefully one of them will be from me. We'll see where he ends up. You know what I mean? I think we'll find out on Saturday how good he really is," Smith said.
As a reminder, the bout between Smith and Petrino will take place on the night of May 5 at UFC 301.
On the night of May 5, Rio de Janeiro will host Tournament 301, headlined by a bout between flyweight champion Alexandre Pantoja and Steve Erceg. The broadcast of the preliminary fights will begin at 01:00. The main card will start at 05:00. Below are the links to the broadcast and the fight card of the tournament:
Main Card:
Alexandre Pantoja - Steve Erceg;
Jose Aldo - Jonathan Martinez;
Anthony Smith - Vitor Petrino;
Paul Craig - Caio Borrallo.
Preliminary Card:
Joanderson Brito - Jack Shore;
Karolina Kowalkiewicz - Yasmin Lucindo;
Elvis Brenne - Myktybek Orolbay;
Gene Silva - William Gomis;
Joaquim Silva - Drakkar Klose;
Jamie Mullarkey - Mauricio Ruffy;
Dion Barbosa - Ernesta Caricaite;
Ismael Bonfim - Vince Pichel;
Alessandro Costa - Kevin Borjas.
Jaime Munguia, the undefeated Mexican boxer, has spoken out about his upcoming fight with absolute world super middleweight champion Saul Alvarez. Munguia noted that outside the ring he has the utmost respect for Canelo, but will try to knock him out in the fight.
"Outside the ring, Canelo has my unconditional respect, but in the ring the respect will not be there. I like that he wants to knock me out. I think the same, but in reverse, and I intend to knock him out," said Munguia.
Recall that the bout between Saul Alvarez and Jaime Munguia will take place on the night of May 5 and will headline the night of boxing in Las Vegas.
