Pick It: Brandon Adams vs. Andreas Katzourakis
When to Watch: Saturday, November 22 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT).
How to watch: DAZN
Why to Watch: This is the finale of an eight-man junior middleweight tournament that began earlier this year. Adams and Katzourakis each scored two victories on the way here, and the tournament’s winner will receive a cash prize and a contract with promoter Overtime Boxing.
Adams is a 154-pound contender whose name may be familiar. He’s competed in three other tournaments. And he’s beaten and been defeated by recognizable names.
In 2014, Adams finished in second place in ESPN’s Boxcino tournament in the middleweight division, losing to Willie Monroe Jnr by unanimous decision in the concluding bout. Then in 2015, Adams moved down to junior middleweight for another Boxcino tournament, once again making it to the end and once again winding up as the bridesmaid, not the bride, stopped in two rounds by Apollo Thompson.
That sent Adams to the sidelines for three years. He came back in 2018 as a middleweight in season five of The Contender. This time he triumphed, winning three fights in a row, including a wide unanimous decision over Shane Mosley Jnr in the final. Adams was able to parlay the victory into a shot at the WBC middleweight title against Jermall Charlo in 2019. Alas, Charlo won by shutout on two scorecards and 119-109 on the other.
Adams returned to junior middleweight and soon scored his biggest win yet, a win that’s even bigger in hindsight. In 2021, Adams became the first person to beat Serhii Bohachuk, coming from behind on the cards to stop him in the eighth round.
But that big victory was followed by another long layoff. Adams wouldn’t return until this April for the start of Overtime Boxing’s tournament. He put away the 13-2 Ismael Villarreal in three rounds and then won a unanimous decision over the 14-0-1 Francisco Daniel Veron in the August semi-final. The 35-year-old from Whittier, California, is now 25-3 (16 KOs).
Katzourakis, meanwhile, is a 27-year-old from Athens, Greece, and now living in Los Angeles. He’s unbeaten as a pro at 14-0 (10 KOs). Katzourakis debuted as a middleweight in 2018 and moved down to 154 for this opportunity.
He’s scored a pair of wins in this tournament, taking a majority decision in May over the 20-2 former welterweight prospect Kudratillo Abdukakhorov and then getting the nod via split decision in his August semifinal with the 12-0-1 Robert Terry.
The winner this Saturday at the Corey Tower in Atlanta won’t have as big a name as the many other notable junior middleweights, but perhaps they can land a shot as a B-side given how packed this division currently is.
More Fights to Watch
Tuesday, November 19: Elon de Jesus vs. Dominique Griffin (TrillerTV.com)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT).
De Jesus (8-1-2, 7 KOs) is a 30-year-old junior featherweight fighting out of Orlando, Florida. In July, he knocked out the 36-21-1 Jesus Martinez in the first round.
Griffin (5-7-2, 2 KOs) is a 36-year-old Texan who has lost four in a row. He’s never been stopped.
Their fight headlines at the Texas Troubadour Theatre in Nashville, Texas. Oliver McCall — yes, that Oliver McCall — is scheduled for the undercard.
Friday, November 22: Harlem Eubank vs. Nurali Erdogan (Channel 5)
The broadcast begins at 5:30 p.m. GMT.
Eubank is the nephew of Chris Eubank Snr and therefore cousins with Chris Eubank Jnr. The 30-year-old welterweight from Brighton, England, is 19-0 (8 KOs) and returning from a year out of the ring. In November 2023, Eubank scored an 11th-round TKO over the 22-5 Timo Schwarzkopf.
Erdogan, a 27-year-old from France, is 16-3 (1 KO). In May, he lost a split decision to the 17-0 Faizan Anwar.
This fight will headline at the Walker Activity Dome in Newcastle, England.
Friday, November 22: Jesse Hart vs. Ricardo Luna (RadiantMedia.io)
The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT).
Hart (31-3, 25 KOs) didn’t land a fight with light heavyweight contender David Benavidez Jnr, and so he remains busy in this show at the Liacouras Center in his native Philadelphia.
Two of Hart’s losses came in very competitive fights with Gilberto Ramirez back when Ramirez was a super middleweight titleholder in 2017 and 2018. Hart notched a decision win over Sullivan Barrera in 2019 and then came up on the short end of a split decision against Joe Smith in 2020. The 35-year-old has won five straight since against unheralded opposition, including four in a row by TKO.
Luna (27-12-2, 17 KOs) is a 34-year-old from Mexico who has suffered a number of defeats against familiar names over the past decade, including Ryoto Murata, D’Mitrius Ballard, Erik Bazinyan, Bektemir Melikuziev, Diego Pacheco, Albert Ramirez, Darius Fulghum and, as of this May, Junior Younan. Luna returned in September with a decision over the 4-6-1 Amadeus de la Torre Ramirez.
Saturday, November 23: Kaine Fourie vs. Wasiru Mohammed (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. GMT).
These two undefeated lightweights will meet at Box Camp in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Fourie (8-0-2, 6 KOs) hails from Gauteng and is coming off a first-round knockout of the 10-4 Siseko Makeleni in July.
Mohammed (13-0, 12 KOs) is from Accra, Ghana, and just returned to the sport this June after nearly four and a half years away due to issues with his managers and promoters. Before the layoff, Mohammed was a junior featherweight. In June, he came back as a junior lightweight and put away the 0-2 Michael Akramah Tetteh in five rounds.
Saturday, November 23: Wendy Toussaint vs. Brian Agustin Arregui (StarBoxing.TV)
The broadcast begins at 7:30 p.m. Eastern Time (12:30 a.m. GMT).
Toussaint (15-3, 7 KOs) is a 32-year-old junior middleweight from Haiti now living in Huntington on New York’s Long Island, which is where this fight at the Paramount Theatre is taking place. Toussaint is returning from a unanimous decision loss in June to prospect Shervantaigh Koopman.
Arregui (10-4, 7 KOs) is a 24-year-old from Argentina. He’s lost three in a row: knocked out in three rounds by the 8-7 Jonatan Alfredo Ruiz, outpointed by faded former welterweight contender Diego Chaves, and defeated via split decision by the 9-1-1 Lorenzo Gerez.
Saturday, November 23: Bakare Samake vs. Wade Ryan (ESPN+)
The broadcast begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. GMT).
Samake (16-0, 8 KOs) is a 21-year-old junior middleweight from outside of Paris who will headline at the Westfield Forum Des Halles in France’s capital city. Samake is coming off a June decision over the 16-2 Julio Alamos.
Ryan (22-11-1, 8 KOs) is a 34-year-old from Australia coming off a March draw with the 20-2-2 Takeshi Inoue, whose name may be familiar due to his defeats against Jaime Munguia and Tim Tszyu.
Saturday, November 23: Jorge Tovar vs. Damarian Kelly (BXNG TV)
The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. GMT).
The County Coliseum in El Paso, Texas, will host this main event between Tovar (10-0, 7 KOs), a 27-year-old super middleweight who will be performing in front of his hometown. In September, Tovar outpointed the 3-3 Elijah Sweat.
Kelly (5-5, 3 KOs) is a 30-year-old from Casper, Wyoming. His last fight was more than 18 months ago, when he lost a four-rounder via majority decision to the 2-0 (now 4-2) Ray Corona.
Saturday, November 23: David Cardenas vs. Robert Ledesma (KSAT.com)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT).
Cardenas (8-0, 6 KOs) is a 20-year-old flyweight from San Antonio who will headline at his hometown’s Alzafar Shrine Auditorium. This will be Cardenas’ fifth appearance of 2024. In August, he notched a third-round TKO against the 2-2-1 Jaime Guevara.
Ledesma (3-13-1, 2 KOs) is a 37-year-old designated opponent also from San Antonio. He hasn’t won a bout since 2021 and has gone 1-8-1 since June 2017. Just last month, Ledesma was stopped in one round by the 1-0 Jordan Roach, younger brother of Lamont Roach Jnr.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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