Callum Smith retained his undefeated record and improved to 21 wins against 16 stoppages, stopping Hungary's Norbert Nemesapati in round 7 of their super middleweight fight at the under-card of Golovkin-Brook middleweight match, Saturday night, at the O2 Arena, in London, England.

It looks like a very bright future ahead for Smith who maintained an unblemished record after 12 fights, winning all of them, 16 out of which were inside the distance. As per Boxrec.com, Smith has a date already against an opponent yet to be identified. The next fight is scheduled for 15th October at the Echo Arena, Liverpool, in Merseyside, England.

It was a one-sided bout all throughout as Nemesapati was outclassed by a much superior boxer Callum Smith.

Filipino boxer Jhonriel Casimero (23-3, 15 KO's) successfully defended his world flyweight title against the then-undefeated young challenger Charlie Edwards (8-1, 3 KO's) at the under-card of the much-anticipated middleweight clash between Gennady Golovkin and British welterweight titleholder Kell Brook at the O2 Arena, in London, England.

In Round 1, the challenger from Surrey started a very calm and composed game plan. Edwards used the entire ring with his brilliant footwork against the champion who wanted to build an impression early. Casimero started aggressively and landed a big right hand from over the top. His overhand right made it like three times, but most of his power shots missed.

In the succeeding two rounds, Edwards was able to evade the pressure of the incumbent titleholder with his footwork and jabs.

In Round 4,  a solid right uppercut from Ormoc, Philippines native staggered Edwards. Casimero tried to vary his shots as most of his left and right hooks were ducked low by the leaning forward challenger. So when he throws a left uppercut, it finds its home and staggered Edwards.

Meanwhile, Casimero's left eye was bleeding due to a cut caused by an accidental head clash.

In Round 6, Casimero landed body shots, but off the mark with his power shots while Edwards still got his ring movement. Looks like Casimero started to feel frustrated and he stepped up his offense that prompted Edwards to clinch.

In Round 7, Casimero on the attack, unleashing uppercuts that really hit the target as Edward was leaning forward. But the young challenger took all the shots and showed toughness.

In Round 8, Casimero started strong and wanted to finish the now seemed vulnerable challenger with pretty hard body shots. A big right hand from Casimero landed to the head of Edwards cleanly but absorbed it well. But of course, it took Edward's confidence. Edwards looked to be in the survival mood, just moving around and throwing his jab that did no significant damage to the Filipino champion.

In Round 9, painful body shots from Casimero landed at will and pinned Edwards to ropes. This forced Edwards to held Casimero. This time also, Casimero threw more left hooks as the challenger has been moving to his right more often to escape pressure.

In Round 10, Edwards was re-invigorated and seemed to have a pair of fresh legs, actively moving to his left and right. But a well-timed counter left hook from Casimero caught Edwards that sent him down to the floor at the 1:25 mark. Edwards was able to continue after the mandatory count from the referee. But Casimero, a tremendous finisher unloaded several unanswered shots to an almost defenseless challenger. The referee rightfully stopped the fight to avoid more punishment for the young challenger.

Martin Joseph Ward (15-0-2, 8 KO's) captured the vacant British super featherweight title putting on a master class performance against Andy Townend (16-4, 11 KO's) on Saturday night at the under-card of Gennady Golovkin-Kell Brook middleweight clash at the O2 Arena in London.

From the get-go, Ward showed superior accuracy as he tagged Townend with counter-right shots to the head and body. He was able to beat the "KO Kid" to punch. And in fact, in round 6, Ward was unloading tons of heavy shots that almost opted the referee to stop the contest. However, Townend managed to finish the round.

The referee gave Townend a chance by allowing him to continue for another round. But there's nothing significant Townend showed during the seventh round. Maybe just enough to finish the round. In the eighth, Ward stepped up his offense and unloaded several unanswered shots that prompted the referee to stop the contest.

Jerwin Ancajas is the newest boxing champion from the Philippines handing McJoe Arroyo the first defeat of his career via a wide unanimous decision from two judges; 118-109 and 117-110 but close from the other judge; 115-112.

Ancajas (25-1-1, 16 KOs) will take a small share of the price to face McJoe Arroyo (17-1, 8 KOs) for the sake of having a shot of the world title. He will receive a little over 10 percent share of the $25,000.

Ancajas said that money is not important. What's important to him is the championship, and he did win it tonight in front of his home crowd at the Jurado Hall of the Philippine Marine Corp, Barangay Fort Bonifacio, Taguig City, in Manila.

The first five rounds were very competitive. But the 6th round was huge for Ancajas. Arroyo was stunned and went down but no knockdown was called by the referee.

Towards the end of round 7, Ancajas hurt Arroyo with a body shot. In round 8, a one-two combination to the body momentarily froze Arroyo. Ancajas followed up to the head that sent Arroyo out from the ring. Arroyo managed to get back inside the ring and the referee took the mandatory count. Arroyo continued but barely survive and was saved by the bell.

In round 9, Arroyo tried to mount a comeback, but Ancajas was able to sustain and connected even more. Ancajas' body punches were very effective.

With the win, Ancajas joins Jhonriel Casimero and Donnie Nietes to the ranks of Filipino world boxing champions.

Ancajas was able to avenge also the loss of then-undefeated compatriot Arthur Villanueva whom Arroyo defeated in 2015 in the US.

 

The Pacquiao-Bradley III promotion revolved around the idea that this would be the last fight of the great Manny Pacquiao.

Well, the fight itself wasn't the craving of boxing fans to happen. They wanted Pacquiao to fight the young up and comer in the 140 to the 147-pound division. These include Terrence Crawford, Keith Thurman, Jessie Vargas, and even Adrien Broner.

It was actually a useless rubber match. Pacquiao had nothing to prove against Bradley. He beat the guy up twice, although on the paper it was actually even at that time. Bradley won the first bout in a controversial decision. Pacquiao clearly beat Bradley in the rematch. But according to his promoter, Bob Arum, it's the best option Pacquiao had at that time -- business-wise.

The promotion believed the fight will sell by pushing that this will be the final fight of Pacquiao. Who would of course miss the final fight of one of the greatest boxing in this generation? There's an upcoming Philippine election also during that time, wherein Pacquiao planned to run as a senator. Pacquiao said that he will retire if he will win and focus on his job as a senator. He eventually won last May 2016 as one of the senators of the Philippine Republic. While as a congressman prior to being elected as senator, Pacquiao was heavily criticized at home for so many absences in congress.

I voted Manny Pacquiao for senator. Thinking that he will retire in boxing if he won the May election in the Philippines. He won. But the retirement was short-lived. Pacquiao reportedly taking on Jessie Vargas next. I said what? Manny really wanted to be called the "first in everything". The "first fighting congressman," the "first fighting senator," and who knows the "first fighting president." Such a fate! But isn't it ridiculous?

There's no question that Pacquiao is a generous man.

He wanted to help his countrymen. I voted for him because I wanted him to continue his service to the country. If he retired and had no tools to continue to help the people, then it's hard. He can't give his own personal resources all the time while retired in boxing. Boxing is his major source of income. Being a senator, he can continue to help and serve his people.

Well the millions of Filipinos that voted for him might be thinking the same, that's why he won the elections. But yet he un-retires! I don't know for what reasons why he wants to fight again?

Let me speculate, maybe because his entire boxing team is still intact, and he needs to finance their payroll? It's outright corruption if he funds the salaries of the entire boxing team from his senate funds. Mr. Duterte will not be happy. Well, sounds unfair for the Pacman if this is one of the reasons to fight again. I hope not. My unsolicited advice is that: he better streamlines his boxing team and terminates unnecessary services, and focuses on his team in the senate.

Deontay Wilder (37-0, 36 KOs) remained undefeated stopping Chris Arreola (36-5-1, 31 KOs) on Saturday at the Legacy Arena, Birmingham, in Alabama.

Wilder dropped Arreola in the 4th round with series of unanswered combinations. Prior to that, Wilder had a good time entertaining the crowd by circling his hip while Arreola punching the side of his body. Wilder then created a space between them and landed a crisp uppercut.

With the win, Wilder called out the Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua for a unification bout.

"Of course I want the Furys, of course I want the Joshuas, but the question is, do they want me? My goal is to unify the division. I'm one of the baddest, hardest-hitting heavyweights in the business, so whoever's got those belts, that's who I want," said Wilder.

On an ecstatic Saturday night, few days removed from the 4th July celebration, the Filipino-American crowd at the San Mateo Event Center in California was silenced by a thundering punch combination from tough and rugged Mexican Cezar Juarez that sent "Prince" Albert Pagara down to the canvas for good. A painful first career loss of a promising Filipino prospect is often tagged as the next big thing in Philippine boxing.

Pagara (26-1, 18 KOs) was in control early in the fight. He scored the first knockdown of the fight in the very first round. Pagara landed a counter left hook that betrayed Juarez his knees.

But I know Juarez very well. He will get up.

Juarez (18-5, 14 KOs) found notoriety when got up several times from the floor and mounted a spirited rally in the second half of the fight against Fil-Am Nonito Donaire when they fought in Puerto Rico. Donaire survived Juarez's rally and won on three scorecards.

The knockdown boasted Pagara's confidence. But Pagara went to the neutral corner obviously aware of how tough Juarez is, and expecting Juarez to continue. As expected, Juarez got up and ready to continue but the bell sounded signaling the end of the first round.

In the second round, Pagara is still in control. He landed clear counters, as Juarez continued pressing forward.

In the succeeding rounds, Juarez was able to pin Pagara to the ropes and landed power shots to Pagara's head and body. Although Pagara connected a few good counters too, those counters didn't have enough power to deterred Juarez's attacks. It seemed Juarez's body punches took the steam out from Pagara's punches.

In the 7th round, Juarez mounted an all-out attack that pinned Pagara to the corner. Juarez poured power shots that Pagara tried to block but few landed. Pagara managed to escape from the corner to his left, but he was caught with a solid punch escaping out. He was stunned!

He was cornered again to the ropes and fighting using the famed rope-a-dope technique, but obviously, he didn't have enough toughness to withstand more power shots from Juarez. He managed to escape again and landed few counters that momentarily stopped Juarez on his track. But Juarez came back strong and finished the round having Pagara again pinned to the ropes, landing power shots.

In the eighth round, Juarez came out smoking. Pagara, obviously, still trying to recover from the rough seventh round, was greeted by a combination of power shots that sent Pagara crashing to the floor. He tried to get up, but he was not able to make it.

A gruesome scene followed. Pagara was taken out of the ring through a stretcher and was sent to a nearby hospital. He was later cleared from any life-threatening injuries. But Pagara was advised to take a two-month break from boxing.

“Naunahan lang po ako! (He just got me first.)”, said Pagara of his 8th round knockout defeat against Juarez.

One thing I noticed on Pagara throughout the course of the fight. He was actually battling distraction throughout the fight. I noticed from Round 1 that he kept on clearing his hair with his right hand. The Justin Bieber-inspired haircut didn't do good on Pagara while battling the toughest opponent of his career. His hair draped down to his eyes distracting his focus. Instead of finding an opportunity to land a counter right hand--instead, he's using the right hand to clear his hair that obstructed his vision.

A loss may not define a boxing career. But on how a devastating first loss is being taken. If the young Pagara takes it positively and moves on from there. I'm sure he'll come back stronger and better than his last win.

Juarez, on the other hand, could be well in place to secure a rematch with Donaire. Donaire was also at ringside serving as a commentator for Philippine broadcast media.

Dodong Donaire, father, and trainer of Nonito told Boxingscene.com that ABS-CBN is willing to broadcast a rematch between Donaire and Juarez.

World flyweight titlist Jhon Riel Casimero (22-3, 14 KOs) will face decorated amateur and English flyweight champion Charlie Edwards (7-0, 3 KOs) for Casimero's flyweight title at the O2 Arena (Millenium Dome), in London.

In a Twitter post, promoter Eddie Hearn announced the fight on Monday. The fight will be on Sept. 10.

Casimero regained his title back from Thailand's Amnat Ruenroeng in a rematch last May. He lost to Ruenroeng in an ugly first bout.

Meanwhile, Edwards' undefeated in seven pro-bouts. He was also a former European bronze medalist. Prior to the Casimero fight, Edwards will have to get past one scheduled fight against an opponent yet to be identified. The scheduled fight will happen on Saturday at the Max Schmeling Halle, Prenzlauer Berg, in Berlin.

Keith Thurman vs Shawn Porter Full Fight Boxing... by usamasterman

You know what? Blogging boxing at times can be very tough. I mean you should take a considerable amount of time dedicated to update, read and watch fights. Well, watching would be the easy thing to do as this is what I like. I like to watch boxing matches. I'm a lifelong boxing fan. But, of course, putting your two cents into writing is the tough part. Well to be honest, the toughest actually is to keep this blog with up-to-date content. That's why if you are a boxing fan and you wanted to say something about anything boxing. Shoot me an email at rey.tecson@theboxingdiary.com I'll have it published here.

Well, last week, I wasn't able to post any fight recaps. But it doesn't mean though that there were no significant fights last week. Last week, instead, there were good quality fights. Just like the above bout between Keith Thurman (27-0, 22 KOs) and Shawn Porter (26-2-1, 16 KOs) fight last Saturday night on PBConCBS at the Barclays Center, in Brooklyn, New York. But because of those things that I've been going through with life nowadays; tough time at day job, family and relationships, you know, just at times too harsh to juggle.

Anyway whatever it was, it will never rocked my love of the sport of boxing. I mean, this sport really just ran through my veins like blood. I may die without it.

Enough with the dramatic intro. Well, the above fight was really one of the best match-ups in boxing I've seen. Thurman-Porter was not just relentless action throughout the whole 36-minute slug-fest. The bout showed interesting style match-up and ring IQ. Although style makes fights, and the one that would tweak his style keeping in mind finding way to eke out game plan to edge the style presented by the opponent.

With the above said, that's why Thurman won upon the eyes of the three judges at ringside who scored it 115-113 across the board. And I agree with the verdict. I have it too close but of course Thurman winning. Thurman was able to find a way in every engagement with Porter to land effective clean counters. Thurman was able to tweak his style. He thought of defense first, because he knows that the style of Porter will initiate and engage in exchanging leather from start to end.

Porter on the other hand really stuck to his style, which is all out aggression using his physical strength. Although at times he was successful especially when he was able to plant his head on the chest of Thurman, and pinned Thurman to the ropes. And then firing combinations with all his might. But most of the time the aggression were not enough to warrant an effective aggression to win rounds in those close competitive stanzas.

Thurman was able to smothered some of those punches, ducked and come back with left and right counter hooks upstairs -- few of them rocked Porter and momentarily stopped from his track.

As a boxing fan, I can say that: I'm, at times, at the edge of my couch watching the fight. Many already considered the bout a strong "Fight of the Year" contender. Well, it should be considered. The fight never lack the action a fight fan would love to see. But of course we love knockdowns or knockouts. The absence of  KO and KDs of the Thurman-Porter fight will not drop from being considered as serious contender for this year's Fight of the Year honors.

But hey! If I will watch side-by-side the Thurman-Porter fight with the Magsayo-Avalos fight last April---of course I'll be incline to give the Magsayo-Avalos fight of the year trophy. Magsayo and Avalos exchanged knockdowns. Both in the verge to be taken out by each other. Whewww!

Well, the Thurman-Porter fight really had an impressive viewership on free-TV on PBConCBS Saturday night.

It will be a challenge to boxing promoter out there to produce fights like this quality to happen. I really hate marinating match-ups. It is not necessary really to build superstars. All boxing fans need is quality fights with regards to action and fireworks inside the ring. Maybe we can lure fans to watch a well-hyped and marinated bout. But end of the day if it will not deliver the qualities of a good fight, well there will be repercussions. Mayweather-Pacquiao really did not worth more than a decade of marination. Oppps! I should have moved on from this. Like a lover boy left behind by his girl for already more than a year now. Time will heal. But oh still thinking of the $99.

The GGG-Canelo should be made. But anyway if the marination process would involve GGG versus Chris Eubank Jr. then so be it. So Tom Loeffler, start putting on soy sauce to the marination process because for sure Eubank Jr. is the chili that will really add the spice of the marination. Just make sure it will not end up Canelo-Eubank in the end.

Joe Smith Jr. impresses in the home crowd of massive favorite Andrzej Fonfara scoring a huge upset in the very first round.

Part time construction worker, Joe Smith Jr. (22-1, 18 KOs) scored a counter overhand right when Andrzej Fonfara (28-4, 16 KOs) was on offensive, and Smith ultimately stopped the crowd favorite Fonfara of their light heavyweight title on PBC on NBC UIC Pavilion, Chicago, in Illinois.

Smith's overhand right landed clean on the chin and sent Fonfara hard to the floor. Fonfara was obviously hurt and looked shock by the power of Smith.

Smith Jr, 26, an excellent finisher, waited nothing and immediately jumped to finished the work at hand. He unleashed power shots that sent again Fonfara hard to the floor in the corner of the ring. Referee Hector Afu waived off the fight as he saw Fonfara not in the position to continue.

The official time of the stoppage 2:32 in Round 1.

Smith Jr. said after the fight that he hopes to be a full time boxer now. Smith said that he work also as a construction worker. He planned to take several days off have some barbecue and get back to training preparing for expected bigger fights ahead of his massive upset on Fonfara.

In the previous fight Fonfara set the record for the number of punches thrown at the 175-pound division. Fonfara threw more than 1,400 punches in his previous fight against Nathan Cleverly of which he won by decision.

Tonight, Fonfara thrown 56 punches and landed 21, while Smith thrown 67 and landed 22.

Erickson Lubin (16-0, 12 KOs) knocks out Daniel Sandoval (38-4, 35 KOs) in Round 3, Saturday at the UIC Pavilion, Chicago, in Illinois on PBC on NBC.

Lubin was able to overwhelm Sandoval with a barrage of hammers towards the ropes.

Sandoval looked hurt but still on his feet as he absorbed combinations from Lubin. Referee Mark Nelson had seen enough and jumped in to save Sandoval for more hammers from Lubin who's still there to unload more.

The official time of the stoppage was 2:37 in Round 3.

It's not always about Saul Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin. Well, there's even bigger! The much-anticipated fight between both undefeated fighters Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev is set for November 19, 2016, at the T-Mobile Arena.

"The Kovalev-Ward fight, which was signed long ago but is contingent on each remaining undefeated through interim bouts, will take place Nov. 19 (HBO PPV) at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas," per Dan Rafael of ESPN.com

This is by far the biggest fight of both fighters who were listed inside the top 10 on anyone's pound-pound list. Ward is undefeated in 29 bouts, 15 wins inside the distance, while Kovalev is undefeated with 29 wins,  a draw, but with a mind-boggling 26 stoppages, that's 87 KO percentage.

Ward, 32, was the former middleweight champion and will move up to light heavyweight to fight Kovalev, 33, who held titles at the LH division.

Both men are expected to have one bout prior to their 19th Nov. fight. They have to win accordingly in order to make them happen and to make the fight even bigger. I hope there's no spoiler here. Kovalev is scheduled to face Isaac Chilemba on July 11, while Ward may fight on Aug. 6 in California.

Golden Boy Promotion got a "favorable" decision over All-Star Boxing with regards to contract issue with Mexican Star Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

However Canelo was ordered to pay $8.5 million to All-Star Boxing for an amount determined as "unjust enrichment."

Below is the full statement from Golden Boy Promotions, Canelo's boxing promoter.

"We are extremely pleased that not only did the jury find that no contract ever existed between Canelo and All-Star Boxing, but issued a judgment against All-Star Boxing and ordered them to pay Golden Boy's substantial legal fees.

Over the last five-plus years, many questioned why we wouldn't just settle the case before trial. The answer is simple: We would not be extorted. It was clear from the beginning that neither Canelo Alvarez nor Golden Boy Promotions had acted inappropriately in any way. We are grateful that the jury was able to see that.

However, it is absurd to think that All-Star Boxing provided anywhere near that amount of value that the jury awarded under a separate claim. We will appeal this part of the decision, and are confident we will win, just as we did on the contract dispute."

Outside of appealing the financial damages, we now look forward to putting this episode behind us and working with Canelo Alvarez to continue his meteoric rise though the boxing ranks."

Watch the Muslim Prayer service for Muhammad Ali in his hometown in Louisville, Kentucky, USA.

Thousand of people trooped to hear the prayer service of a great man inside and out of the boxing ring.

The full funeral service of Muhammad Ali's remains will take place tomorrow, Friday 10th June 2016 at 11:00 AM PT. Prominent boxing personalities are expected to come for tomorrow's funeral to pay their last respect of boxing legend, the one and only Mohammad Ali.

Senator-elect Manny Pacquiao spent PHP 66,428,468.88 during the senatorial campaign according to Statement of Contributions and Expendtures (SOCE) submitted to the Comission on Elections (Comelec).

Pacquiao, a boxer turned legislator, did not receive any cash and in-kind contributions from any sources or from his political party.

With no donations, "Pacman" can function his duties, agree to a bill he wanted to support, and create his own bill without taking any consideration the vested interest of donors. Pacquaio being known to his constituent in Sarangani where he serves as congressman for two terms in providing services funded from his own pocket.

According to the law, the salary of a Philippine senator is PHP 90,000 per month. This is equivalent to PHP 6,480,000 total salary in the 6-year term.

Philippine president-elect Rodrigo Duterte vowed to end corruption in government once he assumes office in the afternoon of 30th June 2016. He said that he will use PDAP (also known as pork barrel fund or discretionary funds) to increase the salaries of the police force and military.

Congressmen and Senators were provided with millions of funds coming from PDAP for the improvement of their constituents but the said funds have been misused.

According to Merriam Defensor Santiago, senators earn as much as PHP 5 million monthly from other senate funds. This is not included the "discretionary funds under the control of a senator could also range from P2.7 million to P4.5 million," according to Santiago.

It's time to say goodbye! But your memory will never be forgotten.

Boxing legend Muhammad Ali, also known as "the Greatest", died late Friday at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. He was 74 years old.

He had been confined in the hospital early this week from a respiratory illness. He's also been suffering from Parkinson's disease.

Ali not only showed greatness inside the ring but also out of it. He defied the US government over the Vietnam war. He refused to join the armed forces and lost the heavyweight championship and went to jail for three years.

Ali was a three-time heavyweight champion as a professional boxer.  He also competed at the Rome Olympics in 1960 and was the light heavyweight gold medalist.

He has been an inspiration for many people inside and outside the sport of boxing.

Man.

Boxer.

Determination.

Inspiration.

Humanity.

Great.

All-time.

Goodbye, the only Muhammad Ali!

 

Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido will meet at Carson Double Tree Hotel, The Champagne Ballroom for the official weigh-in for their anticipated fight on Saturday night at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California.

Francisco "El Bandido" Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) vs Orlando "Siri" Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs) will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark.

Salido said during the media workout that they are both "warriors" and the winner will be the fans come Saturday night.

“I’m a warrior and Vargas is a warrior. The ones who will win will be the fans,” Salido said.

Watch the weigh-in to gauge how ready the combatants on fight night.

Former world champion Orlando Salido stated during media workout that the winners will be the fans, when he meets undefeated Francisco Vargas for their world super featherweight title fight, Saturday, at the StubHub Center, in Carson, California.

Salido (43-13-3, 30 KOs) is a warrior, a spoiler, and a very exciting fighter to watch. He’s a heckler who harasses an opponent using only both hands. He's the underdog most of his fight, but he's not a walk in a park when paired with any favorite fighters.

He spoiled the soaring career of a supposed Puerto Rico's 'next big thing' in boxing Juan Manuel Lopez. He took the precious 'O' in the record of Vasyl Lomachenko and took a vacant title, throwing out the window Loma's chance to become a world titlist in his second pro-fight.

"I'm a warrior and Vargas is a warrior. The ones who will win will be the fans,” Salido said.

Salido, 35, without question, has a heart of a lion.

Phoenix, Arizona resident went down thrice and got back up thrice and continued an epic battle with Terdsak Kokietgym. Expect Salido rolling on the floor, but never count him out soon.

"When you get into boxing, you are mentally prepared to get knocked down. Every time I've been knocked down, I just get back up again and fight. I like to prove everyone wrong and that's what I plan to do when I go in and fight this young undefeated fighter," said Salido.

With Francisco Vargas in the opposite corner of Salido an all-out war is expected as both men are warriors.

Vargas (23-0-1, 17 KOs) said that he’s a “technical fighter” but it will come down to his “intelligence”.

"The only thing on my mind is to win this fight on Saturday. It's up to the fans to decide if I'm number one. I'm a technical fighter but it will come down to my intelligence. This will be a very difficult fight on Saturday."