EPL Season 9
Week 6 Preview
Last week certainly had it's fair share of surprises as Griezmann and Bomb pulled off their first wins of the competition and Hoi took Newmark the distance only to lose due to a controversial judges decision. With this tournament looking less and less predictable as time goes on we may well see some dramatic shifts in the league table this week: it's still very much open season for playoff places and with Harrington and Rasputin closing the gap on Newmark the competition is heating up at the top. This week features several entertaining matchups including a potential slugfest between Tyson and Carlton and a too-close-to-call bout featuring Alexandersson and Rasputin. The only thing which doesn't seem unpredictable about this tournament is its propensity towards knockouts and yet again we should be looking at another week of early finishes.
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Ashley Harrington vs. Akamai Hoi
Harrington bounced back from his Week 4 defeat at the hands of Tyson in the most convincing way possible: laying the beatdown on highly touted prospect Gymer Alexandersson and ultimately finishing him with a barrage of strikes at the eight minute mark. Harrington will be keen to maintain that form here as he takes on Honolulu's Akamai Hoi – Hoi suffered his second decision loss of the competition at the hands of Bobby Newmark last week but that shouldn't detract from what was a very strong performance by the Hawaiian. Hoi outscored Newmark from start to finish and showed tremendous durability throughout; in the eyes of many he had done enough to win the bout, but the ringside judges appeared to be in disagreement with the popular consensus and awarded the win to the tournament leader. Hoi has a chip on his shoulder and will be looking to take it out on Harrington, but whether the Englishman will allow that to happen is another question. The Hawaiian has looked solid throughout the competition so far, however that has not translated itself into results and with the youngster currently looking at a mid-table finish it is time for Hoi to step it up and find some consistency as we approach the half way point in the season.
Hoi is going to find Harrington an incredibly difficult opponent to break down; an accurate striker dangerous both on the outside and the clinch and to top it off, bar the minor mishap against Tyson, Harrington has been in excellent form as of late. Stylistically Hoi is a very similar fighter: he likes to set up his boxing with low kicks and also presents problems for opponents in the clinch but whether he is quite on the level of Harrington remains to be seen. If Harrington has a weakness it is that on occasion he has found himself rocked by a stray punch which has found its way through his otherwise excellent defence: Hoi has the potential to finish this fight but he is going to need to bring his A-game if he wants to do so. The Hawaiian has shown excellent durability throughout the competition which will stand him in good stead against Harrington, but durability alone won't see him through this bout – Harrington is more than capable of outpointing Hoi and likewise the knockout power he possesses might be too much even for Hoi.
Prediction: Harrington by decision.
Bobby Newmark vs. Arthur Curry
Newmark didn't produce his best performance of the season last week but ground out a victory nonetheless; while the absence of another highlight reel knockout may not be quite what he had planned it is worth noting that this is a trait shared by many great champions throughout the sporting world – the ability to continue winning even when you are not operating at your best. Meanwhile Curry suffered what was possibly the most embarrassing loss of his career thus far at the hands of Ricardo Griezmann. More or less everyone had thought that matchup was a forgone conclusion given Griezmann's struggles in the competition so far, but to the utter amazement of the Tokyo crowd the American stunned Curry with a hail of unanswered strikes barely a minute into the round. He will want to put that loss behind him as he takes on the tournament leader tonight.
Fortunately for Curry he only sustained minor injuries against Griezmann and will be going into this bout fresh. Which is just as well because he faces a monumental challenge here. Newmark continues to enjoy a second lease of life this EPL season and it seems little can intimidate him: he has disposed of McLauglin, Rasputin and Carlton to name but a few and will presumably see the Irishman as just another name to chalk off the list as he continues to rack up points week to week. Curry should not be underestimated however, while his chin is looking increasingly suspect he still possesses phenomenal knockout power and Newmark will need to keep his wits about him. That said I still anticipate Newmark will again emerge victorious: he has the chin to withstand a few bombs from Curry and that could be all he needs to last long enough to put the lights out on the Irishman. Regardless of the outcome I'm anticipating an entertaining fight between the pair: Curry will look to load up on power punches in the hopes of securing an early finish while Newmark is hardly an opponent to shy away from trading shots. One way or another I suspect we will see a knockout and chances are fans won't have to wait too long to see it happen.
Prediction: Newmark by KO.
Gymer Alexandersson vs. Grigori Rasputin
Alexandersson suffered his first defeat of the season last week but his prospects of clinching a playoff berth still look good despite his late start in the competition. Likewise Rasputin is in excellent shape moving forward following his sensational stoppage of Tyson in just twenty eight seconds. The Russian stunned the US Boxer with his precision punching and will undoubtedly be delighted with his performance against one of the tougher opponents in the league. This is an important matchup for both fighters – Rasputin will be keen to extend his winning streak to four and further solidify his playoff credentials while Alexandersson will be looking to close the gap on the top of the table. In addition Rasputin is facing a tough challenge next week as he is scheduled to take on Harrington: the Russian would no doubt love to go into that fight off the back of another win, but he will need to be careful not to take his eyes off the prize tonight.
Alexandersson is going to be a difficult opponent for the Mad Monk: the Swede possesses ample knockout power and will not hesitate to use it. While he was outclassed by Harrington, make no mistake – Alexandersson is not an opponent to be taken lightly. Rasputin will most certainly look to take the fight into the clinch in this instance: he often prefers to work on the inside anyway and with Harrington successfully using the clinch to great effect against Alexandersson the Mad Monk will aim to follow suit. Neither fighters' chin is exceptionally outstanding: Alexandersson in particular has a 'finish or be finished' mentality (which usually works in his favour it has to be said) so the expectation here is we will see yet another knockout in a season which has had plenty to date. Ultimately I think the outcome of this bout will be determined by where the majority of the action takes place: on the outside Alexandersson (who will have a slight reach advantage) has the edge but if Rasputin can take the fight into the clinch he has the potential to cause some serious damage. The Swede is still something of a wildcard in this competition; bar the Harrington fight he has looked impressive, but Rasputin is a tricky customer to face and it will be interesting to see how he gets on here. I will give the Mad Monk the nod here but this is by far the most closely matched fight this week – both opponents have the potential to walk away with the victory and with a possible playoff spot on the line this could well be a hotly contested bout.
Prediction: Rasputin by KO.
Ricardo Griezmann vs. Vladislav Maslow
All credit to Griezmann for pulling off one of the most sensational turn arounds in EPL history. Prior to last weeks matchup Griezmann had been predicted to finish at the bottom of the table, purely due to his reoccurring problem with cuts. However, the Californian produced a fantastic comeback performance against Curry, finding the finish with barely a minute on the clock. His solution? Forget the body shots and focus entirely on the knockout. And it worked wonders: looping overhand rights, uppercuts and a few head kicks for good measure – Curry didn't know what had hit him. If Griezmann has found the formula for success (and that's a big if) perhaps we may see something of a resurgence over the remainder of the season: in addition to recording his first points of the season he also benefitted from some much needed recovery time – this is probably the freshest he has been since week 1. However, Maslow is also eager to get the win tonight: he has been on a three fight losing streak and although his hopes of securing a place in the playoffs are fading he will be keen to restore a bit of respectability over what has been a disappointing season for him so far.
Maslow has two possible routes to victory here: he can either look to take Griezmann to the floor (which I suspect is what will happen) or attempt again to exploit the American's tendency to cut. The Russian isn't the most clinical of strikers however and might struggle to find the target against a revitalised Griezmann. Likewise Griezmann's work on the ground is outstanding – he rarely gets caught in submissions and he has a good defensive guard so Maslow will have to work hard if he wants to use his ground and pound. Maslow does have one thing going in his favour though: Griezmann's gameplan might be a little bit more predictable given he will almost certainly look to stick to the blueprint which gave him such great success last week. That opens up opportunities for both counterpunching and the counter takedown – Griezmann's takedown defence is solid enough but not outstanding and Maslow may have a slightly easier task taking the American down than some of his previous opponents. Needless to say this is a very unpredictable fight to call: Maslow has a few different routes to victory but with Griezmann coming off the back of a big win he might just like his chances here...
Prediction: Griezmann by KO.
Mike Tyson vs. Kyle Carlton
It's been a season of highs and lows for Tyson so far: his spectacular stoppage of Ashley Harrington back in Week 4 has been a major talking point this season but last week's outing against Rasputin was definitely a low as he found himself flat out on the canvas due to a stiff jab from the Russian. He will be looking to turn things around here with a win over one of the tournament veterans, Kyle Carlton. Carlton has had a mixed performance in the first half of the season: wins over Griezmann and Maslow but he also found himself on the wrong end of a knockout punch on more than one occasion. Last week's fight with James Bomb was testament to just how much the former P4P #1's chin has degraded – Bomb came out all guns blazing but it didn't take much to put Carlton away with just fifty eight seconds on the clock.
Carlton will be banking entirely on his knockout power here. Tyson can also pack a punch so the veteran is unlikely to want to spend too much time in the ring with him: he will be looking to find the finish and find it early. He will be somewhat buoyed by the ease at which Rasputin was able to put Tyson away and despite being an underdog going into this fight it's not the biggest stretch of the imagination to see a Carlton punch find it's target and put the shorter American to sleep. Athletically Tyson looks to be in better shape and, like Carlton, he will almost definitely be looking to test his opponent's chin. Chances are we should be in for another exceptionally short fight: both opponents possess KO power, both opponents possess questionable chins – it's going to end by knockout, guaranteed. Who will emerge victorious? Either way fans should be in for an entertaining spectacle in this pure boxing match, Carlton is a known brawler and Tyson may well be tempted to play him at his game, lest he find himself overwhelmed by Carlton's aggression in the early stages – certainly one to watch.
Edward McLauglin vs. James Bomb
James Bomb dropped a bomb on Carlton last week as he out-brawled the brawler to take home his first points of the season. The EPL legend hasn't had the greatest of tournaments so far but perhaps this new found strategy will serve him well in this matchup. McLauglin is a talented clinch fighter from New England and has been doing reasonably well so far in the competition: he is 3-2 and has performed respectably throughout, holding his own against the likes of Bobby Newmark. He will like his chances here: Bomb has tremendous pedigree but at the age of 40 it is clear that his body isn't working the way it used to. I suspect Bomb isn't looking forward to this matchup quite as much as McLauglin is: Bomb is still capable of putting opponents away as we saw last week against Carlton, but McLauglin has one of the stronger chins in this tournament and he might find that a difficult task.
McLauglin has options here: he can try to outstrike the Finn on the outside or alternately look to move inside and unleash some damage from within the clinch as Rasputin did to such great effect against Bomb back in Week 4. Bomb will have to pull out all the stops here if he wants to record his second victory: a protracted striking contest will most likely play into McLauglin's hands so I half anticipate we will see a repeat of last weeks strategy with Bomb going for the knockout come hell or high water. McLauglin has the durability to withstand that potential onslaught however and can quite easily turn the tables with his counterpunching – likewise a highly aggressive approach from Bomb may enable the American to clinch up and dish out some damage there. It's going to take something special from Bomb to win this bout, but stranger things have happened before and this tournament has certainly had its far share of surprises. That said my money is on McLauglin; it would take a monumental feat for Bomb to snatch the victory here and barring something out of the ordinary occurring, I don't see that happening here.
Prediction: McLauglin by KO.
