WEEKEND BOXING FORECAST
April 19, 2024
Simon Ruvalcaba
Well another boxing weekend is ahead of us! With action going on in and out of the ring on both sides of the map! After the calm before the storm of last weekend, which didn’t have any major boxing event, The West Coast is hosting to big fights, while the East Coast host the annual Hall of Fame Ceremony!
CONGRATULATIONS TO THE H.O.F. CLASS OF 2018:
Punchline’s own Kelly Pavlik is in Canastota, New York for the Hall of Fame ceremonies! Perhaps his invite is a prelude to The Ghost’s own induction someday? In my monthly ‘Jabs and Hooks’ column on Tahoeonstage.com, I wrote about how special this class induction is for me because of my association with the late Lorraine Chargin. Punchline.live congratulates and welcomes the class of 2018!
FIGHTERS: Vitali Klitschko, Erik Morales and Winky Wright
NON-PARTICIPANTS: Klaus Peter Kohl, Steve Albert and Jim Gray
POSTHUMOUS: Sid Terris, Johnny Addie and Lorraine Chargin
STAPLES CENTER, LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA:
In the Arena where the NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers play, it will be Showtime on Showtime as the long awaited rematch of one of 2015’s fight of the year goes down! Leo Santa Cruz vs Abner Mares! The undercard features Jermell Charlo vs Austin Trout. I look for another action fight between Santa Cruz and Mares, I am leaning towards Mares making the adjustments and squeaking out a decision, while I think Charlo wins a shutout decision versus the game Trout.
MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA, LAS VEGAS, NEVADA:
For the first time since November 12, 2011 (Pacquiao-Marquez 3) This scribe will be in attendance for a show at the Grand Garden Arena, host to many great fights over the years, Las Vegas action has shifted primarily towards the new T-Mobile Arena across the street in recent years.
Live on ESPN+ Terrence Crawford moves up to Welterweight to battle WBO champion Jeff Horn! Undercard action is loaded with prospects including Shakur Stevenson, Gabriel Flores Jr. and Steven Nelson.
Follow me on twitter @Mister_Boxing and also keep tabs on punchline.live under the ‘Simon Says’ tab where I will be giving live updates of the undercard action leading up to the main event.
About the Editor
Army Veteran and former Professional Boxer Simon Ruvalcaba started boxing at the age of ten and Had a 71 fight amateur career which featured a 139 lbs. 1998 8th U.S. Army Boxing Championship out of Camp Casey, Korea and a spot on the prestigious Army Boxing Team at Fort Hood, TX. After a journeyman pro career of 18 fights, which included sparring sessions with many champions and contenders including Julio Cesar Chavez and Pernell “Sweat Pea” Whitaker, Simon started writing and has contributed to many publications and websites including fighthype.com, pound4pound.com, Tahoe Daily Tribune (South Lake Tahoe, CA), Nevada Appeal (Carson City, NV). He has also been the Boxing Instructor for Ken Shamrock and The Lions Den and was MMA and Bareknuckle star Paige VanZant’s first boxing coach!
Born and Raised in South Lake Tahoe, California he now resides in Sun Valley, Nevada and spends as much time as possible with his Sons Gabriel and Oscar! Beyond boxing, Simon is an all around sports fanatic and is passionate about the teams that he roots for. Simon also works as a Sportsbook Supervisor for Caesars Sportsbook in Lake Tahoe.
