This Saturday June 21st from the StubHub Center in Carson, California, Showtime airs a boxing card featuring two welterweight battles as Robert ‘The Ghost’ Guerrero faces Yoshihiro Kamegai and Devon Alexander takes on Jesus Soto Karass. With less than a week before the fight, Several Bookmakers has Guerrero and Alexander as big favorites. Guerrero opens a wide (-550) favorite over Kamegai, who returns (+425). Guerrero is 31-2 overall and this match is considered somewhat of a comeback fight for Guerrero, who has been off since his May 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather. In this match, you are going to have to decide and we could potentially find out a lot about Guerrero. Guerrero was always a tough fighter with a “never say die” attitude who would fight anyone. But a year-plus layoff is a long time, and it happens to come on the heels of the seven figure payday that he made from the Mayweather fight. Granted, his team has picked Kamegai for this return, while they have been portrayed as avoiding a match with undefeated Keith Thurman, so it is a match they must see some tactical advantages in. For his part however, look for Kamegai to come in hungry and plenty motivated, which could be enough if Guerrero comes out flat. Alexander is a major (-850) favorite over Soto Karass, who comes back at (+575). Alexander is coming off a loss in his last outing to rising star Shawn Porter, but he kept the fight close on the scorecards. Soto Karass is a veteran who defeated former world titleholder Andre Berto and has parlayed that win into bigger fights. He too is coming off a loss, to Keith Thurman, and he is in need of a win to stay in the pay range he has achieved. Though Soto-Karass is solid and hard working, an upset is less likely in this match than in the Guerrero match, if you are looking for underdogs. The card is promoted by Golden Boy and airs on Showtime, and especially in the case of the Guerrero fight, it may be worth watching the weigh-ins to see if Guerrero’s fitness and motivation level can be forecast.
