The boxing calendar is really beginning to fill out for 2016, but this coming weekend sees only a few matches available at the sportsbooks. Leading the way is the WBA “Super World” Super Middleweight title fight between Feliz Sturm (39-5-3) and Fedor Chudinov (14-0). The fight is set for 12 rounds at the Koenig Pilsener Arena in Oberhausen, Germany. The belt was vacated by Andre Ward, who has moved up a a weight class, and this match sees Sturm come in as a +260 underdog despite fighting at home. The bout is a rematch that Chudinov won the first time by a split decision, taking the world belt. The second meeting between the two men sees the belt upgraded to “Super World”, and Chudinov is a -320 favorite this time around. The rest of the lines currently up are much less competitive, though some more lines may pop up as we get closer to the weekend. The Celebrity Theater in Phoenix, Arizona hosts a Top Rank Boxing card that sees the main events of the card air on UniMas. The main event sees undefeated Super Bantamweight prospect Jessie Magdaleno (22-0) taking on veteran Edward Mansito (13-3-2). Magdaleno is a massive -5000 favorite, with Mansito returning at +1670. typically, Top rank used the UniMas cards to showcase their fighters before moving them on to bigger things. Magdaleno comes from a fighting family, and his older brother Diego is coming off a world title fight and his younger brother Marco started his pro career in 2015. Also on the card is undefeated Light Heavyweight prospect Trevor McCumby (21-0) as he faces veteran James Freeman (9-7). Check back later in the week to see if any additional lines pop up. Middleweight 10-round action headlines the Black Bear Casino card on Saturday up in Carlton, Minnesota as veterans Caleb Truax (25-2-2) and Melvin Betancourt (29-3) clash. Truax is looking to bounce back after a layoff of 10 months. In his last outing in April of 2015, Truaz was stoppoed in the 12th round by WBA World Middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs. In Betancourt, he is facing a fighter with a solid record, but he went 0-2 in 2015 and is coming off two straight losses. Truax, who is returning to his stomping grounds, is a big -6000 favorite over Betancourt, who is returning at +2000.
