The boxing calendar begins to slow down for the end of the year after this weekend, but several lines have already appeared at the sport books for fights on Saturday, December 20th. Expect more lines to pop up as we get closer to fight time. In Cancun, Mexico interim WBA World Super Featherweight champion Bryan Vasquez is favored (-260) in his mandatory defense against Sergio Thompson (+180). Thompson is (30-3) with 26 stoppages, so he will be looking to KO Vasquez, who has 17 KO’s in his 33 fights but is known more as a boxer with a lot of movement in his style. Thompson is said to have had some personal probelms, including domestic violence and fighting cops, but he is getting his second attempt at a piece of a world title, as his last loss in August of 2013 was in a failed bid to take Takashi Miura’s WBC Super featherweight title. Shifting over to the island of Puerto Rico, Super Flyweight action sees McJoe Arroyo (-1500) favorite over Mark Anthony Geraldo (+700) in an IBF title eliminator over 12 rounds. Arroyo is undefeated at (15-0), and at 29 years old he is 6 years older than Geraldo. Despite being just 23 years old, Geraldo has more than double the matches and ringtime as his opponent. Though he has fought throughout Asia, including on a card at Macao’s Venetian in July of 2014, this is his first this far from home, so look for McJoe to get the job done here. This card also features the return of Hanna Gabriels, who is attempting to regain the now vacant WBO World Light Middleweight title. Gabriels took almost two years off after her first defeat, during which time she got married and had a child, both with that Bryan Vasquez that is fighting in Mexico. Gabriels is facing Mexico’s Paty Ramirez (10-1), Ramirez may have a height and reach advantage, and she has good skill and likes to brawl, but in the end Gabriels will have strength and athleticism advantages that should see her favored in the bout. And to close out the boxing odds up or this Saturday is the card in Phoenix Arizona featuring Heavyweights as Siarhei Liakhovich (+1300) to Andy Ruiz Jr (-3000). Ruiz has run his record to (23-0) and is still just 25 years old. Liakhovich is a veteran at 38, but his record of (26-6) includes losses to prospects Deontay Wilder and Brandon Jennings as well as more tested names like Shannon Briggs and Nikolai Valuev. The bottom line is he is a veteran test for Ruiz, who wants to be mentinoed in the same breath as both Wilder and Jennings, who are on the verge of a world title shot themselves. There are cards in Germany, England and all over the United States with 10 and 12 round bouts that may get attention from the sport books. In terms of big names, this Saturday sees a card in Managua, Nicaragua that is headlined by veteran bad boy Ricardo Mayorga. Mayorga had not fought since March of 2011, but returned in September of this year with a win and now this second bout as he begins the campaign for one more paycheck, now at light heavyweight.
