Karen Chukhadzhian vs Paddy Donovan

Sad to say, but I think this is a third loss in a row for the talented Irishman. Whilst he holds a near 79% knockout percentage, he finds himself up against the welterweight division’s bogeyman. 

Before his first fight against the current IBF world cruiserweight champion Lewis Crocker, Donovan had looked like a champion in the making. Trained by former WBO world middleweight boss Andy Lee, the pair looked like a certainty for world honours. 

Chukhadzhian will always be known as the man who took Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis the distance in two IBF world welterweight title fights. Both fights took place in America, and both fights ended in wide decision wins for the American. However, now that Ennis has gone on to greater things and is expected to win multiple world titles as he moves up in weight, these two decision losses are beginning to be seen as a mark of durability and craft for the Ukrainian.

With the fight being hosted in Mannheim, Germany, the home of the Ukrainian’s promoter, Chukhadzhian has a virtual home advantage, and it is notoriously difficult to travel to Germany and come away with a points decision if you haven’t won the fight decisively. 

I think Donovan has to win by knockout, or else I believe another opportunity will have passed him by at world level.