Query: July 2nd: Jason Cunningham vs Zolani Tete
Context: This is a great fight between two skilled southpaw fighters at bantamweight and in my mind feels a bit like an unofficial title eliminator for the winner to perhaps head down to bantam and box against Inoue.
Jason Cunningham: Cunningham had a little bit of a rocky start to his boxing career but has been looking very sharp since his switch to super bantam with victories over several respectable prospect level opponents. Tete in my mind is his first real world level opponent, but I think he’s ready for the step up. A prodigious mid-range fighter with a knack for throwing good body combinations and creating favorable exchanges with his somewhat awkward style, I think Cunningham will want to fight a cagey middle distance fight, which could prove difficult due to his height and reach deficit. If he can pull it off, however, he might be able to make Tete miss with some of his more wild shots and clip him with nice counters to win a decision.
Zolani Tete: Tete is in some ways Cunningham’s opposite. After his meteoric rise onto the scene with his destruction of Paul Butler, Tete suffered a setback when facing Casimero for the bantamweight world title and losing by knockout. His style is also wildly different though they are both lefties. Where Cunningham is textbook British boxing, Tete relies on his range and chin cracking power to control the pace of fights.
Prediction: Tete by TKO. My prediction for this stems from Cunningham’s style. I think he keeps his head a little still when he’s fighting in the middle distance, and due to the range deficit, I think that might get him caught with some nasty shots from Tete. That being said, I Almost ruled this too close to call. It's a really good fight y'all.