Joshua Kevin Anton vs Freudis Rojas

Considering Rojas is a replacement, this is a good measuring-stick fight between two southpaws, and that changes the picture straight away. Neither man gets the usual awkward-angle advantage. It comes down to who controls the lead hand, wins the battle for outside position and keeps his back foot away from the ropes.

Anton is the taller, more physical man, but his real advantage is his engine. He can maintain a serious work rate, push an opponent backwards and keep punching when the exchanges become untidy. He is not merely looking for one big left hand. He mixes straight shots with body punches and makes opponents work every minute. The weakness is that he can become too busy for his own good, leaving gaps down the middle and giving a sharp counterpuncher chances.

Rojas has the better amateur schooling. His balance is sound, his punches are compact, and he understands distance. But the defeat to Damian Sosa showed that he can be unsettled by sustained pressure. When an opponent crowds him and refuses to stand at the end of his punches, Rojas becomes less commanding and spends too long trying to reset.

I expect Rojas to have some tidy early rounds, catching Anton coming in and making him miss. But Anton will not stop coming, and that pace should gradually force Rojas into exchanges he would rather avoid. Anton’s size, body work and greater activity will decide it.

My prediction is Joshua Kevin Anton by unanimous decision after a competitive but increasingly one-sided fight.