YURI FOREMAN vs CORNELIUS BUNDRAGE

After winning 27 bouts in a row, Yuri Foreman is closing in on a world title fight. His 12-rounder against Cornelius Bundrage on Saturday’s PPV show in Atlantic City is an IBF elimination match. If Foreman wins he becomes No. 1 challenger to champion Cory Spinks. Yet although Foreman is the betting favourite, Bundrage is coming into this fight after the finest performance of his career when he travelled to Germany and knocked out Zaurbek Baysangurov, a previously undefeated Ukrainian who was being built up by the Klitschko Brothers’ K2 Promotions. This startling win must have been a tremendous boost to Bundrage’s self-esteem, coming as it did after a close and disappointing loss to Grady Brewer.

Foreman and Bundrage each has an interesting backstory. Foreman, who was born in Belarus and boxed for Israel in the 1999 world championships, is studying to be a rabbi in New York, while Bundrage was a popular participant in The Contender TV reality show who, at 36, is now a real-life contender and one fight away from boxing for a world title.

The fight — part of Top Rank’s Latin Fury 9 presentation although it doesn't involve Latin fighters — offers an intriguing clash of styles.

Foreman, taller, slicker and faster, will be seeking to move, jab, pick up points with quick combinations and box his way to a win on points.

Bundrage, a much more imposing physical specimen, is likely to put pressure on Foreman and try to bully him and break him down.

Foreman’s problem is that, although he is an accomplished boxer, he simply does not hit very hard. He faces 12 rounds of boxing a perfect fight against a stronger and heavier handed opponent. In the past, though, Foreman has been able to outbox and outsmart fighters who tried to keep on top of him, and he showed grit when boxing for most of the fight with a cut over the eye to outscore Andrey Tsurkan.

Bundrage is not a particularly skilled fighter but he does have sound boxing ability, and he can punch. Foreman might be able to lead Bundrage a dance, jabbing him and making him miss, but he will be at risk in every round, and 12 rounds is a long way to go against a determined aggressor.

I was very impressed with Bundrage’s performance against Baysangurov. He looked loose and relaxed, used the jab, punched heavily to the body and ended the fight in spectacular fashion with two consecutive right hands, seeming to have Baysangurov out on his feet with the first right hand and flattening him with the follow-up. The crowd “oohed” when they watched the replay on the big screens.

If Bundrage fights as well against Foreman as he did in the win over Baysangurov, and especially if he can land the big right hand, he has an excellent chance of upsetting the odds. Foreman, though, is much more mobile and fluid in his style than the upright Baysangurov. It could get awfully discouraging for Bundrage if he finds himself missing and getting picked off for round after round.

I make this a dangerous fight for Foreman, but I think that his speed and his smart boxing will get him through the 12 rounds with a win. Bundrage can hurt Foreman if he can hit him, but I don’t think he will be able to hit him consistently enough to seize command of the contest.