Junior middleweight Boyd Melson is scheduled to fight tough prospect Glen Tapia at Madison Square Garden in New York, New York on July 26. The fight will take place on the undercard of the HBO-televised Gennady Golovkin-Daniel Geale bout.
Melson (14-1-1, 4 KOs) has won his last four fights since a disputed draw against Jason Thompson to open up the Barclay's Center in Brooklyn. Melson later avenged the draw with a unanimous decision victory over Thomspon. His last fight was last February; Melson fought with one arm in defeating Donald Ward by UD in the final boxing match at the famed Roseland Ballroom.
Tapia (21-1, 13 KOs) is coming off of a first round knockout of Keenan Collins earlier this month. His best win came last July when he stopped Abie Han, who was undefeated at the time. Last December, Tapia showed grit in a loss to all-action contender James Kirkland. Tapia didn't make it out of the sixth round, however.
Tapia's two best punches are the overhand right and the the left hook. Both were effective against Kirkland, who like Melson is a southpaw. But against Kirkland, Tapia showed poor defense. Tapia is best when he's allowed to come forward and pressure his opponent.
Melson can pressure or box, depending on what the occasion calls for. One big issue could be the weight. Against Ward, Melson was originally scheduled to make the junior middleweight limit of 154 pounds. The contract had to be changed because Boyd had trouble making the weight. When it was all said and done, Melson couldn't even get under the middleweight limit of 160. Melson hasn't weighed as little as 154 pounds since 2012.
Tapia, a New Jersey native who is eight years younger and an inch taller than Melson, last made the 154 pound limit in the Han fight. He has never been over 159 pounds for a fight. Thus, Melson is the naturally bigger man, an advantage if he isn't drained by making weight.
The bout is scheduled for eight rounds and is currently set for the junior middleweight limit.
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