It’s the calm before the storm in the boxing world at the moment. After a quiet fortnight, December promises to deliver weekly drama with Wilder-Fury, Brook-Zerafa, Fielding-Canelo, and Whyte-Chisora/Warrington-Frampton on back-to-back weekends!

This weekend, however, the attention turns to Monaco and New Jersey as we focus on a selection of intriguing matchups on either side of the Atlantic.

First up, Matchroom Boxing returns to Monaco on Saturday night with a fractured card of some miss-matches and one competitive bout – Frank Buglioni vs Fanlong Meng. After getting blitzed out inside a round by domestic rival Callum Johnson, “Wise Guy” Buglioni is looking to reinvigorate his career at light-heavyweight in a tough assignment against unbeaten Chinese fighter Fanlong Meng; the IBF inter-continental light-heavyweight strap will be on the line at the Casino de Monte Carlo on Saturday night.

A 2012 Olympian with a solid unbeaten record, Meng will arrive in Monaco having been on the road for his last two fights. “Cold Blood” has notched up wins over Emmanuel Danso and (an underwhelming) Brad Austin having travelled to Macau and the US in recent outings, with a clear push to get the 175lbs fighter’s name out there to widen his profile. A convincing win on Sky Sports this weekend will do wonders for the Chinese fighter’s career – the hunger will be there, making him a very dangerous prospect for the seasoned Buglioni.

The problem for Buglioni lies in the odds for this fight. A ‘home’ fighter for Matchroom tends to be offered three types of fights: an easy tick-over, a top of the bill domestic 50/50 or a title shot; despite being for an inter-continental title, at 8/15 Buglioni is in a high-risk, little-reward fight. Without the typical home support that “Wise Guy” would receive in an O2 or Wembley Arena fight, the placid surroundings of the Monte Carlo Casino will be low on adrenaline, with the southpaw of Meng likely to give the North Londoner a tricky night’s work.

Buglioni is still the rightful favourite, but the unknown quantity of this Chinese southpaw is a huge concern. Meng is used to travelling; used to an amateur style of out-pointing an opponent – his price of 8/5 to win the fight is too good to turn down. Buglioni – despite bouncing back in a win over Emmanuel Feuzeu in July – will still be scarred by his first round KO by Johnson. It’s down to Meng to avoid his right hand throughout the 12 rounds, outworking him to a points victory using his controlling jab.

Fanlong Meng to beat Frank Buglioni @ 8/5 (BetFred)

Atlantic City, New Jersey is the location for, arguably, the biggest fight of the weekend. Canadian veteran Jean Pascal rises to the challenge once again as he attempts to claim the WBA light-heavyweight title away from the feared Russian Dmitry Bivol.

Bivol has notched up a record of 14-0 since turning pro in 2014, and with impressive wins over Chilemba, Barrera and Valera on his record, Bivol is on the cusp of the pound-for-pound top ten.

Pascal is a credit to the sport. Refusing to turn down the biggest of tests, the 35-year-old has mixed it with the best. Despite falling short against the likes of Sergey Kovalev (twice), Eleider Alvarez, Bernard Hopkins and Carl Froch, the light-heavyweight has racked up two back-to-back wins in his latest push towards world honours. Despite his bravery, this latest test against Bivol isn’t likely to last long. The Kyrgyzstan-born Russian has monster power in the 175lbs division which is beautifully masked by his slender frame; Pascal is well past his best, but his heart will convince him he has a chance this Saturday night.

Bivol is too classy and is a couple of fights away from a super-fight unification. He’ll be looking for a showreel KO.

Dmitry Bivol to win by KO @ 2/9 (BetFred)

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