Labor Day weekend is upon us in North America. This time of year, thoughts turn to a final picnic, one last dip in the swimming pool, or a barbecue. Before you make that run to the supermarket for ground beef ahead of your family cookout this coming weekend, cancel your plans for Friday night.
You’re going to be staying inside in an air-conditioned, at least hopefully, it’s air-conditioned, room watching boxing on DAZN. Atlanta is where your weekend of combat sports begins. OTE Arena, where the Overtime Elite basketball league takes place over fall and winter weekends, serves as the site of Overtime Boxing‘s OTX 10.
Action kicks off Friday night at 7:30 pm ET/ 4:30 pm PT on DAZN and the DAZN Boxing YouTube channel. If there are no late postponements or adjustments to the bout order, OTX 10 will feature six bouts inside the squared circle. Tournament action at super-middleweight resumes with the semifinal round of the bracket.
Last Spot in Final at Stake in OTX 10 Co-Main Event Friday
Immediately following the first semifinal of the evening, semifinal number two will be the focus of the OTX 10 co-main event. 27-fight veteran Brandon Adams (24-3, 16 KOs) meets up with Francisco Veron (14-0-1, 10 KOs.) Your winner in the co-main event advances to the tournament final at a date still to be announced to fight the victor of the earlier bout between Andreas Katzourakis (13-0, 10 KOs) and Robert Terry (12-0-1, 4 KOs,) where the tournament champion receives a guaranteed deal with Overtime Boxing.
Both semifinals, as well as the OTX 10 main event, will be an advertised maximum of 10 rounds at three minutes per round. Should any contest during OTX 10 produce a draw on the scorecards after the contracted number of rounds, it goes to a winner-take-all overtime round.
#OTX10 #ColdSumma🥶 Arguably the best card in Overtime Boxing’s young history.
Main Event: #3 @WBABoxing 🌎 rated super bantamweight @wxxxlfie goes to battle with WBA #15 🌎 rated Jose Sanmartin in the main event at OTE Arena and live on @DAZNBoxing 👀 pic.twitter.com/aTZhvZxYEr
— Tony Palmieri (@ttonez4) August 7, 2024
OTX 10 Co-Main Event Fighter Comparison
Heading into the OTX 10 co-main event on Friday night, Francisco Veron stands as the taller competitor at 5-foot-10, compared to the 5-foot-8 frame of Brandon Adams. Veron owns a 72-inch reach, with no such information accessible for Adams at press time.
Currently, the oddsmakers have yet to release money lines for OTX 10 on Friday night. If you plan on betting on this or any other fight happening this week in combat sports, please wager responsibly.
Adams Looks to Run Winning Streak to Four
Brandon Adams has posted a mark of 4-1 in his last five fights. At the moment, he’s on a three-fight winning streak.
Last time out, he scored a third-round knockout (body shot) of Ismael Villareal (13-3, 9 KOs) with one second remaining on the clock during OTX 6 on April 19 at the selfsame OTE Arena in Atlanta where OTX 10 will take place this upcoming weekend.
Recently, Adams sat down for an interview, where he discussed his plan of attack for Friday night.
“I plan on living up to the name ‘The Cannon,'” Adams said. “Without giving up the gameplan, the gameplan is obvious as it is. If I’m not mistaken, he’s between 5-11 and six foot. I’m 5-8. That, in itself, that equation speaks for itself. The ring is never big. Overtime [Boxing] rings aren’t huge, so there won’t be space for me to try to stay off of him, nor him to stay off of me.”
This is a man who learned how to move in the ring by watching Michael Jackson dance as a child. Will he moonwalk to his fourth consecutive win?
Veron Ready for Battle Friday Night
In the other corner, Francisco Veron has gone 4-0-1 in his last five fight. He has yet to lose in his professional career. Back in April of this year, Veron bested Angel Ruiz Astorga (18-3-1, 13 KOs) by way of unanimous decision after 10 rounds to set up this semifinal bout.
With Veron having gone undefeated so far in the ring, it’s clear that his will be a tough case to solve on Friday night. The only adversary of his who’s come close to cracking the case was Jahi Tucker (12-1-1, 5 KOs) who eked out a majority draw after eight rounds last December.
Given that the OTX 10 co-main event is a tournament semifinal, it goes without saying that Friday’s contest is the most critical 10 rounds (or less) of action in Francisco Veron’s career. How will he fare this time?
Analysis, Film Study, and Prediction
This is a pivotal fight for both competitors. Who will emerge victorious?
Look For Adams to Punish Veron
Brandon Adams is a tough customer at the shop when he enters the ring. One need to do nothing else but take a look at the tape of his quarterfinal affair versus Ismael Villareal. During the third round of a scheduled 10, after the fighters traded shots down the stretch in round two, Adams absorbed a few strikes before he returned fire.
As the period continued, Adams began to pull away, landing hooks and uppercuts. He maintained this pace down the stretch before landing another left hook to Villareal’s body.
While Villareal attempted to rise to his feet for round four, it was to no avail, as he just went down again, forcing the referee to call an end to the bout. If Adams can land punches in bunches, he’ll book a spot in the final.
Veron Has Crushing Punches, Too
In the other corner, Francisco Veron has shown to be a challenging man to beat throughout his career, like in his fight against Octavian Gratii. During the opening round of an advertised six, Veron immediately began teeing off with a barrage of strikes.
He didn’t give Gratii much of a chance to counterstrike, knocking him down against the ring ropes about a minute and 15 seconds into the round. Even though Gratii got back up to fight again, he was now on wobbly legs. Once Veron had him wobbled, he knocked him down with a right hand moments later before pouring on one last flurry of shots to end the fight.
As long as Francisco Veron can beat Brandon Adams to the punch, this semifinal will be his for the taking.
Final Thoughts
Much like the first semifinal that precedes it, the second semifinal has the potential to be explosive in its own right. Don’t miss the OTX 10 main event.
Prediction: Brandon Adams by Third-Round Knockout.Â
