Chris Oliver sets the scene for Saturday night's boxing action with Dillian Whyte taking on Dereck Chisora in London.
Recommended bets
4pts - Dillian Whyte to win by decision 6/4
4pts - Carl Frampton to win by decision 11/10
Christmas is said to be a time of giving but Britain's leading promoters have given fans on these shores the unwanted gift of two pay-per-view events on the same night this festive period.
Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren stage big shows in London and Manchester respectively on Saturday and the paying public are left with the dilemma of which one to choose, unless they don't mind adding to the Yuletide expense by purchasing both.
The fans are right to feel a bit hard done-by, although the consolation is that it's very hard to see either main event not living up to the hype.
We'll start with the capital where Dillian Whyte and Dereck Chisora look set to pick up where they left off in their fight of the year contender in this month of 2016.
Bad blood and table-throwing antics filled the headlines in the build-up first time around and they certainly delivered in the ring, as the two knocked lumps out of each other for twelve rounds in a real back-and-forth brawl.
Chisora came out with real intent and got off to a flyer with his trademark hooks and overhand right landing with regularity, before the frantic pace he had set began to take its toll and allowed Whyte to pile on the pressure with big shots aplenty of his own.
The judges were needed and a split decision went the way of Whyte by the narrowest of margins.
The winner has gone from strength to strength since, winning all four outings and is enjoying an excellent 2018.
Firstly, the 'Body Snatcher' dispatched of the previously unbeaten Aussie Lucas Browne in brutal fashion, before earning a unanimous decision over former champ Joseph Parker in July to complete a brace of impressive wins over Antipodean opponents.
Chisora has had mixed results in the last 24 months, with a couple of routine wins sandwiching a lacklustre points defeat to Agit Kabayel in Monte Carlo, before the Finchley man bounced back with a career-best victory over Carlos Takam on the Whyte-Parker undercard.
In yet another potential fight of the year, Chisora looked to be on his way out before turning it all round with a huge right hand in the eighth round and stopping his French foe in the same session.
The 34-year-old is going to have to upset the odds again here with 11/4 available about him gaining revenge, and 4/11 the top price for the younger man to repeat the dose.
Based solely on the evidence of the first encounter, Chisora looks the value call but a lot has happened since and Whyte appears to have improved markedly.
And while 'Del Boy' arrives on the back of a great win, he took a lot of punishment prior to the shock stoppage and you have to wonder just how many times he can go to the well in a long career that features eight defeats.
Only two of those were by stoppage, though, and another points loss could be on the cards here, with Whyte by decision the recommendation at 6/4.
The Brixton fighter has a bit more variety to his game and, as well as holding his own in the trenches when needed, he can use his superior boxing skills to end this rivalry for good.
Big Fight Details
- Fight night: Saturday December 22, The O2, London
- TV Channel: Sky Sports Box Office
- TV Start time: Main event approx 22:15 GMT (Saturday)
- Weigh-in: Friday, December 21, 1200 GMT
- Sky Bet odds: Whyte 2/7, Chisora 5/2, Draw 20/1 (Click to bet)
There is no bad blood needed to sell the big one in Manchester where Carl Frampton challenges Josh Warrington for his IBF featherweight strap.
World title fights involving two UK boxers are always a bit special but this has the added spice of two styles that are sure to gel, as well as the always fascinating narrative of an up-and-coming fighter taking on another who is established at the top level.
Frampton falls into the latter category, which is why he's an 8/15 favourite, but the unbeaten Warrington continues to improve and there will be plenty of people fancying him to defy the odds at 15/8 here.
The popular Leeds scrapper did just that when ripping the title from Lee Selby at his beloved Elland Road in May, when setting a furious pace from the first bell to the last to overcome the flashy skills of the Welshman on the scorecards.
However, this is a step up again and Frampton is a totally different test. The Belfast native is a former champion at two weights and has a wealth of experience on the world stage, including winning a huge all-British unification bout at this same arena against Scott Quigg.
His sole defeat in 27 outings came via a majority decision against an elite fighter in Leo Santa Cruz, having already beaten the Mexican in New York the time before.
Is Frampton the same fighter as the one who produced those two classic encounters with Santa Cruz? Possibly not quite, but he didn't look too far off when breaking down and beating up the game Luke Jackson over nine rounds in the summer and has improved with each of his three outings under new coach Jamie Moore.
We know Warrington will look to start fast and maintain it, hoping to make the older man fight at a faster pace than he would like.
However, whereas Selby - who looked awful at the weight that night - couldn't keep his aggressive foe off, Frampton has the power to do so with a nasty dig in either hand.
A few sharp counters from the favourite could soon deter Warrington and slow him down, taking away his main asset.
Barring work rate, Frampton appears to hold the edge in every other department - such as ring IQ, punch variety, power and footwork - and may do everything that little bit better than his younger opponent.
The early rounds could be very close and competitive, but I can see the slight skill advantages and experience of Frampton beginning to tell as the fight goes on and the 31-year-old stamping his authority after halfway.
It would not be the biggest surprise to see him get the stoppage and the 6/1 to do so in rounds 7-12 is tempting, but Warrington takes a shot well and a Frampton victory on the cards (11/10) looks more likely.
