BOXING BOXING ARTICLES

The last weekend of February is a superb one for boxing in the UK. Josh Taylor will defend his unified light welterweight championship against Jack Catterall, and Lawrence Okolie will make a title defense against Michal Cieslak. Okolie comes into this fight with an unblemished 17-0 record, and 14 of his wins have come by knockout. That has made him a substantial favorite over Cieslak by the boxing betting odds, although Cieslak is 21-1-1 with 15 knockouts in his own right.... 

One of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world will defend his unbeaten record against another undefeated fighter on Saturday night in Glasgow. Josh Taylor (18-0 with 13 knockouts) is the unified light welterweight champion. He has held the IBF, WBA, and The Ring light welterweight titles since his win over Regis Prograis in October 2019, and he added the WBC and WBO light welterweight belts last May. Jack Catterall will be looking to knock him off, but the oddsmakers don’t like his chances... 

British boxers Amir Khan and Kell Brook will finally square off in the ring after almost a decade of back-and-forth talks between the camps of both fighters. Khan (34-5 with 21 knockouts) has challenged for the middleweight and welterweight titles after being a light welterweight title holder. Brook (39-3 with 27 knockouts) is a former welterweight champion that has challenged for a middleweight title too, and British boxing fans have been waiting for these two fighters to face off for a long ti... 

Two former champions will look to regain their glory when they step into the ring the day before Super Bowl Sunday. Daniel Jacobs (37-3 with 30 knockouts) has been a middleweight champion on multiple occasions, and he will be moving up a division to take on Josh Ryder at super middleweight. Ryder (30-5 with 17 knockouts) is a former super middleweight champion that needs to pick up a win considering his last two fights were against also-rans.DAZN has the rights to the super middleweight fight be... 

Former welterweight champion Keith Thurman will re-enter the ring for the first time in well over two years on the first weekend of February. Thurman (29-1 with 22 knockouts) will take on former super lightweight champion Mario Barrios in Las Vegas the week before Super Bowl Sunday. Barrios (26-1 with 17 knockouts) is looking to make a name for himself after going up a weight class, so this should be a great fight. Both Thurman and Barrios are coming off losses too as Thurman lost to the great M... 

WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. will make his sixth title defense in late January when he faces first-time challenger Mark Magsayo. Russell (31-1 with 18 knockouts) hasn’t entered the ring in nearly two years, so there are some questions about whether or not he will be ready for this fight. Magsayo (23-0 with 16 knockouts) is a potentially dangerous challenger that has had three bouts since the last time we saw Russell.... 

One of the first big fights of 2022 will feature Joe Smith Jr. taking on Callum Johnson. Smith (27-3 with 21 knockouts) is the reigning WBO light heavyweight champion after beating Maxim Vlasov for the title last April. Johnson (20-1 with 14 knockouts) suffered his lone loss the last time he challenged for the light heavyweight title, and he is looking to break through this time in order to be crowned champion.... 

Two unbeaten fighters will enter the ring at a new weight in early 2022. Luis Nunez (15-0 with 11 knockouts) will take on Carlos Arrieta (14-0 with eight knockouts) in a battle between young up-and-comers that are looking to move up in weight. Nunez has spent his time as a professional boxer at either bantamweight or featherweight prior to this fight, while Arrieta has mainly fought at featherweight or super bantamweight.... 

Former heavyweight champions Luis Ortiz and Charles Martin will meet in the first major boxing promotion of 2022. Ortiz (32-2-2 with 27 knockouts) held the WBA interim heavyweight title in 2015, while Martin (28-2-1 with 25 knockouts) was the IBF heavyweight champion for almost three months in 2016. Both these fighters throw bombs, so there is a very good chance this fight doesn’t go the distance.... 

Highly regarded prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. will headline one of the last boxing cards of 2021. Mielnicki (9-1 with six knockouts) is just 19 years old, and he will fight in his home state against Nicholas DeLomba on Christmas Day. DeLomba (16-3 with five knockouts) is an experienced fighter, but he isn’t expected to give Mielnicki more than a little test.We will see Vito Mielnicki Jr. take on Nicholas DeLomba on Saturday, December 25, 2021, at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. This c... 

For the second time in four months, Jake Paul will step into the ring with Tyron Woodley. Paul was originally supposed to fight Tyson Fury’s brother Tommy Fury, but Tommy Fury had to back out of the fight less than two weeks before it was supposed to take place due to a bacterial infection and broken ribs. Woodley is stepping back in to take on Paul on short notice, and he will be out to avenge his earlier defeat.The rematch between Jake Paul and Tyron Woodley will take place on Saturday, Decemb... 

One of the last great fights of 2021 will see Nonito Donaire defend his WBC bantamweight belt against Reymart Gaballo. Donaire (41-6 with 27 knockouts) won the title over Nordine Oubaali at this venue seven months ago, and Gaballo (24-0 with 20 knockouts) will be looking to make a name for himself here. Nonito Donaire vs. Reymart Gaballo will be held on Saturday, December 11, 2021, at Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California. This bout will be broadcast on Showtime starting at 10 p.m. ET. ... 

One of the most exciting boxers in the sport today will enter the ring for the second time this year. Gervonta Davis knows how to give the fans what they want, and he will look to defend his WBA lightweight title against challenger Isaac Cruz. Davis (25-0 with 24 knockouts) has knocked out 16 straight opponents, while Cruz (22-1-1 with 15 knockouts) has not had the same power as he has taken on more difficult opponents.Gervonta Davis vs. Isaac Cruz will be one of the last boxing matches to take ... 

Two super bantamweights will enter the ring in order to partially unify the division on Thanksgiving weekend. Brandon Figueroa will defend his WBC super bantamweight title and look to add another belt when he faces WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton. Both fighters are undefeated as Figueroa is 22-0-1 with 17 knockouts ahead of this fight, while Fulton is 19-0 with eight knockouts.... 

This is a good time to be a boxing fan. All of the big names are looking to get in one more fight before the end of the calendar year. Teofimo Lopez Jr. will be the next big name to enter the ring on Thanksgiving weekend when he faces George Kambosos Jr. Lopez (16-0 with 12 knockouts) and Kambosos (19-0 with 10 knockouts) have had several starts and stops in trying to set up this fight. They were scheduled to face off on June 5, June 19, August 14, and October 4, so this is the fifth attempt to ... 

One of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world today will defend his WBO Welterweight belt before Thanksgiving weekend in Sin City. Terence Crawford (37-0 with 28 knockouts) will make his fifth title defense of his current strap against two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter. Porter (31-3-1 with 17 knockouts) lost a split decision to Errol Spence Jr. two years ago to lose the WBC Welterweight belt, and he is hungry to grab another strap. Terence Crawford vs. Shawn Porter is one of the last major fights of the year. It will take place on Saturday, November 20, 2021, from the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino off the Las Vegas Strip. The promotion will begin at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN+ Pay Per View. ... 

For the first time ever, we will have an undisputed super middleweight champion. Canelo Alvarez (56-1-2 with 38 knockouts) comes into his fight with Caleb Plant (21-0 with 12 knockouts) holding the WBA, WBC, WBO, and The Ring super middleweight titles. Alvarez is widely seen as the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world today, but Plant will look to deal him just the second loss of his career. Plant currently holds the IBF super middleweight title and has some real advantages coming into this... 

Shakur Stevenson is moving his way up the ranks. The former featherweight champion is now fighting at junior lightweight and will look to grab a title in his new weight class. Stevenson won’t find it easy to get past Jamel Herring though. Herring is 23-2 with 11 knockouts and has held the WBO junior lightweight title since May 2019.The Throwdown in A-Town will feature Jamel Herring and Shakur Stevenson squaring off on Saturday, October 23, 2021, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. This figh... 

We saw four of the six heavyweight belts change hands two weeks ago when Oleksandr Usyk upset Anthony Joshua. Now, boxing fans around the world are hoping for a unification of the premier division in the sport following the third fight between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. Fury currently holds the WBC and The Ring heavyweight titles after knocking Wilder out last February, but Wilder will look to take those titles from him.Tyson Fury vs. Deontay Wilder III is the third fight between the two hea... 

After several date and venue changes, Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. are finally set to square off for the WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring lightweight titles. Lopez (16-0 with 12 knockouts) is one of the most exciting young boxers in the sport, while Kambosos (19-0 with 10 knockouts) is a well-regarded fighter in his own right.Triller paid a whopping $6 million to promote this bout between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos Jr. It will go head to head with Monday Night Football on October 4, f... 

Two of the best boxers in the world will square off in one of the biggest fights of the calendar year the last week of September. Anthony Joshua (24-1 with 22 knockouts) will defend his IBF, WBO, IBO, and WBA heavyweight titles against the undefeated Oleksandr Usyk. Usyk (18-0 with 13 knockouts) was the unified cruiserweight champion three years ago, but he made the move to heavyweight to set up this mega fight.Anthony Joshua vs. Oleksandr Usyk is being billeted as The Perfect Storm. Joshua will... 

The exhibition trend in boxing continues as more and more legends come out of retirement for one last dance in the ring. This time it will be Oscar De La Hoya stepping into the ring for the first time since 2008. De La Hoya (39-6 with 30 knockouts) has been promoting Golden Boy Promotions since his retirement following a loss to Manny Pacquiao, but the now 48-year-old will shake off more than a decade of rust to add one more chapter to his legacy. The Golden Boy will be looking to take down MMA legend Vitor Belfort on the second Saturday of September. ... 

Mauricio Lara sent shockwaves through the boxing world the day before Valentine’s Day. He was a prohibitive underdog ahead of his bout with Josh Warrington, but he knocked off the big favorite per the boxing betting odds to move to 23-2 with 16 knockouts. The highly regarded Warrington was as much as a -3300 favorite, but he suffered the first defeat of his career to drop to 30-1 with seven knockouts. Warrington immediately exercised the rematch option in his contract and will look to set the re... 

Exhibitions are all the rage in boxing right now. We have seen these grow in popularity over the last few years with Jake Paul and Logan Paul leading the way. Logan Paul was the first high-profile social media star to be involved in a boxing match, but his brother has been even better since his first match in early 2020. Now, Jake Paul (3-0 with three knockouts) will take on his toughest test yet when he faces former UFC welterweight champion Tyron Woodley.... 

This fight was originally supposed to see Manny Pacquiao taking on Errol Spence Jr. for the unified welterweight title. Unfortunately, Spence suffered a retinal tear in training 11 days before the fight, leading to him being replaced by current WBA (Super) welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas. While this is a step down, Ugas is a solid, experienced fighter that it might be difficult for Pacquiao to prepare for on short notice....