2018 is the year that keeps on giving so far on month three. This weekend features yet another exciting slate of fights. Saturday night is headlined by two big cards from Premier Boxing Champions and Top Rank. Unfortunately, they are head to head, but both Mikey Garcia’s shot at a fourth title against Sergey Lipinets and Oscar Valdez’s title defense against Scott Quigg are not to be missed. Showtime also has a nice card Friday night and more.
Friday, March 9th
Regis Prograis (20-0, 17 KOs) v Julius Indongo (22-1, 11 KOs), junior welterweights & Ivan Baranchyk (17-0, 10 KOs) v TBA, junior welterweights – South Dakota – Showtime, 10 PM Eastern
This card is being billed as a “Showtime Boxing: Special Edition.” That is the distinction used when the network views a fight too big for ShoBox, but not big enough to carry a Showtime Championship Boxing card. Regis Prograis is an outstanding prospect and Julius Indongo remains the man who burst onto the scene last year to win two belts out of no where. This is great match making. The winner will have a secondary version of the WBC belt and be in line for a world title shot as well. Ivan Baranchyk was supposed to meet Anthony Yigit in the co-main event, but Yigit pulled out. A replacement is currently being searched for. With the event only days away, we’ll see if they find one.
Ronny Rios (29-2, 13 KOs) v Azat Hovhannisyan (13-2, 10 KOs), featherweights & Alexis Rocha (10-0, 7 KOs) v Miguel Dumas (10-1, 7 KOs), welterweights – California – WatchESPN.com, 9 PM Eastern or ESPN2, 12 AM Eastern (tape delay)
This is a pretty typical Golden Boy on ESPN card designed to get one of their solid B-side level guys and one of their young prospects wins. Rios is a solid fighter with decent wins over the likes of Rico Ramos and Jayson Velez, but he was handled fairly easily in real step ups versus Robinson Castellanos and Rey Vargas. This is his second fight back from the Vargas loss on HBO. Despite their different last names, 20 year old Alexis Rocha is actually Rios’s brother. He is taking a step up here on paper against a fighter with a similar record, but Dimas’s competition has been woeful. It probably won’t be an actually step up in the ring. Catch this live on WatchESPN.com (prelims at 8, main card at 9) or on tape delay on ESPN2 at midnight.
Saturday, March 10th
Brian Carlos Castano (14-0, 10 KOs) v Cedric Vitu (46-2, 19 KOs), junior middleweights – France
Castano versus Vitu will get absolutely no play here stateside, but it is a really nice fight in France for a secondary junior middleweight belt. Brian Carlos Castano is an Argentinian former amateur stand out who has been one of the better low key prospects in the sport. Last time out he emerged as a serious contender in France by getting the points win over another really underrated fighter in Michel Soro. Cedric Vitu has long been a strong player on the European scene. While he is probably a step down from Soro, Vitu remains a very nice matchup for a fighter with only fourteen wins. I like this fight a lot.
Sergey Lipinets (13-0, 10 KOs) v Mikey Garcia (37-0, 30 KOs), IBF junior welterweight title & Rances Barthelemy (26-0, 13 KOs) v Kiryl Relikh (21-2, 19 KOs), WBA junior welterweight title & Richard Commey (25-2, 22 KOs) v Alejandro Luna (22-0, 15 KOs), lightweights & Mario Barrios (20-0, 12 KOs) v Eudy Bernardo (23-2, 17 KOs), junior welterweights – Texas – Showtime, 10:15 PM Eastern (main card) and SHO Extreme, 8 PM Eastern (prelims)
PBC and Showtime feature a four fight bill stretched across two networks on Saturday night. The show will be headlined by Mikey Garcia’s crack at a world title in his fourth weight class against Sergey Lipinets. That is likely to get one sided in my view as Garcia is just on another level, but Lipinets will be very game I imagine. Barthelemy and Relikh is a rematch of an entertaining first bout that was marred by bad scoring. Well, that is the narrative Showtime is selling, anyway. I had no problem with Barthelemy’s win. The SHO Extreme card is headline by a great step up for PBC prospect Alejandro Luna against a real quality fighter in Richard Commey for a shot at the IBF belt. Mario Barrios, however, continues to operate at a level where he isn’t really challenged here in the opener. Why Showtime is bothering with this one, I do not know.
Oscar Valdez (23-0, 19 KOs) v Scott Quigg (34-1-2, 25 KOs), WBO featherweight title & Andy Vences (20-0, 12 KOs) v Erick De Leon (17-0, 10 KOs), junior lightweights – California – Top Rank on ESPN, 10:30 PM Eastern
This is a pretty great Top Rank on ESPN main event even by the relatively high standards of the series. Oscar Valdez is an exciting, talented, and slightly vulnerable young titleholder. Scott Quigg is one of the top contenders in the division who mostly also fights in a fan friendly style. As long as Quigg doesn’t freeze up again like he did early against Carl Frampton, this will likely be an entertaining fight that either guy can win. The co-main event matches two middling Top Rank prospects in the hope that one emerges with a good performance. I’d watch this one online on WatchESPN.com though. For one, prelims start at 8 PM and feature interesting names like Andy Ruiz Jr and Mike Reed. The main concern is the major college basketball games leading up to the main card on ESPN. I’d just assume they will run late and watch this one online as to not miss anything.
