This week in boxing doesn’t have a true elite world level fight on the schedule, but what it lacks in quality it makes up in quantity. ShoBox highlights women’s boxing on Friday while ESPN has cards from three different countries on Saturday, two of which are on ESPN+. Josh Taylor also takes a nice step up against Viktor Postol at home in Scotland.
Friday, June 22nd
Claressa Shields (5-0, 2 KOs) v Hanna Gabriels (18-1-1, 11 KOs), WBA & IBF female middleweight titles & Christina Hammer (22-0, 10 KOs) v Tori Nelson (17-1-3, 2 KOs), WBC & WBO middleweight titles & Umar Salamov (20-1, 15 KOs) v Brian Howard (13-1, 10 KOs), light heavyweights – Detroit, Michigan – Showtime, 10 PM Eastern
All four belts in the women’s middleweight division will be defended here on what Showtime is calling one of their “Special Edition” shows. Clearly the goal is to set up Claressa Shields and Christina Hammer for divisional unification in the near future. I barely have time to keep up with the male half of the sport so I don’t cover female boxing very much, but it’s a growing side of the sport and this is a good showcase for part of it. On the male side, former prospect Umar Salamov attempts to re-assert his status with his American television debut. He was upset by thought to be busted Australian Olympian Damien Hooper last summer.
Saturday, June 23rd
Martin Murray (36-4-1, 17 KOs) v Roberto Garcia (41-3, 24 KOs), middleweights & Ohara Davies (17-1, 13 KOs) v Paul Kamanga (21-1, 13 KOs), junior lightweights & Anthony Yarde (15-0, 14 KOs) v Dariusz Sek (27-3-3, 9 KOs), light heavyweights & Daniel Dubois (7-0, 7 KOs) v Tom Little (10-5, 3 KOs), heavyweights – BT Sport (UK) and ESPN+, 2:30 PM Eastern
Martin Murray was supposed to be going for Billy Joe Saunders’s world title here, but Saunders pulled out for a second time. Now he has Mexican veteran Roberto Garcia stepping up from junior middleweight as his opponent. It isn’t a compelling main event in terms of divisional relevance, but Murray was likely going to get schooled by Saunders in my view so this might be the better fight competitively. The real draw here now though is Warren’s three main prospects in Ohara Davies, Anthony Yarde, and Daniel Dubois. They are worth checking out if only to form your own opinions on the trio. ESPN+ picked this one up when it was a title fight and still has it now that that it is this fight instead. The streaming service also picked up a fight in Mexico later in the night while ESPN2 has a Golden Boy on ESPN, meaning ESPN is involved with three fight cards in one day come Saturday. That’s new.
Josh Taylor (12-0, 11 KOs) v Viktor Postol (29-1, 12 KOs), junior welterweights – Glasgow, Scotland – Channel 5 (UK), 3:30 PM Eastern
Scottish super prospect Josh Taylor looks to continue his ascent up the junior welterweight ranks by taking on top fighter Viktor Postol on Saturday at home in Scotland. With wins over Selcuk Aydin and Lucas Matthysse, Postol was briefly considered the top 140 lb fighter in the sport before Terence Crawford arrived to take his crown two years ago. He has only fought once since at home in Ukraine and did look a little shaky while Taylor has looked like nothing short of a future star, so the prospect enters the fight at home as the favorite. This is a real compelling matchup that is very important for the future of the division. Unfortunately and not surprisingly given the narrow reach of Cyclone Promotions, this does not have a US outlet. Nor does it have much of an undercard for the same reason.
Vergil Ortiz (9-0, 9 KOs) v Juan Carlos Salgado (27-8-1, 16 KOs), junior welterweights & Hector Tanajara (13-0, 5 KOs) v Roger Gutierrez (19-1-1, 16 KOs), junior lightweights – Los Angeles, California – Golden Boy on ESPN – ESPN2, 8 PM Eastern
Golden Boy on ESPN returns on ESPN2 with one of their top two prospects in Vergil Ortiz. Golden Boy has a stable full of middling prospects, but the hope that 20 year old Ortiz along with Ryan Garcia represents a future star. His opponent Juan Carlos Salgado looks like a step up on paper as he was a top fighter not too long ago, but he has fallen so far that he probably really isn’t. Hector Tanajara is one of the aforementioned middling prospects in their stable in the co-main event. Gutierrez’s record is really inflated and empty as his opponent with his one loss being his only step up in a one sided stoppage loss to Rene Alvarado.
Miguel Berchelt (33-1, 29 KOs) v Jonathan Victor Barros (41-5-1, 22 KOs), WBC junior lightweight title & Elvis Torres (19-0-2, 11 KOs) v Ricardo Nunez (19-2-1, 17 KOs), lightweights – Merida, Mexico – Azteca (MX) and ESPN+, 11 PM Eastern
ESPN+ has also picked up top junior lightweight Miguel Berchelt’s title defense against Argentina’s Jonathan Victor Barros. The 26 year old Mexican is the top man in his division in my view post-Vasyl Lomachenko, but this is the second disappointing defense he has taken this year. Jonathan Victor Barros has had a good career, but he has never been able to function on this high of a level and he was pretty well routed by a worse fighter in Lee Selby last time out. I have no idea if ESPN+ will carry a co-feature stateside. If they do, it will be 21 year old Mexican prospect Elvis Torres getting the spotlight against a different, worse Ricardo Nunez than the one you might be thinking about upon seeing the name.
Miguel Roman (59-12, 46 KOs) v Michel Marcano (16-0-1, 13 KOs), junior lightweights – Ciudad Juarez, Mexico – Televisa
Action star and recent Orlando Salido conqueror Miguel “Mickey” Roman returns Saturday with his second stay busy fight since toppling Salido in December. Marcano’s record may look nice as an opponent, but the Venezuelan has only fought local club fighters and is very likely in over his head here in a big way. Boxrec lists this one for Televisa in Mexico. I haven’t found any confirmation that that is true yet though. I am listing it just in case it is.
