Are we really going to see Deontay Wilder defend against Tyson Fury before the year ends? We also have a date for the return of Vasyl Lomachenko, a date for Derevyanchenko-Jacobs, a bunch of undercard fights for major shows, and even more beyond that.
- PBC on FS1 – First, PBC returns to Fox Sports 1 on August 24th with a three fight show headlined by the return of welterweight contender Jamal James (23-1, 10 KOs). Unfortunately the fight is not exactly inspiring matchmaking, however, as James steps down a bit to meet domestic level Mexican fighter Mahonry Montes (35-7-1, 24 KOs) following two straight good wins over Diego Chaves and Abel Ramos. The undercard is a bit better though, at least by the standards of the smaller series. Two time failed middleweight title challenger Willie Monroe (22-3, 6 KOs) gets a nice test in a crossroads fight with former top prospect Immanuwel Aleem (18-1-1, 11 KOs) in the co-feature while the opener features a matchup of PBC prospects Jamontay Clark (13-0, 7 KOs) and Jeison Rosario (15-1-1, 11 KOs). I especially like the middle fight on this broadcast.
- Garcia-Porter card – The major September 8th Showtime card headined by the highly anticipated welterweight title clash between stars Danny Garcia and Shawn Porter now has its televised undercard set. In the co-main event, somewhat surprising rising Cuban welterweight contender Yordenis Ugas (22-3, 11 KOs) will meet Argentinian unknown Cesar Barrionuevo (34-3-2, 24 KOs) in a title eliminator. Opening the show will be an interesting heavyweight showdown between unbeaten emerging Polish contender Adam Kownacki (17-0, 14 KOs) and recent weak titleholder Charles Martin (25-1-1, 23 KOs). I expect Ugas and Kownacki to roll here, but Barrionuevo and Martin are still somewhat unknowns in terms of what they can actually do in the ring despite Martin’s absurd title reign.
- Co-feature – Junior welterweight titleholder Jose Ramirez’s quality scheduled defense against Antonio Orozco on September 14th now has its co-main event. Rapidly rising 27 year old Russian 140 lb prospect and emerging contender Maxim Dadashev (11-0, 10 KOs) will get his second consecutive former titleholder in the form of Antonio DeMarco (33-6-1, 24 KOs). DeMarco is passed his prime for sure, but he is coming off a shocking one round stoppage of then unbeaten PBC prospect Eddie Ramirez in his last fight. He’ll probably be run over here, but at the same time Antonio could be a good test if he has more left than we think or if Dadashev isn’t quite up to par. This is a pretty good pair of fights.
- Elite Flyweights – This one is as good as it gets in boxing’s smallest divisions. Young Japanese sensation Kosei Tanaka (11-0, 7 KOs) will look to tie Vasyl Lomachenko’s record for fewest fights to a third world title at only 23 years old when he takes on rugged fellow countryman and flyweight titleholder Sho Kimura (17-1-2, 10 KOs) on September 24th. Tanaka, who has already held belts at minimumweight and light flyweight, is considered by many to be one of the brighter young lights in the sport. He is an excellent and fluid athlete in the ring. Kimura is a super durable and strong flyweight, however, so this remains a super intriguing matchup despite Tanaka’s obvious raw talent advantage.
- Middleweight title – The highly anticipated battle for the IBF middleweight title vacated by Gennady Golovkin between Sergiy Derevyanchenko (12-0, 10 KOs) and Danny Jacobs (34-2, 29 KOs) has a date. The fight will be featured on HBO on November 12th. Jacobs has an exclusive deal with the premium network, so he will be one of few if not the only Eddie Hearn fighter to not be featured on the DAZN streaming service set to be launched in September. This is an excellent fight, one I am really looking forward too. Jacobs is considered in that core of three or four top middleweights, depending on what you think of Billy Joe Saunders, but the Ukrainian standout known as “The Technician” will definitely be a live underdog here.
- Wilder-Fury? – Recent talk of a showdown before year’s end between former heavyweight king and still lineal champion Tyson Fury (26-0, 19 KOs) and Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) has sprung up out of no where over the past few days. At first it was easily dismissable when it was just the always erratic Tyson Fury tweeting, but Deontay Wilder’s co-manager Shelly Finkel has confirmed that negotiations are ongoing and progressing well. Needless to say this would be a huge fight in the heavyweight division, but it does come as a surprise so soon in Fury’s return to the sport after what could be described as a mental breakdown sidelined him for over two years. If it comes together, and it looks like it might, the target dates are November 10th or 17th. Showtime would put this one on PPV for sure.
- Loma to unify – Finally, Top Rank is reportedly targeted the return of top pound for pound lightweight Vasyl Lomachenko for December 1st. His return is expected to both be on ESPN+, not mainline ESPN, and to be a unification bout with fellow in-house Top Rank titleholder Ray Beltran when it does happen. Beltran has an August 25th defense against Puerto Rican contender Jose Pedraza which is no gimme bout, however, so Loma could return against Pedraza instead. The Ukraininan has been out since tearing his labrum in his left shoulder in his major stoppage win over Jorge Linares a couple months ago. Of course the fight everyone wants to see is Loma against Mikey Garcia, but promotional and television logistics keep that fight a pipe dream for now.
