Gennadiy Golovkin and Ryan Garcia are back, plus fights on Showtime and ESPN.
DAZN and Social Media, 1:00 am ET, GGG vs Murata press conference.
DAZN and Social Media, 2:00 pm ET, Garcia vs Tagoe press conference.
DAZN and Social Media, 1:00 am ET, GGG vs Murata weigh-in.
DAZN and Social Media, 2:00 pm ET, Garcia vs Tagoe weigh-in.
DAZN, 5:00 am ET, Gennadiy Golovkin vs Ryota Murata. GGG is back, and so is Ryota Murata! I love this fight, have since the idea first gained serious traction. Neither of these guys are in their prime prime anymore, but both of them can fight, technically skilled and carry power, this fight could be a war. If GGG wins, he fights Canelo in September. If not, who knows? So there’s a lot on the line for Golovkin beyond two middleweight belts here. And for Murata, too, as this is easily the biggest fight he’s had as a pro. He’s a huge star in Japan so this should be a good time. Get on up early and join us! Bad Left Hook will have live coverage.
ESPN+, 7:00 pm ET, Mayer vs Han prelims.
DAZN, 9:00 pm ET, Ryan Garcia vs Emmanuel Tagoe. THE RYTURN! Ryan Garcia fights for the first time since the second day of 2021, taking on Ghana’s Tagoe at the Alamodome in San Antonio. It’s a new chapter for Garcia’s career in pretty much every way. This fight will be at a 139 lb catchweight, and there’s some question about Garcia’s future at 135. It’s not a knock on him, he’s a really big lightweight and was going to grow out of the division sooner than later, anyway. But we’ll see; this isn’t a full 140 for a reason, the idea for now is he still gets back to 135 going forward. Tagoe is solid enough to be dangerous if Garcia just isn’t on his game after a lengthy layoff, but he’s an underdog. The show will also feature other fights, notably a flyweight unification between Marlen Esparza and Naoko Fujioka. Bad Left Hook will have live coverage.
SHO, 10:00 pm ET, Erickson Lubin vs Sebastian Fundora. A fight flying under the radar because it’s the third-biggest event on a Saturday, but this is a terrific matchup on paper. Two young, rising names at 154 lbs, Lubin looking to fully secure his spot in waiting for the Charlo-Castano 2 winner, and Fundora trying to break through big time and earn that shot himself. Could be a fascinating style matchup. In all honesty, I think this is a better fight than Garcia-Tagoe, but it’s not as big an event. So take that as you will. Decent chance you’ll be able to see both main events but not guaranteed. Tony Harrison will face Sergio Garcia, plus Kevin Salgado vs Bryant Perrella in the opener. Bad Left Hook will have live coverage.
ESPN and ESPN+, 10:00 pm ET, Mikaela Mayer vs Jennifer Han. Mayer defends her 130 lb belts against Han in a Top Rank main event. Mayer will be a gigantic favorite against Han, who is credible but was easily routed by Katie Taylor in her last fight. Han is a former 126 lb titleholder, but I mean, just different “eras” if you will, and generally speaking the women’s fighters who have turned pro after lengthy amateur careers have had their way against those who didn’t have that in their background. Normally we’d have live coverage, but we just don’t have the available staff power. We will let you know all that happened after it’s over, though, with highlights and results.
