The weekend is approaching, and from Friday to Sunday it will be “fight-o-clock” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the most up-to-date information on the most relevant fights you need to see in this week-at-a-glance, one-stop enhanced fight schedule. A quick checklist for the cognoscenti, a useful nuts-and-bolts guide for the boxing neophyte is what we’re aiming at.
Here are this week’s most relevant fights:
Thursday, May 2 – Montreal Casino, Montreal, Canada
Erik Bazinyan vs. Shakeel Phinn – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Bazinyan was due to face Phinn on April 11 but the show was postponed for three-weeks when Bazinyan became sick. The Armenian-Canadian boxer-puncher will have to put all his mojo to work in order to produce a stellar performance if he wants to enter into the increasingly elusive Canelo Sweepstakes. A highlight-reel stoppage should help him in that endeavor.
Also on this card:
Thomas Chabot vs. Alfredo Espino – lightweight – 8 rounds
Avery Martin Duval vs. Ezequiel Palaversic – lightweight – 8 rounds
Moreno Fendero vs. Nicolas Palacios – middleweight – 6 rounds
Jhon Orobio vs. Cristian Palma – lightweight – 6 rounds
Alexandre Gaumont vs. Abdallah Luanja – middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Friday, May 3 – Red Owl Arena, Houston
Eridson Garcia vs. Maliek Montgomery – lightweight – 8 rounds
Richard Fernandez vs. Oscar Arroyo – junior bantamweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Saturday, May 4 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas
Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia – super middleweight – 12 rounds
Every year that goes on could be the final year in Canelo’s history-making run, and a loss against Munguia would accelerate that moment. Having said that, only youth is on Munguia’s side right now. Experience, IQ, skills and grit are on Canelo’s side, and he’ll use those to score another win – but not before hitting the canvas once or twice before the final bell rings.
What to expect in this fight: The ongoing feud between Canelo and his former promoter Oscar de la Hoya was visible during the fight’s build-up, and it could be a part of the fight itself if Canelo uses his grudge with his former boss to turn this fight into a street brawl. Cooler heads have prevailed before, and Canelo has always kept his cool in similar situations, though.
Also on this card:
Mario Barrios vs. Fabian Maidana – welterweight – 12 rounds
Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno – featherweight – 12 rounds
Eimantas Stanionis vs. Gabriel Maestre – welterweight – 12 rounds
Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Johan Gonzalez – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Ronald Cruz – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs. Jose Angulo – junior welterweight – 8 rounds
Damien Vazquez vs. David Picasso – junior featherweight – 8 rounds
William Scull vs. Sean Hemphill – super middleweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: Prime Video, DAZN PPV
Saturday, May 3 – Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Evelin Bermudez vs Jessica Basulto – 10 rounds – junior flyweight – 10 rounds
Rodrigo Ruiz vs Freddy Lainez – 8 rounds – junior featherweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: TyC Sports Play
Saturday, May 4 – EDION Arena, Osaka, Japan
Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Ryosuke Nishida – bantamweight – 12 rounds
Teru Nobita vs. GuiMing Li – bantamweight – 8 rounds
Hisayuki Kinjo vs. Daisuke Yokoyama, junior flyweight – 4 rounds
Ryuta Kinjo vs. Hiromu Tadokoro – junior featherweight – 4 rounds
Saturday, May 4 – Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany
Piergiulio Ruhe vs. Joshua Nyanzi – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Sarah Bormann vs. Tamara Demarco – women’s strawweight – 10 rounds
Hannock Phiri vs. Ahmad Ali – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Mirko Koenig vs. Max Geier – light heavyweight – 8 rounds
Saturday, May 6 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo
Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery – junior featherweight – 12 rounds
Very few divisions have such a great distance between their best fighter and the second-best. Inoue stands head and shoulders above anyone under 122 pounds – and most fighters over that weight as well. Nery is world-class, Inoue is all-time-greatness in the making. We should enjoy “The Monster” while we can.
Also on this card:
Jason Moloney vs. Yoshiki Takei – bantamweight – 12 rounds
Takuma Inoue vs. Sho Ishida – bantamweight – 12 rounds
Seigo Yuri Akui vs. Taku Kuwahara – flyweight – 12 rounds
TJ Doheny vs. Bryl Bayogos – junior featherweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Check out our up-to-date streaming service and TV channel guide to gain more insight on the current boxing and combat sports broadcasting landscape, exclusive at The Ring magazine:
How to watch boxing in 2023 – By Diego Morilla
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
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