Decide it: David Benavidez vs. David Morrell
When to Watch: Saturday, February 1 at 8 p.m. Japanese Time (1 a.m. GMT)
Easy methods to watch: Pay-per-view through Amazon’s Prime Video, PPV.com and conventional cable and satellite tv for pc retailers.
A free preliminary broadcast will stream at 6 p.m. Japanese time (11 p.m. GMT) on Prime Video, and it will likely be out there for subscribers and non-subscribers alike.
Why to Watch: This struggle will likely be thrilling between the bells – and what occurs on Saturday on the T-Cell Area in Las Vegas will definitely reverberate past these bells, past struggle evening and thru the sunshine heavyweight division.
Benavidez and Morrell each arrived at 175lbs final yr after stints at tremendous middleweight, the place every was in line for a shot at Saul “Canelo” Alvarez that didn’t come.
Benavidez, 29-0 (24 KOs), is a 28-year-old from Phoenix, Arizona, who was a two-time titleholder at 168. His first reign with the WBC belt ended due to a constructive cocaine take a look at taken whereas out of competitors, and the second concluded when he got here in obese on the scales. Benavidez went on to turn out to be the WBC interim titleholder. His finest wins within the division got here towards Anthony Dirrell, Caleb Plant and Demetrius Andrade. Final June, Benavidez moved to mild heavyweight and outpointed former lineal champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Morrell, 11-0 (9 KOs), is a 27-year-old initially from Cuba and now residing in Minnesota. He held the WBA’s secondary “common” belt for a spell at 168 and blasted via foes similar to Yamaguchi Falcao and Sena Agbaeko. Morrell’s debut as a full-fledged mild heavyweight got here in August, when he received a unanimous choice over Radivoje Kalajdzic.
Morrell’s earlier stage of opposition doesn’t examine to Benavidez’s. Meaning that is his alternative to step up and show that he belongs on this prime tier.
It’s a welcome incidence when two prime contenders take a calculated threat by dealing with one another quite than ready to money of their lottery tickets. Benavidez is now the interim WBC mild heavyweight titleholder whereas Morrell has the WBA’s “common” belt at 175. These are the identical baubles they’d at 168. Every is in line for a shot on the winner of the February 22 rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
That is the most important struggle out there for them within the interim. The winner must be a good greater star and have a good stronger case than earlier than. The opposite prime contender at mild heavyweight is Joshua Buatsi, the WBO’s interim titleholder, who will face Callum Smith on the undercard of Beterbiev-Bivol II.
There are three fights on the pay-per-view undercard, and one other two bouts out there without cost on the preliminary broadcast.
Probably the most notable undercard bout is between WBC featherweight titleholder Brandon Figueroa and Stephen Fulton. It is a rematch from November 2021, when each held world titles at junior featherweight. Fulton received a majority choice in a really shut, very entertaining battle.
Figueroa has been at 126lbs since. The 28-year-old defeated Carlos Castro, Mark Magsayo and Jessie Magdaleno to maneuver to 25-1-1 (19 KOs). He turned the WBC’s interim titleholder with the Magsayo win after which was elevated final yr when Rey Vargas, injured and inactive, was demoted to “champion in recess.”
Fulton caught round at 122 after the primary Figueroa struggle, one thing he has since mentioned was a mistake. He made yet one more profitable protection earlier than touring to Japan to defend towards Naoya Inoue, dropping to “The Monster” through eighth-round technical knockout in July 2023. Figueroa returned to the ring this previous September and struggled to a cut up choice win over Castro. The 30-year-old is now 22-1 (8 KOs).
Additionally on the PPV: Isaac Cruz vs. Angel Fierro at junior welterweight and Jesus Ramos vs. Jeison Rosario at junior middleweight.
And within the prelims: a struggle between featherweights Mirco Cuello and Christian Olivo Barreda, plus middleweight prospect Yoenli Hernandez will meet Angel Ruiz Astorga.
Thursday, January 30: Mazlum Akdeniz vs. Gabriel Coffie (TrillerTV.com)
The printed begins at 7 p.m. Japanese Time (midnight GMT).
Akdeniz, 20-0 (8 KOs), is a junior welterweight prospect from Montreal, Canada, headlining on the On line casino de Montreal. The 27-year-old fought solely as soon as final yr, outpointing the 19-4 Sebastian Ezequiel Aguirre in Could.
Espresso, 11-2-2 (10 KOs), is a 23-year-old from Ghana. Every of his defeats got here when he left his residence nation, each through cut up choice, one to the 8-0 Alessandro Trabucco in France in Could and the opposite to the 25-4-1 Steven Wilcox in Toronto, Canada, in December.
Thursday, January 30: Deonte Walker vs. Eduardo Reis (BXNG TV)
The printed begins at 8 p.m. Japanese Time (1 a.m. GMT).
Headlining at The District in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, are welterweights Walker and Reis.
Walker, 17-1 (16 KOs), is a 24-year-old who lives in close by Sioux Metropolis, Iowa. He misplaced in his third professional struggle, again in December 2022, however has been rebuilding since towards nondescript opposition. Walker has been a professional for lower than three years and has been very lively, preventing 11 occasions in 2024.
Reis, 25-12 (19 KOs), is a 35-year-old from Brazil. At 5-foot-6, he’s six inches shorter than Walker and can be naturally lighter, preventing a lot of his profession at light-weight and under. Reis had an prolonged six-fight dropping streak from 2020 into 2023, together with stoppage losses to Robson Conceicao, Alan Garcia and Feargal McCrory. Reis returned in September after a 17-month layoff, arriving at welterweight and outpointing the 29-7-2 Brandon Berry.
Friday, January 31: George Liddard vs. Derrick Osaze (DAZN)
The printed begins at 2 p.m. Japanese Time (7 p.m. GMT).
Liddard, 10-0 (6 KOs), is a 22-year-old middleweight prospect from Billericay, England. He’ll be headlining on the Indigo at The O2 in London. Liddard fought 5 occasions in 2024, together with a December victory through which he knocked down the 29-2-1 Omar Nguale Ilunga thrice in 92 seconds.
Osaze, 13-2 (3 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Nottingham. Each of his defeats got here towards recognizable names – a factors loss to Tyler Denny in 2021 and a second-round TKO in his final look, towards Denzel Bentley in August. Meaning Osaze will likely be a superb measuring stick for Liddard’s improvement.
Friday, January 31: Muslim Gadzhimagomedov vs. Thabiso Mchunu (IBA Boxing YouTube web page)
The printed begins at 11:30 a.m. Japanese Time (4:30 p.m. GMT).
That is Gadzhimagomedov’s second protection of his WBA bridgerweight title. It is going to be the primary occasion on the Worldwide Boxing Middle in Moscow, Russia.
Gadzhimagomedov earned a silver medal within the 2020/2021 Olympics as a heavyweight, the novice equal to skilled boxing’s cruiserweights. He received the vacant WBA bridgerweight title in July, stopping the 12-2-1 Zhaoxin Zhang in 4 rounds. Gadzhimagomedov defended it in October with a shutout of the 22-5-1 Leon Harth. Together with a pair of IBA professional fights that BoxRec lists individually, Gadzhimagomedov – a 28-year-old from Krasnodar, Russia – is 7-0 (3 KOs).
Mchunu, a 36-year-old from South Africa, is a former cruiserweight contentender who’s 23-7 (13 KOs). He fell brief in each of his earlier title fights, knocked out in 9 rounds by Oleksandr Usyk in 2016 and defeated through cut up choice by Ilunga Makabu in January 2022. Mchunu then spent almost 26 months away earlier than returning final March, dropping a cut up choice to Yamil Alberto Peralta.
Saturday, February 1: Adam Azim vs. Sergey Lipinets (Peacock within the U.S./Sky Sports activities within the U.Ok.)
The printed begins at 3 p.m. Japanese Time (8 p.m. GMT).
Azim, a rising junior welterweight prospect, headlines at Wembley Area and will likely be testing his developmental progress towards Lipinets, whose solely defeats have come towards acquainted names.
Coincidentally, each are coming off wins over opponents named Davies.
Azim, 12-0 (9 KOs), is a 22-year-old from Slough, England. In October, he scored an eighth-round knockout over his longtime good friend, Ohara Davies.
Lipinets, 18-3-1 (13 KOs), is a 35-year-old initially from Kazakhstan and now residing in California. He briefly held a world title at 140lbs from 2017 till 2018, dropping it to Mikey Garcia through unanimous choice. Lipinets then moved as much as welterweight and notched three wins, together with a stoppage of Lamont Peterson, earlier than preventing to a draw with Custio Clayton.
That helped land Lipinets a struggle with Jaron “Boots” Ennis in April 2021; Lipinets was put away in six rounds. Since then, Lipinets moved again right down to junior welterweight and hasn’t been very lively. He stopped Omar Figueroa in eight rounds in August 2022, was outpointed by Michel Rivera in November 2023 after which received a call over Robbie Davies Jr. final Could.
The undercard consists of tremendous middleweight prospect Callum Simpson, 16-0 (11 KOs), towards Elvis Ahorgah, 13-2 (12 KOs). It is a very fast turnaround for Simpson, who simply took out Steed Woodall in two rounds on January 11.
Saturday, February 1: Damian Knyba vs. Andrzej Wawrzyk (BXNG TV)
The printed begins at 6 p.m. Japanese Time (11 p.m. GMT).
The primary occasion on the Prudential Middle in Newark, New Jersey, options unbeaten heavyweight Knyba towards Wawrzyk, whose title could also be recognizable to hardcore followers.
Each males are Polish, which ought to make for a enjoyable environment in a venue that additionally hosted sizable Polish crowds prior to now for Tomasz Adamek.
Knyba, 14-0 (8 KOs), is a 6-foot-7 large man at present signed with High Rank. The 29-year-old fought simply as soon as in 2024, a third-round technical knockout of the 16-6 Richard Lartey Harrison in November.
Wawrzyk, 34-4 (20 KOs), is a 37-year-old who stands 6-foot-5. His defeats got here towards Alexander Povektin (TKO3 in 2013), the 3-4-2 Michal Boloz (KO2 in 2022), Kubrat Pulev (UD10 in 2023) and Harrison (KO4 in April 2024), which implies Knyba is dealing with a man knocked out by the man he simply knocked out.
Additionally on this present: Former bantamweight titleholder Miyo Yoshida, 17-5 (0 KOs), who was deposed by Shurretta Metcalf in October, will face the 5-5 Beata Dudek.
Sunday, February 2: Claressa Shields vs. Danielle Perkins (DAZN)
The printed begins at 8 p.m. Japanese Time (1 a.m. GMT).
Shields, probably the greatest of ladies’s boxing, is headlining at residence on the Dort Monetary Middle in Flint, Michigan, the place she’s going to face Perkins in a struggle for the undisputed heavyweight championship.
The struggle will likely be held at a catch-weight of 180 kilos. Shields, 15-0 (3 KOs), was beforehand the undisputed champ at 160 and 154 kilos, in addition to a former titleholder at 168. She weighed simply shy of 175 for her second-round drubbing of Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse in July.
Perkins, 5-0 (2 KOs), in the meantime, was nearer to 200 for her three fights in 2020 and 2021. She then got here again lighter after a three-year break, at 178 for a win final March and simply barely above 175 for a victory in July.
Listed below are a number of extra caveats:
Shields’ win over Lepage-Joanisse was for the WBC heavyweight title and the vacant WBO mild heavyweight title. That’s as a result of, in girls’s boxing, the WBC goes from tremendous middleweight straight to heavyweight, with something above 168 kilos being thought-about a heavyweight bout.
That WBC heavyweight title will likely be on the road Sunday. So too will the vacant IBF, WBA and WBO belts.
The rankings in these heavier weight lessons are very shallow in girls’s boxing. For instance, the IBF solely has two girls ranked at heavyweight in the complete world, and 6 at mild heavyweight. The WBA has by no means had a heavyweight division earlier than however created one for this struggle.
However fighters must struggle. Shields can’t management what little is on the market for her and is searching for to benefit from what is accessible.
