Fight Night Program – Week of May 23-29
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 23 – Wayne State Fieldhouse, Detroit
Jermaine Franklin vs. Devin Vargas – heavyweight – 10 rounds
Ali Akhmedov vs. Encarnacion Diaz – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Joshua James Pagan vs. Roger Hilley – junior welterweight – 8 rounds
Josiah Shackleford vs. Ja’shar Banks – middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Friday, May 24 – Hala Na Podpromiu, Rzeszow, Poland
Lukasz Rozanski vs. Lawrence Okolie – heavyweight – 12 rounds
A terrific clash, if you disregard the “bridgerweight” label associated to it (a weight class not recognized by The Ring). Rozanski has never left Poland, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s been over protected. Okolie should be able to answer some of the questions that still linger around him.
Also on this card:
Fiodor Czerkasztyn vs. Jorge Cota – middleweight – 10 rounds
Jan Czerklewicz vs. Paul Valenzuela – cruiserweight – 8 rounds
Ihosvany Rafael Garcia vs. Lukasz Plawecki – light heavyweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: TrillerTV PPV, SkyTV (UK)
Saturday, May 25 – First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall – junior welterweight – 12 rounds
There are bad-blood fights, there are grudge matches, and then there’s this. Taylor escaped with a narrow decision in their first clash, but many people thought Catterall should have gotten the W. The war of words continued on social media, and then push came to literal shove at almost every press appearance they’ve had. Should be a fun affair while it lasts.
Also on this card:
Cheavon Clarke vs. Ellis Zorro – cruiserweight – 12 rounds
Paddy Donovan vs. Lewis Ritson – welterweight – 10 rounds
Gary Cully vs. Francesco Patera – lightweight – 10 rounds
George Liddard vs. Graham McCormack – middleweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Saturday, May 25: Shawinigan, Canada
Christian Mbilli vs. Mark Heffron – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Mbilli is very active and always manages to look good doing this thing, and this should be another opportunity for him to improve his credentials in his adoptive Canada.
Also on this card:
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Miljan Rovcanin – heavyweight – 10 rounds
Mehmet Unal vs. Rodolfo Gomez Jr. – light heavyweight – 10 rounds
Christopher Guerrero vs. Kenny Larson – welterweight – 8 rounds
Alexandre Gaumont vs. Santiago Fernandez – middleweight – 8 rounds
Wilkens Mathieu vs. Przemyslaw Gorgon – light heavyweight – 6 rounds
Moreno Fendero vs. Rolando Mansilla – super middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Saturday, May 25 – Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
Dina Thorslund vs. Seren Cetin – women’s bantamweight – 10 rounds
Francis Fordjour vs. Khvicha Gigolashvili – junior welterweight – 4 rounds
Saturday, May 25 – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Bader Al-Dherat vs. Orlando Mosquera – lightweight – 10 rounds
Sultan Al Nuami vs. Muhsin Kizota – junior bantamweight – 10 rounds
Moussa Gholam vs. Lingjie Xia – junior lightweight – 10 rounds
Faizan Anwar vs. Murali Erdogan – welterweight – 10 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
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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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