Hopkins-Smith, Povetkin-Stiverne, more: Boxing fight times and TV schedule for December 16-17

Friday, December 16

HBO Latino / BoxNation (UK), 10:00 pm ET, Vyacheslav Shabranskyy vs Sullivan Barrera, Antonio Orozco vs Fidel Maldonado Jr, Eddie Gomez vs Rashidi Ellis. A good main event and then a couple OK fights. Shabranskyy gets a chance to prove he’s the real deal against Barrera, a solid contender. BLH may have live coverage.

TyC Sports (ARG), 10:00 pm ET, Marcela Eliana Acuna vs Yesica Patricia Marcos.

Saturday, December 17

BoxNation (UK), 8:30 am ET, Vijender Singh vs Francis Cheka.

Match TV (RUS), 11:00 am, ET, Alexander Povetkin vs Bermane Stiverne. This one is for the interim WBC heavyweight title, and we’ll try to have live coverage if possible. BLH may have live coverage.

HBO / BoxNation (UK), 10:00 pm ET, Bernard Hopkins vs Joe Smith Jr, Joseph Diaz Jr vs Horacio Garcia, Oleksandr Usyk vs Thabiso Mchunu. This is being billed as the final fight of Hopkins’ 28-year career, and given the fact he’s 51 years old and has been proven to fall short of the very elite of his division at this point, there’s every reason to believe that this is truly it — win, lose, or draw. He’s facing a guy coming off of a very good win, but one that might also be tailor made for his veteran tricks. We’ll see. It’s been two years since Bernard last fought, so we’ll have to see how good he is all over again. Still, not a bad career for a guy who lost his first pro fight back in 1988. Usyk-Mchunu is a legit matchup, while Diaz-Garcia might be, or could be another stay-busy stepping stone matchup for Diaz. BLH will have live coverage.

CBS Spors Network, 10:00 pm ET, Oscar Cantu vs Aston Palicte, Angelo Baez vs Nathan Gallimore.

Televisa (MEX), 10:00 pm ET, Irma Garcia vs Mariana Juarez, Carlos Molina vs Diego Cruz.