Wednesday, April 10
UFC Fight Pass, 8:00 pm ET, Ivan Golub vs Manuel Alejandro Reyes. Lou DiBella’s Broadway Boxing series debuts on UFC Fight Pass, which, again, has a 7-day free trial option for those interested but not dying to spend another $10. BLH will have live coverage.
Friday, April 12
ESPN+, 8:00 pm ET, Lomachenko-Crolla prelims. Welterweight prospect Arnold Barboza will face whatever is left of Mike Alvarado, and there are several other prospects in action, including welterweight Alexander Besputin and middleweight Janibek Alimkhauly. BLH will have live coverage.
ESPN+, 11:00 pm ET, Vasiliy Lomachenko vs Anthony Crolla, Gilberto Ramirez vs Tommy Karpency. Top Rank was hoping to match Lomachenko on this date against IBF lightweight titleholder Richard Commey, but Commey hurt his hand in February, and Crolla, Lomachenko’s WBA mandatory, gets the call in Los Angeles. It’s not a competitive fight on paper, but it is what it is; Loma was going to have to face him at some point, and we all know Crolla will try, too. Ramirez still has his 168-pound title, but he’s fighting at 175 and testing the waters against Karpency, a gatekeeper sort who has twice challenged for world titles. BLH will have live coverage.
Saturday, April 13
DAZN, 7:00 pm ET, Jaime Munguia vs Dennis Hogan. Oscar De La Hoya said recently that this fight may be Munguia’s last at 154 pounds before he moves up to 160. Given his size, that was inevitable, and it would certainly be better to do it before it becomes an issue instead of after. Hogan is his WBO mandatory challenger, so this is what we’re getting. It doesn’t look particularly interesting on paper, being honest. The undercard includes Patrick Teixeira vs Mario Lozano and Diego De La Hoya vs Enrique Bernache, plus a few prospects in action and flyweight Arely Mucino. BLH will have live coverage.
FS2, 8:00 pm ET, Quillin-Truax prelims. Lightweight prospect Chris Colbert will take on trial horse Mario Briones, and junior welterweight Jose Miguel Borrego will also be in action. BLH will have live coverage.
SHO, 9:00 pm ET, Claressa Shields vs Christina Hammer, Jermaine Franklin vs Rydell Booker, Otto Wallin vs Nick Kisner. Shields-Hammer is for all the marbles at 160 pounds, with Shields holding the WBA, IBF, and WBC titles, and Hammer the WBO. Hammer previously had the WBC belt, but got hurt and the organization put the belt up for grabs between Shields and Hannah Rankin last November. This is a big fight for women’s boxing, especially in the States, where Shields and Showtime are doing their best to give her side of the sport more visibility. Franklin and Wallin are a couple of heavyweight prospects. Franklin is 25 and from Saginaw, Michigan (Saginaw, Michigaaaan), while Wallin is a 28-year-old Swede making his U.S. debut. BLH will have live coverage.
FS1, 10:00 pm ET, Peter Quillin vs Caleb Truax, Sergiy Derevyanchenko vs Jack Culcay, Joey Spencer vs Osias Vasquez. Quillin-Truax is a truly pivotal fight for both guys. Neither of them are getting any younger, with both at 35 now, and to stay in real contention at 168, they have to win. Derevyanchenko is, as we saw in a split decision loss to Daniel Jacobs last October, a legitimate middleweight contender, a really good fighter. Culcay, born in Ecuador, has fought most of his pro career in Germany, and is a former European champion at 154, as well as an interim WBA “world” titleholder, which I think makes him a third-class world champion, if you want to really break it down. Spence is a 19-year-old junior middleweight prospect who has yet to go past two rounds as a pro. BLH will have live coverage.
Televisa (MEX), 11:00 pm ET, Pedro Guevara vs Marvin Solano, Karim Arce vs Jordan Escobar.