You read the names in the title correctly. No, you haven’t traveled 10 years into the past — we’re still in 2014. The stars of the past are all fighting this week (perhaps to make up for so few of the stars of the present being in action). I’m going to keep it short and sweet so that it’s not too depressing.
- Anselmo Moreno Vs. Juan Carlos Payano, Friday, Fox Sports 1/Fox Deportes, Mesquite Texas. Panamanian bantamweight defensive specialist Moreno (35-2-1, 12 KO) lands on Fox against Payano (15-0, 8 KO), who is certainly not in the same class as him. Few are. Hopefully Moreno fighting in the States means he’s in the mix for bigger fights at bantamweight.
- Samuel Peter Vs. Ron Aubrey, Saturday, Gfl.tv, Oklahoma City. In what might be the saddest card of the year (which is saying a lot in a sport like boxing), three extremely past-it guys (Peter, Ricardo Mayorga and Yory Boy Campas) line up for pay days against no-name guys. Tune in if you want to be reminded of the fleetingness of youth/stare into the gaping maw that is the universe.
- Krzystof Wlodarczyk Vs. Grigory Drozd, Saturday, Integrated Sports PPV, Moscow. Possibly a fun show from Russia on Saturday, with consistent action stars Wlodarczyk and Denis Lebedev in the main event and chief supporting bout. Wlodarczyk faces Russia’s Drozd, who defeated his Polish countryman Mateus Masternak last year. Neither of these guys is afraid of letting their hands go.
- The Rest. Wait, you want more? Okay. Super middleweight Arthur Abraham continues on his middling way against Paul Smith of Liverpool on Saturday… Lightweights Javier Prieto and Ivan Cano are on Fox Deportes the same night, while junior middleweights Omar Chavez and Ramon Alvarez are on beIN Sports (you’d be crazy to ignore any fight on that network after the last couple of weeks)… Meanwhile light heavyweight Tavoris Cloud returns in Montreal against Artur Beterbiew, with lightweight Dierry Jean on the undercard… Last and perhaps saddest, Roy Jones, Jr. fights Egypt’s Hany Atiyo in Russia on Friday.
