Toot toot, it’s fight week! And not only is the flute-wielding, luscious-haired Keith Thurman taking on Shawn Porter, but Anthony Joshua is fighting Dominic Breazeale (in a match-up that figures to be significantly less competitive). That’s not even all. Read on to find out more.
- Keith Thurman vs Shawn Porter, Saturday, CBS, New York. Just a really good fight between two young, top-10 welterweight contenders. There should be fights like this often, but you take what you can get given the current state of the sport. Thurman is a big puncher who can box at range, while Porter is a swarming hard worker. Thurman’s the favourite for good reason, but his defence can be leaky and Porter will make him work.
- Anthony Joshua vs Dominic Breazeale, Saturday, London, Showtime. Showtime is hoping this fight will set the stage for a heavyweight match-up between Joshua and Deontay Wilder, who fights Cris Arreola in mid-July. Anything can happen with the big boys, but Breazeale upsetting the applecart would be a shocking result. On the undercard British super middleweights George Groves and Martin Murray having a “loser will no longer be taken seriously”-type fight.
- Mike Alvarado vs. Josh Torres, Saturday, UniMas, Dallas. Former contender Alvarado beat the unknown Saul Corral earlier this year, but has basically looked like death warmed up for a while. But he has name value, so I guess he’ll probably try another run at contention, and to do that he has to beat guys like Torres. On the undercard one-time prospect turned disappointment Matt Korobov fight Bryan Vera, whose washed status is about the same as Alvarado’s.
- Justin DeLoach vs. Junior Castillo, Saturday, NBC Sports Net, San Antonio. A clash of lower-order junior middleweight prospects on the other PBC show of the night.
- Ricardo Rodriguez vs. David Quijano, Friday, Telemundo, Tampa Fla. A junior bantamweight fight for hardcore fans/family members only.
