We’ve had several mild-mannered weeks of boxing in a row, but there’s no good excuse for not giving you the schedule anyway! So here it is.
- Juan Francisco Estrada vs Raymond Tabugon, Saturday, beIN Sports Espanol, Mexico. No, Estrada is not facing Dr. Mantis Toboggan, although he might as well be. Tabugon is a junior bantamweight out of the Philippines who is coming off a loss and has his share over his career, but what really makes him appealing is that he’s a guy at 115 pounds. Estrada has really stagnated at flyweight, never getting the Roman Gonzalez rematch he deserved, but now Gonzalez and others are at 115, and this is Estrada’s entry bid to get in the ring with one of them.
- Ricky Burns vs Kiryl Relikh, Friday, Scotland. The man known to many of us as Rick Sterko is riding a bit of a career resurgence after his gritty showing against Omar Figueroa last year, in a fight where he was deducted points. It showed Burns had something left in the tank after a hot run up to 2013, followed by a spotty record until he met Figueroa. It could put Burns in light for a shot at Adrien Broner. Relikh, trained by Ricky Hatton, is taking a big step up here, but he has knocked out his man in 19 of his 21 wins, and he emulates Gennady Golovkin. From the fight tape he seems less consistent than his idol GGG: He tends to be ponderous before furious explosions. Might be a nice bout.
- The Rest. Junior lightweight Orlando Cruz (remember him?) fights on Telemundo Friday, a time frame that puts him near his dramatic coming out as a gay boxer four years ago… Once-heralded lightweight Diego Magdaleno, coming off a knockout loss, tries to right the ship on Estrella TV against the once-heralded Art Hovhannisyan.
