A glance at the headline should clue you in about the quality of boxing on American television screens this week; when lightweights Herring and Shafikov are the biggest names you’ve got, things are likely a bit sparse.
- Denis Shafikov vs. Jamel Herring, Saturday, ESPN, Reading PA. A week after Keith Thurman vs Shawn Porter showed Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions in its best possible light, we’ve got this: Not a terrible fight, but not the kind of quality match-up boxing fans were promised when PBC replaced Friday Night Fights on ESPN. In fact, this step-up fight wouldn’t have been out of place as an FNF main event. Herring, a Marine Corps veteran and 2012 Olympian, is being moved along slowly and Shafikov is absolutely the kind of guy he needs to beat if he wants to be taken seriously. On the undercard, junior middleweight Wilky Campfort faces Poland’s Patryk Szymanski.
- Oscar Negrete vs. Jose Bustos, Friday, Estrella TV, Los Angeles. Colombian bantamweight prospect Negrete faces Jose Bustos, a Mexican kid with a patchy record, on one of Golden Boy’s LA club shows.
- Carlos Ruiz vs. Sebastian Diaz, Friday, Telemundo, Mexico City. A clash between two very fringe Mexican junior lightweights.
- Zulina Munoz vs. Lorena Taborda, Saturday, beIN Sports Español, Ciudad Juarez. Female boxing gets more respect in Mexico, as evidenced by this junior bantamweight main event.
