Another one can be added to the list- Leigh Wood's finish of Josh Warrington in a fight where it felt he was massively behind on the cards and looking like he had nothing left in the tank in the Featherweight Division really would have gotten many out of their seats.
Leigh Wood is very likely to be moving up into the Super Featherweight Division after this victory. He looked tired at the 126 pound limit and at this stage of his career it would make sense to have the extra pounds to work with.
An obvious fight to make would be against unbeaten Joe Cordina and it certainly would be one that sells out the City Ground, where Leigh Wood has campaigned to fight for the last eighteen months. Having a bit of time off after the tough fight last weekend would make sense and doing that fight at the home of Nottingham Forest could work at the end of May/early June.
People will also make a case for a rematch with Josh Warrington, who has also spoken of perhaps needing to move up in weight and who showed he has something left in the tank having largely dominated the fight in Sheffield before switching off right at the end of the Seventh Round.
Those two names have to be the frontrunners for the next fight for Leigh Wood who deserves his night out in the Football Stadium in his own City. The rematch with Warrington perhaps makes sense for both ahead of the Cordina World Title fight, but Leigh Wood will have the options in front of him after another stunning win in a fight he looked set to lose having done the same against Michael Conlan last year.
Gilberto Ramirez was also in action last week and looked pretty good in his Cruiserweight debut against Joe Smith Jr, although the latter also showed plenty to suggest he will have more opportunities to get into position to become a two weight World Champion.
Most of the attention will be on Ramirez who has perhaps flattered to deceive in his career, but who looks like he has the size and athletic ability to be a very strong player in this new Division. Criticisms of his attitude are perhaps harsh, but Gilberto Ramirez needs to face a consistent level of opponent having been guilty of too many easy touches in his forty-six previous fights.
Cruiserweight has some very tough fighters currently holding World Titles or in contention to challenge for one of those Belts and so Gilberto Ramirez will have to be focused and willing to put in the hard work needed to win another World Title.
October is a funny month for fans of the sport- there are some crossover events that may draw the attention of the casual fan and those are perhaps making the biggest headlines, but around those cards there are some very good looking fights.
This week we have a couple of Unification bouts in the Middleweight and Light Middleweight Divisions.
The 160 pound Division has long been a top one in the Boxing world, but it looks about as open as it has for a long time with a new King looking to be crowned. It feels possible with the Champions needing on another and the first step to crowning the new star in the Middleweight Division will begin this weekend.
Calling the Light Middleweight World Title fight between Tim Tszyu and Brian Mendoza a 'Unification' may not be technically true, but the latter is the Interim WBC Champion with questions about what Jermell Charlo will do still being asked after his bid to unseat Canelo Alvarez at Super Middleweight.
The winner of that one will certainly be considered the top contender to Charlo if he was to return to the Division in which he was Undisputed before choosing to take on Canelo, although the IBF Mandatory has been called and the Texan has to really think about what the future holds for him.
Tim Tszyu vs Brian Mendoza
After all of the successes his father had in the sport, we are still not sure what kind of ceiling Tim Tszyu has, although most will have to accept that he is still improving fight after fight.
He was upgraded from Interim WBO World Champion into the full Champion when Jermell Charlo chose to step away from his Mandatory and instead face Canelo Alvarez.
No one should think Charlo was 'scared' or 'ducked' considering the obvious motivations in fight a star like Canelo, but giving Tim Tszyu more time to develop and improve could end up backfiring on the American if those two are to ever meet.
All Tim Tszyu can do is to keep on winning and he will be the favourite to beat Brian Mendoza in front of his home Australian fans.
However, the 29 year old has to be given a lot of respect having already produced one of the big upsets of 2023.
Losing to young, talented Jesus Ramos in September 2021 would have perhaps had some believing Brian Mendoza would struggle to move above gate-keeper level, but he has beaten former World Champion Jeison Rosario and then followed up with the huge upset of Sebastian Fundora in April to pick up this Interim World Title.
The Seventh Round KO of Fundora will have given Brian Mendoza a lot of confidence and he does feel he has the power to stop the Tim Tszyu train in its tracks.
You can understand the confidence, but Tszyu has shown a little better defence in his last few fights and will give just as good as he gets.
There is no doubting Brian Mendoza's toughness and he did take some solid shots from Sebastian Fundora. It could mean we are in for a very good watch on Saturday and Mendoza will be dangerous, especially early on, but Tim Tszyu has shown he is the kind of fighter that can break down and grind down opponents, while having a decent chin of his own.
He may have to weather a bit of a storm at times, but the Australian is a fighter who looks to be on the up and not as defensively open as Sebastian Fundora. Brian Mendoza will still believe he has the fight changing power to get the job done again, but there were moments in that win over Fundora where he looked to be getting fatigued and that is a potential issue.
Tim Tszyu is someone who will make Brian Mendoza work hard and it may see him grind down his solid opponent and the WBO World Champion can turn the screw over the second half of the Twelve Rounds scheduled to force a Stoppage.
If things go as planned, the top of the Super Bantamweight Division could have a huge hole at the end of the calendar year.
Naoya Inoue is going to be looking to end 2023 as Undisputed Champion in a second Division and most would expect The Monster to move up another weight class if he is able to do that. This could leave the door open to the likes of Sam Goodman to fight for a World Title pretty quickly in 2024.
Losing on Saturday on this undercard would knock him out of his current Ranking place with the WBO and IBF where he is the top contender to fight for a World Title, but Goodman should have enough to see off Miguel Flores who is heading Down Under behind a thirteen month layoff.
Miguel Flores has four losses on his record and three of those have been inside the distance, although his last outing was a Draw.
Sam Goodman does not have an overwhelming KO record, and has needed the cards in four of his last five wins, but he should be able to turn the screw over the Twelve Rounds set for this bout. The 31 year old Flores is going to be game, but that might work to Sam Goodman's favour and he can break down the veteran as the Australian looks to impress ahead of a potential World Title bid in the next few months.
There was a time when the Middleweight Division would have featured some of the very biggest names in Boxing and very few times in history will the Division lack the star power it is doing at this moment.
Things could change quickly, but has a Unification in the Division gone as far under the radar as this one in the United States?
Zhanibek Alimkhanuly is trying to position himself as the natural successor to compatriot Triple G and talk about being some 'boogeyman' at 160 pounds is perhaps just to try and build some hype. British fighter Denzel Bentley pushed the WBO Champion all the way to the scorecards, but he was back to blitzing opponents in his crushing win over Steven Butler last time out.
Now Alimkhanuly has an opportunity to add the IBF World Title to his collection when facing Vincenzo Gaultieri who is also an unbeaten World Champion after beating Esquiva Falcao for a vacant Title in July.
Credit has to be given to Vincenzo Gaultieiri for winning as a slight underdog on that day, but keeping off someone like Zhanibek Alimkhanuly feels like a big gap to bridge.
Seven Stoppages in twenty-one wins suggests Gaultieri will not have the firepower to keep his opponent from walking forward and breaking him down and Zhanibek Alimkhanuly can continue to build his reputation with another strong Stoppage in this Unification.
The chief support on the undercard, Keyshawn Davis, is continuing his development in the Lightweight Division. Over the next twelve months, the top of the 135 pound list is going to feel very different with most believing Undisputed Champion Devin Haney is unlikely to return to the Division now he is signed on for a Light Welterweight World Title clash with Regis Prograis.
Shakur Stevenson is set to fight for a vacant WBC World Title, and there are a number of fighters in the Division who will be looking to take a shot at the American.
Keyshawn Davis is only 24 years old so has plenty of time to get ready for his own assault at World Titles and he can get the better of Nahir Albright as he continues picking up experience. The latter has been beaten twice, including against Jamaine Ortiz, but Keyshawn Davis may carry a bit more power and could force a Stoppage in the second half of this bout.
It may not be a card aimed at me, but it would be pretty difficult to ignore the crossover events that are taking place this month.
At least the card headlined by Tyson Fury and Francis Ngannou has plenty of Heavyweight action on the undercard, but this one in Manchester on Saturday is very much happy to go with YouTube 'stars'.
Tommy Fury may feel he is above that, but his future is almost certainly going to be taking on more of these 'boxers' rather than looking for professional titles.
He was controversially dropped by Jake Paul when beating the American over Eight Rounds and this one is set for Six Rounds against KSI.
A viral Knock Out will be what the fans will be hoping to see, but it would not surprise me if this is a messy Six Rounder.
KSI is a little reckless, which could leave him open for something big, but Fury has not exactly shown a lot of Knock Out power and a small interest on this one going to the cards with Tommy Fury earning the nod looks the right play.
MY PICKS: Tim Tszyu to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Sam Goodman to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 2.37 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Zhanibek Alimkhanuly to Win Between 1-6 @ 4.33 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Keyshawn Davis to Win Between 6-10 @ 4.50 Coral (1 Unit)
Tommy Fury to Win By Decision/Technical Decision @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2023: 47-82, - 19.90 Units (239 Units Staked, - 8.33% Yield)
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