Sebastian Fundora has already taken advantage of some of the uncertainty and he produced a big win last week and is now looking to be a little more active than he has been after upsetting Tim Tszyu.
His next challenger looks to be lined up as unbeaten Xander Zayas has had his mandatory called, while Vergil Ortiz Jr will be looking to build on a big win of his own having secured an Interim World Title.
Fighters like Serhii Bohachuk, Erickson Lubin, Jesus Ramos and Callum Walsh should be in the mix and Tim Tszyu is back in early April as he begins a rebuild of his own after back to back losses. In the near future we can expect Jaron Ennis to join these names at the very top of the Light Middleweight Division, although his current ambition is to clear out the Welterweight Division, beginning with Eimantas Stanionis in April.
The big cards continue to be put out by the promoters and there are a couple of good looking headliners this weekend, although both are going to be taking place in the early hours of Sunday morning for those of us in the United Kingdom.
Both are also rematches of tight first fights with controversy attached.
Mikaela Mayer has to be given a lot of credit for offering Sandy Ryan a rematch considering the American has been on the wrong end of a couple of Decisions she felt she had earned and without having an opportunity to put those defeats right.
The winner is almost certainly going to be in line for a big fight against Lauren Price, who holds the other three World Titles in the Welterweight Division and there is little love lost between Mayer and Ryan, which should mean another fun, exciting battle between the two.
Over in Mexico William Zepeda has an opportunity to make a clearer statement in a bout against Tevin Farmer after earning a Decision win that many felt could have gone the other way.
A really poor run has put the 2025 Boxing Picks in a tough position, but March has been better than what had come in the first two months of the season.
Finishing up the month with another strong weekend will be a boost ahead of another strong month of action for fans of the sport.
William Zepeda vs Tevin Farmer II
After meeting on the undercard of a big fight night set up in Saudi Arabia, William Zepeda was perhaps fortunate to get away with his unbeaten record intact.
That is certainly the feeling in the Tevin Farmer camp having put William Zepeda down and losing on a Split Decision- all three cards ended in a 95-94 score and it really was a fight that could have landed in favour of the veteran.
My feelings back in November was that William Zepeda would break down Tevin Farmer and ultimately outwork him through the early Rounds to sap the energy of the older fighter. He should have seen the lack of success rival Raymond Muratalla had by fighting at a slower tempo, but Zepeda has admitted that he lost his focus in the first fight with Tevin Farmer and he will be much more likely to stick to the game plan in the rematch.
This is key and the likelihood is that William Zepeda will have learned a lot more from the first fight compared with his opponent.
Tevin Farmer will come out and try and frustrate the home fighter again and his motivation will be plenty high considering the crossroads nature of the contest for the veteran. A win will likely mean a big fight, but a loss and Farmer will effectively become a gate-keeper at best and potentially think about retirement instead.
When you think of some of the names around the Lightweight Division, William Zepeda has to really look to make a statement in this rematch if he is going to get a shot against the likes of Gervonta Davis or Shakur Stevenson. A wide Decision will work with that in mind, but the feeling is that William Zepeda will have been thinking about his mistakes from the first fight and will be able to be a lot more composed in this one.
This time he should make the early investments that slow Farmer down and William Zepeda may be able to force the Stoppage that was expected when they met in Saudi Arabia.
This bout is scheduled for Twelve Rounds, not Ten, and that should also help William Zepeda when you think of how hurt Raymond Muratalla had Tevin Farmer in the second half of their contest. That was also scheduled for Ten Rounds and you do have to wonder if Muratalla may have got the job done without the cards with the extra six minutes ringtime.
William Zepeda may be the one that benefits and he looks worth backing to win this fight in the second half of the contest.
Once again Oscar Collazo is involved in a card that features William Zepeda and the Minimumweight World Champion made the biggest impact in Saudi Arabia back in November.
He has asked for more respect for the lowest of the weight classes in Boxing, but there is no doubt that people recognise how good Oscar Collazo is.
Holding two of the four World Titles, Oscar Collazo will be looking to Unify over the course of 2025, but he will head to Cancun ready to defend against home fighter Edwin Cano.
The Mexican is pretty highly Ranked with both the WBO and WBA, but he has not really mixed with the elite company and this is a big step up for a fighter that has two losses on his record.
Edwin Cano is not expected to be too difficult to find and the layers are expecting an easy night for the World Champion.
However, you have to expect some resilience from Cano and only one of the last seven Oscar Collazo fights have ended inside the first Four Rounds.
In saying that, not many have moved beyond the Seventh Round recently and the Unified World Champion may get this done in the middle of the contest.
The Top Rank card in Las Vegas is headlined by the Mikaela Mayer rematch with Sandy Ryan, but just like the layers, I am finding it tough to separate the two.
In Two Minute Rounds, the action can be very close and competitive and scoring those Rounds feels that much more difficult than in a Three Minute contest. It is unsurprising that so many of the top women fights end up in a bit of controversy or with Split Decisions read out and this one really could go either way.
There are a couple of good looking undercard contests with the 'A' side fighters looking to move forward with their careers.
Bruce Carrington is highly Ranked in all four governing bodies in the Featherweight Division and is set for a World Title tilt later this year.
Four wins were secured in 2024 as the level was stepped up and this feels like a contest in which Carrington can get through his work effectively.
The layers are expecting a Stoppage and Bruce Carrington will have his moments, but Enrique Vivas has shown some toughness in his defeats, which can be expected from any Boxer representing Mexico. He may just be able to get through the Ten Rounds, although the expectation is that Bruce Carrington will be a relatively comfortable winner on the cards.
One American will be chasing a World Title later in the year, but another on the undercard is looking to defend his Welterweight World Title for the first time.
Brian Norman Jr won the Interim World Title in impressive style last May, but was upgraded by the WBO after Terence Crawford moved up in Division.
His opponent, Derrieck Cuevas has been poking Norman Jr about not being a 'real' World Champion with that in mind, but the American has refused to bite back.
He was supposed to fight Jarron Ennis in a Unification at the back end of last year, but an injury ended that opportunity for Brian Norman Jr and he has to focus on getting the job done on Saturday. It has been a considerable length of time away from the ring, which will mean the early Rounds are about shaking off some of the rust that naturally develops, although it has to be noted that Cuevas has been away even longer than the defending Champion.
It feels like a fight in which they should gel, but Brian Norman Jr has been operating at a higher level and that class should show.
MY PICKS: William Zepeda to Win Between 7-12 @ 2.87 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Oscar Collazo to Win Between 5-8 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Oscar Collazo to Win Between 5-8 @ 3.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Bruce Carrington to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 3.10 Paddy Power (1 Unit)
Brian Norman Jr to Win by KO/TKO @ 2.10 Paddy Power (2 Units)
Boxing 2025: 13-31, - 12.93 Units (53 Units Staked, - 24.40% Yield)
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