More and more news is beginning to be released to the public about upcoming fight cards- this past week Zuffa Boxing placed another couple of events on the schedule, while Tyson Fury announced his long-expected comeback for April, although it was a surprise to hear the broadcast deal is with Netflix rather than DAZN.
This feels like another moment where the power of the Saudi influence in Boxing is moving away from supporting that site, which now has a number of Promoters as exclusive to DAZN, and instead focusing on supporting the new kids on the block.
It is common knowledge that Zuffa Boxing is being led by Dana White and TKO, but also that Turki Alalshikh has aligned with them as a minority owner of the new League. If the money is no longer interested in propping up DAZN or the Promoters that have previously been well backed by Alalshikh, you do have to wonder what the future holds.
In saying all that, none of the rival Promoters were too afraid of Zuffa 01- it was a pretty poor card, but the atmosphere and the look of the event was way below the expectations of Boxing fans, no matter what those paid to lead the broadcasting were saying. The criticism has been shared across the board between organisers, those who set up the venue and the commentators with Max Kellerman having to absorb plenty of shots about 'shilling' for his new employers, but this whole product look has not been lost on Dana White who said things will get better.
Something does not sit right with the moves being made by Zuffa Boxing, and there are plenty of articles out there laying out why not, but they look like they are here to stay right now and the other Promoters should just be a little cautious with plays being made behind the scenes.
Andy Cruz came up short in his World Title bid last week, but that means we have a new player in Raymond Muratalla who is likely going to move up in weight class with a signature win on the resume.
Big improvements will be needed from Callum Walsh, who did just enough for a second fight in a row and who failed to push the tempo against a veteran that had been Stopped before.
Despite Kellerman's proclamations, most real fans would have seen the performance for what it was and Walsh will do well to become the 'face' of this League unless really taking the next steps in his development.
There are a number of big cards lined up on the last weekend of January, although the main event of the Boxxer card had to be abandoned last week when Adam Azim suffered a late hand injury- this is a setback considering the lack of activity in recent months and his return will have to be pushed back into April or May, which is far from ideal.
Hopefully Boxxer are going to release a few more dates for upcoming main events, and we should be getting more news from Queensberry and Matchroom about April and May dates shortly.
And just before this thread was set to be posted, it was announced late on Friday night that we do have the Deontay Wilder vs Derek Chisora is now official, which looks a decent contest for both at their respective stages of their careers.
Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson
There are plenty of World Champions and big Boxing names heading out to the ring this weekend, but make no mistake, all eyes are on the main event at Madison Square Garden.
A few years ago there was a real excitement that the likes of Gervonta Davis, Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia and Teofimo Lopez would make this a special era.
They were described as the 'Four Kings', much like the 1980s led by Sugar Ray Leonard, but it has been a disappointing period all things considered.
All four of those names have been in and around the World Title picture, but we have not had the multiple fights and rematches that were promised.
Out of the four names, Teofimo Lopez is perhaps the one that will feel most disappointed- that is not to say that he has not put together a solid career with some big wins on the resume, but he is the only that has not fought any of the other three names mentioned.
Things change on Saturday.
Shakur Stevenson was not amongst those names mentioned, but that is also because he started his professional career at a much lower weight class.
For a long time Stevenson has been spoken about as the best Boxer in America, although criticism of his style is that he has been so good that he has often coasted through fights.
He remains unbeaten and Shakur Stevenson is moving up another weight Division in order to really announce himself as the heir apparent to Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather Jr, while also becoming a top pick in the pound for pound debate.
Layers have a lot of respect for the skills- Stevenson does hit with more authority than his record suggests and is arguably the best defensive Boxer in the world too- and he is has been set as a significant favourite.
The overriding feeling is that Stevenson will showcase those skills and ultimately be able to bamboozle Teofimo Lopez, but there is a nagging doubt.
Teofimo Lopez has thrived when people don't believe in him and his best wins have been as an underdog.
That makes him dangerous, even if everything is pointing to a Shakur Stevenson win and that makes the fight 'must watch' even in the early hours of the morning in the United Kingdom.
You'd have to agree with the oddsmakers with Shakur Stevenson favourite and most likely to win on the cards, but this is a fight to simply sit back and watch as two stars look to elevate themselves even further.
It is a loaded undercard for the big event in New York City and there are a couple of other World Titles at stake outside of the main event.
Keyshawn Davis returns after embarrassingly missing weight the last time he was due out, but he has moved into the loaded Light-Welterweight Division and is expected to find a way past Jamaine Ortiz, who has been in with Vasyl Lomachenko and Teofimo Lopez and only been beaten on the cards.
Bruce Carrington has been upgraded to full Champion in the Featherweight Division and he should be able to get the better of veteran Carlos Castro- a late Stoppage cannot be ruled out, but the likelihood is that the American will find a way on the cards.
He may not be on the best spot on the card, but Jarrell Miller is back in action this weekend and once again is going to be pushing to get his career back on track- he has not fought in eighteen months and Miller was in line to face Fabio Wardley last year before the latter went on to win the WBO World Title.
Big Baby can match his nickname-sharing Jared Anderson in Stopping Kingsley Ibeh- it should be a fun Heavyweight fight, but Miller can wear down an opponent who has not really stepped up his level since that loss to Anderson.
An event that was supposed to be headlined by Adam Azim will go on in London on Saturday and one of the bouts that has been pushed up the card features a new signing made by Boxxer.
Light Heavyweight Gradus Kraus will be looking to impress and he should have the power to blitz past 32 year old Boris Crighton.
The latter was Stopped in Three Rounds last time out back in September and he may struggle to deal with the power of the young Dutchman.
There will be plenty of eyes on that card in London thanks to Boxxer's deal with the BBC meaning it is available to most households, but British fans will be much more interested in the event in Newcastle, which is going to have a World Title main event.
Josh Kelly is the home Challenger, but is facing Bakhram Murtazaliev who believes he has been avoided and that has contributed to a significant absence from the ring.
The IBF Light Middleweight World Champion was last seen crushing Tim Tszyu in Three Rounds back in October 2024 and had Stopped Jack Culcay in the previous fight to pick up the vacant Title.
He will come forward all day so the pressure is on Josh Kelly to be able to keep this fighter from overwhelming him.
No one will deny the obvious talent that Josh Kelly has, but there have long been questions about the stamina and whether he can maintain any punch resistance as the gas tank empties.
Everyone will remember what David Avanesyan was able to do to Josh Kelly and the Champion is likely going to accept losing some of the early Rounds as long as he able to get close enough to start putting a dent into the home favourite.
In all likelihood, that impact will really become apparent in the second half of this World Title fight against an opponent who showed plenty of signs of fatigue in his narrow win over Ismael Davis.
Josh Kelly has only had One Round since that win over Davis in September 2024 so can hardly point to having significant less ring rust to shift compared with the World Champion and he is going to have to be perfect for thirty-six minutes. We all saw how quickly things unravelled in the loss to Avanesyan and Bakhram Murtazaliev can force another Stoppage to retain his Belt.
The undercard should feature wins for Josh Padley and Elif Nur Turhan but the prices are pretty short on the likely outcomes of a Decision for the former and another Stoppage for the latter.
There are going to be plenty of eyes on the Kelly-Murtazaliev main event with some reports indicating Jaron Ennis could be next for the winner after negotiations with Vergil Ortiz Jr have seemingly stalled for now.
However, Ennis will not be the only one looking on.
In Puerto Rico, Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou will be Unifying their WBO and WBA Light Middleweight Titles and the winning fighter may be looking to move another step towards Undisputed by taking on the winner of that bout in Newcastle.
The home fighter is the favourite, but Baraou will give Xander Zayas plenty to think about and the expectation before the bout is that the younger, unbeaten fighter can come through on the cards after a fun battle.
There is a potential for Giovani Santillan to be the next opponent for the winner of the main event as he looks for a third win in a row since losing to Brian Norman Jr in a Welterweight World Title fight.
Giovani Santillan has won twice in a row since then, and is now moving up into the Light Middleweight Division against Courtney Pennington who has a 17-11-3 record.
Only four of those defeats have been in Stoppages and that will be the target for Santillan to grow some interest in him being the next contender to whoever holds two World Titles after the main event at the end of the night.
MY PICKS: Jarrell Miller to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.91 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Gradus Kraus to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.80 Sky Bet (2 Units)
Bakhram Murtazaliev to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.72 William Hill (2 Units)
Boxing 2026: 1-5, - 4.26 Units (10 Units Staked, - 42.60% Yield)
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