With that in mind, it is no surprise that some big names are making comebacks on the first weekend since Spain won the World Cup for a second time, while Zuffa Boxing have their latest card taking place on Sunday.
All attention in this thread is on the fights taking place across a number of hours featuring Anthony Joshua and a returning Errol Spence Jr as he goes straight back into the deep end. The former is fighting in Saudi Arabia yet again, while The Truth travels Down Under to take on Tim Tszyu in what feels like a crossroads fight for both in the Middleweight Division.
Three selections returned winners in the last Boxing thread at the end of June, but there are some big nights ahead before the end of the 2026 calendar year and there is still some making up to do in what has been a slow first half of the year for the Picks being made.
Saturday is the start of the second half of the year for the Boxing Picks and building on the momentum from the last night is the ambition.
Errol Spence Jr vs Tim Tszyu
It may have something to do with the fact that I've always been a big Errol Spence Jr fan that this fight is the headline one for the Boxing Picks on Saturday 25th July.
The Truth was last in action three years ago when losing to Terence Crawford and that was a night in which his unbeaten run was ended and the Undisputed Welterweight crown was convincingly taken by Bud. A rematch clause was activated, but allowed to expire, and Crawford went on to dethrone Canelo Alvarez at Super Middleweight before retiring, which underlines the length of time Errol Spence Jr has been out of a ring.
This will be just the fourth fight since 2020 for Errol Spence Jr who had also suffered a significant car accident and retina issues before the defeat to Terence Crawford.
So the big question has to be what has Errol Spence Jr got left in the tank? That can soon be followed by why has the layoff been as long as it has for the Texan who is now 36 years old?
These will be answered on Saturday night with Errol Spence Jr returning to action with a new trainer having criticised previous trainer Derrick James and becoming embroiled in a legal dispute with him. In recent weeks, Derrick James has spoken about the issues Errol Spence Jr had in camp prior to the defeat to Crawford and you do have to wonder if this three year layoff has given Spence Jr time to heal both mentally and physically and whether it has been too long a time spent away from competitive action.
Ring rust is a real issue and it has to be a worry that Errol Spence Jr's team requested this bout to be changed to a Middleweight limit having previously agreed to a 158 pound catchweight.
Suffice to say there are plenty of red flags around the return!
However, at his best, Errol Spence Jr would really fancy doing the job against Tim Tszyu, even as the road fighter, and the style of the Australian is one that would have gelled perfectly for The Truth to expose and exploit.
The problem is we can't really be sure that the best of Spence Jr, or anything close to his former best, is going to be entering the ring and that is where Tim Tszyu could make things very tough.
There is nothing special about what Tszyu is trying to do- he will walk forward, throwing plenty of leather, and he will be looking to out-will his opponent. That has worked against a certain level of opponent, but also saw Tim Tszyu walk into huge shots from Sebastian Fundora and Bakhram Murtazaliev who were both able to close the show before the final bell.
A couple of wins over lesser opponents back home has given Tim Tszyu this opportunity and he has continued to remind anyone that listens that he has yet to lose in Australia.
Much like Errol Spence Jr, Tim Tszyu will know a win offers one more shot at the big time, but a defeat likely ends his time at this kind of level. That puts both men under pressure, but styles make fights and this is a fight that looks like it could catch fire pretty quickly.
Errol Spence Jr is the superior boxer with the better jab and the footwork would have also been to his advantage, at least before this long layoff.
There has been nothing wrong with the Tim Tszyu heart, even taking his defeats into consideration, and he is not going to want to lose in Australia. This could push him to keep getting forward and may eventually lead to a mistake that can be capitalised on by Errol Spence Jr.
At the same time, Tim Tszyu has to be thinking about taking Errol Spence Jr into the second half of the fight and see if there is much left of the former Unified World Champion, especially at a higher weight class and with that time spent away to think about.
It shouldn't take too long for the fight to catch fire, but the first couple of Rounds could be a feeling out process before either is willing to let more go.
Both have shown they can wear down opponents and the Twelve Rounds gives that bit more opportunity to do that and it would not be a big surprise if this contest ends in the second half of the contest, although picking a winner is as tough as the layers think with so much to think about for both fighters.
The chief support is Stephen Fulton versus Luke Wilson after Jermall Charlo was not given a visa to travel to Australia.
This feels like another crossroads bout, but Stephen Fulton is rightly favoured and the layers expect him to win this one on the cards.
However, Luke Wilson will take some confidence from the fact that he has never been beaten at the final bell of any contest with all three defeats ending in Stoppage when he has stepped up his level. Luke Wilson did give Emmanuel Navarrete a scare before losing in the Ninth Round and was then Stopped by Oscar Valdez in the Seventh.
Stephen Fulton has not really shown that kind of power at the world level, but should have enough skills to bounce back from his loss to O'Shaquie Foster.
The American is moving up in weight class again, but the expectation is that he could nick this one narrowly on the Judges' cards... (Since writing this, Fulton has missed weight significantly and the fight has been scrapped- anyone missing weight by a pound can be excused, but this was a bout set for a 130 limit and, even after allowing for 133, Fulton failed to weigh below 139 and that is an utter disgrace).
If things had been different, Callum Peters would have been travelling to Glasgow for the Commonwealth Games, but he has not allowed his disappointment to slow down what is beginning to be an eye-catching start to his professional career.
Fighting an unbeaten southpaw from South America can be dangerous, but Callum Peters can steal some of the limelight on this big show by producing a big performance.
So Tyson Fury was able to win a fight on Friday that did not have a broadcast deal and now the attention turns to Anthony Joshua to try and do his part and make sure the all-British Heavyweight Fight can be set later this year.
Most expect that contest to be announced if AJ can win, although there is also a real feeling that both are well passed their best and this is a bout that should have taken place several years ago.
Anthony Joshua was last seen crushing Jake Paul when finally cornering an opponent that refused to engage and simply run around the ring, but he suffered a devastating personal blow when two of his best friends passed away in a car accident in Nigeria. The former Champion is fortunate he was able to leave the incident with a few bumps and bruises, but the mental impact cannot be assessed and there were suggestions that he may not fight again.
Now the motivation is there to honour his friends and Anthony Joshua is expected to have little issue dismissing Kristian Prenga.
The underdog has a record that looks great on paper, but scratching the surface shows there is little depth to the resume and Prenga is stepping up multiple levels.
At 35 years old and with a perfect record in terms of Stoppages in wins, you have to question why Kristian Prenga has not stepped up to see if he can mix it with better company.
That alone is telling and he should be ripe for Anthony Joshua to produce an impressive Stoppage to give him momentum to take into the bout against Tyson Fury and the expectation is that his opponent may offer the opportunity to close the show pretty early on.
A couple of big names from British Boxing are defending World Titles on the undercard.
Josh Kelly fulfilled his potential by upsetting Bakhram Murtazaliev and picking up the IBF World Title in the Light Middleweight Division. That came back in January, but Kelly has not been able to entice one of the other Champions into the ring with him and instead he will be defending that World Title against unbeaten Caoimhin Agyarko.
The opportunity is one that the Irishman is desperate to take, but Agyarko has had issues with eye swellings in his last couple of fights and only just got the better of Ishmael Davis in September last year.
Caoimhin Agyarko has been out of the ring recovering, but he is unbeaten and steps up to face Josh Kelly filled with confidence.
However, the British fighter has the higher experience and should be the sharper puncher, which could end up reaggravating that previous eye issue.
Stopping fights is not something either is used to, but Josh Kelly could be a big price to get this one done inside the distance and then target the other Champions again.
The expectation is that this will be a competitive World Title fight, but the same cannot be said for Hamzah Sheeraz who is still hoping to be the next ticket drawn in the lottery to fight Canelo Alvarez, assuming the latter wins his next fight.
With that said, the promoters around Sheeraz have been very careful with his match-making and that has allowed the British fighter to produce some highlight reel performances.
It feels like the fortunate draw with Carlos Adames has perhaps spooked the advisors and Hamzah Sheeraz has not exactly been fighting opponents expected to offer a lot of resistance since then. In May he crushed Alem Begic and you do have to wonder what Simon Zachenhuber has done to earn the chance to fight for the WBO World Title in the Super Middleweight Division.
A 29-1 record may suggest something else, but Simon Zachenhuber was beaten in April by Pawel August, who happens to be an unbeaten fighter in a different bout on the undercard, and so little resistance is expected here.
That was a defeat in a Six Rounder and it is simply not possible to believe Zachenhuber is ready for a test like this one- those advising Hamzah Sheeraz may not be ready to see him in with the biggest names in the sport (unless for the kind of money Canelo Alvarez will provide), but he has shown this level of opponent is one that he can blitz through and that is the likely outcome of this World Title defence.
MY PICKS: Errol Spence Jr-Tim Tszyu Fight to Go the Distance- NO @ 1.66 William Hill (2 Units)
Callum Peters to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 1.72 William Hill (2 Units)
Anthony Joshua to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.83 Bet365 (2 Units)
Josh Kelly to Win by KO/TKO/Disqualification @ 6.00 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Hamzah Sheeraz to Win Between 1-4 @ 1.91 Bet365 (2 Units)
Boxing 2026: 18-31, - 7.56 Units (75 Units Staked, - 10.08% Yield)
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