The weekend is approaching, and from Friday to Sunday it will be “war-of-hours” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the latest information on the most relevant fights you need to see this week at your fingertips, with a one-stop enhanced fight schedule. A quick checklist for the cognoscenti, a handy nuts and bolts guide for the boxing neophyte is what we aim for.
Here are this week’s most worthy fights:
Thursday, May 23 – Wayne State Fieldhouse, Detroit
Jermaine Franklin vs. Devin Vargas – heavyweight – 10 rounds
Ali Akhmedov vs. Encarnacion Diaz – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Joshua James Pagan vs. Roger Hilley – junior welterweight – 8 rounds
Josiah Shackleford vs. Ja’shar Banks – middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Friday, May 24 – Hala Na Podpromiu, Rzeszow, Poland
Lukasz Rozanski vs. Lawrence Okolie – heavyweight – 12 rounds
It’s a serious conflict, if you ignore the “bridgerweight” label associated with it (a weight class unknown to the Ring). Rozanski has never left Poland, but that doesn’t mean he’s completely safe. Okolie should be able to answer some of the questions we have sitting around him.
Also on this card:
Fiodor Czerkasztyn vs. Jorge Cota – middleweight – 10 rounds
Jan Czerklewicz vs. Paul Valenzuela – cruiserweight – 8 rounds
Ihosvany Rafael Garcia vs. Lukasz Plawecki – light heavyweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ThrillerTV PPV, SkyTV (UK)
Saturday, May 25 – First Direct Arena, Leeds, England
Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catterall – junior welterweight – 12 rounds
There are bad blood fights, there are grudges, and then there is this. Taylor escaped by narrow decision in their first clash, but many people think Catterl should have gotten the W. The war of words continued on social media, and the pressure came to a literal boil in almost every media appearance they’ve ever had. It should be a fun story while it lasts.
Also on this card:
Cheavon Clarke vs. Ellis Zorro – cruiserweight – 12 rounds
Paddy Donovan vs. Lewis Ritson – welterweight – 10 rounds
Gary Cully vs. Francesco Patera – lightweight – 10 rounds
George Liddard vs. Graham McCormack – middleweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Saturday, May 25: Shawinigan, Canada
Christian Mbilli vs. Mark Heffron – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Billi is active and knows how to look good doing this thing, and this should be another opportunity for her to develop her credentials in her adopted Canada.
Also on this card:
Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Miljan Rovcanin – heavyweight – 10 rounds
Mehmet Unal vs. Rodolfo Gomez Jr. – light heavyweight – 10 rounds
Christopher Guerrero vs. Kenny Larson – welterweight – 8 rounds
Alexandre Gaumont vs. Santiago Fernandez – middleweight – 8 rounds
Wilkens Mathieu vs. Przemyslaw Gorgon – light heavyweight – 6 rounds
Moreno Fendero vs. Rolando Mansilla – super middleweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN+
Saturday, May 25 – Royal Arena, Copenhagen, Denmark
Dina Thorslund vs. Seren Cetin – women’s bantamweight – 10 rounds
Francis Fordjour vs. Khvicha Gigolashvili – junior welterweight – 4 rounds
Saturday, May 25 – Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
Bader Al-Dherat vs. Orlando Mosquera – lightweight – 10 rounds
Sultan Al Nuami vs. Muhsin Kizota – junior bantamweight – 10 rounds
Moussa Gholam vs. Lingjie Xia – junior lightweight – 10 rounds
Faizan Anwar vs. Murali Erdogan – welterweight – 10 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Check out our latest streaming service and TV channel guide for more information on the current state of boxing and the world of fight sports broadcasting, only in The Ring magazine:
How to watch boxing in 2023 – By Diego Morilla
Diego M. Morilla has written for The Ring since 2013. He has written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and a voter for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. She has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He worked as a copy editor for the second season of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
