This weekend’s TV Boxing Schedule isn’t going to blow your socks off, but it ain’t alf’ bad. Cruiserweight contender Tony Bellew will be getting a crack at the WBC crown as he heads a stacked UK card, ex-champ Ricky Burns will also be hoping to capture world glory, Shane Mosley will be doing his best to turn back the clock and secure a fight with the winner of July’s Thurman vs Porter, plus more.
Friday, May 27
Miller vs Guivas
Torre vs Sanchez
CBS Sports Network – 9:00pm ET
There seems to be plenty of Heavyweight prospects popping up at the moment, and Jarrell Miller is another one of them. There’s not too much to say about Miller other than he’s rolled over most of his record-plumping opponents to date, and shouldn’t have too many problems doing the same against aging club-type Nick Guivas. The chief support looks like a similar scenario on paper, with upstart Harmonita Dela Torre taking on what looks to be a vastly overmatched Guillermo Sanchez.
Saturday, May 28
Wlodarczyk vs Kurzawa
Cieslak vs Kubich
PolSat Sport (POL) – 2:00pm ET
Ex-champ Krzysztof Wlodarczyk is continuing to rebuild since losing his WBC strap to Grigory Drozd in 2014, and, provided Wlodarczyk has enough left in the tank, shouldn’t have too many problems against 39-year-old Kai Kurzawa. Michal Cieslak and Alexander Kubich are unbeaten prospects in their primes on the support, but Cieslak has taken care of the better opposition and has a lofty four-inch height advantage going for him to boot.
Burns vs Di Rocco
Nurse vs Limond, McCarthy vs Dickinson
Sky Sports 1 – 3:00pm ET, 8:00pm GMT
It seems a bit dubious that the WBA are offering up their most prestigious 140-pound belt to the main event’s winner here (Ricky Burns is 3-3-1 in his last seven fights, after all), but that’s boxing. Forgetting all that diluted title business, headliner Burns vs Michele Di Rocco isn’t all that bad a matchup considering where Ricky Burns is at career-wise right now. The former WBO Lightweight champ doesn’t seem quite the force he once was (after suffering a broken jaw against Raymundo Beltran and being dethroned by Terence Crawford) but is still plenty capable. Di Rocco is the current European champ riding a twenty-three-fight winning streak, so he’s obviously not one to overlook.
A host of other UK players will be in action, with Tyrone Nurse and Willie Limond doing battle for the British Junior Welterweight strap, and Tommy McCarthy and Jon Lewis Dickinson engaging in a British Cruiserweight eliminator. John Ryder, Scott Cardle and the much-hyped Conor Benn are also on the bill.
Boxing Base will have Live Coverage of the Burns vs Di Rocco card right here at Boxing Base plus Round by Round Coverage on Twitter.
Vazquez vs Bone
Flores vs Tamayo
Fox Sports 1 – 10:00pm ET
The spice behind this Junior Welterweight main event has cooled considerably since Miguel Vazquez will now be taking on Erick Bone instead of Felix Diaz Jr (who gave Lamont Peterson a tough outing last October). Former IBF champ Vazquez looks like the superior operator on paper, boasting significant wins over the likes of Denis Shafikov, plus a close decision defeat to Mickey Bey, both in 2014. Miguel Flores is a rising Junior Lightweight who is likely going to mangle journeyman Ruben Tamayo with relative ease.
Mosley vs Avanesyan
CBS Sports Network – 10:30pm ET, 3:00am GMT
Forgive me for being notably enthusiastic about this headliner, but it’s kind of heartbreaking when a fighter can get a crack at an Interim world title by beating the husk of Ricardo Mayorga and a very limited Patrick Lopez. What makes it even worse is that the winner of this fight is supposedly set to get a crack at the winner of Keith Thurman vs Shawn Porter. Anyway, 44-year-old Shane Mosley will be back in action against David Avanesyan, in a fight which could either bury Mosley’s debatable contender status for good or lead him to a lucrative marquee event.
Avanesyan is 27-years-young and capable enough to pull off the upset (?), but the raw power of Mosley obviously poses a threat. I’ve no idea what’s going to happen in this fight, but it would be a lie to say it is of zero relevance given where the winner is headed. As for the undercard, there isn’t one at this moment apparently (to the best of my knowledge).
Boxing Base will have Live Coverage of Mosley vs Avanesyan, plus RBR Updates on Twitter.
Saguilan vs Villasana Jr
Vargas vs Kabore
Televisa (MEX) – 11:00pm ET
Nery Saguilan and Marcos Villasana Jr will be colliding in a Lightweight 12-rounder, joined by Junior Featherweight prospects Rey Vargas and Alexis Boureima Kabore in the chief support.
Sunday, May 29
Bellew vs Makabu
Smith vs Brizuela, Dodd vs Di Silvo, Callum Smith vs Cesar Hernan Reynoso
Sky Sports 1 – 1:00pm ET, 6:00pm GMT
Overall, this is a pretty good card. Not every fight has barnburner written over it, but there’s plenty of British fan-favorites on show here, and main event Bellew vs Makabu is worthy of the vacant WBC Cruiserweight belt that’s on the line. Bellew was a former world title challenger down at Light Heavyweight, and has looked decent in his past six fights as a Cruiser, especially against Mateusz Masternak. Makabu, Boxing Base’s No.5 Cruiser, is a very real threat, having won all of his 18 wins by knockout. Makabu does have an ugly 1st round KO defeat on his record, but it’s more or less irrelevant given it happened in his 2008 pro debut.
Junior Lightweights Stephen Smith and Daniel Brizuela will be locking horns in the chief support, which will see Brizuela returning to the UK for the third time. Brizuela went life and death in a classic brawl with Tommy Coyle in February 2014, but was chopped down quickly by Luke Campbell not too long after. Smith, who gave a good account of himself against Jose Pedraza in last month, will likely prove too much for Brizuela to handle. We’ll soon see. Sean Dodd and Pasquale Di Silvo will do battle at Lightweight, and will be joined by familiar faces such as Tom Farrell (Junior Welterweight), David Price (Heavyweight), Callum Smith (BB’s No.6 Super Middleweight), and Paul Smith (Super Middleweight).
Boxing Base will have Live Coverage of Bellew vs Makabu right here plus Live Round by Round Updates over on Twitter via @BoxingBase.
How do you see Bellew vs Makabu, Mosley vs Avanesyan and the rest of this weekend’s boxing action unfolding? Unload your thoughts below.
