Fight Night Program – Week of July 4-10
The weekend is approaching, and from Friday to Sunday it will be “fight-o-clock” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the most up-to-date information on the most relevant fights you need to see in this week-at-a-glance, one-stop enhanced fight schedule. A quick checklist for the cognoscenti, a useful nuts-and-bolts guide for the boxing neophyte is what we’re aiming at.
Here are this week’s most relevant fights:
Saturday, July 6 – Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.
Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan – lightweight – 12 rounds
A former Olympian with enormous potential, Stevenson, 27, has somehow failed to live up to the expectations placed on him. He blames his promoter Top Rank at least partially for his lack of popularity, and he will be exploring the free agency market after this fight. A knockout win could earn him a lot of attention from all the other players. The once-beaten and usually resilient Harutyunyan will definitely make it hard for Stevenson to look good. A lot on the line in an intriguing crossroads bout.
Also on this card:
O’Shaquie Foster vs. Robson Conceicao – junior lightweight – 12 rounds
Keyshawn Davis vs. Miguel Madueno – lightweight – 10 rounds
Abdullah Mason vs. Luis Lebron – lightweight – 8 rounds
Kelvin Davis vs. Kevin Johnson – welterweight – 8 rounds
William Foster III vs. Eridson Garcia – junior lightweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+
Saturday, July 6 – Honda Center, Anaheim, Calif.
Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal – light heavyweight – 10 rounds
Diaz and Masvidal were known as legends in the octagon where they practiced mixed martial arts for almost their entire careers. But boxing pays better, and they will now test the waters of the gloved and booted realm of contact sports in what could be an interesting matchup. Diaz is 0-1 in boxing (losing against Jake Paul in his debut) and Masvidal is a veteran of one single four-rounder. Not sure a clash between these two belongs at the top of a boxing card, but we’ll let them show whether they do deserve to be here or not.
Also on this card:
Daniel Jacobs vs. Shane Mosley Jr. – super middleweight – 10 rounds
Chris Avila vs. Anthony Pettis – light heavyweight – 6 rounds
Amado Vargas vs. Sean Garcia – lightweight – 8 rounds
Devin Cushing vs. Manuel Correa – lightweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: Fanmio PPV, UFC Fight Pass PPV
Saturday, July 6 – Toyota Center, Ontario, Calif.
William Zepeda vs. Giovanni Cabrera – lightweight – 12 rounds
Zepeda is a Mexican punching machine (he broke three CompuBox records at lightweight for total punches thrown, jabs attempted in a round, and total attempted jabs in his win over former world champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz in October 2022) and is on a mission to get a title shot before the end of this year. Cabrera should not be much of a roadblock to him, but it will be interesting to see Zepeda in action and imagine him going head-to-head with some of the best in the division right now.
Also on this card:
Ricardo Sandoval vs. Angel Acosta – flyweight – 10 rounds
Manuel Flores vs. Nohel Arambulet – junior featherweight – 10 rounds
Alex Martin vs. Pedro Campa – junior welterweight – 10 rounds
Joel Iriarte vs. Yainel Alvarez – welterweight – 6 rounds
Gael Cabrera vs. Mychaquell Shields – junior featherweight – 6 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Saturday, July 6 – Copper Box Arena, London
Reece Bellotti vs. Levi Giles – junior lightweight – 12 rounds
Johnny Fisher vs. Alen Babic – heavyweight – 10 rounds
John Hedges vs. Lewis Oakford – cruiserweight – 10 rounds
Maisey Rose Courtney vs. Jasmina Zapotoczna – women’s flyweight – 10 rounds
Leli Buttigieg vs. Jiri Hauke – junior middleweight – 10 rounds
Where to watch it: DAZN
Sunday, July 7 – Kokugikan, Tokyo
Kazuto Ioka vs. Fernando Martinez – junior bantamweight – 12 rounds
Ioka is one of the best Japanese fighters today in one of the country’s greatest boxing eras ever. Martinez is the disruptor, always proving himself in hostile territory. This one has the potential to be a true war and an early FOTY candidate, with the added attraction of seeing prospective foe Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez at ringside studying them both for a winner-takes-all Ring championship fight in the future.
Also on this card:
Yudai Murakami vs. Hiro Ichimichi – lightweight – 8 rounds
Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Weerawat Noolae – junior featherweights – 10 rounds
Kantaro Juri vs. Phai Pharob – junior bantamweight – 8 rounds
Taiga Kato vs. Shi Dong – welterweight – 6 rounds
Wednesday, July 10 – Winn Ent. Ctr., Wollongong, Australia
Sam Goodman vs. Chainoi Worawut – junior featherweight – 12 rounds
Worawut will risk it all in a trip to Australia to face a proven contender in Goodman, with both of them vying for a shot a pound-for-pound star Naoya Inoue in the future. What could look like a venture into hostile territory may actually be an even more dangerous proposition for Goodman, who both the favorite and the one with the most to lose in front of his own people.
Also on this card:
Liam Wilson vs. Youssef Dib – lightweight – 10 rounds
Barry Hall vs. Curtis Scott – heavyweight – 6 rounds
Wednesday, July 10 – ProBoxTV Events Center, Plant City, Fla.
Katsuma Akitsugi vs. Jesus Ramirez Rubio – bantamweight – 10 rounds
Nicklaus Flaz vs. Alfredo Escarcega – welterweight – 10 rounds
Najee Lopez vs. Steven Sumpter – light heavyweight – 8 rounds
Weljon Mindoro vs. Tyler Goodjohn – middleweight – 8 rounds
Where to watch it: ProBox TV
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How to watch boxing in 2023 – By Diego Morilla
Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also 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 an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.
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