From a week of Vegas chaos and controversy, to cross promotion battles in the capital.
Boxing had it all last week but that’s now in the past as we look towards another week on the battlefield of boxing.
This week takes a unusual turn in terms of dates and times of fights.
Usually the bouts centre around a Saturday night but this week takes the term “the weekend starts on Friday” quite literally.
Friday night sees three massive boxing cards all across North America.
Matchroom-
Adrian Curiel (24-4-1) Vs Sivenathi Nontshinga (12-1-0)
The headliner in Mexico is a repeat fight between Curiel and Nontshinga after the first bout ended in a round 2 brutal KO for Curiel.
Curiel comes into the bout after scoring a major upset win in the first fight with a huge overhand right KO.
He also comes in without a KO or TKO loss on his record.
Nontshinga goes into Mexico without his IBF belt or his unbeaten record after Curiel took both in Monte Carlo.
The South African based boxer will be on the back foot coming into this one and will look to get revenge on Curiel.
Fans will hope to see a similar bout as Nontshinga Vs Hector Flores which got fight of the year shouts.
The dubbed “Special one” will try to use his corner as he did in the Flores fight when cornermen Colin Nathan gave a rousing speech in the 9th round leading to victory.
https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=notshinga
Mauricio Lara (26-3-1) Vs Daniel Lugo (27-2-0)
The co main event of the evening sees Lara return to Mexico to take on Lugo.
Mauricio returns to Mexico after beating world champion Leigh-Wood then subsequently losing by Unanimous Decision in the rematch.
Lara comes into the fight being one of the best in the division taking out many of the divisions mainstays like Josh Warrington and Jose San Martin.
Lugo on the other has come into this bout without the pedigree of Lara and never facing a opponent like him.
He does set foot in this fight with huge knockout power boasting a 66% knockout rate.
Expect to see fireworks in this one.
Top Rank-
O’Shaquie Foster (21-2-0) Vs Abraham Nova (23-1-0)
The next big contest of the week involves the WBC World Super Featherweight strap between O’Shaquie Foster and Abraham Nova.
Top Rank will look to leave the controversy and sour taste of the Lopez fight and bring another talent to the forefront in New York.
O’Shaquie Foster will look to defend his WBC Super Featherweight title for the second time after defeating Eduardo Hernandez by round 12 TKO.
This is Foster’s first outing with Top rank after signing a multi fight deal back in November 2023.
He will look to get Nova out without too much discomfort to then press on and face the likes of Joe Cordina after saying “I know I would dominate him”.
His opponent comes in with a similar record to Foster but one without world title pedigree.
Nova has bounced back from a KO loss to Robeisy Ramirez with a UD win against Adam Lopez and has earned this fight with a massive KO win against Jonathan Romero.
Although Nova doesn’t have world title experience in sanctioned bouts he has sparred last weeks opponents Teofimo Lopez and Jermaine Ortiz.
The Super Featherweight division is stacked with Anthony Cacace and Joe Cordinas fight being delayed to May 18th (Undercard of Usyk Vs Fury) both will look at potential winners of these fights to come together and fight for undisputed in the future.
Pro Box Promotions-
Israel Rodriguez Picazo (30-5-0) Vs Ramon Cardenas (23-1-0)
This card sees a Super Bantamweight bout headline between Picazo and Cardenas for Pro Box Promotions.
Picazo is a very experienced fighter taking on the highs of Mauricio Lara early into his career.
Mexico based boxer Picazo has a lot of power with 2/3rds of his wins coming by way of knockout.
Cardenas on the other hand has only the singular loss on this record and has a few American titles to his name.
The San Antonio brute has already said he “aims to put the boxing world on notice”.
With both being ranked in the top 6 of WBA World rankings this fight would lead either fighter towards a title fight.
Murodjon Akhmadaliev and Shabaz Masoud are both above in the rankings which could lead to a bigger fight on Matchroom soon.
It also must be said the reason for every fight promoter in the world has stayed away from the Saturday like its got some sort of disease is because this was the original date of Usyk Vs Fury (a pay per view killer).
So it looks to be a very quiet domestic weekend with only a few shows popping up around the UK.
Ones To Keep An Eye On-
If your in Ireland this Saturday MHD Promotions have got a solid card on headlined by Connor Quinn and showing some great Irish talent.
But if your not in Ireland i’d recommend boxing fans take a well deserved break.
Or if you really need to scratch the violence itch i’d recommend taking your eyes over to MMA and watching UFC 298 which is headlined by Alex Volkanovski and is stacked with violence top to bottom.
