DAZN and Social Media, 8:00 am ET, Buatsi vs Richards press conference.
YouTube/Facebook, 3:00 pm ET, Benavidez vs Lemieux press conference.
DAZN and Social Media, 8:00 am ET, Buatsi vs Richards weigh-in.
DAZN, 2:00 pm ET, Kerman Lejarraga vs JJ Metcalf. We often don’t do live coverage for these Matchroom shows in Spain (or Italy), but this is an exception, because Lejarraga-Metcalf has “war” written all over it. There’s also a fight between Angel Moreno and Jairo Noriega for the vacant European flyweight title and a couple more fights. But Lejarraga-Metcalf is what’s really worth tuning in to see. BLH will have live coverage.
YouTube/Facebook, 3:00 pm ET, Benavidez vs Lemieux weigh-in.
ProBox TV, 7:00 pm ET, Meng Fanlong vs Jean Pascal. This is the first event for ProBox TV, a new streaming service that is starting out with a $1.99 price tag, which is attractive enough. They’re setting up some decent events early. This one will take place in Florida, and Meng is listed as the “A-side” on promotional material. The 34-year-old Chinese southpaw had been in line to fight Artur Beterbiev, but visa issues and then COVID wrecked that, and the guy he beat (Adam Deines) for the shot eventually fought Beterbiev instead. Now, Meng has his first significant fight since beating Deines in 2019 (he’s fought twice, but not at much of a level). Pascal is 39, hasn’t fought since a win over Badou Jack in late 2019, and most recently made headlines for failing drug tests in 2021, which scrapped a Jack rematch. BLH will have live coverage.
DAZN and Social Media, 12:15 pm ET, Buatsi vs Richards prelims. We’ll have the YouTube stream for you in the live thread, and there’s a good chance myself and/or John will be around early, too. BLH will have live coverage.
DAZN, 2:00 pm ET, Joshua Buatsi vs Craig Richards. Good fight for Buatsi, a rising light heavyweight contender Matchroom have real hopes for to reach the world level sooner than later. Richards never really came close to beating Dmitry Bivol, who kinda stepped off the gas after eight rounds in that fight, but if I’m a promoter for this fight, I say, “Wow, well, Craig Richards really won more rounds against Bivol than Canelo did, soooo…” That’s a totally different situation, but Richards is a capable fighter who doesn’t give up and can box a bit. He’s a good test for Buatsi. PLUS: Alen Babic is back, which is always fun! Chantelle Cameron defends her WBC and IBF 140 lb belts against Victoria Bustos! Ellie Scotney faces former titleholder Maria Cecilia Roman! Robbie Davies Jr vs Javier Molina! It’s a pretty good show. BLH will have live coverage.
ESPN+, 5:15 pm ET, Alimkhanuly vs Dignum prelims.
ESPN and ESPN+, 8:00 pm ET, Janibek Alimkhanuly vs Danny Dignum. This is a WBO eliminator at 160; Alimkhanuly is ranked No. 2 and Dignum No. 3, both behind Jaime Munguia. There’s a chance the winner of this faces Munguia for a vacant title, as Demetrius Andrade is moving up but hasn’t vacated. In fact, Andrade was supposed to fight a 168 eliminator with Zach Parker on this same date, but Andrade got hurt. Alimkhanuly has looked like a legitimate contender, Dignum has looked like a guy on MTK shows building up a record. But you never know until you know. Usually we’d have live coverage, but our focus will be on Benavidez-Lemieux, because there’s just not much interest in this card. We will have a quick recap and highlights after.
SHO, 10:00 pm ET, David Benavidez vs David Lemieux. A WBC interim title fight at 168, and an interim title fight fully makes sense in the situation, with Canelo Alvarez holding all four belts and taking that fight at 175 earlier this month. The winner here really could get in line for a Canelo fight next year, but obviously everything depends on what Canelo actually wants to do. Lemieux has had a long, solid career at this point, but he’s got the obvious limitations. His power at 168 isn’t what it was at 160, and it’s never been “what it is” against better fighters anyway, but he’s still always dangerous. He’s not someone you want to connect flush on you with a power shot. Benavidez is, of course, a former two-time titleholder who lost the belt to a failed drug test (cocaine) and a failed weigh-in, but has never lost a fight. Yoelvis Gomez faces Jorge Cota on the undercard. BLH will have live coverage.