Your one-stop guide to all the boxing and MMA that is on television this weekend, with times, networks, and realistic breakdowns of fights.

The Olympics Are In The Medal Rounds

Instead of sending a detailed schedule of the Olympic matches in boxing, I will simply say the Olympic bouts are in full swing, and next week I will have bios on the gold medal winners, and fighters who might be under the radar.

Remember I have daily recaps of each day of Olympic Boxing on ITRBoxing.com, which will also be a good resource for history and context.

Boxing Gossip

Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley PPV Undercard announced.

Showtime announced three additional bouts on the Paul-Woodley PPV undercard.

The card is scheduled for SundayAugust, 29th for Showtime PPV, at 5 PM PST at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, and will see Ivan Baranchyk coming off his fight of the year performance against Jose Pedraza in a fight he lost via a brutal knockout, taking on Cleveland’s own, undefeated Montana Love in a super lightweight bout.

Heavyweight Daniel Dubois, a heavyweight who recently lost via TKO to 2016 Olympic silver medalist Joe Joyce, will look to march towards the WBA heavyweight title as he faces regional talent, Joe Cusumano. If Dubois wins look for a bout between himself and Trevor Bryan in the future.

Rounding out the card is Tommy Fury, the half-brother of Tyson Fury, who will face Anthony Taylor, out of the Bay Area, who is originally an MMA fighter, who spent time sparring Jake Paul in a six-round bout.

The co-main event will see undisputed featherweight world champion Amanda Serrano taking on Yamileth Mercado.

Not featured on the PPV will be junior middleweight and 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles Conwell (15-0, 11 KOs), a Cleveland Heights resident who trains in Toledo, Ohio, at Soul City Boxing Gym, who will face Lucas Bastida in a 10-round fight. Conwell’s original opponent Mark DeLuca couldn’t make it to the fight date as an injury forced him out of the bout.

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PBC on FOX – Saturday

Saturday, August 7th, 5 PM PST | FOX

2016 Lithuania Olympian Eimantas Stanionis will headline the FOX card facing former world champion, Luis Collazo. Stanionis, the Freddie Roach-trained fighter, should be heavily favored.

“I want to prove that I’m going to be the next great welterweight champion, so I know that I have to look impressive and come out victorious against Luis Collazo on August 7,” said Stanionis. “Collazo has faced the best of the best, so this will be a great chance for me to show where I stack up. I always like to bring an exciting fight for the fans, and this fight on FOX is going to be no different.”

Undercard

Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre, a man who would’ve been favored to medal at the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo, decided to turn pro at the age of 34-year-old, and in only, his fourth pro fight will fight for WBA interim welterweight title, against Mykal Fox, a very good fighter who has already beaten one unbeaten prospect in his career, thus far, and was in camp with Gervonta Davis.

Maestre is a big-puncher with a great pedigree, who is training in Las Vegas, Nevada, with Ismael Salas. Maestre is a two-time Olympian.

Maestre’s original opponent, Cody Crowley was unable to make the bout due to a positive COVID-19 test, so a longtime friend of ITRBoxing.com, Myke Fox will take the fight on short notice.

“I am very happy to make my U.S. debut on August 7,” said Maestre. “This is a wonderful opportunity for me,” said Maestre. “I have the chance to show the whole world what class I’m in and that I’m a great boxer. I’m excited to begin this journey in the U.S. on my way to becoming a world champion.”

Devon Alexander vs. Lucas Santamaria

Devon Alexander is training in Cincinnati with coach Mike Stafford, as Alexander has lost his last two bouts with his very last one being a KO loss to Ivan Redkach, and needs a win badly. Santamaria is a high-volume fighter, who gave 2016 Olympian Paul Kroll an honest fight and beat very good fighter Mykal Fox, who now fights in the co-main event. Santamaria is a very dangerous fighter, who always comes to win. This is a crossroads bout for both fighters.

Michael Conlan Returns On ESPN+

Friday, August 6th, 10 AM PST | ESPN+

Michael Conlan, the 2016 Olympian, is looking to land his first world title, and in order to do that, he has to beat the former world champion, TJ Doheny. Conlan’s career has never really got going as a pro, as he is struggling to adapt to the pro-style, thus far, which was seen in his last bout against Ionut Baluta, which was a majority decision.

Doheny lost to Ionut Baluta in March of 2020, but even with that loss, Doheny has the most pedigree of any Conlan opponent.

As Conlan is in his fourth year as a professional fighter, it is about that time he starts his climb to a world title, and this will tell us a lot about what he can do at the super bantamweight division.

notable undercard bout – Lee McGregor vs. Vincent Legrand

Scottish boxer Lee McGregor, a training partner of Josh Taylor, is a 24-year-old bantamweight who is 10-0 with 8 knockouts. McGregor is being fast-tracked and has beaten good fighters like Ukashir Farooq and Ryan Walker. Vincent Legrand is currently 32-0, and the biggest test of his career, with a win here, McGregor should have a massive 2022.

DAZN Fight Camp II

Saturday, August 7th, 11 AM PST | DAZN

Kid Galahad vs. Jazza Dickens

A rematch of the 2013 bout that saw Galahad stop Dickens in the tenth round. A lot has changed since, as in 2015 Galahad was suspended for PEDs, with Galahad’s only career loss being a split decision to Josh Warrington in 2019. Dickens has since been stopped by Guillermo Rigondeaux and regional act Thomas Patrick Ward. Dickens is undefeated since 2018 and has a win over current featherweight world champion, Leigh Wood.

A solid bout, but not anything to stop plans for either.

Fabio Wardley vs. Nick Webb

Heavyweight Wardley is a decent heavyweight contender who might get a crack at a world title one day, but doesn’t stand out to me as Capital G Guy. Wardley is a work-in-progress being properly promoted as a domestic fighter, most notable about Wardley is he is managed by Dillian Whyte, a current heavyweight world title contender.

Ebanie Bridges vs. Bec Connolly

Ebanie Bridges is a popular female fighter, who was once a ring card girl, and now is a prizefighter earning her respect in her last fight against Shannon Courtenay. Bridges should do well in this one in a bout against Connolly, who has a record of 3-9 as a pro.

Club Shows

Sacramento, Friday night, DoubleTree

The card will feature local favorite, David Melgoza, who is a big ticket-seller who is facing undefeated Elias Diaz, who had an amateur career. 2019 Olympic Trials participant, featherweight Kevin Montano will make his pro debut in his adopted hometown of Sacramento, Ca, Sacramento local Will Villa, who trains with pro boxer Brandon Gonzales, will be back in action, David Minter will be on the card. The best bout of the evening will be Dreamland’s Mark Salgado versus Cmaje “C.J.” Ramseur in a battle of undefeated fighters, and Joeshon James will be fighting for the first time in America.

“I am really looking forward to make my pro debut in Sacramento,” said Montano earlier this week. “I can’t wait to put on a great performance.”

One of my favorites from the Olympic Trials 2019, Brandon Moore, will fight for the WBC United States (USNBC) Silver heavyweight title in Verite Social Venue, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico on Friday. Moore will be fighting for the ninth time as a professional and is currently undefeated.

Former world title challenger Sharif Bogere will fight in a stay-busy fight in Mexico on Friday, on a different card.

Vacaville, CA’s Ivan Vergara is listed as fighting this week, though no venue is set per BoxRec, so we will update you if he fights. Vergara only has one loss, he’d be facing undefeated Luis Reynaldo Nunez.

Logan Holler returns to action against a very experienced opponent. Holler will be fighting for the first time in 2021 as her opponent fell out on the Claressa Shields PPV, which she was booked on earlier this year. Also on this Florida card is Valle Brothers, Marques, who fought at the Olympic Trials in 2019, and Dominic.

MMA in 500 Words or less

Saturday, August 7th, | ESPN+ PPV – undercard | ESPN

Derrick Lewis, who is a Houston native, where the card is taking place at will face Ciryl Gane, a lesser-known UFC heavyweight, for the UFC interim title, as current UFC heavyweight champion Francis Ngannou is currently trying to come to terms with a financial agreement with the organization, the main event fighter will fight for a form of the title.

Lewis is a big-puncher, known for his funny one-liners, and use of humor that has made him a social media star. Gane has a notable win over former UFC champ Junior Dos Santos, and former Bellator heavyweight champ Alexander Volkov.

Former featherweight champion Jose Aldo will face Pedro Muhnoz in a battle of two good strikers who are capable of getting a knockout with one strike.

Women’s strawweight Tecia Torres and Angela Hill will do battle in a battle of not just talented fighters, but two fighters who have grown big social media platforms. Interesting bout.

On ESPN, you will see Bobby Green, who is sporting a Bam Bam Bigalow head tattoo, who is one of the fighters in the UFC you should always watch if you get a chance as you never know what will happen, as well as popular Polish strawweight Karolina Kowalkiewicz will face former world title contender Jessica Penne. The two are both notable fighters, though Kowalkiewicz should have the edge starting in size, and skills. This bout will be on regular ESPN

Triller Fight Club Results from Tuesday night on FITE.TV –

Hunter, Algieri win

Michael Hunter picked up a brutal fourth-round KO of former Olympic Trials rival, Mike Wilson in a bout he controlled from start to finish. Hunter, a 2008 Olympian, now holds the WBA Continental Americas heavyweight title, which should give him a high world ranking in the WBA, which currently and laughably has four world champions, Anthony Joshua (super), Trevor Bryan (world), Robert Helenius (gold), and Mahmoud Charr (regular). It is not unreasonable to think Hunter should fight one of these four fighters in his next bout with the odds being Charr or Bryan.

Chris Algieri returned to the ring after a two-year layoff with his last fight being a win over Tommy Coyle. Algieri had a vintage performance against fellow New Yorker, Mikkel LesPierre, as Algieri just outworked him en route to a ten-round decision. I would like to see Algieri face the winner of Montana Love & Ivan Baranchykin in his next fight.

Undercard Results

Observations

The event sold well as the ‘TrillerVerz’ set for Tuesday, August 3 in the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden, between popular rap groups, Dipset and The Lox was the talk of New York.

The event feels like DiBella’s Entertainment’s beloved “Broadway Boxing” series, with a bit more marquee fighters at the top of the program. I hope to see these cards continue as it could fill the void that has been left in this space since 360 Promotions stopped having high-level club show bouts, that bring exposure, as well as dignity and respect to fighters looking for a big fight in the near future.

Obviously, the rap battle-concert thing brought people to the dance, but fighters having an ability to build their record is never a bad thing, as it gives them a chance to grow, and get a chance to compete at the top of the sport.

My only problem was I had trouble finding the undercard bouts to revisit them.

Undercard

Decorated amateur boxer Christina Cruz made her pro debut at women’s flyweight winning her fight by way of a dominant decision, Ivan Golub dropped Eric Walker twice in rounds five and nine to win a ten-round decision at welterweight,in a mild shocker junior middleweight Guido Emmanuel Schramm picked up a six-round decision over Nikoloz Sekhniashvili, unbeaten super lightweight prospect Aaron Aponte stopped undefeated Gerardo Contreras Gonzalez in two rounds, as a over the top right and over Gonzalez guard was his weapon of choice. Joseph Ward got a six-round decision as well.