Crawford vs. Porter 

Saturday, November 20th, ESPN+ PPV, 6 PM PST

A battle of evenly matched welterweights, as a career welterweight, who fought as a middleweight in the amateurs, Shawn Porter, welcomes, the undefeated generational great Terence Crawford, who is a top-3 pound-for-pound fighter in the world, this Saturday on PPV. 

Crawford is a three-division world champion, and despite beating Viktor Postol, Yuriorkis Gamboa, becoming the undisputed world champion at 140 lbs, and defeating Jeff Horn, after Horn beat Manny Pacquiao, many still want to question Crawford’s resume. Crawford is merging from being a Marvin Hagler figure to a Larry Holmes-type, as he has put forth a decade of dominance, as well as got better over time, but his respect isn’t universal, and his stardom is an after thought to the average fight fan compared to the Tyson Fury’s and Canelo’s of the world – his rightful peers. 

Shawn Porter is in a similar spot to Crawford, yet without an undefeated record, as Porter is a two-time world champion, but isn’t regarded as elite as he truly is by fight fans, based on his losses to Kell Brook, Errol Spence Jr., and Keith Thurman. Porter is missing the big win, but has never been battered and beaten in a fight, as each one of his losses were close and debatable. From Brook being able to hold all fight long, to Thurman’s bout coming down to one swing round. 

The main story arch of this fight is this…in theory, this is Terence Crawford’s biggest test as a professional, and many are curious how one of the best fighters in the world will perform against this level of opponent.

undercard 

Esquiva Falcao will face Patrice Volny in a 12-round bout that will serve as the IBF middleweight eliminator, for the belt held by Gennady Golovkin, who is set to defend it on December 29th, in Japan against Ryota Murata. Falcao has been a solid fighter, developing on Top Rank undercards and this will be his chance to emerge to the next tier.

Janibek Alimkhanuly will face former three-time world champion Hassan N’Dam in 10-round middleweight bout. Alimkhanuly is a good fighter, who has yet to get any major press, but causes a lot of tough match-ups for fighters in the middleweight division. He needs to make the most of being on this card, especially against a former world champion.

Raymond Muratalla will face Elias Araujo in an eight-round lightweight bout. Last week “Danger” Muratalla got a new opponent as Steven Ortiz was forced out of the bout with an injury. Muratalla was a fighter who got busy during “the bubble” in COVID-19, no crowd-era, but now we need to see a bit of his ceiling moving forward.

ESPN card

Isaac Dogboe faces Christopher Diaz in a ten-round featherweight bout that has all the makings of a fight that could steal the show. Dogboe working with legendary coach, Barry Hunter, might have a slight edge, but with Diaz coming off losses in two world titles fights, and Dogboe getting a marque win over Adam Lopez after a skid, this will tell where both fighters are at.

Adam Lopez vs. Adan Ochoa will face each other again in an eight-round featherweight rematch. Lopez is one of the better fighters that never gets credit for his skill level, and Ochoa is a tough L.A. fighter.

Karlos Balderas’ second fight with Top Rank will see him face Julio Cortez in a six-round, 130 lbs fight. Cortez, who trains out of San Jose, California, out of Relentless Boxing Gym, and was last seen fighting Albert Bell. Balderas might next face Rene Tellez in a rematch of a bout he lost with a successful performance on Saturday.

2020 Olympian Tiger Johnson will turn pro against Antonius Grable in a welterweight bout. Johnson is as good as any Olympian and should be on full display with his talents, getting viral knockout.

Demetrius Andrade vs. Jason Quigley

Friday, November 19th, 4 PM PST – network: DAZN

WBO middleweight world champion Demetrius Andrade is one of the best fighters who can’t buy a fight, as even signing with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, Andrade still is lacking his career-defining fight, and he isn’t getting younger.

Quigley is a game Irish fighter, who beat Shane Mosley Jr. to get into this spot, and has never wowed me as a talent that could contest against the best of the division, and Andrade is just that. This fight will be an opportunity to see Andrade fight, but I don’t see it being competitive, at least on paper, or based on the skill set of the two fighters. 

undercard

Murodjon Akhmadaliev will look to defend his IBF super bantamweight title as well as some version of the WBA title against late-replacement Jose Velasquez. Akhmadaliev was originally set to face Ronny Rios, who is having a career resurgence after stopping Diego De La Hoya, but was forced to withdraw after he tested positive for COVID-19. Velasquez has a notable win, that being a KO win over Melvin Lopez. Akhmadaliev is one of the best fighters in this division, and has been out of the ring for far too long. It’ll be nice to see him back.

WBC flyweight champion Julio Cesar Martinez will face McWilliams Arroyo in a bout that should be all-action. Martinez who trains out of Canelo’s camp with Eddy Reynoso, will face one of the two fight Arroyo brothers, and Martinez has seen his career been very snake bitten as of late, as he can’t make it to fight night seemingly ever. This is a sleeper bout to watch, as Arroyo is a world-class fighter, and Martinez has a style that gets old over night. Lots of punches will get thrown.

The WBA women’s junior welterweight title, as well as the vacant women’s junior welterweight title, is on the line as Kali Reis faces Jessica Camara. Camara holds a win over Heather Hardy, and Reis has gone to new levels after dropping Cecilia Brækhus on HBO, years ago and then winning a world title recently. The winner of this fight will face the generational talent that is Chantelle Cameron to become the undisputed world champion of this division. 

Light heavyweight Khalil Coe, who has a Kevin Gates-inspired nickname “The Big Steppa”, a nickname that is given to an active person in the streets will be back in action. Coe holds a win over the Cuban Julio La Cruz via KO, and was the greatest what-if of the 2020 Olympic Trials, as he didn’t compete. Coe should be amongst the best in this division in the new era with Rahim Gonzales and Atif Oberlton.

Katie Taylor Returns December 11th

Katie Taylor look to defend all her world titles which are theWBC, WBA, IBF, WBO and Ring Magazine Lightweight belts against WBA Mandatory Challenger Firuza Sharipovaon the same night that welterweight star Conor Benn steps up in competition against former World Champion Chris Algieri at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday December 11, live worldwide on DAZN.

Club Shows 

Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Daniel Ponce de Leon will fight in an exhibition bout taking place over 6 rounds at junior middleweights, will be above the featherweight weight limit both fighters were known for. The bout airing on Fite.Tv, will take place in New Mexico, and serve as fun for die-hard fans of Barrera.

Top Rank Inc heavyweight Sonny Conto will return in six-rounder on a club show, Conto needs to have a big 2022. I have always eyed him and Guido

Atif Oberlton, the 2020 Olympic Trials silver medalist will face Brent Oren in Philly this week. Oberlton is being moved fast and reminds me of a young Willie Nelson, the fighter, not the country singer. 

Francis Hogan will face Danny Flores in 6 round junior middleweight bout in Massachusetts. Hogan is probably the most active American prospect to turn since the COVID-19 pandemic with maybe the exception being Brandon Moore. Hogan is a draw.

DeMichael Harris faces Julio Gomez Leyva in a six-round, junior lightweight bout in South Carolina. Harris has been in some marquee training camps and should get a big fight soon, I am eyeballing him for a future ShoBox: The Next Generation-type guy. 

Super flyweight Mikiah Kreps will make her U.S. debut in her second pro fight, as she fights in Rochester, New York. Kreps fought two weeks ago, debuting in Mexico, and winning via second-round KO. 

Undefeated flyweight Christian Robles will return on an L.A. card in a six-round fight.

Former cruiserweight world champion Yuniel Dorticos will fight in Miami, Florida, on Saturday, as well. 

MMA In 500 Words Or Less

Miesha Tate vs. Ketlen Vieira

Saturday, November 20th, 3 PM PST – ESPN+

UFC legend Miesha Tate returned to the UFC, Ketlen Vieira, is one of the new faces of the division, who is 1-2 in her last three fights. If Tate wants to continue forward in the UFC these are the type of fights she needs to win, and we expect she will, and will look like a star all fight week, as she always seems to.

Sean Brady vs Michael Chiesa

Sean Brady is an emerging undefeated welterweight, who is looking for a big win, Michael Chiesa is a well-known UFC fighter, who lacks the big win. Whoever wins this will get their big win.