The summer boxing calendar is filled with massive showdowns despite losing Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul

Just a few weeks ago, boxing’s summer schedule seemed packed with intriguing fights, with one controversial bout that may have garnered more interest than any fight in recent years. But things change quickly in sports and that timeline has taken some recent hits. Still, there are still significant and interesting fights that boxing fans have a lot to look forward to.

For starters, the fight between Mike Tyson and Jake Paul was postponed to a yet-to-be-announced date after Tyson suffered what his team called an “ulcer outbreak” during a recent flight. Tyson vs. Paul had fan opinion divided, with many feeling put off by the 30-year age gap between the men and a return to Paul’s approach of fighting older fighters in gimmick fights rather than building a career “real” in boxing.

Despite all the controversy, there is no denying that the fight, which would have been the first broadcast live on Netflix, would have attracted more attention and looks than any fight in living memory. It will still happen if and when it falls, but for better or worse, it was the biggest fight of the summer.

Most recently, Cody Crowley was forced to pull out of his July 13 fight with IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis in Philadelphia. Crowley was the IBF must-win for Ennis and the fight was the first to take place at the Wells Fargo Center since the arena opened. It was also a rare major fight held in the city and home town of Ennis.

There is no word on whether the card will move forward with a replacement opponent. Crowley was expected to earn nearly $600,000 for the fight, which is a decent amount of money that could see someone face one of the sport’s elite talents in a short space of time.

Now let’s take a look at the fights that remain on boxing’s summer schedule.

A loaded slate of June 15

June 15th features three cards and a total of four championship fights.

The first is a card featuring a rematch between WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith and challenger Richard Riakporhe in London. Riakporhe won their first meeting in July 2019. That remains the only blemish on Billam-Smith’s 19-1 record. Billam-Smith won the WBO belt in May 2023 with a majority decision over Lawrence Okolie. He defended the belt in December with a stoppage of Mateusz Masternak.

Riakporhe hasn’t made huge strides in terms of opposition, but he has come through in his five most recent fights, scoring stoppages in each one. It’s an interesting pairing that will give the winner bragging rights, as well as put him in a powerful position as the cruiserweight division continues to reshape itself.

On the Puerto Rico card, Subriel Matias will defend the IBF junior welterweight title against Liam Paro. After Devin Haney’s loss to Ryan Garcia, which will almost certainly be overturned due to Garcia’s multiple failed drug tests, Matias may actually be the best fighter in the division. Boasting a 20-1 record, Matias has scored stoppage time victories in each of his professional victories.

If Matias wins, as expected, he will be in position for big fights against the likes of Haney or WBO champion Teofimo Lopez. If Paro can get the win and remain undefeated, he becomes a potentially attractive option for the big names in the category.

The crown jewel on the June 15 schedule is the Las Vegas event headlined by WBA lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis and Frank Martin. Davis is arguably the biggest star in the sport and routinely puts on a memorable show with his impressive punching power. He hasn’t been in the ring since April 2023, when he knocked out Ryan Garcia with a body shot, the inactivity largely a product of being first under house arrest and then in prison for a hit-and-run incident in November 2020.

In Martin, Davis faces a solid boxer with versatile skills but who doesn’t excel in any area of ​​the game. His most recent match was a tough decision victory over Artem Harutyunan, which proved to be a stylistic nightmare. The good news for Martin is that Davis doesn’t fight like Harutyunan.

Also on this card, David Benavidez moves up to light heavyweight to face former champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk for the interim WBC title.

Benavidez is moving up a division after it became clear he would never get the shot he deserved against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, despite a long stint as Alvarez’s WBC mandatory challenger. Alvarez has shown little interest in fighting the dangerous Benavidez, complaining about the weight Benavidez gains after the weigh-in and saying it would take an offer of more than $200 million for him to accept the fight.

Gvozdyk retired after a 2019 loss to Artur Beterbiev, but returned in 2023 with three wins over lower-tier opposition. He now returns to deeper waters against a young, strong and hungry fighter in Benavidez.

A doubleheader on June 29

Teofimo Lopez is set to defend his WBO junior welterweight title against Steve Claggett in Miami on June 29. It’s not an exciting fight in terms of the level of opposition for Lopez, who was once seen as one of the key figures in boxing’s future, but it is a fight that could serve to rehabilitate Lopez’s image.

Lopez has fought mid-level opponents repeatedly in recent years, starting with his loss to George Kambosos, which cost Lopez three world lightweight titles. Lopez fought to a majority decision against Sandor Martin, and in his most recent match, he was terrible against Jamaine Ortiz when Ortiz used his footwork to move around the ring instead of having his feet on the ground to get hit. Before the fight with Ortiz, Lopez again looked like his old self, dominating Josh Taylor to win the WBO championship.

Claggett is a Canadian veteran who has compiled a professional record of 38-7-2. Claggett will likely be a much easier target for Lopez, which will produce a more aesthetically pleasing fight than usual for Lopez, but will prove little about his current standing in the sport.

More exciting is the main event from Glendale, Arizona, which sees future Hall of Famer and current WBC junior bantamweight champion Juan Francisco Estrada against rising star Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez. Estrada has been out of action since finishing a fantastic trilogy with Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez by scoring a majority decision victory in December 2022. Estrada is one of the best fighters of his era, but he is a little past his prime and is coming of a long dismissal.

Rodriguez emerged as a major star with a 2022 campaign that saw him move up to junior bantamweight on short notice to defeat Carlos Cuadras for the vacant WBC title. He then defended the belt against Wisaksil Wangek and Israel Gonzalez to end the year. Rodriguez returned to flyweight in 2023, winning the vacant WBO title with a victory over Cristian Hernandez and defeating Sunny Edwards in December to add the IBF title to his collection.

After Edwards’ victory, Rodriguez made it clear that he was returning to 115 pounds in search of becoming champion at the weight once again.

A unique mix of fights on July 6th

For boxing fans, July 6th will be all about the Newark, New Jersey show headlined by Shakur Stevenson vs. Artem Harutyunyan.

Stevenson is one of the sport’s brightest young stars, but his November victory over Edwin De Los Santos to win the vacant WBC lightweight title hurt Stevenson in the eyes of many. Stevenson only landed 65 punches in the entire fight, but that was enough to beat the Compubox record of 40 punches thrown by De Los Santos. Neither fighter landed double-digit punches in any round.

Stevenson promised more action in his next match, but Harutyunyan was a frustratingly difficult puzzle for Martin to solve in their 2023 meeting.

Also on the card, O’Shaquie Foster will defend his WBC junior lightweight title against Robson Conceição.

For “cross boxing” fans, two UFC rivals will face off in the boxing ring in Anaheim when Nate Diaz boxes Jorge Masvidal. Masvidal defeated Diaz in the UFC Octagon in 2019 to win the ceremonial first “BMF” title. With both men out of the UFC, they have agreed to meet in the boxing ring for a fight that will be nothing if not “interesting.”

The biggest card of the summer

Los Angeles will host the biggest fight card of the summer with an absolutely stacked card on August 3rd. In the night’s main event, pound-for-pound elite fighter Terence Crawford moves up to junior middleweight, where he will challenge Israil Madrimov. WBA title.

Crawford is coming off a career-defining drubbing of Errol Spence Jr. in his most recent outing. This victory took him to 40-0 and finally cemented his claim as the best welterweight of his era. Crawford said he has a limited number of fights left and moving up to face Madrimov could be the first step in a plan that ends with a megafight with “Canelo” Alvarez.

There are two other title fights on the card, with Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz defending his WBA junior welterweight title against Jose Valenzuela and David Morrell taking on Radivoje Kalajdzic for a vacant secondary WBA light heavyweight title.

Also set for the card is former unified heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz vs. Jarrell “Big Baby” Miller and Vergil Ortiz Jr.

It’s a stack of cards that prepares the winners for potentially big fights. As mentioned, Crawford could be in pursuit of Alvarez. But Cruz is also an attractive option for other junior welterweight champions who might be looking for unification opportunities.

Morrell followed Benavidez’s path of moving up when Alvarez clearly would not defend his title against him despite his mandatory champion status. If Morrell and Benavidez win secondary championships by moving up a division, a matchup between the two could make sense as Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev face off to determine an undisputed lightweight champion.