Thursday, June 19
ESPN+, 4:00 am ET, Brian Norman vs Jin Sasaki. For Norman’s WBO welterweight title. Good fight! Eddie Hearn got pretty upset that Norman wouldn’t do exactly what Hearn wanted and fight Boots Ennis for whatever Hearn was willing to pay him… But, this fight with Sasaki in Japan is likely plenty lucrative, and very promising. Chief support here is also a nice matchup between BLH Top 10 guys at 108 lbs., with Cristian Araneta facing Thanongsak Simsri (you may know him as Petchkoson Greentsuda; he’s one of the Thai guys who fights under the equivalent of a brand name rather than his given one) for a vacant IBF belt. BLH will have live updates
Friday, June 20
DAZN, 10:00 pm ET, David Stevens vs Petr Khamukov. A Paco Presents show out of Long Beach, California. Stevens fights for the first time since his November loss to Bek Melikuziev. Khamukov is 33, and you may remember him either as a former Russian Olympian or from deep prelims on a few PBC on FOX shows.
Saturday, June 21
DAZN, 11:30 am ET, Yafai vs Rodriguez prelims. Prelims! For Yafai vs Rodriguez! About two hours worth!
DAZN, 1:00 pm ET, Galal Yafai vs Francisco Rodriguez. The main event here was originally Peter McGrail vs Shabaz Masoud, until Masoud withdrew due to a training injury about two weeks ago. McGrail will now fight Ionut Baluta, and the new main event features Yafai defending the interim WBC flyweight belt he won against Sunny Edwards. He’ll face Rodriguez, still just 32 years old despite turning pro in 2010. Rodriguez has six losses, but they’ve come against the likes of Junto Nakatani, Kazuto Ioka, Chocolatito, Donnie Nietes, and former world champ Moises Fuentes. Rodriguez was also a unified champ at 105 lbs. back in 2014 at the tender age of 21. So, y’know… Look past the tally in the loss column. Conah Walker vs Liam Taylor also makes a strong argument for your attention here. BLH will have live updates.
ESPN+, 5:30 pm ET, Vito Mielnicki vs Kamil Gardzielik + prelims. Mielnicki is the main event because he’s a New Jersey guy, and this show is in Newark. Gardzielik is a Polish fighter appearing outside of Poland for the first time as a pro. The most intriguing matchup is probably Jahi Tucker vs Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson. Deeper on the card is Brandun Lee, who was a super tantalizing prospect 3-4 years ago, but hit some in-ring adversity and stalled out around the time PBC did. Still just 26 years old, so plenty of time for him to make moves in his career if he can find the next level.
UFC Fight Pass, 11:00 pm ET, Hollywood Fight Nights. Callum Walsh vs Elias Espadas is your main event. Nice little eight-rounder on the undercard between Roamer Alexis Angulo and Umar Dzambekov.
