So the calendar has turned to the month of May. After a relatively tame boxing schedule in April, things ramp up in the next several weeks. Here's a look at the biggest bouts taking place in these 31 days.
- May 4 - Saul Alvarez vs. Jaime Munguia (Las Vegas, Nevada)
Things kick off this weekend as 'Canelo' returns to defend his undisputed super middleweight championship against his fellow Mexican. There is no doubt that Alvarez is the favorite here. The question is: at 33 years old, and this being his 65th professional contest (60-2-2, 39 KOs), how much tread is left on the tire?
He really didn't show apparent signs of slippage last September when he faced the reluctant Jermall Charlo. The 27 year old Munguia (43-0, 34 KOs) plans to bring the fight to him, or at least put up more resistance. At the very least, he'll attempt to make it into a fight.
The question is if Munguia (who is rated fifth at 168 by Ring Magazine) too one-dimensional to really trouble Alvarez? And will Alvarez start to show some signs of physical slippage?
- May 6 - Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery (Tokyo, Japan)
Yes, there is some early Monday morning boxing, as 'the Monster' headlines at the Tokyo Dome in front of an expected sell-out crowd of 55,000. (And yeah, this is why Inoue does not have to come to America).
Inoue (26-0, 23 KOs) is not only the undisputed king at 122, many have him atop their pound-for-pound rankings. Bottom line, it's basically him and Terence Crawford (and maybe Oleksandr Usyk) -- and everybody else.
Top Rank
Now he faces the notorious Nery (35-1, 27 KOs), who was actually banned by the Japanese commission several years ago for his behavior while he boxed in the 'Land of the Rising Sun'. Many wanted him to commit seppuka, but getting paired with Inoue was considered sacrifice enough.
But Nery is a solid foe. He is rated number five in the division by Ring Magazine and considered a hard-hitting southpaw with a two-fisted attack. It will not be difficult for Inoue to find him inside that ring.
- May 11 - Vasiliy Lomachenko vs. George Kambosos (Perth, Australia)
We go 'Down Under' for this match-up that has the vacant IBF lightweight title up for grabs. The question is how will Lomachenko (17-3, 11 KOs) look given that he hasn't boxed since getting the short end of a very questionable verdict against Devin Haney last May. Did that disappointing loss take the wind out of his sails?
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Meanwhile, Kambosos (21-2, 10 KOs) 15 minutes of fame are running out. He can't live off his upset win over Teofimo Lopez much longer. You could argue he hasn't really won a fight since that fateful night in late 2021. Since then he dropped two decisions to Haney, and then was very fortunate to get the nod against Maxi Hughes last summer.
Plenty of questions abound coming into this contest, which pits two lightweights who are rated in the top 10 in the division by Ring Magazine.
- May 18 - Tyson Fury vs. Oleksandr Usyk (Riyadh, Saudi Arabia)
This one is for all the marbles in the heavyweight division. Fury(34-0-1, 24 KOs) is the lineal and WBC champion, while Usyk(21-0, 14 KOs) holds the remaining titles. Fury, who is naturally the (much) bigger man is the betting favorite.
More and more pundits are tabbing Usyk to pull the upset. But you have to ask yourself: are they being prisoners of the moment?
Yes, Fury struggled mightily against boxing novice, Francis Ngannou, last fall. But logic says he will be much better prepared, mentally and physically, for this assignment. And he still has most of the physical advantages, here.
But on the other hand, you could make the argument that Daniel Dubois scored a body shot KO in their bout back in August. While he eventually stopped the big boned Dubois in nine, Usyk showed some vulnerability downstairs.
Can a very talented small man beat a good big man?
- May 25 - Jack Catterall vs. Josh Taylor II (Leeds, United Kingdom)
Not too long ago that Taylor(19-1, 13 KOs) was considered one of the very best boxers in the world. He was the undisputed junior welterweight champion of the world, and ran through the gauntlet at 140 in the World Boxing Super Series, before defeating Jose Ramirez.
Then he ran into the crafty Catterall (28-1, 13 KOs) in February of 2022, and quite frankly, was lucky to get the victory. The consensus was that this was a bad call. Last June he was decisively beaten by Teofimo Lopez at the Garden.
Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Since the beginning of 2022, Taylor fought just twice, and arguably lost both. Yes, 'the Tartan Tornado' has gone dormant.
As for 'el Gato' Catterall, who is rated seventh at junior welterweight by Ring, he has shown that he is a well-schooled southpaw. He has certainly gotten under the skin of his arch-rival. Much has changed since they first clashed, and this time around it's Catterall who clearly has the momentum coming into the rematch
3KR
This week on 'the 3 Knockdown Rule', Jim Lampley joined Mario Lopez and I to preview Alvarez-Munguia:
THE 3 KNOCKDOWN RULE EPISODE 43 | CANELO VS MUNGUIA PREVIEW | JIM LAMPLEY ON THE SHOW!
3knockdownrule - Listen on YouTube, Spotify - Linktree
