Thursday, Jan. 23
DAZN/YouTube, 9:00 pm ET, Golden Boy Fight Night. Eric Priest vs Tyler Howard is your main event. Golden Boy announced 100% of ticket proceeds will go to the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which is a nice gesture.
Friday, Jan. 24
ESPN+, 4:15 am ET, Naoya Inoue vs Ye Joon Kim. This was meant to be Inoue vs IBF mandatory Sam Goodman, and it was originally scheduled for December 24th. But, cuts in training forced a delay, and then a Goodman withdrawal just two weeks before the rescheduled date. Not a lot of recognizable names on the undercard, but there’s potential in a well-matched lightweight fight between Tsubasa Narai and Kai Watanabe, a pair of young Japanese fighters with solid power. BLH will have live updates
ProBox, 6:00 pm ET, Najee Lopez vs Gilbert Castillo. ProBox on Friday night! Lopez main events for the first time, and fellow ProBox veteran Darrelle Valsaint appears in a support fight. BLH may have live updates
Saturday, Jan. 25
DAZN, 2:00 pm ET, Dalton Smith vs Walid Ouizza. For a vacant European super lightweight title. Smith was last seen 10 months ago finishing Jose Zepeda in 5 rounds. Ouizza is 33 years old and French. Ellie Scotney and Mea Motu fight for multiple belts in support. Conah Walker vs Harry Scarff has action potential on the undercard.
DAZN, 8:00 pm ET, Diego Pacheco vs Steven Nelson. Pacheco is the WBO #1 super middleweight contender, still only 23 but probably too far along to still merit the “prospect” label. Nelson is 36 and ranked #13 by the WBO. Not the top contender many hope to see Pacheco face in 2025, but not a walkover fight by any means, as Nelson has real power and used to campaign at light heavyweight. Andy Cruz is the chief support, Tito Mercado faces Jose Pedraza deeper on the undercard, and 2024 Olympian Nishant Dev makes his pro debut. BLH will have live updates
ESPN+, 10:00 pm ET, Misael Rodriguez vs Omar Chavez. You may be shocked to hear that a fight involving one of Julio Cesar Chavez Sr’s sons is soaked in drama and chaos, but it appears to be true. This was originally scheduled for last October, but blew up on fight night. Both men made weight the day before, but Chavez initially refused a Mexican boxing commission required same-day weigh-in, then came in somewhere between 7-12 pounds past the rehydration limit when he finally hit the scale. Rodriguez exited, fingers were pointed, wild accusations were thrown back and forth, and JCC Sr said of Rodriguez and trainer Robert Garcia that “no promoter will ever hire them again.” Here we are three months later, and No Promoter seems to be Zanfer, as they’re the ones with their name on the poster. This one isn’t currently on the ESPN+ schedule, but belligerent and attention-starved ace broadcaster Corey Erdman insists it will be televised. There’s apparently even more bad blood in the buildup to this new date, but we’ve gotta save something for Erdman & Friends to talk about on Saturday night.