Wednesday, Aug. 12
ESPN+, 3:00 pm ET, Jono Carroll vs Maxi Hughes. MTK Global gets back in the mix with a Wednesday show featuring 130-pound contender Jono Carroll, plus prospects Sean McComb, Sahir Iqbal, Craig MacIntyre, and Pierce O’Leary. BLH will have live coverage.
Friday, Aug. 14
DAZN, 2:00 pm ET, Felix Cash vs Jason Welborn, Zelfa Barrett vs Eric Donovan. Matchroom’s “Fight Camp” is back for episode three of a planned four, but they might want to consider putting more of these together as I don’t think Ed and the lads will be packing even a ballroom any time soon, nor anyone else for that matter. Could be wrong, I guess. Cash is defending the Commonwealth middleweight title against Welborn, who is a veteran and always gives a real go of it, though he figures to be overwhelmed here probably. Barrett-Donovan is another 12-round fight, and we’ll also have Kieron Conway vs Navid Mansouri at 154, plus prospects Shannon Courtenay and John Docherty. BLH will have live coverage.
Telemundo, 11:35 pm ET, Ricardo Espinoza vs Brandon Valdes.
Saturday, Aug. 15
ESPN+, 2:00 pm ET, Archie Sharp vs Jeff Ofori, Troy Williams vs Michael McGurk. Prospects Dennis McCann and Paddy Donovan are also in action. These are the streaming prelims for the Frampton and Conlan co-headlined show that will air just after on ESPN. BLH will have live coverage.
ESPN, 4:00 pm ET, Carl Frampton vs TBA, Michael Conlan vs Sofiane Takoucht. Frampton and Conlan are both in stay-busy fights to get going again, which under the circumstances is fine. Conlan is ranked at 122 now by the WBO, a blatantly political move, as this is a featherweight fight and he is a featherweight. Frampton’s opponent, who will replace Vahram Vardanyan (visa issues) will be in on short notice, but reportedly they had someone training on standby. If you’re wondering why these fights, of all fights, are getting a rare Saturday afternoon ESPN slot, my guess is it’s because Conlan did excellent ratings last time he was on an ESPN show and everyone wants to see if he might be a legitimate TV draw. He won’t do here what he did opening that Crawford-Kavaliauskas card (where he drew the night’s best rating, absurdly rare for a non-main event to do so), but he might still deliver above what others could. BLH will have live coverage.
DAZN, 8:00 pm ET, Cecilia Braekhus vs Jessica McCaskill, Israil Madrimov vs Eric Walker, Shakhram Giyasov vs Francisco Rojo. Matchroom return to the U.S. and like they’ve done in the U.K., Big Ed and the Gang are going for “unique,” as this show will be held outdoors in downtown Tulsa. This card was supposed to be headlined by Julio Cesar Martinez vs McWilliams Arroyo, but Martinez got sick in mid-July and couldn’t keep training. The main event is still a good one, with Braekhus defending her undisputed welterweight crown against 140-pound titlist McCaskill in a catchweight fight. Madrimov and Giyasov are the featured rising contenders in undercard action, and we’ll also see serious prospects Nikita Ababiy, Ray Ford, and Marc Castro. BLH will have live coverage.
SHO, 9:00 pm ET, David Benavidez vs Roamer Alexis Angulo, Rolando Romero vs Jackson Marinez, Otto Wallin vs Travis Kauffman. Benavidez is defending his WBC super middleweight title in the main event, an optional defense, and if he wins as expected, he’ll face mandatory challenger Avni Yildirim at some point, or at least that’s the plan as of now. Romero-Marinez is for an interim WBA lightweight title that doesn’t need to exist, but Romero has started to push through as a prospect of note via social media, and Wallin-Kauffman is a heavyweight matchup. Wallin has never had good luck fighting on Showtime before so knock on wood that that actually happens or isn’t stopped on a cut in 40 seconds. BLH will have live coverage.