UFC Fight Pass, 10:00 pm ET, RJJ Boxing. This show has Lester Martinez vs Uriel Gonzalez, Pablo Cruz vs Eddy Valencia, and Alan Solis vs Abelardo Sanchez currently scheduled.
UFC Fight Pass, 10:00 pm ET, RJJ Boxing. This one is scheduled to feature Santiago Dominguez vs Ricardo Lara, Luis Torres vs Juan Marcos Rodriguez Ortiz, and more.
BKTV, 9:00 pm ET, BKFC 15. BKFC return from Biloxi, Miss., with a show centered around a British invasion. The main event will feature heavyweights Mark Godbeer and Sam Shewmaker, and there’s also supposed to be a Tyler Goodjohn vs Charles Bennett fight, plus more. Should be the usual BKFC event, wild and violent and weird and different. BLH will have live coverage.
DAZN, 1:00 pm ET, Anthony Joshua vs Kubrat Pulev, Lawrence Okolie vs TBA. 1,000 fans will be in attendance in London, which should give this some extra atmosphere. Yeah, it’s not many people, but some of the loudest and rowdiest crowds you’ll find in boxing aren’t big crowds, but passionate fans. Hopefully this is more “passionate fans” and not so much “rich people.” Either way, though. Joshua-Pulev is for three heavyweight titles, of course. Okolie was supposed to fight Krzysztof Glowacki for the vacant WBO cruiserweight belt, but Glowacki is out with COVID. As of right now, Okolie is searching for a new opponent. This card will also, erm, “feature” Hughie Fury vs Mariusz Wach, a dastardly matchup that threatens to be some of the most intensely unwatchable boxing in recent memory; it’s a matchup that is so bad on paper as a style clash that it’s kind of fascinating, really, and I sort of look forward to it in a perverse manner. Another heavyweight bout, Martin Bakole vs Sergey Kuzmin, might actually be pretty fun, though. BLH will have live coverage.
ESPN+, 7:30 pm ET, Stevenson-Clary prelims. Should be the standard Top Rank prelims. What we’re going to do for Saturday night live coverage is have one post for both the ESPN and Showtime events; neither of them are exactly major drawing cards or anything, and I figure a lot of folks will be flipping back and forth, so all things considered, I thought we’d try out just putting everything together for the live coverage, people can chat and watch the fights and all that. I guess some of you may want to avoid “spoilers,” but, I mean, for Colbert-Arboleda and Stevenson-Clary? Really??? Spoilers???? C’maaaahhhhn. BLH will have live coverage.
SHO, 9:00 pm ET, Chris Colbert vs Jaime Arboleda, Matt Korobov vs Ronald Ellis, Richardson Hitchins vs Argenis Mendez. Not a bad set of fights here at all, Colbert is coming along as a 130-pound contender and Arboleda is decent, though probably a sideways step from Jezzrel Corrales. Korobov-Ellis gets Korobov back in action and gives Ellis a shot at scoring a good win over a veteran. Hitchins-Mendez is a big step up for Hitchins; like, a really big step up for Hitchins. Mendez is still a handful, still has something left in the ring, and is experienced and tricky. Daring matchmaking for a prospect, but I love it. BLH will have live coverage.
ESPN and ESPN+, 10:00 pm ET, Shakur Stevenson vs Toka Kahn Clary, Felix Verdejo vs Masayoshi Nakatani, Edgar Berlanga vs Ulises Sierra. Top Rank’s final event of 2020 will take place in Vegas, despite Bob Arum’s stated desire to get the fuck out of there. And one figures all their early 2021 shows will, too. They’ve got a nice setup with the MGM and the bubble and all that. Also the company HQ is there. Also it’s Vegas. This isn’t the fight you’d want for Shakur Stevenson right now, admittedly, but he is leaping in on short notice here to fill a main event hole for the company with Miguel Berchelt-Oscar Valdez postponed, and it also keeps him busy, getting a second fight in for 2020. I like the Verdejo-Nakatani fight a lot, actually; Felix is right there contending for the top 10 at 135 again, quietly bouncing back pretty nicely lately, but Nakatani is a tough SOB and a good fighter. Berlanga-Sierra is fine, and Berlanga is building some buzz. BLH will have live coverage.
FITE TV, 1:30 pm ET, Vladyslav Sirenko vs Kostiantyn Dovbyshchenko. Sometimes some goober fight or other, like Zurdo Ramirez vs Alfonso Lopez coming up on Dec. 18, will get a pay-per-view outlet somewhere, and a bunch of people will go, “This shouldn’t be a pay-per-view.” And that’s fair if the idea is that there is some other place that would want to pay money to carry it. There isn’t. So a pay-per-view, hoping anyone will pay to see it, is the only option. Anyway, here’s this for $9.99. Sirenko is a 14-0, 25-year-old Ukrainian heavyweight. Dovbyshchenko is a 7-8-1, 29-year-old Ukrainian heavyweight. My point is: y’all gotta stop thinking that something being “pay-per-view” indicates a belief among anyone that it’s some great fight. It’s just a way to watch a fight if you want to see it.