After Devin Haney, Ryan Garcia, Canelo Alvarez and others failed to live up to lofty expectations last weekend, fight fans don’t have to wait long for more quality on paper, with exciting matchups set to take place across various time zones in California, Florida, England, Africa and Japan.
ESPN breaks down the best card and ranks all the notable fights this weekend.
1. Anthony Cacace vs. Leigh Wood – Junior lightweight fight (DAZN, Saturday at 2 p.m. ET)
After Wood’s last fight, he said he wanted to close his career with a world title fight at the City Ground, home of English Premier League club Nottingham Forest.
Neither of those wishes will come true Saturday for the 36-year-old, but the junior lightweight bout is still significant. Wood (28-3, 17 KOs) is at least boxing in front of his home city fans in Nottingham, at the indoor arena where Carl Froch carved out his illustrious career at super middleweight.
Cacace (23-1, 8 KOs), from Belfast, Northern Ireland, gave up the IBF world title he won against Joe Cordina in May 2024 to make the fight happen. And despite there being no recognized titles on the line, this fight sees two of this division’s top operators face off against each other.
Wood was No. 1 at featherweight before relinquishing the WBA belt following a seventh-round stoppage win over Josh Warrington in October 2023. But Wood’s career has been stuck on hold since, while Cacace has fought in Saudi Arabia, with the shock stoppage win over Cordina elevating his career to its highest level.
Cacace, also 36, has been more active (he also beat Warrington, winning by unanimous decision last September) and has significant height and reach advantages. He has good reason to be confident as ESPN’s No. 2 at junior lightweight going into this fight. But what if Wood shows no sign of the long layoff in his first outing at 130 pounds, inspired by his home fans to prolong his career? It would be another fairy-tale episode in Wood’s career, which keeps turning up dramatic surprises.
The winner of this fight would be a natural next opponent for the winner of Saturday’s Emanuel Navarrete vs. Charly Suarez WBO title fight.
2. Emanuel Navarrete vs. Charly Suarez – Junior lightweight title fight (ESPN/ESPN+, Saturday at 10 p.m. ET)
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Emanuel Navarrete knocks out Oscar Valdez with body shot
Emanuel Navarrete claims victory over Oscar Valdez in their rematch with a dangerous body shot.
Navarrete, a three-division world champion, looked sensational in his last outing when he crushed Oscar Valdez with a shot to the liver in their rematch in December. In that form, the Mexican fighter is a must-watch.
Navarrete (39-2-1, 32) defends his WBO junior lightweight belt against the Philippines’ Suarez in San Diego on Saturday, and a good performance can strengthen his place at the top of the 130-pound division. Navarrete was ruthless versus Valdez, flooring him three times before the stoppage, and another stunning display could perhaps convince him to try another crack at the lightweight division. Navarrete lost a split decision to Denys Berinchyk challenging for the WBO lightweight belt in May 2024, but he could be tempted to pursue more lucrative fights at lightweight again if he beats Suarez (18-0, 10 KOs). There is also the possibility of a unification title fight against WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster for Navarrete if he wants to stay at 130.
3. Erickson Lubin vs. Ardreal Holmes Jr. – Junior middleweight title eliminator (PROBOX TV, Saturday at 6 p.m. ET)
This is a clash of two southpaws who desperately need to win this IBF junior middleweight title eliminator.
Lubin (26-2, 18 KOs), from Orlando, Florida, has the experience but is coming off a long layoff: He has not fought since September 2023, when he won a unanimous decision over Jesus Ramos, with a hand injury delaying his return. Holmes (17-0, 6 KOs), from Flint, Michigan, is less experienced but has the momentum after registering three wins in 2024.
Lubin can be exciting and was involved in a thrilling fight with Sebastian Fundora three years ago. The winner of Saturday’s fight in Kissimmee, Florida, progresses to fight champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.
4. Fernando Martinez vs. Kazuto Ioka – Junior bantamweight title fight on Sunday
After a relentless firefight last July, Martinez and Ioka meet again Sunday in Tokyo, and more of the same is expected. Martinez (17-0, 9 KOs) won a unanimous decision after he outlanded Ioka in their unification title fight in Japan.
Just how much that attritional fight took out of 36-year-old Ioka will determine whether he can get revenge and win a world title in a third weight class.
Ioka (31-3-1, 16 KOs), from Japan, began his career 16 years ago, and he will have to roll back the years to keep pace with the 33-year-old WBA champion from Argentina.
This rematch was delayed from December, after Martinez withdrew with illness, but is worth the wait.
5. Souleymane Cissokho vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas – WBC welterweight title eliminator on Saturday
Equatorial Guinea, the site of Saturday’s fight, is 2,000 miles from Senegal, where Cissokho (17-0, 9 KOs) was born. But it will still feel like a homecoming fight for him. He will fulfill a dream of boxing in Africa when he takes on Kavaliauskas (24-2-1, 19 KOs) in a WBC welterweight title eliminator in the capital of Malabo.
Cissokho, who is due a title shot, is based in Paris but trains in California with Virgil Hunter. If he wins, he will get that opportunity and time in the spotlight.
Injury has delayed the bout, and an 18-month ring absence will be a concern for Cissokho, who faces a dangerous puncher in California-based Lithuanian Kavaliauskas.
But Kavaliauskas has been stopped on the two occasions he has stepped up a level (by Vergil Ortiz in 2021 and Terence Crawford in 2019), and this looks like a golden opportunity for a smart boxer such as Cissokho to seal a big fight for later in the year.
