Gather ‘round, folks.
We have a 540-pound unmissable spectacle this weekend in the world of boxing.
No no, professional wrestling legend Rikishi isn’t making a tilt at the heavyweight championship — yet, anyway.
Instead, we have a double-header of world championship fights from the 130- and 140-pound divisions, both duels balanced on a knife’s edge.
Emanuel Navarrete, O’Shaquie Foster, Dalton Smith and Alberto Puello are all gunning for gold on either side of the Atlantic on Saturday, topping our five things to watch this weekend in boxing.
1. Three-belt unification sees Navarrete and Foster collide in Texas
Saturday night’s super featherweight unification fight between WBO/IBF unified champion Emanuel Navarrete (40-2-1, 33 KOs) and WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster (25-3, 12 KOs) is, on paper, pretty close to perfect in terms of matchups.
So, shall we all just agree that this is a Fight of the Year contender before the first bell has chimed and all move on with our lives?
Of course, there’s little fun in that. The real intrigue lies in watching two contrasting styles collide — or perhaps complement one another — in San Antonio. The question is which champion can impose their will, solve the other’s puzzle and ultimately reign supreme.
It’s being billed as Navarrete’s fire against Foster’s ice — and it’s a narrative that’s pretty hard to argue against.
The prizes on offer? The crown of the true king of the 130-pound division, a seat one (WBA) belt away from becoming the first four-belt undisputed men’s champion at this weight class — and a springboard into the pound-for-pound rankings debate.
2. Smith’s hostile champion’s homecoming against Puello
Ten pounds north, and we have a similarly intriguing matchup in Sheffield, England, for the WBC’s super lightweight strap.
Dalton Smith (19-0, 14 KOs) and Alberto Puello (25-1, 11 KOs) complete the 140-pound triangle with themselves and Subriel Matias, having experienced opposite outcomes against the dangerous Puerto Rican.
Puello lost a contested majority decision to Matias last summer, whereas Smith iced the 34-year-old inside five electric rounds back in January, collecting the WBC title from inside Brooklyn’s Barclays Center.
It’s not the easy homecoming many champions receive in this sport.
Smith’s back headlining the Sheffield Arena, but up against a very live dog in Puello, as the traveling southpaw attempts to regain the title he dropped a year ago.
Expect another Arctic Monkeys-inspired ring walk from Smith, who will be determined not to let Saturday night turn into his ”Favorite Worst Nightmare.”
3. Visioli moves up the levels towards Maxi Hughes
There has been growing noise around Matchroom’s Giorgio Visioli (11-0, 6 KOs).
The 23-year-old Briton has moved well since turning pro in 2023, and now advances up another level in the lightweight division against the experienced, seasoned Maxi Hughes (29-9-2, 6 KOs).
Hughes is 3-4 since Visioli joined the pro ranks, but will play the role of crafty veteran on Saturday, giving the youngster a taste of what it’s like to compete up the levels at 135 pounds.
A vacant WBC trinket is on the line here on the Smith-Puello undercard, and Hughes won’t be arriving having accepted the position as Visioli’s yard-marker.
“There’s still plenty of life in me for an old dog,” Hughes said at the event’s final press conference.
He even went as far as to dub himself the “Matchroom Exterminator” — a man who takes particular pleasure in derailing the promising careers of some of the brightest prospects in Eddie Hearn’s stable.
For Hughes, it seems, there’s nothing quite like putting a dent in someone else’s future — just ask Gary Cully and Kid Galahad.
4. Sunday fun-day for Browne and Burden, plus Sharp in action
If you’re still hungry for more action following Saturday’s feast, then why not try a Sunday leisure center in Harrow, London?
There, under the Top Tier Boxing promotion live on DAZN, Ireland’s Shauna Browne (8-1, 5 KOs) closes out the weekend by taking on Jade Burden (5-0, 2 KOs) for the WBA Gold and IBF International titles at lightweight.
Browne arrives as the favorite knowing that another win on her record will edge her back into world title conversations in what is a pretty shallow pool in the women’s lightweight division. It’s now 18 months since she was handed a humbling first-round knockout by the dangerous fists of Elif Nur Turhan.
And if that wasn’t enough, Archie Sharp (27-2, 9 KOs) returns to action, looking to go 3-0 since suffering back-to-back, career-rocking defeats at the hands of Ryan Garner and the aforementioned Maxi Hughes.
5. Garcia vs. Mayweather? What’s next?
Do you want to watch Ryan Garcia fight Floyd Mayweather Jr.?
Of course you don’t.
Wait, you do? A little bit, or a lot? And are you sure?
I get it. Boxing is a sport built on contradictions and juxtapositions. Some of us prefer to sit on our moral perches, spewing faux outrage at such a suggested fight; we’d much rather Garcia fought a voluntary defense against a WBC top-five ranked contender that has never fought outside of — insert eastern European country — right?
I know, I know; sometimes you need the rough with the smooth, the lunacy with the sanity. Garcia defending his WBC welterweight title against the retired unbeaten 49-year-old would smash the box office. But, I’ve got news for you: It won’t happen.
So, let’s spend the weekend making up other mythical matchups for clicks, attention and self-esteem.
Roberto Duran vs. Gervonta Davis, anyone? Lennox Lewis vs. Moses Itauma? Lewis Watson vs. — OK, enough is enough.