It may be the week of Valentine’s Day, but don’t expect to see any love in the ring this weekend as we will get a healthy dose of the sweet science starting on Friday night.
Friday, February 16 in Reno – ESPN
In the main event on ESPN, Raymundo Beltran (34-7-1) will battle Paulus Moses (40-3) for the vacant WBO lightweight title.
Beltran is in the twilight of his boxing career at 36, but since losing to Terrance Crawford in 2015, he’s strung together five wins, four of which were knockouts.
Moses also has some impressive wins, but not impressive names on his record. The 39-year-old be in for a challenge on Friday night as he looks to capitalize on likely his last championship opportunity.
Also on the card: Bryant Jennings, Shakur Stevenson.
Saturday, February 17 in El Paso, TX – Fox
The headliner is a make-or-break matchup with two former welterweight champions matched up. Both need wins over good opposition to remain relevant in the weight class and both will be fighting for their careers.
Victor Ortiz vs. Devon Alexander is an interesting matchup of fighters with completely opposite styles. Ortiz relies on his heavy hands and speed, while Alexander is more technical.
Both fighters looked good in their last fights, but they were against less-than-stellar competition. No belt is on the line for this 10-rounder but hopefully, both boxers will put on a show with something much more important at stake.
This is heavy undercard, including Caleb Plant vs. Rogelio Medina, Austin Trout vs. Juan De Angel in an 8-rounder. Tony Harrison and Thomas Williams Jr. are also featured.
Saturday, February 17 in La Vegas – Showtime
On the same night as Victor Ortiz takes on Devon Alexander, his long-time rival, and former friend, Brandon Rios, will be headlining this card in a challenge against former welterweight champion Danny Garcia.
Garcia suffered his only loss against current WBC champ Keith Thurman last year. That had been Garcia’s best opposition in quite a few fights. Garcia has often been criticized for the level of opposition his team has chosen.
Will Rios be another hand-picked opponent or will the hard-hitting all-action Rios make Garcia uncomfortable enough to challenge him?
Look for a full preview of this fight later today.
Also on the card: A rematch of David Benavidez vs. Ronald Gavril.
Saturday, February 17 in Manchester, England
George Groves (26-3) and Chris Eubank Jr. (27-1) will battle for the WBA super middleweight title in the World Boxing Super Series semifinals.
For some strange reason, none of the WBSS has been televised in the United States, and unfortunately, this much-anticipated matchup will also not be televised in the US.
The only blemish on this always confident Eubank’s record is a split decision loss to Billy Joe Saunders, who just made David Lemieux look pedestrian in their December fight.
While Eubank Jr. has an impressive record, the only notables on his record aside from Saunders is Arthur Abraham, who he beat back in July, and Renold Quinlan.
Groves is much more of a known quality as he has fought virtually everyone near and at the top of the division, and has only had losses to Carl Froch and Badou Jack.
This should be an interestng fight, especially with all the talk going both ways.
