Pick It: TBRB #3 Devin Haney vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa (Saturday, DAZN, 8 PM EST)
And now for a breather. After a hectic, exciting Saturday, and several overperforming main events in the last month, we get to do a bit of comparison shopping. WBC lightweight titlist Devin Haney (24-0, 15 KO), still only 21, sandwiches between career broadening wins for Temofimo Lopez and Gervonta Davis and an upcoming step up for Ryan Garcia.
On paper, Haney has the easiest assignment in a 38-year old Gamboa who is only older than he was when he faced Davis. What Haney is fighting is for perception points in comparison to his peers. Can he deliver a highlight reel outing? Promising heavyweight Filip Hrgovic (11-0, 9 KO) is also in action.
Additional Shows to Watch For
Saturday - #5 Ortiz vs. Flores (Fox, 8 PM EST)
It’s a night of the big men. A nationwide audience can see what 41-year old former heavyweight title challenger Luis Ortiz (31-2, 26 KO) has left in this main event. Ortiz’s only losses have come in memorable affairs with Deontay Wilder and he’s had almost a year to recover from the last of those. 30-year old Alexander Flores (18-2-1, 16 KO) has the chance of a lifetime to make an impression.
His losses, both by stoppage, have come to former titlists Joseph Parker and Charles Martin. Heavyweight prospects Frank Sanchez (15-0, 11 KO) and Michael Coffie (10-0, 7 KO) are also in action in separate bouts.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com
