Here’s what’s on the schedule for boxing fans this week, including a cruiserweight battle, an up-and-coming light heavyweight, and two undefeated featherweights facing off.
Wednesday, October 1: Brandon Glanton vs. Marcus Browne (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST).
Two American cruiserweights, each hoping for a greater foothold at 200lbs, will headline this show at Mobolaji Johnson Arena in Lagos, Nigeria.
Glanton, 20-3 (17 KOs), is a 33-year-old from Georgia who makes for fun fights. Among them: Glanton’s win in a 2021 war with Efetobor Apochi, and his most recent outing, a unanimous decision loss to Chris Billam-Smith in April on the undercard of Chris Eubank Jnr-Conor Benn I.
Browne, 25-2 (16 KOs), is a 34-year-old from New York, now living in New Jersey. Browne represented the United States in the 2012 Olympics and then turned pro, spending the bulk of his career as a light heavyweight. His biggest win was in January 2019, when he won a secondary title belt via unanimous decision against a badly cut and astonishingly bloody Badou Jack. Browne then lost a narrow, cut-shortened technical decision to Jean Pascal that August.
Browne’s last major outing was in December 2021, when he gave Artur Beterbiev a good fight before succumbing to a ninth-round knockout. Browne spent 20 months away before returning in August 2023 as a cruiserweight, taking a wide win over the 13-1-1 Adrian Taylor. That was the last time Browne fought, which means he’ll be returning from more than 25 months on the sideline.
Friday, October 3: Umar Dzambekov vs. Artem Brusov (UFC Fight Pass)
The broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (3 a.m. BST).
Dzambekov, 12-0 (8 KOs), is a light heavyweight prospect from Russia now living in Los Angeles, California. This will be the 27-year-old’s third fight of 2025. In April, he quickly dispatched the 11-1 Sonny McEwen in the first round. And in June, Dzambekov took an eight-round unanimous decision over Roamer Alexis Angulo, whose only other defeats had come against Gilberto Ramirez, David Benavidez and Edgar Berlanga.
This main event at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California, will be the first time Dzambekov is in a scheduled 10-rounder. The same can be said for Brusov, 13-1 (12 KOs), a 34-year-old from Russia living in Florida.
Brusov dropped a decision in January 2023 to the 7-0 Atif Oberlton and then returned in May 2023 with a first-round TKO of the 15-4 Wilson Santana. However, Brusov has not had a fight under the traditional Queensberry Rules since – his only ring appearances in the past 28 months were a combined three Team Combat League rounds on two nights in April and May.
Among the fights scheduled on the undercard are junior welterweight prospect Cain Sandoval, 16-0 (14 KOs), against Jino Rodrigo, 13-5-2 (11 KOs); junior bantamweight Daniel Barrera, 9-1-1 (4 KOs), against Mario Hernandez, 13-6-1 (4 KOs); and junior featherweight Iyana “Roxy” Verduzco, 5-0 (1 KO), against Perla Lomeli, 7-5 (1 KO).
Saturday, October 4: Nathaniel Collins vs. Cristobal Lorente (DAZN)
The main broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7:30 p.m. BST). A preliminary undercard is scheduled to start at 11 a.m. ET (4 p.m. BST).
Collins vs. Lorente features two unbeaten featherweights in the main event at Braehead Arena in Glasgow.
Collins, 17-0 (8 KOs), is a 29-year-old from Bearsden, Scotland, not too far from where this show will be taking place. Collins is ranked first at 126lbs by the WBC, 11th by the WBO and 15th by the IBF. This will be his third fight of 2025. After taking a points win over a designated opponent in February, Collins shined in May with a fourth-round TKO of the 15-1-1 Lee McGregor.
Lorente, 20-0-2 (8 KOs), is a 29-year-old from Spain. He is ranked 10th by the WBC. Lorente shares a common opponent with Collins. Lorente triumphed via unanimous decision against the 18-3-2 Francesco Grandelli last December; Collins did the same seven months earlier. In Lorente’s most recent appearance, he fought to a draw in July with the 8-0 Ruben Gil.
The undercard includes a light heavyweight bout between Willy Hutchinson and Mark Jeffers. Hutchinson, 18-2 (13 KOs), is returning from about a year away since his split decision loss to Joshua Buatsi. Jeffers, 20-1 (7 KOs), is also coming off a defeat, having dropped a majority decision to the 18-2 Sean Hemphill in June.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
