This week’s two biggest main events are rematches of good fights from last year – and both also have implications on fights that can be made in 2025.

Let’s look at those shows, and much more, in our TV Picks of the Week:

Pick It, Part 1: Mikaela Mayer vs Sandy Ryan II

When to watch: Saturday, March 29 at 10 p.m. ET (2 a.m. GMT)

How to watch: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, or ESPN+

Why to watch: Mayer-Ryan I had drama before the bells and action between them. There were calls for a rematch no matter what. And that rematch is even more meaningful now than it was before.

In the weeks before Mayer-Ryan I, the two welterweights had heat because Mayer felt that Ryan had stolen her trainer. On the day of the fight, a man attacked Ryan outside of her hotel by dumping paint on her. Mayer denied any connection to the incident, and there is no evidence that she was involved. Ryan went forward with the fight.

Their fight was close and entertaining. Mayer won a majority decision and seized Ryan’s WBO welterweight title.

That made Mayer, now 20-2 (5 KOs), a two-division titleholder. The 34-year-old turned pro after representing the United States in the 2016 Olympics and went on to become a unified titleholder at junior lightweight. After losing to Alycia Baumgardner in a 2022 fight for three world titles at 130, Mayer moved up in weight. She made one appearance apiece at lightweight and junior welterweight before arriving at welterweight in January 2024 and losing a split decision to then-IBF titleholder Natasha Jonas.

Ryan, now 7-2-1 (3 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Derby, England. She picked up the vacant WBO belt in April 2023 after it was stripped from Jessica McCaskill. Five months later, Ryan challenged then-lineal champ McCaskill and fought her way to a split draw, though some felt Ryan deserved the victory. McCaskill went on to lose the championship to Lauren Price, who has since unified the IBF, WBA and WBC belts.

The winner of Mayer-Ryan II will naturally aim for a fight with Price for the undisputed championship.

On the undercard at the Fontainebleau Las Vegas, Brian Norman Jnr will defend his welterweight title against Derrieck Cuevas, and featherweight contender Bruce Carrington will face Enrique Vivas.

Norman, 26-0 (20 KOs), is a 24-year-old from Georgia who won the interim WBO belt last May with a 10th-round knockout of Giovani Santillan. He was among the four welterweights to be upgraded to full titleholder after undisputed champion Terence Crawford vacated his throne. Norman negotiated for a unification bout with IBF titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis, but the two sides failed to reach an agreement. So while Ennis will instead take on WBA titleholder Eimantas Stanionis in a few weeks in an Atlantic City main event, Norman has this co-feature bout with Cuevas. 

Norman-Cuevas was originally scheduled for a November 8 show headlined by Keyshawn Davis but was postponed when Norman suffered a hand injury.

“After this fight, we can get that unification fight,” Norman said in a press release. “I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”

Cuevas, 27-1-1 (19 KOs), is a 30-year-old from Puerto Rico. His loss came in December 2020 at junior middleweight, via split decision against the 23-8 Damian Ezequiel Bonelli. Cuevas returned two years later and has won four in a row, though he hasn’t fought since December 2023, when he stopped the 14-1 Marlon Aguas in six rounds.

Carrington, 14-0 (8 KOs), is a 27-year-old from the Brooklyn borough of New York City who was being pushed as the future of the 126lbs division. That hype eased up after a tough majority decision win over the 17-4-1 Sulaiman Segawa in September. Carrington then came back on the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul undercard in November, shutting out the 13-2 Dana Coolwell.

Carrington remains highly ranked by the sanctioning bodies: No. 1 with the WBC and WBO, No. 2 with the WBA, No. 4 with the IBF. That could land him a title shot later this year – he wants Nick Ball and Stephen Fulton – though Carrington and his team will need to decide whether it’s better to wait and grow beyond being a work in progress, or if they should take the opportunity and the payday should it present itself.

Vivas, 23-3 (12 KOs), is a 30-year-old originally from Mexico and living in California. He’s lost only to familiar names: Ruben Villa (UD10 in 2019), Eduardo Baez (MD10 in 2022) and Joet Gonzalez (UD10 in 2023). Vivas last fought in February 2024, taking out the 20-18 Jonathan Chanona Aguilar in 117 seconds. That means Vivas has fought only two minutes in the past two years.

Pick It, Part 2: William Zepeda vs Tevin Farmer II

When to watch: Saturday, March 29 at 8 p.m. ET (midnight GMT)

How to watch: DAZN

Why to watch: Sometimes a favored fighter will get a close win and then move on. William Zepeda was seen as the top lightweight contender going into his bout with Tevin Farmer in November. Zepeda won the closest of split decisions: 95-94 for him on two scorecards, 95-94 for Farmer on the third.

Thankfully, Farmer is being afforded the respect and the rematch he deserves.

Zepeda, 32-0 (27 KOs), won the WBC’s interim lightweight title with that victory. The belt positions the 28-year-old from Mexico for a mandatory shot at full titleholder Shakur Stevenson. Zepeda will need a better performance in this Farmer rematch to show that he’s truly ready. 

Zepeda had plowed through most of his foes on the way up. Farmer not only was able to withstand his shots, but was able to catch Zepeda with well-timed, well-placed counters. And he could hurt Zepeda, dropping him in the fourth round. The belief is that if a good fighter like Farmer can do that to Zepeda, then even better titleholders such as Stevenson, Gervonta Davis and Keyshawn Davis could do even more damage.

Meanwhile, Farmer, 33-7-1 (8 KOs), will seek to prove that it wasn’t just one bad night for Zepeda, but that it was Farmer’s skills and savvy that created the trouble before and will do it again. However, he will once again be the B-side, and he will be in Zepeda’s home country at that, sharing this main event at Poliforum Benito Juarez in Cancun.

Beyond revenge, Farmer, a 34-year-old from Philadelphia, also wants the opportunity to become a two-division titleholder. He captured a junior lightweight belt in 2018 and made three successful defenses before losing it to Joseph Diaz Jnr at the start of 2020. Farmer then spent more than three years away before returning in June 2023. He put together a three-fight winning streak that came to its conclusion last July, when he lost a decision to the contender Raymond Muratalla.

On the undercard: Oscar Collazo will defend his two strawweight world titles against Edwin Cano and Yokasta Valle will meet up with Marlen Esparza.

Collazo, 11-0 (8 KOs), impressed in November on the same show as Zepeda-Farmer I, when he unified the WBA and WBO titles at 105lbs with a sensational seventh-round stoppage of Knockout CP Freshmart.

For his fifth title defense, Collazo will face Cano, 13-2-1 (4 KOs). Cano has gone 3-0-1 since losing a majority decision to the 16-3 German Valenzuela Barreras three years ago; Cano’s draw was an injury-shortened technical decision. His last appearance was in July, when he knocked out the 5-0 Michael Carmona in four rounds.

Valle, 32-3 (10 KOs), recently started her latest title stint, picking up the vacant WBC strawweight title in November with a wide decision over the 11-6-5 Elizabeth Lopez Corzo. Previously, Valley briefly held a belt at 102lbs in 2016; reigned and unified at 105lbs between 2019 and 2024; and had a brief sojourn to 108lbs to add two more titles. Valle lost to Seniesa Estrada last year in a fight for the undisputed strawweight championship.

She’ll be moving up to flyweight to face Esparza, 15-2 (1 KO). Esparza also lost to Estrada back in 2019 but went on to become a champion at 112lbs. She came in two pounds overweight and lost her three title belts to Gabriela Celeste Alaniz last April; Alaniz subsequently lost to Gabriela Fundora in a fight for the undisputed championship. Esparza returned in December with a points win over Arely Mucino; however, Esparza was 114lbs yet again. Will she make weight against Valle?

More Fights to Watch

Friday, March 28: Pat Brown vs Joaquin Berroa Lugo (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 3 p.m. ET (7 p.m. GMT).

Brown is making his professional debut after competing in the 2024 Olympics as a heavyweight, where the amateur 92kg weight limit is slightly above 200lbs. And so the 25-year-old from Manchester, England, will compete as a cruiserweight when he steps between the ropes at Planet Ice, a skating rink and multipurpose venue in nearby Altrincham.

Brown will be taking on Federico Javier Grandone, a late replacement opponent for the 15-6-2 Vladimir Reznicek. Grandone, 7-4-2 (3 KOs), is listed at 6-foot-1 and will give up five inches in height to the 6-foot-6 Brown. 

Granone, a 33-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina, has lost four fights in a row. The first of those defeats came via seventh-round technical knockout to Yamil Peralta in March 2023; Peralta is viewed as a cruiserweight contender. Grandone’s other losses were to the 8-1-1 Ivan Gabriel Garcia (TKO3); the 4-0 Salvador Nicolas Piccolo (UD6) and the 14-2-1 Eduardo Ezequiel Casalicchio (UD8).

Saturday, March 29: John Michael Bianco vs Brett Beaton (BXNG TV)

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. ET (11 p.m. GMT).

Bianco, 8-1 (4 KOs), is a super middleweight from Ontario, Canada. He was stopped in three rounds in March 2024 by the 6-0 Mate Rudan and returned in November with a TKO6 of the 13-26-1 David Ezequiel Romero.

Beaton, 6-2 (4 KOs), is from Nova Scotia, Canada. His losses, both by TKO, came in his pro debut in December 2021 against a fellow debutant and in March 2024 against a 4-4-1 foe named Leonel Castanon. In December, Beaton beat on the 2-4-1 Javon Blackstock-Sewell.

The undercard on this show in Hamilton, Ontario, includes super middleweight/light heavyweight prospect Wilkens Mathieu, 12-0 (8 KOs), against Ricardo Adrian Luna, 27-12-2 (17 KOs), who has been a designated opponent for several recognizable names.

Sunday, March 30: Constantin Ursu vs Eithan James (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET (6 p.m. GMT).

Ursu, 12-0 (5 KOs), is a 25-year-old welterweight prospect originally from Moldova and now living in Plymouth, England. He’ll be headlining at York Hall in London. Ursu is coming off a second-round TKO of the 15-0 Lewis Booth in December.

James, 13-1 (0 KOs), is a 24-year-old from Northampton, England. His defeat came in March 2024, when he was stopped after nine rounds with the 9-0 Owen Cooper. James bounced back in November with a unanimous decision over the 11-0 Jermaine Osbourne-Edwards.

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.