Boxing junkies are going to have a hard time finding a fix temporarily.
No big fights are scheduled for the next few weeks, in part because the sport has been shut down in the U.K. until at least the end of the month amid a spike in coronavirus cases.
The next notable event is on Jan. 23, when Angelo Leo defends his 122-pound title against Stephen Fulton at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. (Showtime).
Then comes a busy Jan. 30. Caleb Plant, a prospective opponent for Canelo Alvarez, defends his 168-pound belt against Caleb Truax on Fox. The site hasn’t been announced.
And former light heavyweight champ Sergey Kovalev faces Bektemir Melikuziev in Moscow (DAZN).
A matchup of 154-pound prospects is set for Jan. 20, when Patrick Cora (10-0, 7 KOs) will face Hurshidbek Normatov (10-0, 3 KOs) at the Mohegan Sun (Showtime).
The Leo-Fulton fight is compelling. Leo (20-0, 9 KOs) used a vicious body attack to easily outpoint last-minute replacement Tramaine Williams in a fight for a vacant title on Aug. 1.
Leo was supposed to have fought Fulton that night but Fulton had to pull out after testing positive for COVID-19 a few days before the fight. Fulton (18-0, 8 KOs) is a slick boxer who many see as championship material.
Alvarez, a newly crowned 168-pound titleholder, has said that he wants to unify all the belts this year. Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) holds one of the titles the Mexican star covets, which means that fight could take place in May or September.
Plant, who will be making his third defense on Jan. 30, must beat Truax (31-4-2, 19 KOs) first. Truax, 37, is a former super middleweight titleholder.
The 37-year-old Kovalev (34-4-1, 29 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since he was knocked out by Canelo Alvarez in November 2019. Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KOs) is a former amateur star from Uzbekistan, although he’s based in California. He stopped Alan Campa in three rounds in October.
The boxing schedule for February is robust.
A big double-header is set for Feb. 13, when Joseph Diaz Jr. defends his junior lightweight title against Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov and Patrick Teixeira defends his middleweight belt against Brian Castano in Indio, Calif. (DAZN).
On the same day, Joe Smith Jr. fights Maxim Vlasov for a vacant light heavyweight title on ESPN. No site has been announced.
Then, in an intriguing junior lightweight bout, Miguel Berchelt defends his title against Oscar Valdez on ESPN. Again, no site has been announced.
Liam Walsh will face Paul Hyland Jr. in lightweight fight on Feb. 19 in Wakefield, England (ESPN+).
And on Feb. 27, in New Zealand, Joseph Parker fights Junior Fa in a heavyweight fight on DAZN. The winner could be in position to fight for a title soon.
[lawrence-related id=12445,5709,13181,10994]