Showtime last week revealed its schedule for the remainder of the year. Fox will do the same during its first post-lockdown telecast on Aug. 8, although word of other matchups is trickling out before the formal announcement.
Fox announced that the Aug. 8 card, on Fox Sports and Fox Deportes, features a 12-round welterweight bout between Jamal James and Thomas Dulorme behind closed doors at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
On Aug. 22, welterweight contender Shawn Porter will face unbeaten Sebastian Formella of Germany, according to The Athletic.
And on Friday Errol Spence Jr. and Danny Garcia both Tweeted that their 147-pound title fight is set for Nov. 21 on Fox Pay-Per-View.
Of course, the most compelling fight among those is Spence-Garcia, which is why it will be available for a fee. It’s not Spence vs. Terence Crawford or Manny Pacquiao but it’s big.
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) is considered one of the best fighters in the world pound for pound – he’s No. 7 on the Boxing Junkie list – yet Garcia (36-2, 2 1 KOs) is considered a genuine threat to the Texan.
And why not? Garcia, a former two-division titleholder, has fought successfully at the apex of the sport for a decade and is still only 32. His two losses – against elite opponents Keith Thurman (SD) and Porter (UD) – were both thisclose.
Another element to the match is Spence’s horrific one-car crash in October, from which he somehow walked away with minor injuries. He says he’s perfectly healthy but we won’t know until he steps into the ring.
Spence is coming off back-to-back decisions over Mikey Garcia and Shawn Porter. If he’s is 100 percent, he’ll be favored to beat Danny Garcia, too. He’s the naturally bigger man and seen as a better all-around fighter than the Philadelphian.
At the same time, Garcia has more experience and the ability to compete with anyone. No one is counting him out.
The Porter matchup is more of a showcase or tune-up than a competitive fight, or so it seems. Porter (30-3-1, 17 KOs) came within a whisker of beating Spence in their fight-of-the-year candidate last September in L.A. He’s a former two-time welterweight titleholder at the top of his game at 32.
Formella (22-0, 10 KOs) has a nice record but has never faced anyone near Porter’s caliber and has fought outside his native country only once. Plus, his record seems to indicate that he doesn’t have much punching power.
How is he going to keep a strong, swarming volume puncher like Porter off of him? He probably will have no hope of doing so. In other words, this could be a mismatch, which will disappoint a lot of fans.
James vs. Dulorme is a good matchup between two capable, hungry fighters hoping to position themselves for a shot at a 147-pound title.
James (26-1, 12 KOs) has won six consecutive fights since he lost a decision to slick Cuban Yordenis Ugas in 2016. He’s coming off a unanimous-decision victory over veteran Antonio DeMarco, although some thought DeMarco did enough to win.
Dulorme (25-3-1, 16 KOs) has had mixed results – losing to Terence Crawford (TKO 6) and Ugas (UD) – and has fought only sporadically in recent years but is coming off a solid unanimous-decision victory over previously unbeaten Terrel Williams in September, in which Dulorme looked like a legitimate contender.
We’ll hear the rest of the Fox schedule in a week.
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