FIGHT WEEK
Floyd Mayweather will return for another exhibition, as will Ricky Hatton and Marco Antonio Barrera against one another. In real fights, Sunny Edwards will face Felix Alvarado, and Janibek Alimkhanuly will take on Denzel Bentley.
SUNNY EDWARDS (18-0, 4 KOs) VS. FELIX ALVARADO (38-2, 33 KOs)
- When: Friday, Nov. 11
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. in U.K.) (main event later in show)
- Where: Sheffield Arena, Sheffield, England
- TV/Stream: FITE
- Division: Flyweights (112 pounds)
- At stake: Edwards’ IBF title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Edwards 5-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Thomas Essomba vs. Marcel Braithwaite, junior bantamweights; Jack Bateson vs. Shabaz Masoud, junior featherweights.
- Prediction: Edwards UD
- Background: Edwards is closing in on showdowns with the top little men in the world – stars like Julio Cesar Martinez and Bam Rodriguez – but he must get past the capable Alvarado first. The 26-year-old Londoner, a superb boxer, won his belt by defeating two-time champion Moruti Mthalane in April of last year. He then successfully defended against Jayson Mama and Muhammad Waseem, winning both fights by wide decisions. Alvarado, a 33-year-old Nicaraguan, held a 108-pound title from 2018 until he gave it up this year and moved up to 112. He made his flyweight debut in May, when he stopped Luis Cerrito Hernandez in four rounds. He hasn’t lost since back-to-back setbacks in 2013 and 2014, after which he has won 20 consecutive fights.
JANIBEK ALIMKHANULY (12-0, 8 KOs) VS. DENZEL BENTLEY (17-1-1, 14 KOs)
- When: Saturday, Nov. 12
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Middleweights (160 pounds)
- At stake: Alimkhanuly’s WBO title
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: Alimkhanuly 20-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
- Also on the card: Seniesa Estrada vs. Jazmin Gala Villarino, strawweights (for Estrada’s WBA title)
- Prediction: Alimkhanuly KO 10
- Background: Alimkhanuly, 29, is a talented 2013 amateur world champion and 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan who has been fast tracked as a pro. The Southern California-based southpaw won the WBO’s “interim” title in his last fight, a second-round knockout of previously unbeaten Danny Dignum in May. He was upgraded to full champion in August. He also stopped veterans Rob Brant and Hassan N’Dam last year, which set up the fight with Dignum. Bentley is a 27-year-old boxer-puncher from London. He was stopped in three rounds by fellow 160-pound contender Felix Cash in April of last year but he bounced back to win three in a row, including a fourth-round knockout of Marcus Morrison in September, to earn a shot at Alimkhanuly’s title. Also on the card, Seniesa Estrada (22-0, 9 KOs) of Los Angeles is scheduled to defend her strawweight title against Jazim Gala Villarino (6-1-2, 1 KO) of Argentina.
RICKY HATTON VS. MARCO ANTONIO BARRERA
- When: Saturday, Nov. 12
- Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (7 p.m. in U.K.) (main event later in show)
- Where: AO Arena, Manchester, England
- TV/Stream: NOW (Sky Sports in U.K.)
- Format: Exhibition
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Natasha Jonas vs. Marie Eve Dicaire, junior middleweights (for Jonas’ IBF, WBC and WBO titles); Dalton Smith vs. Kaisee Benjamin, junior welterweight; Tyler Denny vs. Bradley Rea, middleweights
- Background: Barrera and Hatton are climbing onto the exhibition wagon. Barrera, 48, hasn’t fought since 2011, when the Hall of Famer from Mexico stopped journeyman Jose Arias in two rounds in Guadalajara. Hatton, 44, was last in the ring in 2012, when the former 140-pound titleholder was stopped by contender Vyacheslav Senchenko in nine rounds. The Mancunian will face Barrera in the same arena in which he delivered his greatest performance, an 11th-round knockout of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu that gave him his first major belt. Fans expecting a war between the one-time action fighters will be disappointed. Hatton said this is about fun. He told Sky Sports: “It’s a celebration.”
FLOYD MAYWEATHER VS. DEJI OLANTUNJI
- When: Sunday, Nov. 13
- Time: 3 p.m. ET / noon PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Coca Cola Arena, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
- TV/Stream: Pay-Per-View
- Format: Exhibition
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Delfine Persoon vs. Ikram Kerwat, junior lightweights; Tommy Fury vs. Paul Bamba, light heavyweights
- Background: He’s back already. Mayweather stopped mixed martial artist Mikuru Asakura on Sept. 25 in Japan, his third exhibition since he last took part in a sanctioned bout in 2017. He returns Sunday in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where he’ll face British YouTuber-turned-boxer Deji. The brother of KSI has taken part in one exhibition, a knockout victory over fellow YouTuber Fousey in August. That makes him Mayweather’s second raw amateur opponent. He “fought” Logan Paul in June of last year. The Hall Famer also faced Japanese kickboxer Tenshin Nasukawa in 2018 and former sparring partner Don Moore this past May. His last sanctioned bout was in 2017, when he stopped Conor McGregor.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
SATURDAY
- Montana Love vs. Stevie Spark, junior welterweights, Cleveland (DAZN).
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