Wednesday, October 29th
iMe PPV (?), 5:00 am ET, Thrilla in Manila 2: 50th Anniversary. A Manny Pacquiao promotion featuring Melvin Jerusalem defending his WBC minimumweight title against Siyakholwa Kuse. Marlon Tapales is on the
undercard, as is none other than the one and only MUHAMMAD ALI…’s grandson, Nico Ali Walsh. This streams on a platform called iMe, but I’m not totally sure whether it’s region locked, or exactly what it costs. The platform doesn’t tell you in advance (not a good sign!) and you can’t even set up an account to see the price without validating through a text message to your phone. That’s an immediate nope from me! But… If you’ve always wanted to see MUHAMMAD ALI(‘s grandson) fight another Thrilla, and you’re less protective of your contact information and personal data? Give it a shot, maybe!
Thursday, October 30th
Top Rank Classics, 8:00 pm ET, Mary Spencer vs Mikaela Mayer. From Montreal, Canada, for Spencer’s WBA super welterweight title. Top Rank still without a traditional broadcast or streaming deal. What they have now instead is an ad-driven live streaming channel called “Top Rank Classics” that you can view through most stream boxes, or directly through a link on the Top Rank website. Five fights on the live stream, with Arthur Biyarslanov vs Sergey Lipinets a notable one on the supporting slate.
Saturday, November 1st
DAZN, 3:30 pm ET, Joshua Buatsi vs Zach Parker. From Manchester, England. A nice little light heavyweight matchup, huge domestic stakes for both, and potential to get back in the world title mix for the winner. Buatsi looks to bounce back from a February loss to Callum Smith. Parker is 4-0 since taking his only pro defeat, when he withdrew early against John Ryder due to a broken hand. Parker has been tiptoeing up from super middleweight since then, but this would be his first time fighting at a full 175. With respect to Bradley Rea and Lyndon Arthur, it’s the main event that really carries this one. John Tom Varey makes his pro debut here, no longer fighting under the name John-Thomas Varey. I’ll leave it to our UK friends to suggest why in the comments below.
DAZN, 8:00 pm ET, Lenier Pero vs Jordan Thompson. A Matchroom/BoxLab show from Orlando, Florida. Thompson fights for the first time in over two years; last seen getting finished in 4 rounds by Jai Opetaia in a cruiserweight title fight. This Pero is a Cuban 32, older than his slightly better-known younger brother, Dainier. Both of them keep this venue busy… This will be the eighth time one Pero or another has fought here in less than two years. Yoelvis Gomez, Omari Jones, and Nishant Dev all appear in support in what are listed as super welterweight matchups. And, no – not against each other.
