Three Cities & Three Big World Title Fights

Three Cities & Three Big World Title Fights

It will be a night where boxing takes centre stage in Belfast, Bournemouth, and Manchester. Three big main events with world title fights on the line in all three. Each fight has merit and interest. Many will have to pick and choose what they watch. Three big cards on one night could and should have been avoided. A Bank Holiday weekend offers a few more options. On the surface, the over-saturation seems avoidable. At the very least, one card should have been moved to Friday or Sunday. Eyes will undoubtedly be diverted from Sky Sports, BT Sport, and Dazn. The fighters will miss out on exposure. Most will still watch the three world title fights at some point in the evening. Or early hours. The undercard fights will have a more limited viewership. The fighters who need it the most.

Michael Conlan fights Luis Alberto Lopez in Belfast for the IBF world featherweight title. Conlan, if he learns from his experience with Leigh Wood last year, should finally get his hands on a world title. But Lopez should not be underestimated. Forget shouts of robbery last December when Lopez relieved Josh Warrington of his IBF title. The Mexican won beyond much doubt and can leave Belfast with his world title still strapped to his waist if Conlan isn’t at his best. The odds are close. And quite rightly so. Conlan probably nicks it on the cards. A prediction made with little conviction. A fight that could steal the night.

Chris Billam-Smith gets a hometown gig in his maiden attempt at a world title. The WBO cruiserweight title will be on the line when the Bournemouth native fights the great enigma of British boxing Lawrence Okolie. With eight wins on the bounce, Billam-Smith has momentum. Okolie needs to find some. And fight well enough to keep the paying punters in their seats. Okolie, on his much-anticipated Boxxer debut, had the fans looking for the exit doors in March. It wasn’t his first ‘stinker’, and he can’t afford another. At the Vitality Stadium, Okolie will look to make that statement he didn’t make in Manchester. Okolie is a colossal investment for Boxxer. Make no mistake, he needs to produce the goods. I believe he will. In truth, he needs to.

The fight will be a lot better than many expect. Billam-Smith will make Okolie fight. I believe their styles will gel enough to entertain and stop the armchair fans from looking for entertainment elsewhere. Okolie probably wins, and possibly by stoppage. But if the champion has another off night, don’t be surprised if the title changes hands. The hook-up with Boxxer has served Billam-Smith well, and win lose or draw tonight, he will come again.

There was drama on Friday in Manchester when Mauricio Lara lost his WBA featherweight title on the scales. The fight, however, still goes ahead. Leigh Wood can still win back his world title. He made championship weight. Lara wasn’t allowed to. And quite rightly so. It’s another uneasy fight with suspicion engulfing the Mexican. There are concerns for Wood fighting a murderous puncher in Lara who came in well overweight on Friday. But how much has Lara taken out of himself? And what version will we see in Manchester? How much has his training been hit by the celebrations arising from his victory over Wood just 98 days ago? If Lara is a seriously depleted fighter, which is a distinct possibility, especially with any rehydration clauses that are now in play, come that first bell, it is an extremely dangerous fight for him. The Nottingham fighter is no ‘Slapsie Maxie.’

But a quick turnaround could hurt both fighters. Has Wood really recovered from the last fight? Has the thirst for revenge overruled common sense? It is a fight where literally anything could happen.

Wood was winning in February until the trajectory of the fight suddenly changed in that pivotal 7th round. If Wood avoids the mistakes he made in Nottingham, he can be a world champion again. But one mistake and Lara will repeat what he did in their first meeting. The Mexican is a formidable puncher from the first second to the last second. Imminent danger will always be there. One punch could be the deciding factor. And it probably will be. Either way.

The Conor Benn saga rumbles shamelessly on in the background. Those with cameras and a microphone seem frozen on the spot. The word suspended dare not be mentioned it seems. The elephant in the room that still is trying to be worked around. Benn might very well be innocent. But until that has been proven, talk of a big-money fight with Chris Eubank Jr or anybody else is premature and beyond shameful. A fact all these months on, some still don’t get.

But despite the crowded schedule, and the situation with Benn that never seems to go away. Or get resolved. It is still a night of celebration for boxing. Three world title fights that could genuinely go any which way. The only downside is the party should have been over more than night.

Photo Credit: Lawrence Lustig/Boxxer & Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing