THIS weekend, fight fans can kick back and enjoy a host of solid boxing cards, with intriguing shows taking place all around the world. Boxing News looked at the three standout bills and discussed the hot topics ahead of what is set to be a telling few days in the sport.
Will Delicious Orie become another Brit to challenge for heavyweight glory?
With the days of a prime Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury now in the rear-view mirror, British fans are hopeful that the new era of heavyweights can continue to compete at the peak of the division. Moses Itauma is bearing much of the brunt of expectation.
Yet, Saturday night sees the debut of a new possible contender. Paris 2024 Olympian Delicious Orie makes his professional debut, taking on Bosnia’s Milos Veletic, 3-7 (1 KO), who was stopped in the opening round by Matty Harris upon his first trip to the United Kingdom back in 2023.
Though Orie underwhelmed in the summer and was knocked out of the Olympics in the Round of 16, the 27-year-old is a 2022 Commonwealth Games and 2023 European Games champion, boasting wins over well-respected amateur opposition.
A knockout is expected on Saturday night in Manchester, and it will be interesting to see how the Wolverhampton-based big man develops in the pro ranks.
Can Joe Joyce’s chin hold up?
Conversely, Joe Joyce, 16-3 (15 KOs), sits atop the Manchester bill and is at the other end of his career. He is fighting to prove that he still has what it takes to make good on the potential shown three years ago, tasked with old amateur foe Filip Hrgovic, 17-1 (14 KOs).
Blessed with a granite chin, ‘The Juggernaut’ seemed destined for a world title shot when he halted Joseph Parker back in 2022. Joyce has endured a nightmare spell since; losing three out of his last four contests, with two knockout defeats to Zhilei Zhang lessening the reputation of his fabled beard.
Against an opponent he trumped at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, Joyce enters the contest as a sizeable underdog on home soil. He will need to fight like the Joyce of old to come out on top.
Considering Hrgovic has won by stoppage in all but one of his last 10 victories, Joyce’s ability to hold a shot will prove crucial, as he attempts to grind the Croatian down and prove his doubters wrong.
Could Lindolfo Delgado emerge as a serious title threat at 140lbs?
Well-ranked with the WBC, IBF and WBO, undefeated Lindolfo Delgado, 22-0 (16 KOs), sticks out as Mexico’s latest contender at the weight and is not far from a shot at super-lightweight gold.
This weekend, the Linares-born sensation fights in an IBF eliminator in a tough test against Elvis Rodriguez, 17-1-1 (13 KOs). The winner is expected to take on mandatory challenger and former world champion Subriel Matias, to decide a challenger for the victor of Hitchins-Kambosos.
The former Olympian has still not fully burst onto the scene and put himself into conversations as an upper-echelon fighter at 140lbs. Still, Rodriguez gives him the perfect chance to throw down the gauntlet in a true acid test of his skill level. An eye-catching performance here could mark a crucial turning point in Delgado’s career.
Has Richard Torrez Jr. bitten off more than he can chew?
Another fighter stepping up the opposition is Richard Torrez Jr, 12-0 (11 KOs), who has faced much criticism for opponent selection in the past. No such argument can be made here, as the American southpaw clashes with Guido Vianello, 13-2-1 (11 KOs), in a sink-or-swim main event in Sin City.
Torrez has yet to go the distance or be involved in a truly competitive fight since turning over in 2022. He has only gone past round five on one occasion in his 12 outings to date, a DQ against Joey Dawejko ruining an otherwise perfect record.
Nevertheless, the Californian has accepted a scheduled 10-rounder against Vianello, who is fresh from a career-best win against Arslanbek Makhmudov and will attempt to upset the apple cart once again.
With the United States desperate to have a top-tier heavyweight representative, ending its barren spell in the division, Torrez sets out to prove that he can be the man his country should support. A win here would convince many that he could be just that.
Is Tim Tszyu done at the world level?
Tim Tszyu, 24-2 (17 KOs), suffered a severe fall from grace during a catastrophic 2024. Originally touted for a supposedly closely-fought contest with Terence Crawford, Tszyu shockingly lost his WBO super-welterweight title to Sebastian Fundora 12 months ago. Tim then lost for a second time, against Bakhram Murtazaliev, seven months later, in an attempted challenge for the IBF crown.
Stepping back down in levels and returning to his homeland of Australia, Tszyu now finds himself in a must-win encounter against Joey Spencer, 19-1 (11 KOs), knowing that a third straight defeat will spell the end of his time at the top.
Opposingly, a statement win for the Aussie will surely thrust him back into the mix at 154 lbs, where monumental fights such as Vergil Ortiz Jr. or a rematch with Fundora could await. However, it remains to be seen whether the devastating stoppage defeat to Murtazaliev has had a lasting impact on ‘The Soul Taker’.
