5 things this weekend in boxing: Chaos, control and a night that could reshape the sport

January may have felt like a bit of a slog, but boxing is doing its very best to end the month with a bang.

In true pick-‘n’-mix style, there’s something for absolutely everyone across the boxing landscape this weekend, from Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson in the Big Apple to William Scull’s return in a, well, smaller apple — a Danish seaport city called Kolding to be precise.

And if that wasn’t enough to whet your appetite, then how about the first world title fight in England’s North East of the past 10 years as well as a super welterweight unification fight in Puerto Rico?

Enough teasing — let’s take a closer look at the five biggest things to watch for across this stacked weekend of boxing action.

1. High stakes in Stevenson’s super lightweight debut

Would the real Teofimo Lopez please stand up, and put one of those fingers on each hand up? And be proud to be out of — OK, enough of that.

But it does feel increasingly like a lottery as to what version of Lopez is going to turn up each time he enters a professional boxing ring. “Predictably unpredictable” as some would-be wordsmiths might describe him — but that kind of tag has a shelf life.

At Lopez’s best he’s beaten world-class operators in Vasiliy Lomachenko and Josh Taylor, but the 28-year-old is also susceptible to sloppy, underwhelming displays that leave serious question marks over his head as to his standing in the super lightweight division.

This Saturday, inside Madison Square Garden, he welcomes three-division world champion Shakur Stevenson up to 140 pounds in an attempt to repeat those aforementioned seismic wins as a betting underdog.

It’s new territory for Stevenson after the flashy southpaw ran 24-0 since turning pro and debuting as a 124-pounder in 2017, but there’s a feeling in boxing circles that Stevenson is going to go on to be one of this generation’s best fighters — and nothing but a win over Lopez will satisfy these lofty ambitions.

2. What can Kelly do to tame the beast of Murtazaliev?

Have you ever seen “Beauty and the Beast”? Of course you have. But what about “Pretty Boy and the Beast”?

That’s what Saturday night in Newcastle, England feels like. Despite being a massive Sunderland AFC fan, Josh Kelly will be banking on the backing of the Newcastle Arena as he attempts to grab the IBF super welterweight title from the scary possession of Bakhram Murtazaliev.

The Russian champion, fighting out of California, doesn’t just look scary — he fights scary.

Seventeen stoppages in 23 outings doesn’t quite tell the whole story of the 33-year-old who walked through the challenge of Tim Tszyu inside three rounds in his last title defense, knocking the Australian down four times in the process.

Kelly has rebuilt since his damaging 2021 loss to David Avanesyan and, five years later, I think it’s time we all put that loss behind us and give the former Olympian credit for repositioning himself in the super welterweight division as he has.

Kelly is a big underdog on Saturday night, but boisterous home fans in England do wonders for their home charges. Heck, he might even force the red and white Mackems to toast a brown ale with the black and white Magpies if a new world champion is crowned.

3. Don’t forget: Zayas and Baraou are attempting to unify the 154-pound titles

It’s easy to feel a bit sorry for Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou this weekend.

Show clashes are inevitable in boxing (that’s what the promoters will tell you anyway!) and this super welterweight unification may well slip into the shadows of the weekend’s headline event in New York City.

Xander Zayas is boxing’s second-youngest current male world champion.

(Al Bello via Getty Images)

But don’t let that dissuade you from Zayas’ return to Puerto Rico. Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. may be the names dominating the headlines in this division, but these guys are the beltholders and therefore hold the power — for now.

Zayas is expected to have too much for Baraou as he plots his path to the biggest fights in the division. And being the whole package that he is at just age 23, it shouldn’t take long.

4. Boxing back on the Beeb as Hennessy gets her prime-time opportunity

If you can prize yourself away from the “Weakest Link” and Anton Du Beke dressed up as an arctic fox on “The Masked Singer,” then BOXXER’s second show on the BBC might just be for your taste buds on Saturday night.

Undefeated bantamweight Francesca Hennessy headlines at London’s Copperbox Arena in a world title eliminator against 29-year-old challenger Ellie Bouttell, shuffling up the card that was originally topped by Adam Azim’s light welterweight contest with Gustavo Lemos.

Their respective injuries are to be Hennessy’s gain, who under the watchful eye of her promoting father, Nick, will be attempting to climb that final step towards world honors.

Saturday’s fight marks just the third occasion in more than 20 years that professional boxing has featured on prime-time linear BBC television. It follows Jeamie “TKV” Tshikeva’s win over Frazer Clarke, which kick-started the BBC’s partnership with BOXXER in November, and Troy Williamson’s stoppage victory over Callum Simpson in December.

And hey, even more good news! If you’re a trendy, modern, flat white-drinking hipster (or simply live outside of the UK), then you are more than welcome to stream the event live on DAZN.

5. Oh, and Scull is back after Canelo snooze-fest

After losing a 12-round snooze-fest to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in Saudi Arabia last May, Cuba’s William Scull was forced to walk back home from the ANB Arena, Riyadh.

I guess that’s the only reasonable explanation as to how he ended up in Kolding, Denmark this weekend, challenging the unbeaten hometown hero Jacob Bank over 12 rounds of super middleweight action.

It’s the return of everybody’s favorite trinket, the WBO Global title at 168 pounds, inside a handball arena that lays claim to a capacity of 5,001 — so that’ll be 5,000 diehard Bank fans and a spare seat for the WBO’s president Gustavo Olivieri?

Either way, it’s another opportunity for Scull, 33, to distance himself from being a footnote on Alvarez’s career.

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