Ryan Garcia's now-or-never moment tops our list of 5 things in boxing this weekend

We all have rivals in life — whether you want to admit it or not.

Maybe in the workplace as you chase that next promotion? Or down at the gym as you glance sideways to the guy who’s been edging up his speed up on the treadmill to surpass you? Heck, even the neighbor with whom you’re locked into it on a Monday evening battle to get the trash bins out first.

Boxing is no different.

Rivalries define this weekend’s action, but they all have different flavors. Ryan Garcia is in a rivalry with himself to reach his potential. Josh Warrington’s rivalry is with the man who knocked him out nearly 900 days ago, Leigh Wood. And Franchón Crews-Dezurn is focused on the woman to whom she has been compared her whole career: “GWOAT” Claressa Shields.

How are they going to unfold this weekend?

1. Garcia has plenty to prove against Barrios

It might be a case of now or never for Ryan Garcia.

Well, it should be — that’s if we are to fool ourselves into believing Garcia won’t be handed opportunity after opportunity however his career unfolds.

But Saturday night’s WBC welterweight title fight against Mario Barrios is the biggest and best opportunity “King Ry” has had to date to win a world title. Barrios, after all, is coming off back-to-back draws against Abel Ramos and a then-46-year-old Manny Pacquiao.

But Garcia’s form isn’t any more impressive. The 27-year-old was poor in his loss to Rolly Romero last summer, rebounding unspectacularly from a one-year suspension due to a failed drug test that changed his win over Devin Haney into a no-contest.

Garcia, still, has the world at his feet. He holds all the cards coming into this bout, and it’ll be a shock not to see him holding the WBC welterweight title as the final bell tolls.

2. Wood and Warrington stare at possible retirement

I’m pretty convinced the animosity between Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington is real — heck, if it isn’t, they are both excellent actors.

I’ve spent time around Wood over the past couple of years, and Warrington’s name has never been too far from “Leigh-thal’s” lips, even after the dust settled on his seventh-round TKO of the Leeds man in 2023.

But now with a combined age of 72 and world-title opportunities in the rear view, Wood and Warrington need each other — and the British public needs them.

Add in the spice of a Nottingham Forest vs. Leeds United football rivalry — the teams both men support and the cities they fight for — and Saturday night’s grudge match in Nottingham has all the ingredients to kick off inside and outside the ring.

The loser will probably retire. So might the winner.

Will Claressa Shields be flexing on Sunday?

(John Nacion via Getty Images)

3. Shields and Crews-Dezurn meet again 10 years later

Claressa Shields faces a familiar foe this weekend inside Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. A decade ago, both Shields and Franchón Cruz-Dezurn turned pro against each other in a four-rounder that went the way of the “GWOAT,” and now they’ll throw it down for the undisputed heavyweight title.

A lot has changed over those 10 years of professional combat. Shields is still unbeaten across 17 fights that have stamped her position near the top of the women’s pound-for-pound debate, and this Sunday marks her first fight since signing an $8 million, multi-fight deal with Salita Promotions and Wynn Records.

Cruz-Dezurn bounced back after that Shields defeat, winning her next nine, but has since lost to England’s Savannah Marshall for the undisputed title at super middleweight.

She rebounded with a big win over Shadasia Green in 2023, but this weekend is her biggest challenge to date at age 38. Cruz-Dezurn is determined not to play second fiddle to the Claressa Shields show, but once that machine is up and running, it’s easier said than done.

4. Fireworks guaranteed in Ishmael Davis vs. Bilal Fawaz

The British and Commonwealth super welterweight titles are up for grabs on the Wood vs. Warrington undercard, as Ishmael Davis and Bilal Fawaz collide in an intriguing clash of styles.

For Davis, this will continue a remarkable run of activity. Since losing to Caoimhin Agyarko on foreign soil in September — adding to a run of three straight defeats — Davis got back into the ring in both October and November to rack up much-needed victories.

Now, after winning the British and Commonwealth titles against Sam Gilley inside the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium just three months ago, he’s defending them against the likable, energetic Fawaz.

Fawaz’s story is as heartbreaking as it is heartwarming. The 37-year-old was trafficked to the UK as a child and forced to work before he managed to escape and was taken into social care. When he turned 18, he fell through the cracks in that system.

Boxing, like it does for so many youngsters across the world, saved him. Now, instead of fighting for his life or citizenship within the UK, he’s fighting for the Lonsdale belt.

5. Erm, Dave Allen is back …

Four months after headlining inside the Sheffield Arena in a losing effort against Arslanbek Makhmudov, Dave Allen is back fighting this weekend — it’s expected he’ll fight low down on the Nottingham undercard against 12-10 Frenchman Karim Berredjem.

You could say it’s kind of on-brand for the lovable “White Rhino.”

Allen has made a career out of being that approachable everyman, and he has no problems admitting Berredjem should prove a relative walk in the park.

Just take Allen’s word for it, speaking on his own YouTube channel:

“Someone said to me the other day, ‘He is f***ing terrible, him’. I said, ‘He’s not bad; he’s not a world beater, but neither am I.’ A comeback fight for Tyson Fury is different to a comeback fight for me. So, if people want to buy a ticket to watch me box, I am very grateful.”

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