rewrite this content and keep HTML tags
Friday, July 18th
DAZN, 6:00 pm ET, Night of Champions XI. A BoxLab Promotions show from the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida. Gurgen “Big Gug” Hovhannisyan headlines the main event.
Saturday, July 19th
DAZN PPV, 12:30 pm ET, Oleksandr Usyk vs Daniel Dubois 2. For the undisputed heavyweight championship of the world. A rematch of their 2023 tilt where Dubois dropped Usyk on what was ruled a low blow, then Usyk finished Dubois off with a hypnotically quick lead right hand in the 9th. Usyk went on to fight and beat Tyson Fury twice, but had to drop the IBF belt because of their delightfully wacky mandatory rules. Dubois wound up with it, and here we are with a fun rematch that’s yet another FIVE BELT UNDISPUTED UNIFICATION FIGHT for Mr. Usyk. Lawrence Okolie fights Kevin Lerena in the chief support. And on the early part of the card, 2024 Olympic bronze medalist Lasha Guruli makes his second pro outing. He was a standout at the Paris games, looks like Spike O’Sullivan but with slick defensive instincts and excellent movement, and could be someone to keep an eye on over the next few years. This one costs you US$59.99. BLH will have live updates
Amazon Prime, 5:30 pm ET, Pacquiao vs Barrios prelims. Three fights listed: Gary Russell Jr vs Hugo Castaneda, David Picasso vs Kyonosuke Komeda, and Mark Magsayo vs Jorge Mata.
DAZN, 7:00 pm ET, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez vs Phumelele Cafu. A 115 lbs. unification bringing together Rodriguez’s WBC and Cafu’s WBO titles. Rodriguez is well-known to die hard fans, arguably the best young champion in the sport and a consensus Top 10 P4P guy. Cafu fought his entire pro career in South Africa until traveling to Japan last October to win his title from Kosei Tanaka. 14 pro fights, 5 of them draws or split decision wins, so Rodriguez is understandably a heavy favorite despite this being a unification. Diego Pacheco faces Trevor McCumby in the chief support, while Austin “Ammo” Williams, Omari Jones, and Nishant Dev appear deeper on the card. BLH will have live updates
Amazon Prime PPV, 8:00 pm ET, Manny Pacquiao vs Mario Barrios. For Barrios’s WBC welterweight title. Manny Pacquiao is 46 and a half years old. I wrote the BLH story about his retirement almost 4 years ago. His last fight was almost 5 years ago, and his last win was 6 years ago against Keith Thurman. Pacquiao is not only older than George Foreman was when he became the oldest man to win a major title… He’s older than Foreman was when he lost the last of his belts the year after. But, he’s a name people recognize, and PBC need anyone that can carry a $79.99 PPV. Also on the PPV portion of the show: Fundora-Tszyu 2, Isaac Cruz-Angel Fierro 2, and Brandon Figueroa vs Joet Gonzalez. BLH will have live updates
