Fox and PBC present yet another pay per view that really isn't deserving of such, especially at seventy-five dollars but does offer an interesting main event as former WBA and WBC welterweight champion Keith Thurman returns to the ring for the first time since his 2019 loss to Manny Pacquiao against Mario Barrios, who rises to the welterweight division after his first loss last year being knocked out in the eleventh round by Gervonta Davis.
Barrios was a sterner test than many expected against Davis but he is rising in weight to face Thurman and Barrios's record only contains one victory over a fighter of world-class quality- a decision win over Batyr Akhmedov in what was considered by many as one of the worst decisions of 2019.
Meanwhile, Keith Thurman's career has been noted by inactivity, close decisions that have gone his way (Shawn Porter, Danny Garcia, and Josesito Lopez all lost hairline decisions to Thurman) , a fighting style that belies his chosen nickname (One Time), and some of the most mind-numbering interviewers one can dream of (constantly referring to himself in the third person and sounding like a cross between a candidate for Senate and a morality teacher) but Thurman is a quality fighter and when active is a fighter deserving as one at the top of the division, although I don't think even a peak Thurman would defeat Errol Spence or Terence Crawford.
The undercard is uninspiring with WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz in a non-title fight against Keenan Carbajal, who has a glossy record (23-2-1) against journeyman level competition as a co-feature.
Former WBC bantamweight and junior featherweight champion Luis Nery attempts to rebound from his first career loss to Brandon Figueroa against undefeated Carlos Castro, who knocked out former contender Oscar Escandon in his last fight.
Nery-Castro could be the best fight of the evening.
Originally, the biggest action fight of the night would have been a welterweight rumble between veterans Josesito Lopez against Abel Ramos.
However, Lopez fell out of the bout and was replaced by Lucas Santamaria, who upset former champion, Devon Alexander, in his last fight.
The main event from Phoenix from Matchroom and DAZN looks like a barnburner as former WBC junior bantamweight champion Carlos Cuadras will attempt to regain that title against mega-prospect Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez to claim the title vacated by Juan Francisco Estrada when Estrada was "promoted" to the WBC's ridiculous "Franchise" champion.
Cuadras was originally slated to face another former champion Srisket Sor Rungvisai but Rnngvisai fell out last week after testing positive for Covid-19.
Rodriguez was scheduled to fight in the co-feature but jumped two divisions to take the fight when it was offered him to replace Rungvisai.
It's a huge leap in competition for Rodriguez and rising in weight to do it will not help him against Cuadras but Rodriguez has the talent to win this fight.
From England, a middleweight grudge match has been filled with lots of pre-fight trash talk and ill-will between two top-ten middleweights as Chris Eubank Jr battles Liam Williams in a fight that will determine Great Britain's top 160 pounder but could move the winner into a title fight later this week.
Eubank hasn't notched a big win legitimate win since 2019's dominant win that sent former super-middleweight champion James DeGale into retirement.
I wrote legitimate as Eubank's TKO win over Matt Korobov came after Korobov suffered a shoulder injury in the second round and could not continue.
Williams acquitted himself well in his last fight, a unanimous decision loss to Demetrius Andrade for Andrade's WBO middleweight title, but Eubank is the bigger man and is the bigger puncher.
Boxing Challenge
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