The most significant will be lightweight contender Ryan Garcia facing former minor beltholder Javier Fortuna in Los Angeles.
These two were supposed to square off last year but the fight was canceled when Garcia pulled the boxing equivalent of Shawn Michaels "Losing his smile" and pulled out of the fight to get his mental health together.
The move has been questioned for its legitimacy and even though there is no proof that Garcia was lying, much as Shawn Michaels has been questioned even twenty-plus years later, Garcia will carry that stain with him for a long time.
Fortuna fought former IBF junior lightweight champion Joseph Diaz and lost a unanimous decision and carried some resentment for losing a large payday, so getting that payday on his 33rd birthday has to be a welcomed gift.
Fortuna has always been a solid top ten contender that failed in his biggest tests (losses to Diaz and Robert Easter) and it's likely that Garcia will continue that trend if his skills back up the hype.
Garcia hopes for a huge fight with Gervonta Davis with a win that of course will come with promotional and broadcast difficulties in making the fight.
Top Rank and ESPN will host a show tonight from the casino town of Temecula, California with the main event pitting undefeated junior welterweight contender Arnold Barboza against the also-undefeated Danielito Zorrilla.
Barboza has bullied his way into contention on ESPN over good, not great competition with decision wins over Antonio Moran, former title challenger Alex Saucedo, and a knockout over faded former champion Mike Alvarado.
The undefeated Zorrilla enters this fight after his biggest win, a second-round knockout of former contender Pablo Cesar Cano.
Barboza seems to be the more proven fighter but Zorrilla is the harder puncher and I have a feeling that this could be an excellent main event in the offing with a possible upset.
Boxing Challenge
Arnold Barboza vs Danielito Zorrilla
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