JAKE PAUL AND JULIO CESAR CHAVEZ JR. MAKE CRUISERWEIGHT LIMIT

Some of Julio Cesar Chavez Jr.’s biggest fights have come against the scale, but the second-generation fighter didn’t have issues making the cruiserweight limit ahead of his 10-round clash against Jake Paul on Saturday.

Paul (11-1, 7 KOs) weighed 199.4 pounds, while Chavez (54-6-1, 34 KOs) tipped the scales at a career-high 198.4 pounds on Friday ahead of their fight at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California.

Paul and Chavez faced off without incident for MVP and Golden Boy’s co-promoted event, which will stream on DAZN PPV beginning at 5 p.m. PST.

Chavez came into the weigh-in having missed weight in high-profile fights (and losses) in recent years against Anderson Silva and Daniel Jacobs, and other times before that, in a career that started in 2003.

Chavez has been competing as a cruiserweight since 2021, and the besmirched boxer is 8-4 dating back to 2012, when he was an undefeated middleweight title holder at the time. But at 39, a faded Chavez is promising a rejuvenated version of himself to regain respect with a turn-back-the-clock-like performance.

Paul, meanwhile, is looking to use Chavez as a stepping stone to get ranked and chase a world title run.

In the co-main event, WBA and WBO cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (47-1, 30 KOs), from Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico, weighed in at 199.8 pounds, while Miami-based Cuban challenger Yuniel Dorticos (27-2, 25 KOs) weighed 198.6 pounds.

Ramirez seeks to cement his status in the division with his first stoppage win in the weight class as a possible unification fight looms against Jai Opetaia.

Weights for the rest of the Paul-Chavez Jr. undercard

Welterweights; 10 rounds

Raul Curiel (15-0-1, 13 KOs) 146.4 pounds; Guadalajara, Jalisco

Victor Rodriguez (16-0-1, 9 KOs) 145.2 pounds; Maldonado, Uruguay

Welterweights; 10 rounds

Avious Griffin (17-0, 16 KOs) 146.8 pounds; Chattanooga, Tennessee

Julian Rodriguez (23-1, 14 KOs) 146.6 pounds; Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey

Lightweights; 10 rounds

Floyd Schofield Jr. (18-0, 12 KOs) 134.8 pounds; Austin, Texas

Tevin Farmer (33-8-1, 8 KOs) 135 pounds; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

DAZN will stream the preliminary action to its subscribers beginning at 12 p.m. PST, and the non-PPV card will be headlined by former three-division champion and UFC champion Holly Holm, who is making her return to boxing after a 12-year break.

Lightweights; 10 rounds

Holly Holm (33-2-3, 9 KOs) 136.6 pounds; Albuquerque, New Mexico

Yolanda Vega (10-0, 1 KO) 136.8 pounds; Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico

Welterweights; 8 rounds

Joel Iriarte (7-0, 7 KOs) 146.8 pounds; Bakersfield, California

Kevin Johnson (12-6, 8 KOs) 146.4 pounds; Las Vegas, Nevada

Bantamweights; 8 rounds

Alexander Gueche (7-0, 5 KOs) 124 pounds; Long Beach, California

Vincent Avina (8-1-1, 7 KOs) 120 pounds; Las Vegas, Nevada

Heavyweights; 6 rounds

Joshua Edwards (2-0, 2 KOs) 226 pounds; Houston, Texas

Dominic Hardy (6-3, 4 KOs) 251.4 pounds; Riverside, Illinois

Junior Lightweights; 10 rounds

Victor Morales (20-0-1, 10 KOs) 130 pounds; Vancouver, Washington

Renee Alvarado (34-16, 22 KOs) 129.6 pounds; Managua, Nicaragua

Junior Featherweights; 10 rounds

John “Scrappy” Ramirez (14-1, 9 KOs) 119.8 pounds; Los Angeles, California

Josue Jesus Morales (33-18-5, 14 KOs) 121.6 pounds; Houston, Texas

- MANOUK AKOPYAN

INOUE VS. KIM | UNDISPUTED SUPER BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

 

A GUIDE TO THE NEW YEAR: FIVE FIGHTERS TO WATCH IN 2024

Jaron Ennis, right, could be fighting top opponents now that he has the IBF welterweight world title. Patrick Smith/Getty Images

Boxing's pound-for-pound best delivered some worthy performances in 2023.

Artur Beterbiev kicked off the campaign by keeping his perfect KO ratio intact with a thrilling TKO defeat of Anthony Yarde to retain three light heavyweight titles.

Three months later, a well-placed body shot by Gervonta Davis stopped Ryan Garcia in the year's biggest commercial fight. In July, Naoya Inoue dominated Stephen Fulton in his 122-pound debut and displayed his generational talent, before unifying titles to become undisputed champion in a second division with another impressive KO win over Marlon Tapales on Dec. 26.

And Devin Haney won every round and even dropped Regis Prograis to become a two-division champ on Dec. 9.

The best performance of all, of course, belonged to Terence Crawford, who dismantled Errol Spence Jr., in a tour de force victory to cement welterweight supremacy.

But what about all the fighters that sit just outside ESPN's pound-for-pound top 10? There are many boxers with a genuine opportunity to inch closer to that recognition in 2024.

Here are five such boxers we believe are appointment viewing in 2024 (in no particular order):

TAKUMA | JAPANESE BANTAMWEIGHT CHAMPION

 

BOXING: CARL FRAMPTON AMCHAPA KWA POINTS SANTA CRUZ NA KUWA BINGWA WA WBA FEATHERWEIGHT

Carl Frampton amemchapa Leo Santa Cruz katika mechi kali sana iliyoishishia kwenye points jijini New York...Frampton amenyakua ubingwa wa dunia WBA featherweight kwa majaji wawili kuamua ameahinda na jaji mmoja kuamua pompano ni draw...Ni mara ya kwanza Santa Cruz anachapwa na ni mara ya kwanza Frampton anazichapa katika uzito wa featherweight baada ya kupanda uzito kutoka bantam...

Pambano lilikuwa kali sana mpaka mwisho na kama ulikosa endelea kusoma habari hapa Max Sports utapata dondoo za video ya fight...Bofya hapa upate habari zaidi.