The weekend is approaching, and from Friday to Sunday it will be “fight-o-clock” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the most up-to-date information on the most relevant fights you need to see in this week-at-a-glance, one-stop enhanced fight schedule. A quick checklist for the cognoscenti, a useful nuts-and-bolts guide for the boxing neophyte is what we’re aiming at.

Here are this week’s most relevant fights:

Friday, April 21 – Double Tree Hotel, Ontario, Calif.

George Acosta vs. Cesar Villarraga – junior lightweight – 8 rounds

Acosta is coming off a solid win over fellow once-beaten contender Marlin Sims back in February, and wants to continue making progress in the comeback trail. The battle-tested Villarraga is the perfect foe for that endeavor.

Also on this card:

Rigoberto Hermosillo vs. Ezequiel Caro – featherweight – 8 rounds

Anthony Chavez vs. Dihul Olguin – junior lightweight – 6 rounds

Where to watch it: Thompson Boxing Facebook & YouTube

Friday, April 21 – Castleton Conf. Center, Windham, N.H.

Brandon Berry vs. Brandon Higgins – welterweight – 10 rounds

Andrii Novytskyi vs. Elder Hernandez Gama – heavyweight – 6 rounds

Where to watch it: CombatSportsNow

Friday, April 21 – Salthill Leisureland Complex, Galway, Ireland

Jamie Morrissey vs. Kevin Cronin – light heavyweight – 10 rounds

Kieran Molloy vs. Fernando Mosquera – welterweight – 8 rounds

Saturday, April 22: Las Vegas

Gervonta Davis vs. Ryan Garcia – junior welterweight – 12 rounds

It’s been a while since a non-title fight has drawn so much water, but there is a reason for this. Both fighters are the real thing in their own way, but Davis is a much more proven fighter with a couple of belts under his… belt, I guess, while Garcia is still a work in progress in that regard, even after being a social media champion in his own right. The clash of styles and personalities is compelling, and we can only hope that the fight itself will be just that – and maybe more.

The winner may go on to: Super stardom and a place in the pound-for-pound ratings would be a first stop, but if the fight is good enough you can count on this becoming a trilogy as time goes on.

You need to know this: According to a social media post, both fighters have wagered their entire purses on the outcome of the fight. Whether this is true or just another ploy remains to be seen, but the stakes are already high enough and this will probably make the whole thing a bit more interesting for a lot of people.

Read The Ring’s Fight Picks here

David Morrell vs. Yamaguchi Falcao – super middleweight -12 rounds

Cuba’s Morrell may be one of the best fighters out there in all of boxing, and he is on a quest to prove it. A tough road lays ahead of him, just as it does for any supremely talented fighters with no real drawing power. Let’s hope he shines against Falcao, a former Olympian from Brazil with some serious talent of his own who comes in as a late sub looking to ruin the party for Morrell.

Gabriel Rosado vs. Bektemir Melikuziev – super middleweight – 10 rounds

Melikuziev was the unbeaten next big thing from the southern former Soviet boxing hotbed when he was iced in his first real step-up fight by perennial live underdog Rosado back in mid-2021. The rematch should provide further answers regarding the direction that their respective careers may take in the near future.

Also on this card:

Elijah Garcia vs. Kevin Zambrano Salgado – super middleweight – 10 rounds

Fiodor Czerkaszyn vs. Elias Espadas – middleweight – 10 rounds

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Jose Charles – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Floyd Schofield vs. Jesus Leon Jr. – lightweight – 10 rounds

Where to watch it: Showtime PPV

Saturday, April 22 – Cardiff International Arena, Cardiff, Wales

Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov vs. Joe Cordina – junior lightweight – 12 rounds

Cordina lost his IBF belt due to an injury ahead of a planned defense that triggered a bizarre decision by the sanctioning body to take away from him the belt he had won against Kenichi Ogawa in June 2022. Rakhimov got off the canvas to defeat Zelfa Barrett to lift the vacant trinket, but now the real owner wants it back, and he has brought the Tajikistan native to his home lair to decide who’s the man. Should be an intense fight.

Also on this card:

Gavin Gwynne vs. Craig Woodruff – lightweight – 12 rounds

Zelfa Barrett vs. Jason Sanchez – junior lightweight – 12 rounds

Sandy Ryan vs. Marie-Pier Houle – women’s welterweight – 10 rounds

Skye Nicholson vs. Linda Laura Lecca – women’s featherweight – 8 rounds

Jordan Thompson vs. Luke Watkins – cruiserweight – 8 rounds

Where to watch it: DAZN

Saturday, April 22 – G2A Arena, Rzeszow, Poland

Lukasz Rozanski vs. Alen Babic – heavyweight – 12 rounds

Well, look who’s back: it’s the infamous bridgerweight belt from the WBC, to be disputed between two unbeaten fighters in what should be an interesting bout for a totally uninteresting bogus championship. A great show if you can watch it, regardless of titles and other ornaments.

Also on this card:

Michal Cieslak vs. Dylan Bregeon – cruiserweight – 12 rounds

Laura Grzyb vs. Maria Cecchi – junior featherweight – 10 rounds

Where to watch it: Poland TV Sports

Saturday, April 22 – Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Conn.

Tramaine Williams vs. Elijah Pierce – junior featherweight – 10 rounds

Chordale Booker vs. Daniel Aduku – junior middleweight – 8 rounds

Saturday, April 22 – Patapsco Arena, Baltimore

Malik Titus vs. Dionardo Minor – heavyweight – 8 rounds

Mack Allison IV vs. Lonnie Jackson Jr. – lightweight – 8 rounds

Tyrell Boyd vs. Derrick Vann – super middleweight – 8 rounds

Check out our up-to-date streaming service and TV channel guide to gain more insight on the current boxing and combat sports broadcasting landscape, exclusive at The Ring magazine:

How to watch boxing in 2023 – By Diego Morilla

Diego M. Morilla writes for The Ring since 2013. He has also written for HBO.com, ESPN.com and many other magazines, websites, newspapers and outlets since 1993. He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and an elector for the International Boxing Hall of Fame. He has won two first-place awards in the BWAA’s annual writing contest, and he is the moderator of The Ring’s Women’s Ratings Panel. He served as copy editor for the second era of The Ring en Español (2018-2020) and is currently a writer and editor for RingTV.com.

Follow @MorillaBoxing