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:

Saturday, December 23 – Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

Anthony Joshua vs. Otto Wallin – heavyweight – 12 rounds

Time to make a statement for Joshua, who’s seen more ups-and-downs than what his talent and his fans should tolerate. Wallin is a very live underdog who has been chosen wisely. Any cracks in Joshua’s game could mean he’s finished as a major player in the division, so the stakes are high for both of them.

Deontay Wilder vs. Joseph Parker – heavyweight – 12 rounds

Another great matchup: heavy puncher going against a more resourceful and skilled fighter but with limited firepower. This is rock-papers-scissors at its best. They both have one shot at winning, one way to achieve that win, and whoever gets that fight plan going should leave with the prize.

The winner(s) may go on to: Assuming that it’s Joshua and Wilder, the pair have already claimed they are set for a mega-showdown early in 2024, but I think we’ll all believe it when we see it. There’s too much money in it for them to say no, so it’s truly possible that they will go at it. They gotta win first, though.  

Also on this card:

Daniel Dubois vs. Jarrell Miller – heavyweight – 10 rounds

Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur – light heavyweight – 12 rounds

Arslanbek Makhmudov vs. Agit Kabayel – heavyweight – 10 rounds

Jai Opetaia vs. Ellis Zorro – cruiserweight – 12 rounds

Filip Hrgovic vs. Mark De Mori – heavyweight – 10 rounds

Frank Sanchez vs. Junior Fa – heavyweight – 10 rounds

Where to watch it: DAZN PPV – ESPN PPV

Saturday, December 23 – Club Sarmiento, Villa Carlos Paz, Argentina

Ariel Bracamonte vs. Esteban Raul Lopez – heavyweight – 10 rounds

It is unlikely that you will be left unsatisfied after the Day of Reckoning all-you-can-stomach heavyweight buffet, but if watching big guys with solid punching power and decent chin go at it is your thing and you have space for one more, this one could be as entertaining as any other.

The winner may go on to: The loser will hit the .500 mark (Bracamonte is 12-11 and Lopez is 11-10) while the winner survives to put his “winning record” up for the highest bidder one more time. Not a bad proposition for an old-school neighborhood brawl!

Where to watch it: TyC Sports/ TyCSportsPlay

Tuesday, December 26 – Ariake Arena, Tokyo, Japan

Naoya Inoue vs. Marlon Tapales – junior featherweight – 12 rounds

If you’re a true boxing fan (and if you read The Ring, something tells me you are), you know that Inoue’s fights are an absolute must-watch. The question of how well does Inoue bring his power and mobility as he moves up in weight is always a concern, but he already proved himself at this weight and it’s only a matter of time before he jumps even higher once again.

The winner may go on to: Each man has two belts, which they will unify in this fight. But they will also be vying for the granddaddy of them all: our own Ring magazine belt.

Also on this card:

Seiya Tsutsumi vs. Kazuki Anaguchi – bantamweight – 10 rounds

Kanamu Sakama vs. John Paul Gabunilas – flyweight – 8 rounds

Yoshiki Takei vs. Mario Diaz Maldonado – junior featherweight – 8 rounds

Andy Hiraoka vs. Sebastian Diaz Maldonado – junior welterweight – 8 rounds

Suguru Ishikawa vs. Fuga Uematsu – featherweight – 4 rounds

Rikiya Sato vs. Keisuke Endo – junior lightweight – 4 rounds

Where to watch it: ESPN+

Thursday, December 28 – Tagbilaran City, Bohol, Philippines

Jake Amparo vs. Pedro Taduran – strawweight – 12 rounds

Gerwin Asilo vs. Aljum Pelesio – bantamweight – 10 rounds

Friday, December 29 – Prudential Center, Newark, N.J.  

Thomas LaManna vs. Nicolas Hernandez – middleweight – 10 rounds

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Salim Larbi – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Michael Anderson vs. Eudy Bernardo – welterweight – 10 rounds

Kristian Prenga vs. Ahmed Hefney – heavyweight – 8 rounds

Joseph Adorno vs. Braulio Rodriguez – junior welterweight – 6 rounds

Where to watch it: FiteTV

Sunday, December 31 – Ota City Gym, Tokyo, Japan

Kazuto Ioka vs. Josber Perez – junior bantamweight – 12 rounds

The already customary end-of-the-year card in Japan has Ioka, a WBA titlist in an elite division, headlining a superb card and taking on a relatively easy opponent as he waits for the big names in the division. A unification with IBF kingpin Fernando Martinez could be on tap for Ioka if he leaves Perez behind.

Also on this card:

Yoshimitsu Kimura vs. Kosuke Saka – junior lightweight – 12 rounds

Daigo Higa vs. Navapon Khaikanha – bantamweight – 10 rounds

Hayato Tsutsumi vs. Luis Moncion Ventura – featherweight – 10 rounds

Kantaro Juri vs. Danai Ngiabphukhiaw – junior bantamweight – 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