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:

Thursday, May 2 – Montreal Casino, Montreal, Canada

Erik Bazinyan vs. Shakeel Phinn – super middleweight – 10 rounds

Bazinyan was due to face Phinn on April 11 but the show was postponed for three-weeks when Bazinyan became sick. The Armenian-Canadian boxer-puncher will have to put all his mojo to work in order to produce a stellar performance if he wants to enter into the increasingly elusive Canelo Sweepstakes. A highlight-reel stoppage should help him in that endeavor.

Also on this card:

Thomas Chabot vs. Alfredo Espino – lightweight – 8 rounds

Avery Martin Duval vs. Ezequiel Palaversic – lightweight – 8 rounds

Moreno Fendero vs. Nicolas Palacios – middleweight – 6 rounds

Jhon Orobio vs. Cristian Palma – lightweight – 6 rounds

Alexandre Gaumont vs. Abdallah Luanja – middleweight – 6 rounds

Where to watch it: ESPN+

Friday, May 3 – Red Owl Arena, Houston  

Eridson Garcia vs. Maliek Montgomery – lightweight – 8 rounds

Richard Fernandez vs. Oscar Arroyo – junior bantamweight – 6 rounds  

Where to watch it: DAZN

Saturday, May 4 – T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas

Canelo Alvarez vs Jaime Munguia – super middleweight – 12 rounds

Every year that goes on could be the final year in Canelo’s history-making run, and a loss against Munguia would accelerate that moment. Having said that, only youth is on Munguia’s side right now. Experience, IQ, skills and grit are on Canelo’s side, and he’ll use those to score another win – but not before hitting the canvas once or twice before the final bell rings.

What to expect in this fight: The ongoing feud between Canelo and his former promoter Oscar de la Hoya was visible during the fight’s build-up, and it could be a part of the fight itself if Canelo uses his grudge with his former boss to turn this fight into a street brawl. Cooler heads have prevailed before, and Canelo has always kept his cool in similar situations, though.

Also on this card:

Mario Barrios vs. Fabian Maidana – welterweight – 12 rounds

Brandon Figueroa vs. Jessie Magdaleno – featherweight – 12 rounds

Eimantas Stanionis vs. Gabriel Maestre – welterweight – 12 rounds

Jesus Ramos Jr. vs. Johan Gonzalez – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Ronald Cruz – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela vs. Jose Angulo – junior welterweight – 8 rounds

Damien Vazquez vs. David Picasso – junior featherweight – 8 rounds

William Scull vs. Sean Hemphill – super middleweight – 8 rounds

Where to watch it: Prime Video, DAZN PPV

Saturday, May 4 – Luna Park Stadium, Buenos Aires, Argentina

Evelin Bermudez vs Jessica Basulto – 10 rounds – junior flyweight – 10 rounds

Rodrigo Ruiz vs Freddy Lainez – 8 rounds – junior featherweight – 8 rounds

Where to watch it: TyC Sports Play

Saturday, May 4 – EDION Arena, Osaka, Japan

Emmanuel Rodriguez vs. Ryosuke Nishida – bantamweight – 12 rounds

Teru Nobita vs. GuiMing Li – bantamweight – 8 rounds

Hisayuki Kinjo vs. Daisuke Yokoyama, junior flyweight – 4 rounds

Ryuta Kinjo vs. Hiromu Tadokoro – junior featherweight – 4 rounds

Saturday, May 4 – Friedrich Ebert Halle, Ludwigshafen, Germany

Piergiulio Ruhe vs. Joshua Nyanzi – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Sarah Bormann vs. Tamara Demarco – women’s strawweight – 10 rounds

Hannock Phiri vs. Ahmad Ali – junior middleweight – 10 rounds

Mirko Koenig vs. Max Geier – light heavyweight – 8 rounds

Monday, May 6 – Tokyo Dome, Tokyo  
Naoya Inoue vs. Luis Nery – junior featherweight – 12 rounds

Very few divisions have such a great distance between their best fighter and the second-best. Inoue stands head and shoulders above anyone under 122 pounds – and most fighters over that weight as well. Nery is world-class, Inoue is all-time-greatness in the making. We should enjoy “The Monster” while we can.

Also on this card:

Jason Moloney vs. Yoshiki Takei – bantamweight – 12 rounds

Takuma Inoue vs. Sho Ishida – bantamweight – 12 rounds

Seigo Yuri Akui vs. Taku Kuwahara – flyweight – 12 rounds

TJ Doheny vs. Bryl Bayogos – junior featherweight – 8 rounds

Where to watch it: ESPN+

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