Boxing continues its streak of back-to-back weeks of world title action this weekend as Regis Prograis defends his WBC World Super-Lightweight Title against Danielito Zorrilla in New Orleans, whilst Tim Tszyu looks to assert himself as the number one contender in the light-middleweight division when he takes on Carlos Ocampo in Australia.

We head over to Louisiana for starters where Regis Prograis will be looking to stamp his authority down as the best super-lightweight on the planet. 

It’s been an interesting four years for Prograis. Since losing to Josh Taylor in 2019, he’s fought just four times in as many years. However, he looked as though he was very much back to his best in his last fight when taking apart Jose Zepeda.

Eye-catching performances from Teofimo Lopez and Jack Catterall in the past couple of weeks have seen them put their best feet forward as the big dog in this stacked division but now it’s Rougarou’s opportunity and it’s one we expect he’ll take against the tough Puerto-Rican Zorrilla. 

Unbeaten in his first 16 fights, Zorrilla was defeated by 140lbs contender Arnold Barboza Jr last year but he has shown toughness and durability so Prograis will need to bring his A-game in order to make a statement. 

With victory, Prograis will set up the potential of unification clashes with the likes of Lopez, Rolly Romero or Subriel Matias, alternatively he could look to cash in on mega fights with the likes of Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia. Either way, this is a MUST-win fight for Prograis and, if he’s successful, it could open doors to some of the biggest fights in boxing for him.

If there’s one man who does deserve credit in this sport, it’s Tim Tszyu.

Unbeaten in his 22-fight professional career so far, the son of former world champion Kostya has shown an attitude towards the sport which many need to take note of. 

Ranked in the WBO’s top 10 at super-welterweight since December 2019, he’s waited patiently for his crack at world honours with an undisputed clash with Jermell Charlo postponed multiple times. 

Instead of waiting for his turn at Charlo, he’s continued to put himself in with dangerous opposition. 

Dennis Hogan, stopped him in five. Steve Spark, a three-round obliteration. Takeshi Inoue, didn’t lose a second of the fight. Terrell Gausha, won fairly comfortably after getting caught cold in round one. Tony Harrison, dominated and stopped him inside nine. His CV is impressive and he’ll look to add to it this Sunday when he takes on Ocampo. 

Ocampo, who has only been beaten by Errol Spence and Sebastian Fundora, boasts an impressive 13-1 record at super-welterweight, with 10 of those 13 wins coming by way of stoppage, so he’ll be aiming to cause a major upset Down Under with all of the pressure stacked on Tszyu.

However, Tszyu knows that this isn’t a walkover and with victory here, it’s likely we will FINALLY see him in with Charlo at the back end of this year. 

Elsewhere in the boxing world, Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford faced off for the first time in Los Angeles and New York ahead of their undisputed welterweight clash next month whilst Eddie Hearn confirmed that Canelo Alvarez is now in talks to take on WBC cruiserweight world champion Badou Jack.

Teofimo Lopez has continued to insist he is now a retired fighter following his victory over Josh Taylor last weekend while Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson continued their social media back-and-forth following their chance meeting at a club last week where Stevenson sent a bottle to Haney’s table with the message “sign the contract.”

I mean, sometimes in life you’ve got to go the extra mile to get what you want and if that’s how you get yourself a crack at undisputed, then so be it. The thought process is admirable.