Pick it, Part 1: Gabriela Fundora vs. Marilyn Badillo Amaya

When to Watch: Saturday, April 19 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST)

How to watch: DAZN

Why to Watch: The best flyweight in the world is taking on an undefeated but untested contender.

Gabriela Fundora, 15-0 (7 KOs), earned BoxingScene’s Female Fighter of the Year honors with her 2024 campaign. She fought three times, defending her IBF title with a 10th-round technical knockout of the 6-0 Christina Cruz and a shutout decision over the 16-3-3 Daniela Asenjo, and then she collected the remaining three belts with an impressive seventh-round stoppage of unified titleholder Gabriela Alaniz.

This is Fundora’s first time in the ring as the undisputed champion at 112lbs. It is an opportunity for the 23-year-old from Coachella, California, to build herself into a bigger star. She will headline at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California, which is in the San Diego region.

Badillo Amaya, 19-0-1 (3 KOs), is a 25-year-old from Mexico who will be taking a huge step up in opposition – and who will also be giving up six inches in the 5-foot-9 Fundora. Badillo Amaya’s recent outings saw her take decisions over foes with records of 8-8-2, 10-3-1 and 6-7-2.

One person waiting in the wings is Yokasta Valle, a former unified strawweight titleholder who has since regained a belt at 105lbs. Last month, Valle journeyed up to flyweight and won a split decision over former unified titleholder Marlen Esparza. Valle says she’s interested in facing Fundora at a catchweight.

In the co-feature, junior middleweight contender Charles Conwell will face Jorge Garcia Perez.

Conwell, 21-0 (16 KOs), signed with Golden Boy Promotions last year and is fighting for the fourth time under the company’s banner. He returned last April from a 17-month layoff, stopping the 22-7-1 Nathaniel Gallimore in six rounds, and he went on to beat the 18-6 Khiary Gray in two rounds and the 20-0 Gerardo Luis Vergara in seven rounds.

Conwell is rated No. 2 by the WBO, No. 5 by the WBC and No. 14 by the IBF. He wants to mix it up with the many major names at 154lbs, but for now he’s in with Garcia Perez, 32-4 (26 KOs).

Garcia Perez lost a wide decision to Carlos Ocampo in 2020, dropped a split decision to a then-unbeaten prospect Etoundi Michel William in early 2023 and has since notched seven straight victories. In December, Garcia Perez won a unanimous decision over the 20-3 Kudratillo Abdukakhorov. That run has landed Garcia Perez in the rankings, slotted third by the WBO (just behind Conwell), 11th by the IBF (three ahead of Conwell), and 12th by the WBC (seven spots behind Conwell).

Pick it, Part 2: Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron II

When to Watch: Sunday, April 20 at 3 p.m. Eastern Time (8 p.m. BST)

How to watch: Sky Sports in the U.K.

Why to Watch: There was a controversial ending to their first fight. And there’s a new controversy in advance of this rematch.

Whittaker, who captured a silver medal at light heavyweight in the 2020/2021 Olympics, was being heavily showcased as a professional – and enjoyed showing off his talent against overmatched opposition.

But then Whittaker found himself in a close fight with Liam Cameron last October. In the fifth round, both men went over the top rope, and Whittaker said he had hurt his leg and could not continue. Whittaker’s detractors accused him of quitting because the bout was perhaps tougher than he’d anticipated.

So now both men want to settle the score. They will main event at BP Pulse Live in Birmingham, England, which makes this somewhat of a home game for Whittaker, 8-0-1 (5 KOs), a 27-year-old from nearby West Bromwich. 

Cameron, 23-6-1 (10 KOs), is a 34-year-old from Sheffield. For him, this fight isn’t just about the rivalry, but about Cameron’s future. He’s long been a B-side who has taken on a number of domestic talents, but he has fallen short more often than not. A win pushes him into another opportunity. A loss shoves him closer to the exit.

There has been some drama in the buildup, namely that Cameron signed a contract for a 12-round match, and the promoter now wants it to be a 10-rounder. Cameron is refusing to budge.

On the undercard, heavyweight Frazer Clarke, 8-1-1 (6 KOs), is back for the first time since getting knocked out in the first round of his rematch with Fabio Wardley in October. Clarke faces Ebenezer Tetteh, 23-2 (20 KOs), who was stopped after seven rounds with Dillian Whyte in December.

More Fights to Watch

Thursday, April 17-Sunday, April 20: WBC Boxing Grand Prix tournament (DAZN)

The broadcasts begin each day (Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday) at 8 a.m. Eastern Time (1 p.m. BST)

Four professional boxing tournaments will kick off this week at the Boulevard City Global Theater in Ryadh, Saudi Arabia. These tournaments will feature 128 boxers total – 32 fighters per tournament – many of them prospects from around the world in the featherweight, junior welterweight, middleweight and heavyweight divisions. Each of the 64 fights in this opening stage will be a six-rounder. The next stages are scheduled for June, August, October and December.

Thursday, April 18: Asa Stevens vs. Luis Alvarado Morales (TrillerTV)

The broadcast begins at 10 p.m. Eastern Time (3 a.m. BST).

This show at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California, features both boxing and mixed martial arts.

On the boxing side of things, the main event has Stevens, 7-0 (2 KOs), a 24-year-old featherweight from Hawaii. Morales, 9-4 (1 KO), is a 23-year-old from Mexico.

Friday, April 18: Sergey Kovalev vs. Artur Mann (IBA Boxing YouTube page)

The broadcast begins at 1:30 p.m. Eastern Time (6:30 p.m. BST).

Kovalev, once the top light heavyweight in the world, is expected to hang up his gloves after this cruiserweight bout against Mann.

Kovalev, 35-5-1 (29 KOs), is now 42 years old and was last seen last May, when he lost a unanimous decision to Robin Sirwan Safar.

Mann, 22-4 (13 KOs), is a 34-year-old whose losses have all come against good fighters: Kevin Lerena, Mairis Briedis, Evgeny Tishchenko and Muslim Gadzhimagomedov. Mann last fought in November, scoring a seventh-round knockout against the 8-0 Ion Mihai Desrobitu.

This fight will take place at Yunost Sport Palace in Chelyabinsk, Russia, not far from the town where Kovalev was born.

Friday, April 18: Kevin Brown vs. Esteuri Suero (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).

This show at the Caribe Royale Orlando in Florida features junior welterweight prospect Kevin Brown and, in separate fights, heavyweight prospects Lenier Pero and Gurgen Hovhannisyan.

Brown, 6-0 (3 KOs), is a 31-year-old originally from Cuba who now lives in Las Vegas. This is his first fight of 2025. Last year, he came off the canvas to take a split decision over the 12-2 Idalberto Umara in May and then won a unanimous decision over the 18-1 John Bauza in September.

Suero, 14-2 (10 KOs), is a 24-year-old from the Dominican Republic who also now calls Vegas home. Last year he was disqualified for repeatedly fouling lightweight prospect Floyd Schofield in March. Suero returned in October, shutting out the 8-2-1 Carlos Beras.

Pero, 11-0 (8 KOs), is a 2016 Olympian who defeated Guido Vianello and then lost to Filip Hrgovic in the quarterfinals of the super heavyweight tournament. He fought just once last year, nearly 13 months ago at that, and for only one round, beating the 12-3-1 Donnie Palmer. This is Pero’s first fight under a co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing and Boxlab Promotions.

He will face Detrailous Webster, 9-4 (5 KOs), who has never beaten anyone with more wins than losses. Last June he dropped a decision to the 10-0 Lorenzo Medina, then took out the 3-6 Jaden Booth in one round in December.

Hovhannisyan, 7-0 (6 KOs), won a close majority decision in December over the 6-2 Patrick Mailata. He will fight Dajuan Calloway, 11-3 (9 KOs), who topped more than 400lbs when he scored an upset TKO last month after the 10-0 Thomas Carty suffered a knee injury in the second round.

Friday, April 18: Angelo Pena vs. Karim Guerfi (TrillerTV)

The main broadcast begins at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time (2:30 p.m. BST). A free preliminary undercard begins at 7 a.m. ET (noon BST).

Pena, 11-0 (6 KOs), is a 30-year-old junior lightweight from the Dominican Republic living in Berne, Switzerland. That is where he has spent almost his entire pro career, and that is where he will main event at the Stadttheater Bern. Pena is coming off a December decision over the 12-4 Gisu Lee.

Guerfi, 33-7 (10 KOs), is a 38-year-old from France. Guerfi’s name may be familiar to those who recall him being ahead on the scorecards against Jordan Gill, only to be knocked out in the ninth round of their 2022 fight. Later that year, Guerfi was put away in the first round by Michael Conlan. Two wins have followed, including a fourth-round TKO of the 18-1 Terry Le Couviour in November.

Saturday, April 19: Dalton Smith vs. Mathieu Germaine (DAZN)

The main broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. BST). A preliminary undercard begins at 11:30 a.m. ET (4:30 p.m. BST).

This is the second fight of 2025 for Smith, and the 28-year-old junior welterweight prospect will be headlining in his hometown at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England.

Smith, 17-0 (13 KOs), fought just once in 2024, putting away Jose Zepeda that March with a fifth-round body shot knockout. Smith had to pull out of a September bout due to an injury. He returned this January with a quick victory, disposing of the 19-2 Walid Ouizza in a single round. It’s time for him to step up in this crowded weight class. Dalton is ranked as high as No. 1 by the WBC (whose titleholder is Albert Puello), No. 10 by the IBF and No. 11 by the WBO.

Germain, 26-2-1 (11 KOs), is a 35-year-old from outside of Montreal, Canada. His defeats came in 2019 and 2020, knocked out in five rounds by the 18-4 Uriel Perez and stopped in seven by the 18-2 Yves Ulysse Jnr. Germain is on an eight-fight winning streak, including a seventh-round TKO of the 22-17-2 Carlos Daniel Aquino in January. He is rated No. 14 by the IBF.

On the undercard, junior middleweight prospect Caoimhin Agyarko, 16-0 (7 KOs) is stepping in on less than a week’s notice to face Ryan Kelly, 19-5-1 (8 KOs); former featherweight titleholder Josh Warrington, 31-4-1 (8 KOs), competing these days at 130lbs, takes on Asad Asif Khan, 19-6-1 (5 KOs); and Josh Padley, 15-1 (4 KOs), returns from his stoppage loss to lightweight titleholder Shakur Stevenson, stepping in with Marko Cvetanovic, 13-0 (6 KOs).

Saturday, April 19: Sadriddin Akhmedov vs Elias Espadas (UFC Fight Pass)

The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. BST).

Akhmedov, 15-0 (13 KOs) is a 27-year-old middleweight prospect originally from Kazakhstan and now living in Santa Monica, California. He returned last year after a 20-month layoff and scored two victories, knocking out the 17-10 Antonio Todd in one round and the 17-5 Raphael Igbokwe in seven.

Espadas, 23-6 (16 KOs), is a 34-year-old from Mexico. He was stopped in five rounds by Xander Zayas in 2022 and finished in nine rounds by the then-undefeated Fiodor Czerkaszyn in 2023. Espadas returned last December with a four-minute win over the 14-39 Ramon Barajas.

This show at the Commerce Casino and Hotel outside of Los Angeles also features a handful of other prospects in separate fights, including light heavyweight Umar Dzambekov, 10-0 (7 KOs); junior featherweight Adan Palma, 11-0 (6 KOs); junior lightweight Jaybrio Pe Benito, 5-0 (4 KOs); and featherweight Iyana “Right Hook Roxy” Verduzco, 3-0 (1 KO).

Saturday, April 19: Anthony Garnica vs Aston Palicte (WBCBoxing.com)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).

Garnica, 12-0-1 (7 KOs), is a 24-year-old from Oakland, California. This is listed on BoxRec as a bantamweight bout, though Garnica has never been that light and has competed between junior featherweight and featherweight for the past three years.

Palicte, 28-7-1 (23 KOs), is a 34-year-old from the Philippines. If his name is familiar to you, that might be because of his two junior bantamweight title fights from several years ago: a draw with Donnie Nietes in 2018 and a 10th-round TKO loss to Kazuto Ioka in 2019. Palicte has dropped three straight, stopped by Jason Moloney in three rounds in 2022, in four rounds by the 12-0 Jose Salas Reyes in 2023, and in six rounds by the 11-0 Katsuma Akitsugi in December.

This show is taking place at Thunder Studios in Long Beach, California.

Saturday, April 19: Trini Ochoa vs. Francisco Cuadrado (BXNG TV)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).

Ochoa, 20-0 (9 KOs), is a 26-year-old junior welterweight from Arizona whose career has almost exclusively taken place at the Celebrity Theatre in Phoenix. All but two of his bouts have been at the venue, including February’s three-round TKO of the 16-5-1 Hylon Williams Jnr.

This time he’ll face Cuadrado, 13-1 (8 KOs), a 26-year-old Venezuelan living in Mexico. Cuadrado was knocked out in one round by then-undefeated prospect Omar Alejandro Aguilar back in 2019. After one fight in 2020, Cuadrado spent more than three years out of the ring, not returning until January 2024, when he outpointed the 3-4 Marco Hernandez Trujillo. This fight with Ochoa is Cuadrado’s first in nearly 15 months.

Also on this show is junior featherweight Jordan Martinez, 13-0 (12 KOs), and a handful of other logical prospects.

Saturday, April 19: Deontae Pettigrew vs. Richard Lartey Harrison (BXNG TV)

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight BST).

Pettigrew, 14-0 (10 KOs), is a 35-year-old heavyweight from Chicago headlining at the Hard Rock Casino Rockford in Illinois. In November, the 6-foot-6 Pettigrew had a four-minute KO of the 30-10 Fabio Maldonado.

Lartey Harrison, 16-7 (13 KOs), is a 32-year-old from Ghana. He stands 6-foot-5. Lartey Harrison has lost to a number of recognizable names, knocked out by both Daniel Dubois and Fabio Wardley. In November, he was dispatched in three rounds by the 13-0 Damian Knyba.

Saturday, April 19: Frankie Lynn vs. William Parra Smith (BXNG TV)

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight BST).

Lynn, 5-0 (3 KOs), is a 33-year-old welterweight from Chester, Pennsylvania, where he’ll be headlining at Harrah’s Philadelphia Casino and Racetrack.

Parra Smith, 4-16-1 (3 KOs), is a 28-year-old from Alaska.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.