Friday night's card at The Theater inside Madison Square Garden in New York features a world champion defending his title in the main event and a co-main event in which a young fighter could make the jump from top prospect to the title contender (ESPN/ESPN+, 9 pm ET).
O'Shaquie Foster defends his WBC junior lightweight title against Abraham Nova. Could a decisive victory make Foster the fighter to beat in a crowded 130-pound division? It's not as easy as it seems, with many talented fighters like Joe Cordina, Lamont Roach and Emanuel Navarrete holding the rest of the titles.
The co-star features Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington, who fought five times in 2023 and scored five wins with 3 KOs. Friday's fight will be a 10-rounder against Bernard Angelo Torres, and another highlight could mean he has the talent to compete with the best in the 126-pound division. His promoter, Top Rank, has invested in the division and there will be plenty of opportunities for him to get a belt in the future. Is 2024 the year?
Unified welterweight champion Terence Crawford will definitely have a title fight this year, but with his rematch with Errol Spence Jr. cancelled, is a showdown against Jaron “Boots” Ennis possible? With talk of “Bud” moving up in weight, is a showdown with undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez on the horizon?
Former title challenger Joseph “JoJo” Diaz is still looking to bounce back. It could happen? And can Jake Paul beat another “real” boxer in his next fight?
Mike Coppinger, Nick Parkinson and Damian Delgado Averhoff answer these questions and more, trying to separate what is real and what is not.
Real or not: Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington will fight for a featherweight title in 2024
Real. Carrington appears to be on track to fight for a world title this year. And his promoter, Top Rank, can easily back that up given his huge investment in the featherweight division (they have a deep roster of top featherweights).
Next month, the promotion will host a doubleheader for the featherweight title, and “Shu Shu” could certainly compete for one of those two belts later this year. If Luis Alberto López retains his IBF title against Reiya Abe on March 2, Carrington could have a shot at López in his first title shot, either in late 2024 or 2025.
There's also the winner of the March 2 fight between Ray Ford and Otabek Kholmatov for the vacant WBA title. Rey Vargas defends the WBC title against Nick Ball on March 8 on the Anthony Joshua-Francis Ngannou undercard, while Rafael Espinoza is expected to defend his WBO belt in a rematch against Robeisy Ramirez.
So far, Carrington has looked like a future champion between his aggression, athleticism and boxing ability. But the 26-year-old from Brooklyn will need to step up his competition a couple notches before he's truly ready to compete for a title. — Coppinger
Real or not: O'Shaquie Foster is the best junior lightweight of the moment
Unreal. The 130-pound division is currently one of the weakest in boxing, allowing Foster to even get involved in this conversation, but until Emanuel Navarrete makes the jump to 135 pounds for the vacant title fight against Denys Berinchyk , a fight already ordered by the WBO, the Mexican remains the king of the junior lightweights.
The junior lightweight division is wide open and, outside of Navarrete, does not feature any proven A-level talent. With a convincing win over Abraham Nova on Friday, Foster can position himself to take the reins from “Vaquero” Navarrete soon enough , but a victory will not make him the best in the division, considering the opposition.
Foster has proven he can punch and earned two quality wins last year against two-division champion Rey Vargas and junior lightweight contender Eduardo “Rocky” Hernandez. If Foster wants to establish himself, he will need to knock out Nova, who was already stopped in five rounds by Robeisy Ramirez in 2022. Foster will also need to get another convincing win in a title unification, perhaps against someone like the IBF champion. Joe Cordina.
Until then, there is little to separate fighters like Foster, Cordina and many others at 130 pounds. — Coppinger
Real or not: Jake Paul will win his second consecutive fight against a “real” boxer
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Jake Paul explains the difference in preparation between MMA and boxing
Jake Paul details the difference in preparation and training for an MMA fight and a boxing match.
Real… (almost). Paul faces Ryan Bourland in Puerto Rico on March 2, and this carefully considered matchup is likely to produce the result the YouTuber's team wants. Bourland may have a respectable record of 17-2, 6 KOs, but recently he has been working on oil rigs, rather than being a full-time boxer.
The North Dakota resident ended a four-year exile from boxing with a fifth-round knockout victory over Santario Martin in September. Bourland brings the experience of being a traditional boxer (rat), but his lack of boxing activity gives Paul an advantage in this fight. Plus, the 27-year-old Paul is making progress after back-to-back wins and is probably too busy for his 35-year-old opponent. But if Bourland is up for it, this could be close. –Parkinson
Real or not: Terence Crawford's next opponent will be Jaron “Boots” Ennis
Unreal. Ennis has asked for a fight with Crawford, but “Bud” has shown little interest in such a matchup. It's also hard to blame Crawford. After his resounding victory over Errol Spence last summer to win the undisputed welterweight championship, he's only looking for big fights.
Crawford will turn 37 later this year, so the window is small to cash in and maximize profits, especially considering the last time he fought more than once in a year was in 2019.
Ennis deserves a meaningful fight, but there are also complications on his part as he is involved in a legal dispute with his late promoter, Cameron Dunkin. In the meantime, expect Crawford to move up to 154 pounds (or even higher) as he pursues a superfight with Canelo Alvarez.
Crawford is ESPN's number one pound-for-pound boxer, and although he has never competed above 147 pounds, he wouldn't be a huge loser in a fight against boxing's top star for the undisputed super middleweight championship. — Coppinger
Real or not: Adrian Curiel will beat Sivenathi Nontshinga in their rematch on Friday
Real. Curiel takes confidence from his second-round knockout victory over Nontshinga in November into the rematch, where he will retain the IBF junior flyweight title, but likely this time by decision.
Not many people outside the Mexican team would have backed him to produce such an explosive finish in their first meeting, and even Curiel's team may have been surprised at how short the fight lasted in Monte Carlo.
Curiel's record as he climbed the ropes for his first world title attempt did not suggest it would be a success. But Curiel (24-4-1, 5 KOs) slipped a jab and then landed a perfect right hand that landed on Nontshinga's temple in what was one of boxing's most notable victories last year.
This time, Nontshinga (12-1, 9 KOs) will be more careful. But it was still risky for him to accept this fight so soon after such a devastating loss. The momentum is with Curiel, who has more experience and will thrive in front of his home crowd against the South African. –Parkinson
Real or not: Joseph “JoJo” Diaz still has enough to compete for a title shot at 140 pounds
Unreal. In a sport where a blow can make the difference between winning or losing, “JoJo” Díaz will always have the opportunity to achieve the victory that can place him among the best at 140 pounds. But Díaz had suffered three consecutive defeats between 2021 and 2023 (Devin Haney, Willian Zepeda and Mercito Gesta) that represent a heavy burden on his professional career.
At only 31 years old, Díaz has time. However, judging by the talent in the junior welterweight division, where Teófimo López, Devin Haney, Ryan García, Rolly Romero, Isaac Cruz and even Gervonta Davis compete for preeminence, it seems too difficult for Díaz to even be considered. for a title. struggle.
Diaz looks more like a last-minute substitute than a true contender. Perhaps, if some of the junior welterweight champions decide to move up to welterweight, that could be an opportunity for Diaz to grab one of the vacant titles, but that's a big “if.” To this day I doubt he will have the opportunity to compete for another world title. –Delgado Averhoff
