The championship fight. The pinnacle of achievement across combat sports for centuries. A premiere attraction that draws millions every year. But not all title bouts are created equally.
So which title bouts every week are the ones to watch? We’ll look over every title fight from across the combat sports landscape and give you the five best based on five criteria:
- Competitiveness: Is this an even matchup? Or just a warm body to throw at a champion? It’s a title fight, so we want the best possible at that division in that promotion.
- Excitement: How exciting will this fight be? A clash of two elite talents throwing everything they have at each other in an attempt to win the gold? Or a half-dead plod-fest devoid of action or risk?
- Juice: A sort of catch-all term for all the factors behind the matchup. Is there a story leading up to the match? A true rivalry? Anticipated rematch? Do the fighters dislike each other? Were the circumstances leading to the fight extraordinary, or was it just a promoter putting two names against each other? Is there a lot of excitement or hype going into it?
- Prestige: Applies to the belt itself, but also to the fighter wearing it. Is this a long-tenured champion defending? Is this an interim title or one that was vacated? Has the champion increased the prestige of the title or is this a fight that will increase the prestige of it?
- Viewing Ease: We all don’t mind suffering for our art (or hobbies), but sometimes paying twenty dollars for a choppy stream, or searching your cable plan for a channel you’re pretty sure was just invented three days ago in the 6000s isn’t the best of times. How easy, affordable, and stress-free is this bout to watch?
So here are your five best gold options for the weekend.
1. WBA World Middleweight Championship: Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam (c) (36-2) vs. Ryota Murata (12-1)
When/Where: Sunday, 7:00am, ESPN2/ESPN Deportes
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 3
Juice: 4: Oh, you mean when they fought for the world title and the decision was so horrific that the judges that scored it for N’Dam N’Jikam were suspended?
Prestige: 4: Well, it’s the *sigh* not “Super” WBA title, which currently belongs to GGG. Go to hell, WBA.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 19
2. WBC World Junior Flyweight Championship: Ken Shiro (c) (10-0) vs. Pedro Guevara (30-2-1)
When/Where: Sunday, 7:00am, ESPN2/ESPN Deportes
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2: Guevara lost the WBC Junior Flyweight strap to Yu Kimura, who lost it to Ganigan Lopez, who lost it to Ken Shiro, and here we are! Nearly two years after losing that very same belt, Lopez is back to recapture it.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 3: 4 for ease, 2 for the time. Gotta want it, dammit!
Total: 18
t3. WBA Super World Junior Lightweight Championship: Jezreel Corrales (c) (22-1) vs. Alberto Machado (18-0)
When/Where: Saturday, 10:05pm, HBO/HBO Latino
Competitiveness: 3: Machado is absolutely *flying* through the ranks, winning the WBO’s secondary 130lb title in April, and the WBA’s secondary 130lb title in August, and now fighting for the WBA’s Super World title just two months later. Maybe Machado is ready, but holy shit, are they putting a rocket up his ass.
Excitement: 4: Machado is incredibly heavy-handed, and Corrales is one of those fighters who finds power as he gets older and is in later-round fights.
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5:
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 16
t3. IBF World Cruiserweight Championship: Murat Gassiev (c) (24-0) vs. Krzysztof Wloadarczyk (53-3-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:30pm, WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com/Audience
Competitiveness: 4
Excitement: 3
Juice: 2
Prestige: 5: Not only for the IBF World strap, but also to advance in the World Boxing Super Series.
Viewing Ease: 2: Are you one of the fourteen people in the States who gets Audience? Better hope you can find a stream or block your location and try to get the WBSS stream.
Total: 16
5. IBF/IBO/WBA/WBC/WBO World Female Welterweight Championship: Cecilia Braekhus (c) (31-0) vs. Mikaela Lauren (29-4)
When/Where: Saturday, Untelevised
Competitiveness: 2: The First Lady can still make claims to being the best female boxer in the world, Lauren can talk about her power, but, no.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 3: Well I can’t imagine there could be anything to give this mundane matchup a boost in worldwide exp–
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 1
Total: 13
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