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.
5. Interim WBC World Middleweight Championshop: Jermall Charlo (c) (28-0) vs. Brandon Adams (21-2)
When/Where: Saturday, 9:00pm, Showtime
Competitiveness: 2: You may best know Adams from The Contender, where he won the middleweight tournament, defeating Shane Mosley Jr. in the finals. Nice feather in the cap, but still not in Charlo’s league.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 1
Prestige: 3: What’s the endgame, here? Canelo is the WBC champ, and I haven’t even heard a whisper about a unification bout with Charlo. Canelo still probably has another bout with GGG before he gets to another title defense, and Charlo has been interim champ for over a year. Stupid. Fucking dumb. Interim titles are stupid.
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 13
4. Unified Cage Warriors Welterweight Championship: Ross Houston (c) (8-0) vs. Nicolas Dalby (ic) (17-3-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 4:00pm, UFC Fight Pass
Competitiveness: 5: The undefeated champion against the UFC vet. Nice competitive balance and storyline.
Excitement: 2
Juice: 3: Cage Warriors is pushing the personal angle, and put up a good promo. https://twitter.com/CageWarriors/status/1142085439353958401
Prestige: 3
Viewing Ease: 3
Total: 16
3. WBO World Middleweight Championship: Demetrius Andrade (c) (27-0) vs. Maciej Sulecki (28-1)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 5: Very competitive matchup. Sulecki is a legit top-ten middleweight, whose only loss was a reasonably close decision to Daniel Jacobs.
Excitement: 3
Juice: 1
Prestige: 5: The last title keeping Canelo from unification. The last Infinity Stone, if you will.
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 18
2. WBA World Junior Bantamweight Championship: Khalid Yafai (c) (25-0) vs. Norbelto Jimenez (29-8-4)
When/Where: Saturday, 7:00pm, DAZN
Competitiveness: 3: What a goddamned weird career Jimenez has had. Weird record for a contender, right? He started his career ONE AND SEVEN. After drawing 0-7 Julio Cesar Paniagua in December of 2012, he was 3-8-2. Since then, 26-0-2. Goddamn, the fight game is strange.
Excitement: 4
Juice: 3: A fighter starting his career 1-7, and rebounding to fight for a world title is a hell of a story.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 19
1. IBF World Lightweight Championship: Richard Commey (c) (28-2) vs. Raymundo Beltran (36-8-1)
When/Where: Friday, 10:00pm, ESPN
Competitiveness: 5
Excitement: 5: Commey has concrete in his gloves (metaphorically, not literally, Margarito). His last three fights have gone ten rounds…combined. Beltran is as hard-nosed and as scrappy and tough as it gets.
Juice: 2: After winning his first world title in February of last year at 36, Beltran just turned 38, and if he loses definitively, this might be his last shot.
Prestige: 5
Viewing Ease: 4
Total: 21
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