Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
The month of May is scheduled to be the most packed and anticipated 31 days of boxing that 2015 has to offer.
The four biggest stars of the sport are all fighting between now and Memorial Day–that includes Gennady Golovkin, Canelo Alvarez, and of course Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao, which economically is expected to be the biggest fight in the sports history.
Also, free boxing will premiere on a new network television platform starting Friday, May 1 when Bob Arum’s Top Rank Promotions will host their first ever event on truTV.
The card will feature Lightweights Takahiro Ao vs. Ray Beltran, a bout that was originally scheduled for the vacant WBO Lightweight title, a belt that Beltran fought for and lost to former champion Terence Crawford back on November 11, 2014.
Unfortunately for Beltran, he came in 0.4 pounds over the weight limit and thus is not eligible to win the title regardless of the fights outcome.
Also featured on the card will be Mikael Zewski vs. Konstantin Ponomarev.
Saturday, May 2 is the night that boxing fans have been looking forward to for over six years. Finally, the question will be answered, who is better, Floyd Mayweather or Manny Pacquiao? It’s the battle for legacy, for the right to be unquestionably called the greatest fighter of this era.
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The night will certainly be a memorable occasion and the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas will be filled with Hollywood’s biggest stars looking to get a glimpse at sports history.
Tickets for the event were sold out in seconds, but the fight will be available on pay-per-view for $89.99 standard definition and $99.99 for high definition.
Photo by Stephanie Trapp/Mayweather Promotions
Also on the televised undercard, Leo Santa Cruz will fight Jose Cayatano in the co-main feature, and former Olympic star and amateur standout Vasyl Lomachenko will fight Gamalier Rodriguez of Puerto Rico in the opening bout.
Golden Boy Promotions returns to Fox Sports 1 on Thursday, May 7 with a card featuring Junior Featherweights Manuel Avila vs. Erik Ruiz, as well as Diego De La Hoya in the co-main feature.
Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
Friday, May 8 brings two televised cards from two network channels, with Heavyweights Amir Mansour vs. Joey Dawejko on ESPN2, as well as Top Ranks second truTV card featuring promising Junior Middleweight contender Glen Tapia taking on Michael Soro.
Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez makes his return to HBO Boxing on Saturday, May 9 when he takes on ruthless slugger James Kirkland from Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas.
A fight that boxing fans once begged for, is now being overshadowed of course by the May 2 Fight of the Century, but potentially has the makings of the most entertaining scrap of the month.
Kirkland has received criticism for leaving trainer Anne Wolfe who he has had success with, but looks good with just a week to go before the fight.
No weekends off at this point. Getting ready to walk into the ring at my best 2 weeks from today. #PBConCBS pic.twitter.com/XBEUsWjsIk
— Omar Figueroa Jr. (@OmarFigueroaJr) April 25, 2015
Also on Saturday, May 9 Premier Boxing Champions will also be in Texas on CBS with three televised fights. The main event will feature the always-exciting Omar Figueroa making his Junior Welterweight debut against Scotland’s Ricky Burns.
The undercard will feature Bantamweights Jamie McDonnell vs. Tomoki Kameda and former Junior Middleweight champion Austin Trout vs. Anthony Mundine.
ESPN 2 Friday Night Fights returns on Friday, May 15 with a Lightweight bout between Reynaldo Ojeda and Monty Meza Clay, and truTV will host its third boxing card in as many weeks with Jose Benavidez Jr. taking on Jorge Paez Jr. and Antonio Orozco vs. Emmanuel Taylor.
Middleweight superstar on the rise Gennady “GGG” Golovkin will fight for the second time in 2015 on Saturday, May 16 when he takes on slick-southpaw contender Willie Monroe Jr. from The Forum in Inglewood, California.
Monroe was not the first choice of boxing fans to be Golovkin’s next opponent, but as long as the big names in the division keep ducking him, there’s nothing much else the knockout machine from Kazakhstan can do but fight the best available.
Also on the card, Flyweight sensation and pound-for-pound talent Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will take his 42-0-0, 36 KOs record on HBO for the first time when he takes on Edgar Sosa.
Friday, May 22 ESPN 2 Friday Night Fight’s brings you the finals for the 2015 Junior Middleweight and Heavyweight Boxcino Tournaments.
In the Junior Middleweight final Brandon Adams, who lost in the 2014 Boxcino Middleweight tournament final, will try to win it this year when he takes on John Thompson. Also, Donovan Dennis will take on Andrey Fedesov in the Heavyweight final.
MAY 23RD BOSTON! GET YOUR TIXS NOW! pic.twitter.com/oC1mTjxU4D @spike_osullivan @LocoPugilist @polish_prince89 @labombaboxing @markiedeluca
— Murphys Boxing (@murphysboxing) April 28, 2015
Big time boxing returns to the great sports city of Boston for the first time in nine years on Saturday, May 23 when Premier Boxing Champions brings you James DeGale vs. Andre Dirrell for the vacant IBF Super Middleweight title on NBC.
Then PBC returns again just six days later on Friday, May 29 on Spike TV when England’s Amir Khan takes on Chris Algieri in a 12 round welterweight match. It’s Algieri’s first fight since losing to Manny Pacquiao back in November 2014.
I'm back and I couldn't be more excited!! @premierboxing @spike @barclayscenter #TeamMalignaggi #PBConSpike pic.twitter.com/u4zpMiz4s2
— Paul Malignaggi (@PaulMalignaggi) April 20, 2015
Also on the card, Paulie Malignaggi will put down the microphone and pick up his boxing gloves after 13 months off when he takes on Danny O’Connor in the co-main feature.
Saturday, May 30 concludes the month with a great night of boxing. First, Javier Mendoza will defend his IBF Junior Flyweight title against Milan Melindo on BeIN Sports Espanol.
Photo by Lawrence Lustig/Matchroom Boxing
Also on Saturday, May 30 on a network to be determined, IBF Welterweight titleholder Kell Brook will make his second defense of 2015 against fellow Englishman Frankie Gavin in London.
Also on the stacked card will be Jorge Linares vs. Kevin Mitchell for Linares’ WBC Lightweight title, as well as Evgeny Gradovich vs. Lee Selby for Gradovich’s IBF Featherweight title.
Also, be sure to check out promising Heavyweight prospect Anthony Joshua on the undercard against the always tough Kevin Johnson.
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Header photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank
