A few of boxing’s greatest names can be in motion in November in each males’s and ladies’s boxing. YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul takes on Gervonta “Tank” Davis, the reigning WBA light-weight champion, in an exhibition match that’s the highest-profile struggle of the month. However are there higher matchups for struggle followers?
Amongst these in motion are Vergil Ortiz Jr., Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez and Brian Norman Jr., all ranked No. 1 by ESPN of their respective divisions. Alycia Baumgardner, ranked No. 7 within the ESPN ladies’s pound-for-pound rankings and one of many greatest names in ladies’s boxing, defends her WBO, IBF and WBA junior light-weight titles towards Leila Beaudoin — and so they’ll be combating 10 three-minute rounds, quite than the same old two-minutes rounds within the ladies’s recreation. There may be additionally a rematch between Chris Eubank Jr. and Conor Benn, the most important struggle staged within the U.Ok. this 12 months.
With so many must-see fights arising, there was no room within the high 10 for high-quality world title fights resembling WBO featherweight champion Rafael Espinoza vs. Arnold Khegai (Nov. 15).
ESPN marks your calendar with the very best fights in November.
Odds correct as of Oct. 31. All odds by ESPN BET.
This struggle is tough to name. It’s a fascinating distinction of types to find out the world’s finest welterweight. If Haney (32-0, 15 KOs), a technical boxer with hovering ring smarts and protection, executes his normal recreation plan of combating from the surface and retains his harmful rival at a secure distance, likelihood is he’ll depart the ring with Norman’s WBO title. Haney has already received world titles at light-weight (undisputed) and junior welterweight.
But when Haney, 26, will get sloppy and is drawn right into a brawl, he’ll expertise one other up-and-down evening just like the one he endured towards Ryan Garcia. Haney, who often has a water-tight protection, was dropped thrice towards Garcia at junior welterweight in April 2024 (Garcia didn’t make weight and his majority choice win was later modified to a no contest after Garcia examined optimistic for a banned substance). Haney additionally obtained criticism for a unanimous choice win over Jose Ramirez in Might, when he landed simply 70 punches in response to CompuBox.
Norman (28-0, 22 KOs) simply wants one defensive lapse from Haney to land the kind of one-punch, left-hook KO that stopped Jin Sasaki in Spherical 5 final June, in a candidate for knockout of the 12 months. Norman, 24, goes into the title protection in higher type than Haney, having knocked out his final three opponents. He’ll look to again Haney onto the ropes, the place he can land his hooks, particularly early on. Haney will certainly make the most of his jab and motion, however must be extra bold along with his assaults than he was towards Ramirez if he’s to make certain of changing into a three-division world champion.
After Benn’s suspension for a banned substance delayed the third installment of their household rivalry — and first between him and Chris Eubank Jr. — Eubank (35-3, 25 KOs) and Benn (23-1, 14 KOs) delivered an absorbing encounter that you just couldn’t take your eyes off in April.
There have been no knockdowns within the nontitle middleweight struggle, which adopted their fathers’ two world title fights within the Nineteen Nineties. But it surely was nonetheless entertaining and stuffed with drama as Eubank deservedly received a unanimous choice by 116-112 on all three scorecards. Benn had his moments, however Eubank managed many of the rounds and his dimension — Benn stepped up two weight courses for the struggle — was an apparent benefit.
Anticipate Benn to be much more ferocious in his quest for revenge, this time at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London. Benn, 28, has much less to lose than 36-year-old Eubank. He’s youthful and his profession can recuperate from a second defeat, so don’t be shocked to see him load up on his punches in a quick begin. Eubank’s expertise and energy could possibly be decisive once more within the later rounds. Eubank has stopped two of his previous three opponents from Spherical 7 onwards.
When these two households conflict, there may be at all times a lot extra drama than what occurs within the ring.
This exhibition bout would be the most-watched struggle of the month, even when some are calling it a mismatch or a cash-grab. When Paul fought former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson, 58, final November, 60 million households tuned in to look at the spectacle on Netflix. This time round, there is perhaps a smaller viewers, despite the fact that Paul faces a a lot more durable problem towards the reigning WBA light-weight champion. “Tank” Davis is stepping up a ridiculous 60 kilos to face social media star Paul at a catchweight of 195 kilos, but boxing logic means Davis ought to nonetheless come out on high.
Paul is just not ranked within the cruiserweight high 10 by any of the 4 world governing our bodies (the WBA ranks Paul No. 14; the WBC, WBO and IBF don’t have him of their high 15), and has by no means fought for a world title. Davis, 30, a talented operator ranked at No. 2 at light-weight by ESPN, has received 12 world title fights (together with for the much less prestigious “common” model of the WBA title) in three weight courses, with one draw, and has by no means been crushed as knowledgeable.
In terms of boxing abilities and expertise, Davis is leagues forward. Paul, who has made exceptional progress in skilled boxing with no beginner expertise, has a dimension benefit, however something aside from a Davis domination can be a shock. Will probably be fascinating to see how targeted and motivated Davis is for this scheduled 10-round cruiserweight exhibition. Davis has hinted about retirement and was arrested on prices of assaulting his ex-girlfriend in July. The home violence case towards Davis was dropped in August.
Davis has appeared uninterested at media occasions, and if he does are available undermotivated and dismissive of Paul, may there be an upset? Regardless of this being an exhibition, the promoters have stated there can be three judges and a winner can be declared, so there’s something at stake. This novelty struggle won’t be on each struggle fan’s watchlist, but it surely is likely one of the greatest boxing tales of the 12 months, which is why most individuals will almost certainly tune in.
Benavidez is rising in reputation and driving on a sizzling streak of type, however he faces his hardest take a look at but at gentle heavyweight towards harmful puncher Yarde.
Benavidez received the WBC interim gentle heavyweight title towards Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June 2024 and defended the belt as soon as in a call victory over David Morrell in February. He was elevated to full champion when the WBC stripped Dmitry Bivol for dealing with Artur Beterbiev in a rematch as a substitute of Benavidez, the necessary challenger on the time.
Yarde (27-3, 24 KOs) enters his third world title shot after a hard-earned, attritional choice win towards Lyndon Arthur in April. It wasn’t an entertaining struggle to look at, however Yarde, 34, has beforehand proven he’s able to thrilling knockouts and was performing nicely. He was even successful in his two world title fights, towards Beterbiev and Sergey Kovalev, earlier than each Russians stopped him in 2023 and 2019, respectively. Yarde may attempt to flip this struggle with Benavidez right into a brawl, a harmful technique that would give him extra alternatives to land his energy pictures.
However Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) enters this struggle favored to retain his title after the 28-year-old convincingly outpointed Gvozdyk and Morrell, after transferring up from tremendous middleweight. This is a chance for Benavidez, three fights into his gentle heavyweight marketing campaign, to indicate he’s prepared for division unified champion Bivol or former champion Beterbiev.
Ortiz, the No. 1-ranked junior middleweight by ESPN, appears to win his first world title. Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), began his profession with 21 consecutive wins by stoppage however needed to accept choice victories in his final two fights. The KO specialist received a unanimous choice over Israil Madrimov final outing in February, after getting off the canvas to take a majority choice towards Serhii Bohachuk in August 2024. His win over Madrimov is arguably the very best efficiency of his profession, as he demonstrated nice punch quantity and self-discipline to keep away from leaving himself overexposed towards a Madrimov who was coming off a detailed choice loss to Terence Crawford simply six months earlier than.
Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs), a difficult southpaw, was concerned in a thriller towards Sebastian Fundora in a ninth-round TKO loss three years in the past. He goals to drag off an enormous upset after registering three consecutive wins — two by KO — since. However Lubin has been harm by huge punchers resembling Jermell Charlo, who KO’d him in a spherical in 2017, and Fundora, which suggests he may wrestle with Ortiz’s energy and aggression.
Ortiz is anticipated to progress to an enormous struggle towards WBA junior middleweight interim champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis in 2026.
“Bam” Rodriguez, the WBC and WBO junior bantamweight champion, is ranked No. 5 in ESPN’s newest pound-for-pound rankings after he unified the belts with a dominant Tenth-round stoppage of Phumelela Cafu in July. Like Rodriguez, Martinez, the WBA champion, is a high-volume, relentless puncher. So we will anticipate an enormous variety of exchanges on this title unification struggle.
Rodriguez (22-0, 15 KOs) additionally has unimaginable energy — a proper hook lifted Cafu off his toes shortly earlier than his nook threw within the towel — and this offers him the sting towards Martinez — but it surely received’t be simple. Martinez (18-0, 9 KOs) is coming off a call win over Kazuto Ioka in Might, the second time in a 12 months he travelled to Japan to unanimously outpoint Ioka.
The winner of this struggle can be left with bargaining energy to make an undisputed showdown with Willibaldo Garcia, the IBF titleholder.
With the vacant WBO light-weight title on the road, that is the prospect for Mason or Noakes to emerge from the shadows and develop into a world champion. Noakes (17-0, 15 KOs) has received European and British titles and, at 28 years previous, has extra expertise than 21-year-old Mason. Mason (19-0, 17 KOs) was dropped twice early on in a second-round KO of Yohan Vasquez a 12 months in the past, so he has proven vulnerability, which Noakes will attempt to take a look at by his strain combating fashion. Noakes additionally has the expertise of successful 12-round fights for European and British titles, and if he can take Mason into the late rounds, he’ll fancy his possibilities.
Will probably be fascinating to see if Mason can go 12 rounds — he has but to transcend six rounds — towards the very best opponent he has confronted. Mason has moved quick, and on Nov. 22 we get to search out out if the title struggle vs. Noakes has come too quickly.
Ladies’s boxing will as soon as once more be featured on the massive stage when Baumgardner defends her WBA, WBO and IBF ladies’s junior light-weight titles towards Beaudoin (13-1, 2 KOs) within the co-main occasion of Jake Paul vs. Gervonta Davis.
The struggle can be contested below males’s championship struggle guidelines with 12 three-minute rounds, which led to Baumgardner relinquishing the WBC belt because the governing physique doesn’t agree with three-minute rounds for girls’s boxing. The additional minute per spherical may change the way in which the fighters strategy the struggle.
Baumgardner (16-1, 7 KOs) labored to a call win over Jessica Miranda in July however anticipate her to be higher towards Beaudoin in entrance of her greatest viewers but. The publicity gained by being proven on Netflix may remodel Baumgardner’s profession, which is why she is going to wish to produce one thing particular.
That is Whittaker’s first struggle below the Matchroom Boxing banner, following his transfer from rival promoter Boxxer, and he’ll wish to ship an attention grabbing efficiency.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn believes the charismatic 28-year-old has an thrilling future and Whittaker (9-0-1, 6 KOs) may now be moved quick, if he produces the outcomes.
Whittaker, a silver medallist on the 2021 Olympics, has the strikes and over 3 million social media followers however has but to show constant one-punch knockout energy. Nonetheless, it’s early in his professional profession and he’s very entertaining within the ring along with his actions, whether or not it’s a title struggle or not.
Buatsi, an Olympic bronze medallist in 2016, is in want of a lift following his choice loss to former tremendous middleweight champion Callum Smith in February, however he faces a fighter in higher type as Parker (26-1, 18 KOs) has received his previous 4 fights.
That is Buatsi’s first struggle with Queensberry Promotions, with the thought being he’ll progress to face Anthony Yarde, who challenges David Benavidez for the WBC world title on Nov. 22. Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) scored a split-decision victory over Willy Hutchinson after dropping him twice, to win the WBO interim gentle heavyweight title. This could possibly be his evening to shine towards Parker.
