As summer draws near, the boxing schedule has been heating up with some of the sport's biggest stars in action. Gervonta "Tank" Davis and Saul "Canelo" Alvarez both picked up recent wins while trying to stake their claim as "the face of boxing." Undisptued titles have also been on the line of late, with Devin Haney edging out Vasiliy Lomachenko in a fantastic bout to retain his undisputed lightweight title, and all-time great and undisputed women's lightweight champion Katie Taylor coming up short in her bid to become undisputed super lightweight champion against Chantelle Cameron.
There are plenty of intriguing fights in the coming weeks, including a May 27 rematch between Mauricio Lara and Leigh Wood. The pair first met in February, putting in a thrilling effort that saw Wood in control of the fight until Lara landed a thudding left hand that put Wood on the canvas. While Wood beat the count and was ready to continue, his corner threw in the towel to save their fighter from any further punishment, awarding Lara the WBA featherweight title.
The best pound-for-pound fighter in women's boxing history will be in action on June 3 when Claressa Shields defends her undisputed middleweight title against Maricela Cornejo, who steps in on less than 10-day's notice after Hanna Gabriels failed a pre-fight drug test. Shields is the only boxer in history to be a four-belt undisputed champion in two weight classes simultaneously and looks to remain perfect as a professional in her first fight of 2023.
Can't get enough boxing and MMA? Get the latest in the world of combat sports from two of the best in the business. Subscribe to Morning Kombat with Luke Thomas and Brian Campbell for the best analysis and in-depth news.
One of the most intriguing fights on the coming boxing calendar is the June 10 clash between WBO junior welterweight champion Josh Taylor and former lightweight king Teofimo Lopez. Since defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko to unify three world titles in addition to holding the WBC franchise championship, Lopez has seen his career hit a rough patch. First, he was clearly defeated by George Kambosos Jr.. After rebounding with a win over Pedro Campa, Lopez then struggled to win a split decision against Sandor Martin.
Lopez now looks for a massive statement win against former undisputed super lightweight champion Taylor. Taylor is undefeated but now only holds the WBO title after being out of action since February 2022.
Things really turn up in late July. A major pound-for-pound showdown was set for May 7, with former undisputed bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue moving up to super bantamweight to challenge WBC and WBO super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton. Unfortunately, Inoue suffered an injury and the fight has been postponed. That fight will now take place on July 25 in Japan.
Then, on July 29, one of the most anticipated fights in recent memory is set to go down when Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford clash in a battle of elite pound-for-pound talents for the undisputed welterweight championship.
Below is a running list of boxing main events for 2023.
Note: This will be updated constantly with changes and additions.
| Date | Location | Main event | Weightclass/title | Network |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 27 | Manchester, England | Mauricio Lara (c) vs. Leigh Wood | WBA featherweight title | DAZN |
| May 27 | Indio, California | Alexis Rocha vs. Anthony Young | Welterweight | DAZN |
| May 27 | Bournemouth, England | Lawrence Okolie (c) vs. Chris Billam-Smith | WBO cruiserweight title | TBA |
| June 1 | Montreal | Erik Bazinyan vs. Jose de Jesus Macias | Super middleweight | ESPN |
| June 3 | Detroit | Claressa Shields (c) vs. Maricela Cornejo | Undisputed middleweight title | DAZN |
| June 9 | Verona, New York | Ali Izmailov vs. Charles Foster | Light heavyweight | Showtime |
| June 10 | New York City | Josh Taylor (c) vs. Teofimo Lopez | WBO junior welterweight title | ESPN |
| June 10 | London | Sunny Edwards (c) vs. Andres Campos | IBF flyweight title | DAZN |
| June 10 | Ontario, California | Jaime Munguia vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko | Middleweight | DAZN |
| June 17 | New Orleans | Regis Prograis (c) vs. Danielito Zorrilla | WBC junior welterweight title | DAZN |
| June 18 | Broadbeach, Australia | Tim Tszyu vs. Carlos Ocampo | Junior middleweight | Showtime |
| June 24 | Minneapolis | Carlos Adames (c) vs. Julian Williams | Interim WBC middleweight title | Showtime |
| June 24 | New York City | Edgar Berlanga vs. Jason Quigley | Super middleweight | DAZN |
| June 24 | Tokyo | Joshua Franco (c) vs. Kazuo Ioka | WBA super flyweight title | TBA |
| July 8 | San Antonio | Vergil Ortiz vs. Eimantas Stanionis | Welterweight | DAZN |
| July 25 | Tokyo | Stephen Fulton (c) vs. Naoya Inoue | WBC, WBO super bantamweight title | ESPN |
| July 29 | Las Vegas | Errol Spence Jr. (c) vs. Terence Crawford (c) | Undisputed welterweight title | Showtime PPV |
| Aug. 5 | Dallas | Jake Paul vs. Nate Diaz | Cruiserweight | DAZN PPV |
| Aug. 19 | Quebec City | Artur Beterbiev (c) vs. Callum Smith | WBC, IBF, WBO light heavyweight titles | ESPN |
