July is shaping up to be an exciting month for boxing fans, with the participation of some of the best boxers in the world and the return of a legend. From heavyweight Oleksandr Usyk to super flyweight Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, this month features world title fights in several divisions, including featured fights on the pound-for-pound list.
Manny Pacquiao, one of the greats of modern boxing, returns to the ring after almost four years of inactivity. In addition, the trilogy between the undisputed super lightweight champion, Katie Taylor, and Amanda Serrano, an encounter whose outcome is difficult to predict, is eagerly awaited.
The quality of this month’s fights is so high that some notable matchups like Alberto Puello vs. Subriel Matias and Alycia Baumgardner vs. Jennifer Miranda didn’t make the top list. What are the best fights this month and why should you watch them? Here’s a detailed analysis.
Claressa Shields (-2500) vs. Lani Daniels (+1100) – July 26 in Detroit (DAZN)
At stake: Shields’ undisputed women’s heavyweight championship.Shields, the first undisputed world champion in three weight categories, will defend her women’s heavyweight titles in front of her audience against an experienced rival. Although the odds favor Shields, Daniels is a former IBF champion who has won her last seven fights. The New Zealand boxer could offer the local champion a tougher fight than her last encounter.
Bruce Carrington (-5000) vs. Mateus Heita (+1600) – July 26 in New York (ESPN/ESPN+)
In play: The WBC interim featherweight title.Carrington could secure a world title opportunity with a victory over Heita, and in his current form, he seems well-positioned to achieve it. Carrington could even become a full champion if he extends his undefeated record, as WBC featherweight champion Stephen Fulton moves up a division for his next fight (against O’Shaquie Foster on August 16) and must decide which division he will remain in. Carrington has been challenging champions, but this is his first scheduled 12-round fight. The Brooklyn boxer looked convincing in March when he became the first to stop Enrique Vivas, and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him go for the knockout.
Xander Zayas vs. Jorge Garcia – July 26 in New York (ESPN/ESPN+)
At stake: The vacant WBO super welterweight title.Zayas faces a tough opponent in his first attempt to win a world title, but he has the quality to prevail and be acclaimed as the successor to great Puerto Rican boxers like Miguel Cotto and Félix Trinidad. Garcia impressed by stopping Charles Conwell in April, and the Mexican’s powerful punching could be a problem for Zayas if he gets involved in a brawl. But Zayas, who has been a professional since the age of 17, is a talented and well-trained boxer, and this should be his moment of glory. When he outboxed Patrick Teixeira in June 2024, Zayas effectively focused on the body. And if he boxes to his potential again, he will have too much variety for Garcia to overcome.
Edgar Berlanga (-120) vs. Hamzah Sheeraz (-105) – July 12 in Queens, New York (DAZN)
At stake: A chance for Sheeraz to get a superfight against Canelo Álvarez.Sheeraz is one of the options for a lucrative fight against the undisputed super middleweight champion, Canelo, in February, according to Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority. But first, Sheeraz needs to win his super middleweight debut against a former world champion. Berlanga was moderate and cautious in a decision loss to Álvarez in September, but recovered with a first-round victory over Jonathan Gonzalez-Ortiz in March. The possibility of Sheeraz fighting Canelo next year bothered Berlanga during DAZN’s “Face Off” program, launched on June 30, and consequently, you may see him looking for the knockout. There’s a lot at stake for Sheeraz, and he’ll need to do better than in his last fight, in which he challenged Carlos Adames for the WBC middleweight title. Sheeraz failed to connect with Adames, who ended Sheeraz’s streak of 15 knockouts in a split draw in February. Does Sheeraz have what it takes against elite opposition, and will the weight class change suit him?
Sebastian Fundora (+120) vs. Tim Tszyu (-150) 2 – July 19 in Las Vegas (Amazon Prime Video PPV)
At stake: Fundora’s WBC and WBO super welterweight titles.After a disastrous 2024, Tszyu will seek to restore his reputation and amend his career if he can beat Fundora in a rematch. Tszyu lost by split decision in a bloody fight with Fundora in March 2024, when Tszyu suffered a cut on the hairline in the second round, and was knocked down four times in a technical knockout loss in the third round against Bakhram Murtazaliev in another world title fight in October. Tszyu gained some confidence with a fourth-round knockout victory over Joseph Spencer in April, but the question remains unanswered: How much damage did the two losses of last year do? Fundora stopped Chordale Booker in four rounds in March, and Tszyu will have to deliver a performance of his career to beat the American giant.
Shakur Stevenson (-1200) vs. William Zepeda (+650) – July 12 in Queens, New York (DAZN)
At stake: Stevenson’s WBC lightweight title.Stevenson showed form in his last fight against substitute Josh Padley, but now a tougher test arrives. The 27-year-old from New Jersey divides the opinion of the fans, some say his defensive style is unattractive. Other boxers may generate more excitement, but Stevenson’s technical skill, precision, and defense cannot be denied. Zepeda is undefeated, but he needed to get up from the canvas in the fourth round to defeat Tevin Farmer by split decision last November, before going the distance again against Farmer in the rematch. His aggressive, pressure style can adapt to Stevenson’s counterpunching. It is worth maintaining faith in Stevenson’s undeniable talent, but he needs to show more than a tight, backward defense against Zepeda if he wants to generate interest from fans and promoters. A cautious and safe approach will not help him secure a clash with Gervonta Davis. If Stevenson adopts a more aggressive approach, it will not only be good for his popularity, but it will also be a better fight, as Zepeda is a high-volume puncher.
Jesse Rodriguez (-2500) vs. Phumelele Cafu (+1100) – July 19 in Frisco, Texas (DAZN)
At stake: Rodriguez’s WBC super flyweight title and Cafu’s WBO super flyweight title.
This is the first opportunity this year to possibly see the most exciting boxer in boxing. “Bam” Rodriguez, from San Antonio, is in top form and could become a unified champion in a second weight category. “Bam” defeated Pedro Guevara in the third round in November to defend his WBC super flyweight title, after knocking out Juan Francisco Estrada a year ago and, before that, forcing Sunny Edwards to retire in a flyweight title unification fight in December 2023. The victory over two-division champion Estrada was particularly impressive, and the uppercut that left Guevara sprawled on the canvas was brutal. Rodriguez will have to be careful with Cafu’s power: the South African knocked down Kosei Tanka in a split decision victory in October 2024, but Rodriguez is currently one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world, so expect excitement against Cafu.
Manny Pacquiao (+260) vs. Mario Barrios (-350) – July 19 in Las Vegas (Amazon Prime Video PPV)
At stake: Barrios’ WBC welterweight title.
One fact says it all about this fight: Barrios was born four months after Pacquiao began his professional career 30 years ago. Many believe that Pacquiao shouldn’t be in a professional boxing ring at 46 years old and after almost four years of retirement. But that won’t stop millions in his native Philippines and elsewhere from tuning in to follow Pac-Man’s quest to become the oldest welterweight champion in history. Only two boxers, heavyweight George Foreman and light heavyweight Bernard Hopkins, have won world title fights at the age of 46 or older. The last time we saw Pacquiao was a much slower version of himself in a unanimous decision loss to Yordenis Ugas in August 2021. Pacquiao has had 72 professional fights and has conquered eight weight divisions. If there’s one boxer who can challenge Father Time, it’s Pacquiao, who is also trying to break his own record as boxing’s oldest 147-pound world champion (he previously did it at 40 years, 215 days). If Pacquiao succeeds, there won’t be a bigger sports story this year.
Oleksandr Usyk (-400) vs. Daniel Dubois (+300) 2 – July 19 in London (DAZN PPV)
At stake: Usyk’s WBC, WBO, and WBA heavyweight titles and Dubois’ IBF heavyweight title.Usyk has a two-fight plan for his career, and when he’s gone, we’ll miss him. He has dominated in a four-year reign as heavyweight champion, twice defeating each of the two best boxers of his era, Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury. But Dubois brings knockout power, just ask Joshua, whom Dubois stopped in the fifth round in September. Dubois challenged Usyk two years ago and claims he scored a legitimate knockdown with a body shot, but it was ruled a low blow. Usyk was given time to recover and eventually overwhelmed Dubois, stopping him in the ninth round. Undisputed heavyweight title fights are rare, and if Usyk achieves undisputed status for the third time (he has already done it once at cruiserweight and once at heavyweight), you will be witnessing history.
Katie Taylor (+135) vs. Amanda Serrano (-170) 3 – July 11 in New York (Netflix)
At stake: Taylor’s undisputed women’s super lightweight championship.Their first two fights were so good and competitive that Taylor and Serrano will face each other again for a third time at Madison Square Garden. Women’s boxing has not seen a greater rivalry, which has produced two exciting fights decided by very close, and debatable, decisions. In 2022, they became the first women to headline a boxing card at the Garden, and it was such a good fight that it led to a rematch in 2024 that was broadcast on Netflix and broke records by averaging 74 million viewers worldwide, becoming the most-watched women’s sporting event in US history. The rematch was named Women’s Fight of the Year by ESPN. Taylor scored 95-94 from all three judges, but Serrano was not happy after suffering a cut above her right eye in the fourth round from a headbutt (Taylor was deducted a point in the eighth round for headbutting). Serrano was ambitious and effective despite the injury, which makes this trilogy fight difficult to predict. Will Taylor be penalized again for more headbutting, and how decisive will that be? Can Taylor repel Serrano’s initial pressure to dominate the final rounds again?
