Five Boxing Events you can look forward to this summer

June 1st, Riyadh - Zhilei Zhang vs deontay wilder

Riyadh season always seems to have non-stop action, especially in the Heavyweight division. The Main Event sees Zhang take on Wilder in a battle for redemption as both men have lost their previous bout by decision.

Big Bang last fought at the Kingdom Arena as he would suffer a majority decision loss to Joseph Parker, despite knocking him down twice, and lose the WBO Interim Heavyweight title in the process. The Chinese boxer has won 26 times in his professional career with 21 bouts ending by KO/TKO.

His only two losses have come when Zhang has fought in Saudi Arabia as he lost his first pro Boxing match against Filip Hrgovic, proving that fighting in the Middle East is an unlucky charm for him.

The Bronze Bomber also fought in the Kingdom Arena in his last fight, which did come against Joseph Parker, losing by unanimous decision. The former WBC World Heavyweight Champion recently earned a first-round knockout win in the Barclays Center which would redeem the two losses he suffered to Tyson Fury.

The Alabama-born fighter has almost stopped every conquered opponent by knockout, earning 42 KO/TKO victories out of 43 successful bouts. Zhang has never lost by knockout in his Boxing career as Wilder could become the first fighter to do so.

In the co-main event, Dmitrii Bivol faces off against Malik Zinad with the WBA Super and IBO World Light Heavyweight belts on the line. Bivol was originally meant to fight Artur Beterbiev in the main event, but the bout would be cancelled due to a ruptured meniscus from Beterbiev.

Bivol has won his last nine fights by unanimous decision, earning recognisable wins over the like of Gilberto Ramirez and Saul Alvarez, AKA Canelo. With an undefeated record, the Russian will look to carry on his good fortune and prove that he is one of the best Light Heavyweight boxers.

Zinad has earned his first opportunity for a world title after staying undefeated with the same record as Bivol's, but earning 16 KO/TKO wins out of 22 victories. The Libya-born fighter last won by majority decision against Jerome Pampellone in late April as he looks to make a big upset in Riyadh.

Two more bouts which will keep you interested in this event, Raymond Ford defends his WBA World Featherweight title against Nick Ball and Filip Hrgovic takes on Daniel Dubois in a Heavyweight bout.

Ford is looking to make his first successful world title defence after Otabek Kholmatov by 12th-round TKO in early March, while Ball win world Boxing glory after earning a split draw against Rey Vargas, with many of the fighting community believing that the undisputed Scouse boxer should have won the bout and the WBC World Featherweight Championship.

Hrgovic will aim to stay undefeated after his last victory ended by TKO in the first round against Mark de Mori. In the same event, Dubois earned a 10th-round TKO win over Jarrell Miller, redeeming his title loss to Oleksandr Usyk back in August 2023.

June 15th, Las vegas - Gervonta Davis vs Frank martin

The MGM Grand has hosted many iconic events in the Combat Sports industry, and another one is set to take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena as Gervonta Davis returns to defend his WBA World Lightweight title against another undefeated fighter, Frank Martin.

Tank has a blast last year when he successfully defended his world title for the fifth time, defeating Hector Luis Garcia by ninth-round TKO at the Capital One Arena in Washington.

Three months after his 28th professional win in Boxing, Davis faced popular prospect, Ryan Garcia, in what would be a very anticipating Boxing match. The fight would be a non-title bout at a Catchweight of 136lbs as both men would put their undefeated record on the line. Davis would defeat Garcia by knockout in the seventh round after hitting a brutal body punch.

The Baltimore-born boxer looks unstoppable and in his prime with 29 wins, 27 of those ending by knockout, showing how good of a fighter he is as he aims to have a better career than his former promoter, Floyd Mayweather.

The Ghost has not fought big names like Davis, but he has shown he deserves to be facing them after his last four bouts showed why he should be in title contention.

Martin fought once in 2023, earning an unanimous decision win over Artem Harutyunyan at the Chelsea Ballroom in Las Vegas. Seven months earlier, The Detroit-born fighter would battle in the same place but earn a more dominant decision victory which would make him become a bigger prospect in the Lightweight division.

The current WBA Lightweight title challenger has 12 knockout wins out of 18 professional triumphs. His most recent stoppage win coming against Jackson Martinez in the 10th round in San Antonio as he looks to make a biggest Boxing upset of 2024.

The co-main event in Las Vegas features a bout for the WBC Interim World Light Heavyweight title between two knockout artists as undefeated boxer, David Benavidez, takes on Ukrainian fighter, Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Benavidez defended the Interim World Super Middleweight title last year twice, with a 12-round decision win against Caleb Plant and a sixth-round corner stoppage victory against Demetrius Andrade as he continues his hunt for undisputed glory.

Gvozdyk has been unstoppable in his last two fights, earning a sixth-round TKO win against Ricards Bolotniks in Mexico before and incredible second-round knockout win over Isaac Rodrigues at the T-Mobile Arena.

June 15th, London - Chris billam-smith vs richard riakporhe II

Selhurst Park usually hosts Football games for Crystal Palace Football Club, but on June 15th, it hosts a Boxing rematch between the WBO World Cruiserweight Champion, Chris Billam-Smith, and undefeated boxer, Richard Riakporhe.

Billam-Smith became world champion in May 2023 when he defeated Lawrence Okolie at the Vitality Stadium in Bournemouth, winning by majority decision. The Gentleman would then fight in Bournemouth once more to make his first title defence, defeating Mateusz Masternak by eighth-round corner stoppage due to a rib injury.

The Epsom-born fighter has had 20 professional Boxing matches, winning 19 of those with thirteen of them ending by KO/TKO. Billam-Smith's only loss came against Riakporhe as he looks to avenge his only loss in the sport and not let history repeat itself.

Riakporhe has been on a roll in the last two and a half years, winning his last five fights by knockout or TKO with the majority of those victories coming from the Wembley Arena. The Midnight Train last fought in November 2023 when he defeated Dylan Bregeon by second-round TKO in Wolverhampton.

The London boxer has remained undefeated in his professional career with 13 of his 17 victories ending by knockout as he has proven why he deserves a shot at a world title. The last time Riakporhe faced Billam-Smith, he would end the 10-round bout as victorious with a split decision win back in July 2019.

In the co-main event, Isaac Chamberlain puts his Commonwealth Cruiserweight title on the line along with the vacant European title as he faces off against fellow English fighter, Jack Massey.

Chamberlain is currently on a two-fight winning streak with his last two fights ending by points as he defeated both Dylan Bregeon and Mikael Lawal at York Hall in Bethnal Green. Chambo earned four stoppage wins in a row before his second professional Boxing loss which came against the headliner, Billam-Smith, losing by unanimous decision. A win could see a possibility of the Brixton fighter having a shot for an International title.

Massey fought in January this year, earning a first-round TKO victory over Steve Eloundou Ntere at the Echo Arena in Liverpool. This would redeem his loss to the current WBO Interim World Heavyweight Champion, Joseph Parker, as he lost by unanimous decision in Manchester. The former IBO World Cruiserweight Champion looks to get back into world title contention and a knockout win against Chamberlain could just do the trick.

Another fight which will seek interest from Boxing fans is a Light Heavyweight bout between Ben Whittaker and Eworitse Ezra Arenyeka. Whittaker is well-known for his showboating and will look to put on more entertainment for fans, whether or not he wins the fight by knockout. Arenyeka has been a wild knockout artist, winning 10 of his 12 fights by knockout as both undefeated boxers look to claim the vacant WBA Gold World Light Heavyweight title.

July 6th, New Jersey - Shakur Stevenson vs Artem Harutyunyan

The WBC World Lightweight Champion makes his first title defence in his hometown of Newark as Shakur Stevenson goes up against the former WBC International Lightweight Champion, Artem Harutyunyan.

Stevenson had a spectacular 2023, winning his first professional Lightweight bout at the Prudential Center by sixth-round TKO against Shuichiro Yoshino before becoming a champion in the weight class with an unanimous decision win over Edwin De Los Santos at the T-Mobile Arena.

The Olympic silver medallist has been successful when both going the distance and stopping the fight as he has only earned 10 knockout victories. Stevenson has been world champion before when he won the WBC and WBO World Super Featherweight titles. However, he would not defend the belts due to missing weight, despite winning the fight against Robson Conceicao by unanimous decision.

Harutyunyan has not fought as actively as Stevenson, only fighting once a year. He did not have much luck in his last fight as he would lose by unanimous decision to Frank Martin at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. 

The Original has only won his professional Boxing bouts in Germany with the majority of those wins coming in Hamburg. The German has never had a world title shot until now with his last fight victory being a title defence for the WBC International Lightweight Championship. With seven knockout triumphs out of 12 victories, Harutyunyan looks to not only become a world champion but be the first fighter to defeat Stevenson.

In the co-main event, O'Shaquie Foster defends his WBC World Super Featherweight title against former title challenger for the belt, Robson Conceicao.

Foster started his world championship status in 2023 when he defeated Rey Vargas by unanimous decision in San Antonio. In the same year, he would earn a late 12th-round TKO win to successfully defend his world title for the first time. Ice Water did defend his title this year in February, edging out a split decision victory against Abraham Nova as a 12th round knockdown saved the fight for Foster.

Conceicao had one of the most unluckiest years in 2023. The Brazilian's first fight ended in a no contest after a clash of heads in the second round would see Nicolas Polanco unable to continue before the third round. The Salvador-born fighter would then get an opportunity for the WBO World Super Featherweight title, but would be unfortunate as the bout ended in a majority draw against Emmanuel Navarette.

July 20th, Texas - Mike Tyson vs jake Paul

Netflix will broadcast its first live Boxing event at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington as an exhibition Boxing match takes place between popular social media influencer, Jake Paul, and the former IBF, WBA and WBC World Heavyweight Champion, Mike Tyson.

Paul has arguably made one of the biggest names for himself in the crossover Boxing scene, going from defeating Youtuber, AnesonGib, on his professional debut to defeating the likes of MMA fighters; such as, Nate Diaz, Anderson Silva, Tyron Woodley and Ben Askren.

The Problem Child made a challenge for himself in 2023, facing off against Tommy Fury at the start of the year in Diriyah and lose by split decision. The Cleveland-born fighter would then go on to face Diaz, with the former UFC fighter making his debut, and win by unanimous decision after 12 rounds of war. Paul would then end the year on a high with a first-round knockout win against Andre August in Orlando.

The Ohio influencer and boxer last fought in March where he would earn a first-round TKO victory over Ryan Bourland in San Juan, Puerto Rico. Despite their being no real winner due to the bout being an exhibition bout, Paul will aim to prove to one of the greatest boxers as to why he should be taken seriously.

Tyson is currently 57-years-old and still has the heart to keep on fighting after he retired from professional Boxing back in June 2005. Tyson has been compared to some of the greatest Heavyweights in Boxing from Joe Frazier to Muhammad Ali.

The Baddest Man on the Planet had incredible success back in the late 1980's as he would be putting the IBF, WBA and WBC World Heavyweight titles on the line whilst knocking out his opponents. Tyson was very well-known for earning knockout wins at the Covention Hall and Center in Atlantic City as he would defeat the likes of; Larry Holms, Carl Williams, Tyrell Biggs and Michael Spinks in the same venues.

Iron Mike last competed in a Boxing match in November 2020 as he faced off against former four-division champion, Roy Jones Jr, in an exhibition bout. There would be three judges still involved to score the fight as the bout ended in a split draw. Tyson has created an incredible legacy throughout his Boxing career and he may just make himself even more liked around the globe if he can knockout out Paul in Texas.