Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank via Getty Images
This isn’t NSAC’s first time doing this; they put the kibosh on Gennadiy Golovkin vs. Jaime Munguia back in 2018 and shot down two different opponents for Andrew Cancio last year. To be fair to them, this one was also pretty damn lopsided. Zepeda (33-2, 26 KO) flatlined Ivan Baranchyk last time out and is the WBC top contender, while Campa’s (32-1-1, 21 KO) most noteworthy achievement was fighting Abner Lopez to a split draw in 2019.
Still, there’s no shortage of mismatches that NSAC and other athletic commissions have allowed and will continue to allow, so it’s always strange to see what actually draws their ire. At least Top Rank has plenty of time to find someone new.
Machado looking to get back in race, Fierro seeks breakout performance
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Estrada-Chocolatito 2 and more: Best fights for March 2021 in boxing
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Valdez was magnificent. The game plan was perfect, the execution was just as good. He made Berchelt (37-2, 33 KO) look ponderous and even at times feeble, and I say that with great admiration and awe for Berchelt’s iron chin and even stronger will and determination. But Valdez took him apart. He was better in every way. It was a masterful performance.
So, y’know, now what?
As far as unification goes, Gervonta “Tank” Davis has the WBA belt, and that fight’s just not happening. It just isn’t. Until proven otherwise, Davis isn’t fighting non-PBC guys. The WBO title is in the Top Rank family, as we await a hopeful new March date for Jamel Herring vs Carl Frampton. Shakur Stevenson is with Top Rank, and he wanted Valdez at 126; Valdez moved up in weight when Stevenson was made his mandatory challenger. (Shakur, for what it’s worth, has “bashed” Valdez plenty, but did say he was impressed and surprised by Valdez’s win on Saturday.)
Ed Mulholland/Matchroom USA | Mikey Williams/Top Rank | Josh Hedges/Zuffa LLC/Zuffa LLC via Getty Images
More than any other time in modern history, any schedule right now still needs to come with a solid knock on wood, but after a very slow run where we got almost nothing of real note in January, the boxing schedule is set to heat up and get really busy in February.
It’s honestly against the odds right now that
every fight on this list will actually happen, but let’s hope!
My picks for the 10 best fights coming in February:
10) Gabriel Flores Jr vs Jayson Velez, Feb. 20 (ESPN)