This Cinco de Mayo weekend in boxing is unlike any other in recent memory. Friday through Sunday will see three consecutive nights of fight cards featuring four current or former ESPN pound-for-pound fighters (Naoya Inoue, Canelo Alvarez, Devin Haney and Teofimo Lopez) and one of the biggest stars under the age of 30 (Ryan Garcia). Aside from a weekend filled with boxing’s biggest names, the venues where these fights are being staged deserve their own headline.
Easily the most unique location of the weekend is Times Square in New York City, where Garcia, Haney and Lopez will compete in separate fights in the renowned public space that will serve as the epicenter for boxing.
Canelo will travel to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, for his first pro fight outside of Mexico or the United States. Although Las Vegas is by no means a new location for boxing, hosting the return of “The Monster” Inoue — one of the best fighters in the world — for the first time in four years is a treat.
These events will certainly draw interest from fans who might have tuned out for a spell. So, as a service to casual boxing fans, this guide is my attempt to make sense out of one of the most unique weekends in boxing history. And for you hardcore fans, this will serve as a refresher heading into the weekend.
Friday
A fight card in Times Square? Tell me more!
I wish I could.
Here’s what we do know: Turki Alalshikh, chairperson of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, announced that the “Fatal Fury: City of the Wolves” event presented by Ring Magazine will transform iconic Times Square into a boxing venue. The card will include four fights and will be headlined by Garcia, Haney and Lopez competing in separate bouts. Garcia will face Rolando “Rolly” Romero, Haney will take on Jose Ramirez and Lopez will square off with Arnold Barboza Jr. The fourth fight is a six-rounder to mark the professional debut of young Japanese star Reito Tsutsumi as he takes on Levale Whittington.
As for the venue itself, your guess is as good as ours. We’ve seen fights held in unique places ranging from Eddie Hearn’s backyard garden in Essex, England, to the Playboy Mansion in Los Angeles, but there’s nothing like shutting down Times Square, putting a ring outdoors and hosting a sporting event. You’ll be just as surprised as we are when the site is unveiled.
Wait, why aren’t Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney fighting each other?
Good question. Garcia saw his April 2024 majority decision win against Haney overturned after he failed a drug test. Garcia was forced to forfeit his fight purse and serve a one-year suspension for having the banned substance ostarine found in samples collected by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
Neither fighter has competed since. They are in separate fights, with the expectation that they will meet later this year should they win their respective bouts Friday.
Who is the best fighter on this card?
That’s a tough one. Lopez defeated top-three pound-for-pound fighter Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020 to become the unified lightweight champion, but dropped the titles in a stunner to George Kambosos Jr. in November 2021. Haney then beat Kambosos handily in June 2022 to become the undisputed lightweight champion and then again in the rematch four months later, both times in Australia. Haney beat Lomachenko in a close fight in 2023 but then was knocked down three times in his loss to Garcia. Although Garcia looked dominant against Haney, he was knocked out by Gervonta “Tank” Davis in a massive 2023 showdown and is the only fighter of the three to have lost by KO.
If you are keeping score: Lopez has arguably the best win against Lomachenko but was stunned by Kambosos. Haney easily outpointed Kambosos twice yet narrowly escaped against Lomachenko. Garcia beat Haney but failed a drug test that overturned the ruling.
You can make a case for any of the three. Regardless, getting a chance to watch all three fight on the same card is unheard of in this day and age.
Are we getting to see three of the new ‘Four Kings’ in boxing?
It looks that way. But I’d go as far as to say that there are actually five kings with Tank Davis and Shakur Stevenson both deserving to be on the list. However, the problem is that only Garcia has faced another “king” in fights against Haney and Davis. Hopefully, we’ll get to see them fight each other like the original Four Kings — Roberto Duran, Marvin Hagler, Sugar Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns — did in the late 1970s and the 1980s.
Saturday
Who the heck is William Scull, and why does he get to fight Canelo Alvarez?
If you are just now coming back around to boxing and confused about why Canelo isn’t stepping into a ring with two-division undisputed champion Terence Crawford or perennial title contender David Benavidez, don’t worry. Longtime fans are just as baffled by the Mexican superstar’s decision to face the unknown Cuban fighter.
But there is logic behind it.
Although he is virtually unknown, Scull holds the IBF super middleweight championship, the title Canelo was stripped of ahead of his Sept. 14 fight with Edgar Berlanga. Canelo opted to fight Berlanga instead of Scull, the IBF’s No. 1 contender at the time. Well, Canelo wants his title back to reclaim the “undisputed champion” status he maintained from November 2021 to last summer.
This is more about the history books than the opponent for Canelo, who is a massive favorite to dispatch the unbeaten Scull (-3500 per ESPN BET). Scull captured the vacant IBF title with a unanimous decision over Russian Vladimir Shishkin last October in a close fight. Scull was hurt late in that fight but managed to hang on and win with scores of 115-113, 116-113 and 116-112.
Why haven’t I heard of him before?
Scull, 32, has spent the majority of his career fighting outside the American view, competing primarily in his adopted home of Germany. He defeated Sean Hemphill on the undercard of Canelo’s successful title defense against Jaime Munguia last May, but the performance wasn’t anything noteworthy. Nevertheless, his slick, defensive style draws comparisons to fellow Cuban Erislandy Lara. Lara gave Canelo trouble when they met in 2014, but that was a lifetime ago. We’ll have to see if Scull can be a disruptor by pulling off a huge upset and tearing apart plans for Canelo to have a massive fight this fall.
So, if Canelo wins, then he’s going to fight David Benavidez?
No. Unfortunately, that ship has sailed after Canelo spent years avoiding that fight. Benavidez has since moved up to light heavyweight, where he is the current WBC champion. He was the interim champion before being elevated after Dmitry Bivol, who defeated Alvarez in 2022, also decided not to fight him to pursue a trilogy bout with Artur Beterbiev. Canelo is heading toward a fight with Crawford in September — if he beats Scull.
We’re never getting a Canelo-Benavidez fight?
Probably not.
Is Canelo still one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world?
Yeah, Canelo is No. 6 in ESPN’s P4P rankings but he has done nothing to help his case over the past three years. Honestly, he might have hurt it. After he fell short in his attempt to become light heavyweight champion in a unanimous decision loss to Bivol in 2022, Canelo’s next five opponents have been underwhelming. He outpointed rival Gennadiy Golovkin in a trilogy fight that was two years too late, as GGG was clearly in the twilight of his career. Canelo then faced an overmatched John Ryder, an undersized Jermell Charlo and two undeserving opponents in Munguia and Berlanga.
Why is the biggest Mexican star in boxing fighting in Saudi Arabia during Cinco de Mayo weekend?
Fantastic question, considering that Canelo has fought on that traditional boxing weekend 10 times in his career — nine times in the U.S. and once in Mexico. All I have for you is “because Turki Alalshikh said so.”
Sunday
Who is Naoya Inoue, and why is his fight in the U.S. such a big deal?
This might come off as hyperbolic, but Inoue is to boxing what Shohei Ohtani is to baseball. He’s an incredible talent from Japan who has destroyed the opposition on his way to becoming a four-division champion, an undisputed champion in two weight classes and No. 2 on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list, just behind heavyweight champ Oleksandr Usyk. His return to the U.S. for the first time since 2021 comes with significant fanfare as a fighter of the must-see-TV variety. The Monster is riding a 10-fight knockout streak and is expected to make Ramon Cardenas his 11th straight victim. Like Ohtani, Inoue is a huge star in Japan, but he can reach new heights if he captivates American audiences with his blistering blend of power, speed and technical skill. Normally, you’d have to be awake at an unwieldy hour to catch Inoue live when he fights in Japan. But on Sunday, you’ll get to watch him at a reasonable hour (ESPN and ESPN+, 10 p.m. ET). Take advantage of it.
What’s the most competitive fight this weekend?
Let’s start by telling you which fights aren’t expected to be remotely competitive: Canelo-Scull and Inoue-Cardenas.
Of the high-profile names fighting this weekend, the fight expected to be the most competitive is Lopez-Barboza. However, both Garcia-Romero and Haney-Ramirez have an element of danger to them. It’s expected that Garcia’s left hook will be too much for Romero to overcome, and that Haney’s jab will stifle Ramirez. Barboza is a slick boxer who uses movement and pure ability to outpoint the opposition. He has been extremely active the past two years, with five fights including wins against former champions Jose Pedraza and Jose Ramirez, and claimed the WBO interim 140-pound title by outpointing Jack Catterall in February.
What Barboza lacks in power (11 KOs in 32 fights), he makes up for in technical skill. It might not be exciting, as Barboza likes to move and pop the jab to rack up points, but it has been effective, and we have seen Lopez struggle with fighters who rely on movement and are defensively responsible.
How competitive this fight is depends on whether Lopez is focused and engaged. He has had lapses in the past, specifically against lesser opposition such as Jamaine Ortiz and Sandor Martin, where he was content following his opponent around and looking for the perfect counterpunch that never came. He can’t afford to do that against Barboza and could find himself down on the scorecards and fighting an uphill battle.
OK, that’s supposed to be the most competitive fight, but which one will be the most exciting?
Oh, that’s easy. Canelo and Inoue should pick up knockouts, but Garcia-Romero will likely deliver the most fireworks. Romero is a big puncher who is far from defensively responsible. He will come out swinging for the fences and force Garcia to trade punches with him. Garcia isn’t a defensive wizard, which means that it’s highly likely that these two will punch each other in the face for as long as one of them can take it. Trust me, the judges won’t determine the outcome of this one. You will want to be dialed in for as long as it lasts.
