Claressa Shields chases more gold, plus Joyce vs Chisora and more.
Thursday, July 25
DAZN, 4:00 am ET, Justis Huni vs Troy Pilcher. Heavyweight prospect Huni headlines in Fortitude Valley, which is in Queensland, which is in Australia, which is where he’s from. Matchroom’s Australia dream isn’t dead yet!
Saturday, July 27
ESPN+, 2:00 pm ET, Joe Joyce vs Derek Chisora. Also airing on TNT Sports in the UK. Could be a slugfest, could be a slog. Seems an admission from within that Joyce is not going to be a serious contender again. Chisora’s lost four of six but those losses were to Usyk, Parker (twice), and Fury, so, like, three of the current top four heavyweights in the world. He’s not good at this point, but he tends to grind out wins when the opponent isn’t elite. BLH will have live updates.
DAZN, 9:00 pm ET, Claressa Shields vs Vanessa Lepage-Joanisse. Shields is out of things to do in boxing because she’s beaten everyone there is to beat. In this one, she fights for a “heavyweight title” and a “light heavyweight title,” two divisions that functionally do not exist in women’s boxing. Shields hasn’t stopped anyone in seven years but I’m sure the promise of the elusive TKO will be part of the pre-fight talk. The undercard is pretty dull on paper, but Shields sells tickets in Detroit, they aren’t going to spend money on the rest of the show. BLH will have live updates.
