It’s a busy week for boxing fans. While there is no singular “big fight” dominating the collective consciousness, there are solid and intriguing fights happening nearly every day, starting with an Australian event on Wednesday headlined by Keith Thurman vs. Brock Jarvis.
On Thursday, the action swings to Tokyo for a loaded card with three world championship fights. In the headliner, WBC flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji faces WBA champion Seigo Yuri Akui in a unification bout. The WBO flyweight champion, Anthony Olascuaga, will also be in action when he defends his title against Hiroto Kyoguchi. Finally, WBO junior flyweight champion Shokichi Iwata will face former title challenger Rene Santiago.
The schedule hits a third continent on Saturday as Nick Ball defends the WBA featherweight championship against TJ Doheny in England. Doheny is no stranger to big challenges, with this his first fight since challenging undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue.
Were a boxing fan so inclined, they could round out the week in the United States with a Saturday evening card from Orlando featuring Austin “Ammo” Williams vs. Patrice Volny in a middleweight fight, though that card is a level or two below the cards we preview below.
Let’s take a quick look at these cards and what to expect.
Keith Thurman vs. Brock Jarvis
Date: March 12 | Time: 2:30 a.m. ET | Location: Hordern Pavillion — Sydney
Of note, the event is only available live via pay-per-view in Australia. There will be a delayed stream of the event on the PBC YouTube page starting at 9 a.m. ET.
Thurman will be fighting for just the second time since July 2019, when he lost the WBA welterweight championship in a thrilling fight with Manny Pacquiao. He had been not only a world championship-caliber fighter but one of the most action-friendly fighters in the world at that period. Unfortunately, a steady stream of injuries have ravaged that once-bright career.
Thurman is looking to get back on track against Jarvis, whose 22-1 record with 20 knockouts suggests a bigger threat that he actually presents. In his lone step-up fight, Jarvis was knocked out by Liam Paro in the opening round. Jarvis has fought as low as 115 pounds and as high as 158.
This is a fight built to get Thurman a win and get him back to being active, but if he isn’t on his game after years of rust, this could mark the end of any relevance for him as a real threat to ever enter the championship picture again.
Kenshiro Teraji vs. Seigo Yuri Akui
Date: March 13 | Time: 4 a.m. ET (ESPN+) | Location: Kokugikan Arena — Tokyo
As mentioned, this card features three world title fights as well as three of the four world champions at flyweight. Teraji vs. Akui will crown a unified champion and has all the makings of a fantastic fight.
WBC champion Teraji has always been an entertaining fighter, but he has often been overlooked as one of the best fighters in the world despite fighting in 15 consecutive world title fights at junior flyweight, winning 14 of those fights and violently avenging the lone loss in that stretch when he knocked out Masamichi Yabuki in three rounds. In October, Teraji moved up to flyweight and stopped Cristofer Rosales in the 11th round to win the WBA title. Akui won his first world title in January 2024, with a decision win over Artem Dalakian. He has since defended his title twice and now has the opportunity to take out the biggest name he has faced thus far in his career to claim a second world title.
WBO flyweight champion Anthony Olascuaga will defend his title against Hiroto Kyoguchi, with the winner potentially being in line to face the winner of Teraji vs. Akui. Both men lost in title fights against Teraji within the past three years but the prospect of unifying three belts would certainly make them appealing opponents should Teraji beat Akui.
The third world title fight on the card features WBO light flyweight champion Shokichi Iwata defending against Rene Santiago. Iwata won the vacant title in October with a third-round stoppage of Jairo Noriega. The fight comes nearly a year to the date after Santiago’s previous attempt to become world champion, a decision loss to Jonathan Gonzalez for the same WBO belt.
Nick Ball vs. TJ Doheny
Date: March 15 | Time: 2:30 p.m. ET (DAZN) | Location: Echo Arena — Liverpool, England
Ball is coming off of a breakout 2024 campaign. That March, he battled Rey Vargas to a split draw for the WBC featherweight title before winning the WBA belt by split decision in a fantastic June bout. He has since made one successful title defense, stopping Ronny Rios in the 10th round of their October meeting.
Doheny faced arguably the best fighter in the world this past September, giving a solid effort in a loss to undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue. Doheny’s slightly tricky style made things a bit difficult on Inoue, though Inoue was in control of the fight the whole way before a flurry of Inoue body shots hurt Doheny’s back.
Ball is more naturally suited to featherweight and is 10 years the 38-year-old Doheny’s junior.
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