A star-studded doubleheader of big-time boxing cards invade New York this weekend as the sweet science will be on full display on consecutive nights.
On Friday, a historic all-female card will emanate from Madison Square Garden (Netflix, 8 p.m. ET) as Most Valuable Promotions presents the trilogy bout between undisputed junior welterweight champion Katie Taylor (24-1, 6 KOs) and nine-division titleholder Amanda Serrano (47-3-1, 31 KOs).
One night later, Turki Alalshikh and “The Ring” will present “Ring III” from Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens (DAZN PPV, 6 pm ET). Super middleweights Edgar Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) and Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) will meet in the main event while Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) defends his WBC lightweight title in the co-feature against mandatory challenger William Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs).
As we draw closer to the fights, let’s take a closer look at the biggest storylines surrounding both events.
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Steven Taranto
1. Taylor-Serrano III is the biggest fight in women’s boxing history
To be fair, so were the first two meetings between these future Hall of Famers and all-time greats. This one, however, is somehow even bigger. Their first meeting in 2022 (and also at MSG) produced insane fireworks and somehow exceeded the lofty pre-fight expectations while creating one of the most raucous atmospheres anyone in boxing who was lucky to be ringside have experienced in years. So how did they follow that up? Their rematch last November, which served as the co-main event to the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson blockbuster on Netflix from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, became the most watched women’s sporting event in American history. Both bouts turned out to be legit fight-of-the-year contenders (regardless of gender) and both ended in either a disputed or controversial decision in favor of Taylor. Putting the trilogy back on Netflix, only this time as the main event of an all-female fight card, has the potential to do wonders for the future of women’s boxing while crowning — once and for all — the true winner of the battle. This is as good as it gets in the sweet science.
2. Despite 0-2 record against Taylor, Serrano is the rightful betting favorite
Although she technically came up in weight to 140 pounds from her current standing as the unified featherweight champion, Serrano has proven to be the bigger puncher throughout the 20 rounds she competed so furiously against Taylor. The nine-division beltholder has won titles between 118 and 140 pounds throughout her career and undoubtedly would’ve benefited from the evolution to a format of 12 three-minute rounds, similar to men’s boxing. Taylor, the Irish national hero and 2012 Olympic gold medalist, used her leverage as the A-side in all three matchups to make sure the 10 two-minute round structure stayed put, which benefits her high-volume style. Either way, the fact that Serrano is three years younger than Taylor at 36 can’t be overlooked. Neither can the fact that she visibly hurt Taylor in both of their fights despite losing on razor-thin margins in both bouts. Considering she has proven time and again that she can take Taylor’s power, the expectations that Serrano will be even more aggressive than usual in sitting down on her power shots in hopes of a stoppage remain likely.
3. Edgar Berlanga, Hamzah Sheeraz both fighting to repair their reputations
This 168-pound clash headlining the first boxing card at the home of the U.S. Open tennis tournament is being billed as a non-title showdown with a possible future fight against Canelo Alvarez at stake for the winner. Sheeraz, a 26-year-old slugger from England, has been a hand-picked favorite of Alalshikh ever since the powerful Saudi Arabian adviser first brought his nation’s wealth to the sport. But Sheeraz looked anything but a monster in his last fight in February when he appeared to get audited over 12 rounds by WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames only to walk away with a controversial split draw. Sheeraz replaced his trainer, on the advice of Alalshikh, by bringing in former middleweight champion Andy Lee and he moved up to 168 pounds immediately after the disappointing performance. He remains an interesting future opponent for Alvarez if he wins this virtual pick ’em, but he will need to step up his boxing skills and ring IQ to do so. Berlanga, the brash 28-year-old from New York who proudly represents his Puerto Rican heritage, could just as badly use a breakthrough performance. Berlanga went 12 rounds with Alvarez in a one-sided 2024 defeat that he has been aggressively trying to redefine by constantly saying in public he went toe-to-toe with the Mexican icon. The reality is that Berlanga looked timid and happy to survive. Still, Berlanga draws eyeballs and has a celebrity following that includes rapper Fat Joe. A win over Sheeraz could catapult him back into a major fight against a number of big names.
4. Will Shakur Stevenson look to shed recent labels as a boring, defensive boxer?
That remains the big question as the 28-year-old lightweight titleholder (and three-division champion) enters his long-awaited mandatory defense against the aggressive Zepeda. Stevenson has faced nothing but criticism in recent years for his lack of offensive explosion and even drew the friendly taunting of Alalshikh on social media in recent weeks. Stevenson took issue with Alalshikh’s aggressive stance against “Tom and Jerry” fights involving more movement than punching and Alalshikh countered by threatening to bring in a smaller ring to force Stevenson to stand and fight. Either way, Stevenson remains an overwhelming betting favorite to hand Zepeda his first defeat, regardless of whether he steps on the gas or not as one of the most purely skilled boxers in the sport today. And the chip on his shoulder that has been shown in recent interviews suggests Alalshikh’s playful urging might have struck a chord.
5. PBC continues slow-moving partnership with Riyadh Season
From the start of Alalshikh’s attempt at taking over the sport in recent years, Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions appeared to be the most reluctant among the power promoters in the sport to join forces with Saudi Arabia. Outside of a small handful of one-off appearances, PBC made more news for which fighters publicly refused to work with Alalshikh (namely Gervonta “Tank” Davis and, for a season, Alvarez) than which ones were. That has slowly changed, however, over time. Whether it’s a financial need for PBC or the fact that Alalshikh continues to work with any and all promoters on the global scale, the partnership has increased of late in much bigger ways. Not only has light heavyweight superstar David Benavidez signed a deal with Alalshikh in recent days to headline a blockbuster November card in Riyadh but a pair of highly regarded boxers will help fill out Saturday’s event in Queens in marketable fights. Unbeaten Alberto Puello defends his WBC junior welterweight title against former beltholder Subriel Matias in what’s expected to be a high-paced action fight. David Morrell Jr. will also make his return to an Alalshikh card, one fight removed from his first pro defeat at the hands of Benavidez, when he takes on unbeaten Russian slugger Imam Khataev, who trains out of Australia. Given PBC’s uncertainty regarding its broadcast home as we draw closer to 2026, this is a developing situation to watch closely.
