The biggest names this week are Caleb Plant and Jermall Charlo. But as those two super middleweights are in separate bouts against outmatched opponents they are expected to beat, that show isn’t our top pick of the week.

We’ll get to Plant and Charlo in a little bit, and look as well at an intriguing fight also taking place at 168lbs, plus a rematch of one of last year’s notable upsets.

Pick it: Eduardo Nunez vs. Masanori Rikiishi

When to Watch: Wednesday, May 28 at 5:15 a.m. Eastern Time (10:15 a.m. BST)

How to watch: DAZN

Why to Watch: The main event at Yokohama Buntai in Yokohama, Japan, will see two junior lightweight contenders enter, and – barring a draw or some other unsatisfactorily inconclusive conclusion – one man will leave as the new world titleholder in a wide-open weight class. 

The IBF belt was previously held by Anthony Cacace, who opted to vacate it in favor of more lucrative fights rather than satisfy his mandatory obligation. Nunez, 27-1 (27 KOs), had been that obligation, someone who presents plenty of risk and not nearly as much reward as Cacace received for beating Leigh Wood in Wood’s hometown earlier this month. 

Nunez, a 27-year-old from Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, suffered his lone loss in 2018 in his 11th pro fight, losing by one point on all three scorecards against the 9-2-2 Hiram Gallardo. After that, Nunez ran up 17 consecutive victories, culminating in a second-round knockout of the 18-0 Jesus Martin Ceyca, a two-round stoppage of faded former featherweight title challenger Oscar Escandon, and, most recently, finishing Miguel Marriaga – another former title challenger on his last legs – after six rounds last August.

This is Nunez’s opportunity to test his power and skills against a live opponent. And there’s the extra motivation of winning a world title and the accompanying prestige and drawing power. In other words, he’d finally represent enough reward for potential foes to take a risk on him..

Nunez himself is taking a calculated risk by heading to Yokohama, where Rikiishi is from. Until the Marriaga bout, which took place in California, Nunez had never fought professionally outside of Mexico.

Rikiishi, 16-1 (11 KOs), is the younger brother of two-division titleholder Masamichi Yabuki, who currently holds the IBF flyweight belt. Their real surname is Sato; they took their noms de guerre from characters in “Ashita no Joe,” a Japanese manga and anime series about boxing. 

Like Nunez, Rikiishi tasted defeat early in his career. It was his third fight, back in April 2018 – about two months before Nunez’s loss. 

Rikiishi has notched 14 wins since then. There was a third-round knockout in June 2023 of the 23-5 Ricardo Nunez, whose previous losses included a TKO2 against Gervonta Davis. And there was a come-from-behind 12th-round stoppage of the 23-1 Michael Magnesi in March 2024, a triumph in Magnesi’s home country of Italy in what was Rikiishi’s only fight so far outside of Japan. Rikiishi’s last performance was a keep-busy bout in October, in which he made short work of the 17-8 Arnel Baconaje.

What awaits the winner? The other world titles at 130lbs belong to Lamont Roach Jnr (WBA), O’Shaquie Foster (WBC) and Emanuel Navarrete (WBO). Roach has a rematch with lightweight titleholder Gervonta Davis this summer and also is due a mandatory obligation at 130lbs against Albert Batyrgaziev, though it’s uncertain if that fight will ever happen. Navarrete will likely have a rematch with Charly Suarez next given the controversial ending to their recent bout.  The junior lightweight division also includes additional contenders and up-and-comers, such as former featherweight titleholder Raymond Ford and the unbeaten Sultan Zaurbek, among others.

There’s one other title fight on the show: Yoshiki Takei, 10-0 (8 KOs), will put his WBO bantamweight belt on the line against Yuttapong Tongdee, who is ranked No. 7 by the sanctioning body.

Takei outpointed Jason Moloney in May 2024 to take the title and successfully defended it in September with a competitive decision victory over former flyweight titleholder Daigo Higa. 

More attention in Japan – and among boxing fans overall – is understandably going to be on the unification bout at 118lbs between Junto Nakatani and Ryosuke Nishida on June 8, and a possible fight in the not-too-distant future between Nakatani and undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue. Takei, a 28-year-old from Yokohama, wants to position himself for big fights of his own.

Tongdee, 15-0 (9 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Bangkok, Thailand. As with many boxers from his country, Tongdee has a background in Muay Thai. He entered the pro boxing ranks in 2020, will be taking a huge step up in level of opposition, and is returning from nearly a year away.

More Fights to Watch

Friday, May 30: Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Darius Fulghum (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 9 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. BST).

The winner of this elimination bout will move up in the WBA’s super middleweight rankings – Melikuziev is ranked third by the sanctioning body and Fulghum is in the No. 4 slot – and will be closer to a title shot. That’s something that had seemed unimaginable four years ago, when Melikuziev suffered his first and only loss.

Melikuziev, now 15-1 (10 KOs), earned Olympic silver at middleweight in 2016 representing Uzbekistan; the 29-year-old lives these days in Indio, California. Melikuziev turned pro in June 2019 and was moved quickly. He was supposed to fight Sergey Kovalev in January 2021; Kovalev was coming off his knockout loss to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez 14 months earlier. Melikuziev-Kovalev was canceled when Kovalev tested positive for a performance-enhancing drug.

So a fight with Gabriel Rosado in June 2021, despite Rosado’s record at the time of 25-13-1,  was supposed to provide a good test, a test that Melikuziev was expected to pass. Melikuziev seemed to be headed that way when he dropped Rosado in the first round. But he made a big mistake – Melikuziev “got reckless,” he admitted later on – and left himself wide open for a huge counter from Rosado in the third round. Melikuziev went down face-first. 

Just like that, it was over. Just like that, the highly touted prospect was suddenly suspect.

The road back has seen Melikuziev win eight straight, including a clear decision over Rosado in their April 2023 rematch, a fourth-round TKO of Alantez Fox, a technical decision over the previously unbeaten Pierre Hubert Dibombe and, last November, a split decision over the 14-1 David Stevens.

Melikuziev has gotten past what happened four years ago, but is he talented enough to take it to the next level? Or is he vulnerable enough for Fulghum to take advantage? Much of that also depends on what Fulghum himself brings to the table.

Fulghum, 14-0 (12 KOs), is a 28-year-old from Houston who was on the verge of making the U.S. team as a heavyweight (the amateur version of cruiserweight) for the 2020 Olympics, only for the coronavirus pandemic to scuttle that. Fulghum turned pro at the end of 2021 and dedicated his 2024 to stepping up his level of competition, though he still should be considered a prospect. 

Last year, Fulghum’s four victories included a majority decision over the aforementioned Fox, a unanimous decision over Vaughn Alexander (another former Melikuziev foe), and a third-round TKO of the 17-4-1- Christopher Pearson. Most recently, Fulghum knocked out the 22-2-2 Winfred Harris Jnr in four rounds in February.

Beyond his development on fight nights, Fulghum has been growing thanks to sparring with David Morrell. On Saturday, we will find out just how much Fulghum has grown.

Don’t expect the winner of this fight to head straight into challenging Canelo for the undisputed championship, however. For one, Canelo’s got more lucrative opportunities ahead of him. As for the WBA’s interim titleholder, Caleb Plant is headed toward a fight with Jermall Charlo if both get through their setup bouts this weekend. 

It would be good for the Melikuziev-Fulghum winner to instead aim for the other contenders at 168lbs. Rather than wait on the sidelines for the biggest of fights – one that may never come – the remaining super middleweights should try to set themselves up as the heir apparent.

The rest of the show at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas features a number of Golden Boy Promotions prospects. The most notable: Eric Priest, 15-0 (8 KOs), a middleweight who will face Luis Arias, 22-4-1 (11 KOs).

Friday, May 30: Manuel Gallegos vs. Khalil Coe II (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight BST).

The first fight against Manuel Gallegos was expected to go well for Khalil Coe – but it absolutely did not.

Coe was the undefeated light heavyweight prospect while Gallegos was the twice-beaten opponent who had fought most of his career at super middleweight and below. Gallegos was also coming off 16 months of inactivity following a TKO loss to Diego Pacheco. 

Coe was signed with the show’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing. And he was performing in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, about an hour from his home in New Jersey, on the undercard of the Jaron “Boots” Ennis-Karen Chukhadzhian rematch.

But then Gallegos dropped Coe four times and stopped him in the ninth round.

Now they will have their rematch in the main event in Guadalajara, Mexico. Another loss for the 28-year-old Coe, 9-1-1 (7 KOs), could consign him to the scrap heap. Then again, the 27-year-old Gallegos, 21-2-1 (18 KOs), certainly earned his way back following the Pacheco defeat in 2023 and a decision loss to the 10-1-1 Oziel Santoyo in 2020.

The winner will have another opportunity awaiting him. If Coe avenges his loss, it may be wise to slow down his development before throwing him into even deeper waters. If Gallegos makes it two in a row, then he should receive another opportunity to try to upset another A-side.

The undercard includes a stay-busy fight for former unified junior featherweight titleholder Murodjon Akhmadaliev, 13-1 (10 KOs), ahead of his September challenge of undisputed champion Naoya Inoue. Akhmadaliev will face Luis Castillo, 31-6 (20 KOs), who hasn’t fought since December 2023.

Saturday, May 31: Caleb Plant vs. Jose Armando Resendiz, Jermall Charlo vs. Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna (Prime Video)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. BST).

The boxing world has been clamoring for a fight between Plant and Charlo for close to two years, dating back at least to their altercation in July 2023, which concluded with Plant slapping Charlo.

This night is about bringing us closer to that fight.

Plant, a 32-year-old originally from Nashville, Tennessee, is a former super middleweight titleholder who now holds the secondary WBA “interim” belt at 168lbs. His reign began in early 2019, when he won the IBF title from Jose Uzcategui. Plant made three successful defenses before being stopped by Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in November 2021.

Plant returned in October 2022 with a big ninth-round knockout of Anthony Dirrell, lost a clear decision to David Benavidez in March 2023 and spent 18 months away before battling it out with Trevor McCumby last September en route to a ninth-round TKO win. Plant’s record is now 23-2 (14 KOs).

Resendiz, 15-2 (11 KOs), is a 26-year-old from Mexico. His first loss came in September 2021 via unanimous decision against the 14-4-2 Marcos Hernandez. Resendiz bounced back with two wins, including a big victory over former unified junior middleweight titleholder Jarrett Hurd in March 2023. Resendiz was well ahead on the scorecards going into the 10th and final round when the fight was called off due to Hurd having a badly cut lip.

That landed Resendiz another opportunity as the B-side to Elijah Garcia, who at the time in September 2023 was still an undefeated middleweight prospect. Garcia stopped Resendiz in the eighth round on the undercard of Canelo vs. Jermell Charlo.

Resendiz returned this February after a 15-month layoff, putting away the 5-2-1 Fernando Paliza in five rounds.

Charlo, 33-0 (22 KOs), is also returning from a lengthy break. His last fight was a November 2023 unanimous decision over blown-up former welterweight and junior welterweight Jose Benavidez Jnr. That victory over Benavidez came after 17 months out of the ring for Charlo, who has struggled publicly with his mental health and legal trouble.

He’s trying to right his ship and return to some semblance of the fighter who reigned as a junior middleweight titleholder from 2015 through the end of 2016, moved up to middleweight, won an interim belt and was then upgraded. Charlo’s biggest win at 160lbs was a unanimous decision against Sergiy Derevyanchenko in September 2020.

If Charlo has anything left, he should be able to shine against LaManna.

LaManna, 39-5-1 (18 KOs), is a 33-year-old from New Jersey. His defeats have come only against recognizable names, some of them prospects at the time (Antoine Douglas, Dusty Harrison), others fringe contenders (Jorge Cota, Brian Mendoza), plus one titleholder (Erislandy Lara). 

That loss to Lara was an 80-second obliteration in May 2021. In the four years since, LaManna has won nine fights while also working on occasion as a boxing promoter – both for shows featuring him as well as those spotlighting others. In March, LaManna scored a second-round TKO of the 11-6-1 Noe Alejandro Lopez.

LaManna recognizes that he is the underdog, and why.

“We all know the task at hand. I know what I’m up against,” LaManna said at a recent press conference. “We all know this is my last shot. I’m gonna make it my last shot, my best shot. I’m gonna give it my all.”

Two more fights fill out the televised undercard at the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Middleweight prospect Yoenli Hernandez, 7-0 (7 KOs), will face Kyrone Davis, 19-3-1 (6 KOs), best known for his draw with Anthony Dirrell in 2021, a TKO loss to David Benavidez later that same year, and an upset victory in his last fight, a June 2024 split decision over the aforementioned Elijah Garcia. 

And a pair of unbeaten junior middleweight prospects will face off, with Isaac Lucero, 16-0 (12 KOs), taking on Luis Omar Valenzuela, 23-0 (20 KOs).

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter. David’s book, “,” is available on Amazon.