Boxing Tonight: TV schedule, UK fight time and full fight card for Gonzalez vs. Martinez and Shishkin vs. Minda

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“Boxing Tonight” is meWeekly look at Saturday night events in the UK Ad as well, with details on how to search and what to look for

There’s nothing wrong with a late career renaissance, but Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is that rare breed of fighter whose twilight years have arguably confused the super flyweight division far more than they did in his heyday.

The Nicaragua, who was a four-weight class champ, seemed to be taking a record road to retirement relatively early in 2017. Defeated by Thailand’s Srisaket Sur Rongvesai, not once but twice, in the first round of their opening fight, few were surprised. He had pulled out by the time he learned the WBC belt was out of his league.

It’s been a year of horror, from the loss of his coach, Arnulfo Obando, who died after suffering a stroke, to the apparent devastation of his combat record. Rongvesai’s losses came after he took time off from boxing, and not everyone was sure he would come back.

How he stands now in 2022 against champion Julio Cesar Martinez is a mystery. Fate played its part, thanks to Juan Francisco Estrada’s positive Covid test which forced him to withdraw from the rematch with Gonzalez, prompting Martinez to replace him.

However, this does not mean that Gonzalez did not earn it. He could be 34 and things could go terribly wrong, if Martinez goes by plane as he normally does, with powerful shots that have the potential to derail the veteran.

Martinez will know better than anyone not to take this course of events for granted. Nobody believed that Gonzalez was able to defeat Cal Yafay, but he did in February 2020 before turning his attention to the Mexican trio: Israel Gonzalez, Estrada and now Martinez. Admittedly, his experience against Estrada was punitive, as he was overtaken by a narrow split decision.

Martinez will fight in a higher weight class, drawing on the sabotage skills he has honed on the streets of Mexico City. He’ll raise his hands, but this is where Gonzalez can exploit his defenses.

Gonzalez vs Martinez match details

• History: Saturday 5 March
• Campus: Pechanga Arena, California.
• fight time: A loop walk is expected for the main event around 3am UK time.
• TV/Live Broadcasting: DAZN, with subscriptions starting from 7.99 € per month
• Panel highlights: Mauricio Lara returns to play for the first time since his fights with Josh Warrington, after he stunned the Leeds Warrior with a technical knockout in February 2021. Lara faces Emilio Sanchez at featherweight.
• me Expect: Gonzalez will win by split decision

Shishkin vs. Minda

So far, every aspect of Vladimir Shishkin’s rise has been timed perfectly. He’s under the banner of Dimitri Salita’s increasingly impressive roster of fighters, including Clarissa Shields and Otto Wallen, and his promoter plans to be much bigger than his Saturday night fight with Jason Menda.

If Canelo Alvarez doesn’t fight back at 168 pounds and looks like he won’t do more and more, Shishkin is one of many waiting in the wings to grab their vacant belts.

This is where circumstances can still intervene. Shishkin is the first Russian to take part in a high-profile battle since Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine; This may be an aside, but the four government bodies have announced sanctions against the country’s fighters. Shishkin can stick around because he resides in Michigan and those rules pretty much apply to those still living in Russia, but many of his countrymen (except for those who already have belts) won’t be able to compete for titles for the foreseeable future.

• History: Saturday 5 March
• Campus: Ford Community Center, Michigan
• fight time: A loop walk is expected for the main event around 3am UK time.
• TV/Live Broadcasting: The fight is not broadcast or telecast in the UK.
• me Expect: Menda’s record is choppy at best (14-6-1) and is on an unfortunate four-game losing streak. Shishkin wins by technical knockout

any other work

It’s been a mixed week for British boxing, if you look at it broadly, as an all-British Kill Brook showdown with Chris Eubank Jr looks increasingly likely as long as “NextGen” is willing to shed a few pounds. That’s where the positives end, with the fallout from Josh Taylor’s (almost inexplicable) win over Jack Caterall still looming.

Taylor now plans to escalate the split, reducing any chance of Caterall getting a second chance with the Scotsman.

At heavyweight, it’s unclear what the next few months will hold for Anthony Joshua. His rematch with Oleksandr Usyk for the IBF, WBA and WBC belts came into the air with the newly crowned champion joining the Ukrainian forces in an even bigger and more dangerous battle. In an interview this week, Usyk insisted his boxing career was secondary to his current assignment in Kyiv, opening the possibility that Joshua could fight someone else (Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois as candidates) in the meantime.

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