The Boxing Truth®

Two interesting bouts that this observer properly referred to as “Crossroad Fights” kicked off the month of April 2026 on April 4th in New South Wales, Australia and London, England respectively. This column will begin with the bout that occurred in Australia as former WBO Jr. Middleweight world champion Tim Tazyu returned to action, this time as a Middleweight as he faced the unbeaten Denis Nurja in a fight scheduled for ten rounds. Despite moving up six pounds to the Middleweight division from the Jr. Middleweight weight class that he had competed in for his entire career, and facing an undefeated, yet largely unknown opponent, Tszyu applied pressure from the opening bell, consistently backing Nurja up with an attack to the body and head that kept Nurja on the defensive. After suffering a cut below his left eye as a result of an accidental clash of heads, Tszyu dropped Nurja with a flush left hook followed by two right hands in the fourth round. Although the former world champion m...

There inevitably will come a point in most fighters careers throughout combat sports where the line will be thrown out that they or their career is “At a Crossroads.” In most cases, the line is used when fighters are attempting to rebuild after a setback and/or a long stretch of inactivity. The month of April 2026 will begin with two fights featuring three fighters who that line is more than appropriate. Firstly, Boxing’s Heavyweight division will take centerstage when former longtime WBC World Heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will square off with longtime contender, current IBF mandatory challenger, and former multi-time world title challenger Derek Chisora at the O2 Arena in London, England in a bout that can be seen on digital subscription sports streaming network DAZN as part of an Ultimate subscription or as a standalone pay-per-view offering. Of course, when discussing Derek Chisora and Deontay Wilder, if one is objective, they would say that we are talking about two of the be...