By: Sean Crose
It’s a full weekend of boxing here as October works it’s way into November. And, although it’s a novelty bout, it’s hard not to be fascinated by the matchup of Jake Paul and Anderson Silva. Paul, like him or not, takes boxing seriously. Silva, on the other hand, is a UFC legend who also has a background in professional boxing. The weekend’s other major bouts. however, are fascinating as well. Katie Taylor is, along with Claressa Shields, the premiere name in women’s boxing, which means she’s always worth watching. And Vasyl Lomachenko? There hasn’t been a single bout in the man’s professional career that hasn’t been worthy of attention.
Sure enough, Lomachenko is expected to win this evening as he battles the undefeated Jamaine Ortiz in a scheduled 12 round lightweight affair at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. Should the 16-2 Ukranian best the 16-0-1 American, he may well be on his way to facing Devin Haney in what would be a major bout by any standards, with the undisputed lightweight championship of the world being at stake. Should Ortiz pull of the upset, however, well – he’d quickly find himself being the toast of the fight world. The Lomachenko-Ortiz live broadcast will begin at a very early 5:30 PM eastern time on ESPN+. Looks like they’ve decided to show the entire fight card in a single broadcast here, something of an oddity in the ESPN universe.
In fact, if you wish to make the day of watching boxing, you can start at 2PM eastern time. That’s when DAZN will broadcast the Taylor-Carbajal card. The 21-0 undisputed lightweight champion Taylor is clearly expected to best Argentina’s Carbajal after the opening bell sounds in London’s Wembley Area, but that doesn’t mean a surprise might not be in order. Carbajal is undefeated, after all, boasting a 19-0 record. She’s also about four years younger than the 36 year old Taylor, so one never knows how this scheduled 10 round affair might pan out.
Lastly, although many serious fans may shake their heads, there’s no doubt that the 5-0 Jake Paul’s battle with former UFC legend Anderson Silva is boxing’s main source of attention this weekend. In this case, that’s not an entirely bad thing. Paul has shown he actually has some talent while Silva can boast of being one of the greatest combat sport practitioners in history. What’s more, Silva has a strong background in boxing and has looked pretty good since he returned to the ring in 2021. If the man’s 47 years don’t get the best of him this evening, Silva might just pull it off – provided, of course, that Paul doesn’t turn out the lights with his powerful right. Needless to say, the Paul-Silva card will be broadcast live on Showtime pay per view starting at 9PM eastern time.