The Biggest News of the Week
If you blinked this week, you missed the fight everyone’s been waiting a decade for. Eddie Hearn finally pulled the curtain off what Cardiff has been buzzing about: Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua will meet on December 11 at Principality Stadium, with Netflix carrying the broadcast. Ten years of near-misses, contract stalemates, and “one more fight” deferrals — and now it’s actually happening.
Here’s the thing about this matchup that makes it different from every other heavyweight superfight: both men are British, both men have been champions at heavyweight, and both men have baggage that makes this more than just a belt on the line. Joshua’s first-round loss to Usyk still hangs over him. Fury’s turbulence with the division — vacating titles, switching camps, the Wilder trilogy hangover — has kept him from the kind of uninterrupted reign that would make this a clean rubber match. But that’s also what makes it interesting. This isn’t a champion defending against a challenger. It’s two men with everything to prove and nothing left to lose.
If you’re Filipino like me, you know this feels different from the
Pacquiao-Mayweather circus. There’s no money talk dominating the headlines, no sideshows. Just two heavyweights, one ring, and a country waiting to see what happens when they finally collide. Cardiff in December — that’s a proper fight city.
This Weekend’s Cards
Inoue vs Nasukawa II — Sunday, Tokyo
The WBC bantamweight title fight headlines Sunday’s card at Toyota Arena in Koto-Ku, live on DAZN. Takuma Inoue (22-2-0) defends against Tenshin Nasukawa (8-1-0) in the rematch everyone hoped would come after their first encounter. Inoue entered this weekend riding the momentum of becoming undisputed at super bantamweight — one of only three men in men’s boxing to hold that distinction across two weight classes. That’s the kind of résumé that puts him in the conversation for pound-for-pound king, and he’s now ranked No. 1 by multiple outlets after the recent shuffle that saw Usyk slide and a new name take the top spot.
The style matchup is fascinating. Inoue has that relentless forward pressure married to sharp counterpunching — the kind of dual-threat style that makes him dangerous no matter where you try to park yourself. Nasukawa, for his part, is a fan favorite with showmanship that fills arenas but a record that’s slipped since that first fight. The rematch narrative writes itself: does Nasukawa come out with a more aggressive game plan, or does Inoue’s boxing IQ neutralize whatever adjustment the Japanese star brings?
I’m going with Inoue. He’s been there, done that at this weight, and the undisputed stamp means he’s cleared the highest bar the division offers. Nasukawa is in the twilight of his prime, and Inoue doesn’t give second chances. Early rounds for Nasukawa if he jumps out fast — but I see Inoue taking control by the middle and working toward a stoppage.
Simsri vs Vicelles — Saturday, Shizuoka: A Filipino Contender Steps Up
Here’s where the Filipino angle comes in, and it’s the kind of fight that doesn’t get the global headlines but matters a lot to anyone who follows our boxing scene. Mark Vicelles, the Sultan Kudarat native fighting out of Japan, puts his IBF junior flyweight title shot on the line Saturday at FujisanMesse in Shizuoka against defending champion Thanongsak Simsri.
Vicelles (21-2-1, 12 KOs) isn’t a household name — not even close. He’s the kind of fighter who built his record quietly, fighting in Cebu and Bohol in his early years before moving up in competition. He’s fought four Filipino opponents already, and Simsri has beaten two of them. On paper, this looks like another Thai champion adding to his resume. But Vicelles isn’t coming in unprepared. Hideyuki Ohashi of Ohashi Promotions — the same camp that handles pound-for-pound king Naoya Inoue — visited Vicelles’ training camp recently and watched him spar. That kind of cross-camp attention doesn’t happen by accident.
Simsri (40-1, 35 KOs) is the only current world champion from Thailand, rated No. 2 by The Ring at 108 pounds, and he comes in with a second-round demolition of mandatory challenger Sergio Mendoza in April still fresh on his record. He’s dangerous, he’s experienced, and he knows Vicelles is one of his four Filipino victims waiting to happen. But Vicelles is a southpaw, and southpaws have a way of making right-handed champions adjust on the fly. If he can use that angle to create cutting counterpunches and slow Simsri’s forward march, he might just pull off the upset that Filipino boxing fans have been waiting for since Manny’s last world title run.
My read: Simsri by late stoppage, but Vicelles makes him work for it. The Thai champion’s power is the real deal — 35 KOs in 40 wins tells you everything — and once he starts landing the right hand, this ends. But I wouldn’t be shocked if Vicelles grabs a round or two and has Simonsi thinking about the exit strategy by the sixth. Filipino boxing has a track record of producing live underdogs who upset ranked opponents — from Rolando Navarrete’s win over Boza-Edwards in 1981 to Manny’s breakout against Chatchai Sasakul. Vicelles isn’t at that level yet, but every champion was once an underdog with a belt dream.
Zuffa Boxing 11 — Saturday, London
Over in London, Paramount+ carries Zuffa Boxing 11 with Johnny Fisher taking on Michael Pirotton in a 10-round heavyweight clash at the Copper Box Arena. The Zuffa stable has been one of the more interesting developments in heavyweight boxing — a group of fighters getting opportunities they might not have had through the traditional promotion channels. Fisher’s path through the Zuffa ranks has been one to watch, and this fight against Pirotton is a solid step up in competition. The undercard includes Craig Richards vs Radivoje Kalajdzic at light heavyweight and Lee Cutler vs Louis Greene at middleweight — British boxing’s always got depth, and this card reflects that.
Looking Ahead
The next few weeks are stacked. October 3 brings Ben Whittaker vs Conor Wallace for the IBF light heavyweight title eliminator in Birmingham. October 24 is the Navarrete-Foster three-belt unification in San Antonio — Emanuel Navarrete and O’Shaquie Foster have been circling each other for years, and this is the rubber match that settles the question at welterweight. October 17 has Sebastian Fundora vs Jonathan Haggerty at the Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas, with the winner stepping into the conversation for a December date with Dubois. And then December 11 — Fury vs Joshua in Cardiff — the heavyweight showdown that’s been a decade in the making.
If you’re keeping score at home, boxing hasn’t had a cleaner stretch of headline fights in a long time. From the pound-for-pound reshuffle to the heavyweight unification roadmap to a Filipino contender stepping into a world title fight on foreign soil — this weekend is a reminder that the sport is where it’s supposed to be: unpredictable, hungry, and always one fight away from making history.