Johnson and Thorslund to clash for undisputed bantamweight title on August 8

"

An undisputed women’s bantamweight fight, a big UK men’s rematch, plus more this week in boxing! | Getty Images for Netflix Tuesday, August 4th CountryBox247, 7:00 pm ET CountryBox: Where Music Meets Boxing POSTPONED! The CountryBox people specifically call this a postponement, not a cancellation, even though they had earlier identified September’s meeting between Music and Boxing as #45, but Edition #44 will shift to that date instead. This will confuse the hell out of future CountryBox: Where Music Meets Boxing historians someday… Hopefully this isn’t a sign of impending doom for our beloved CountryBox: Where Music Meets Boxing. If you’re as distressed as I am, perhaps this Tuesday night you could open two YouTube windows, and play a classic fight in one and a playlist of your favorite songs in the other? Just so that Music and Boxing don’t go the month without at least a casual tryst? Friday, August 7th DAZN, 8:00 pm ET Red Owl Boxing: BoxFest XIX From El Paso, Texas. Main event is Emanuel “El Trompo” (“The Spinning Top”) Moreno vs Guillermo “GMO” (I wonder how that goes over at PED tests?) Gutierrez. Moreno is from Wichita Falls, Texas, which dedicated NFL and/or King of the Hill fans will recall was once the home of Dallas Cowboys training camp. Wichita Falls is about 580 miles away from El Paso, or roughly the same distance as Barcelona, Spain to Zurich, Switzerland. Texas is big. Saturday, August 8th Aaron McKenna vs Etinosa Oliha (Paramount+, 2:00 pm ET) BLH will have live results and updates From Dublin, Ireland, for the vacant IBF middleweight title. Presumably, there won’t also be a Zuffa belt pulled from the Cracker Jack box, as that’s what led to Jai Opetaia being stripped by the IBF on a Zuffa show earlier this year. McKenna leveled up big with a wide decision win over Liam “Beefy” Smith back in April 2025. This is his first action since, headlining against Oliha, who fights outside of Italy and Germany for the first time as a pro. Oliha’s last outing was a six-rounder against a 19-33 opponent, but that’s not unusual for European guys who game their way to IBF mandatory position and don’t want to risk their spot. Now, how often do guys with that mentality do much with the IBF mandatory opportunities when they finally come? Not very often! ON THE UNDERCARD: More middleweights! Undefeated 25 year old Callum Walsh takes on quadrudefeated (and thrice-drawn) 35 year old Tyler Denny! Denny has one KO win in his 28 pro fights… Can he get the 2nd here? Deeper on the card are fights featuring Irishmen Connor Coyle, Stephen McKenna, and Joseph Ward. DAZN, 2:00 pm ET Troy Williamson vs Callum Simpson 2 From Leeds, England. The first BoxxXxXXXxXXXxxxXxer show on DAZN! And it’s a runback of a big upset from December, where Williamson rallied to knock down Simpson four times and come from behind for a stoppage victory. No live coverage since this is head-to-head with the bigger fight on Paramount+, but there will be a watchalong thread in The Feed! Undercard includes an appearance from Billy Pickles; no relation to fictional cartoon character Tommy. Cherneka Johnson vs Dina Thorslund (ESPN, 10:00 pm ET) BLH will have live results and updates From Orlando, Florida, for Johnson’s undisputed (IBF, WBC, WBA, and WBO) bantamweight titles. Thorslund held the WBO and WBC titles, and had a unification fight scheduled for the IBF belt when she got pregnant and had to withdraw. Johnson, who held the WBA title at the time, stepped in for the IBF unification, and also won the WBC and WBO belts Thorslund was forced to vacate. Unfortunately, Thorslund lost the pregnancy prematurely. But, she returned to action in a near unanimous win over Almudena Alvarez back in January, and now goes back after the belts she never lost in the ring. ON THE UNDERCARD: Desley Robinson defends her unified middleweight belts against Tamm Thibeault. And, a heavyweight fight with Dainier Pero. Prelims start at 6:30 pm ET on ESPN+.

"

An undisputed women’s bantamweight fight, a big UK men’s rematch, plus more this week in boxing!