Pick it: Denys Berinchyk vs Keyshawn Davis.
When to watch: Friday, February 14 at 9 p.m. ET (2 a.m. GMT).
A preliminary undercard is scheduled to kick off at 5 p.m. ET (10 a.m. GMT).
How to watch: ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ for the main broadcast. ESPN+ only for the preliminary undercard.
Why to watch: This Valentine’s Day show is an ideal distraction for those of us who aren’t celebrating the holiday – or who are fortunate enough to have partners who are either also into boxing or are OK with us scheduling time with our sweetheart around time with the sweet science.
In the main event: an entertaining pairing between lightweight titleholder Denys Berinchyk and rising contender Keyshawn Davis at The Theater at Madison Square Garden.
Berinchyk, 19-0 (9 KOs), fought only once in 2024, but it was a big one for him – a split decision over Emanuel Navarrete in May for the vacant WBO belt. It is a relatively late arrival for Berinchyk, who won a silver medal at light welterweight in the 2012 Olympics while representing Ukraine. He turned pro a few years later in 2015. Despite the relatively low number of fights on Berinchyk’s record, there probably isn’t much time left in his career. He turns 37 this May.
Lightweight is a talented division, featuring fellow titleholders Vasiliy Lomachenko (IBF) – though the two-time gold medalist may retire this year – Gervonta Davis (WBA) and Shakur Stevenson (WBC), plus contenders and emerging prospects such as Zaur Abdullaev, Andy Cruz, Tevin Farmer, Raymond Muratalla, Sam Noakes, Floyd Schofield and William Zepeda.
Among the titleholders, at least, Berinchyk may be seen as the weak link. Berinchyk will seek to defy that perception. Davis, meanwhile, will try to make that perception into reality.
Davis, 12-0 (8 KOs), is a 25-year-old coming off his biggest win yet: a four-minute demolition of the very overweight Gustavo Lemos, which took place in November in front of Davis’ hometown crowd in Norfolk, Virginia.
Davis also took home Olympic silver, making it to the finale of the lightweight tournament in the 2020/2021 Games, where he lost to Cruz. Davis was featured heavily during his first four years in the paid ranks while developing on Top Rank undercards. The Lemos win was his most impressive performance yet. Will Davis top that against Berinchyk and then continue to grow during his title reign? Or will this fight be too much, too soon?
The main undercard features Xander Zayas-Slawa Spomer and Vito Mielnicki Jnr-Connor Coyle.
Zayas, 20-0 (12 KOs), is a junior middleweight prospect who is about ready to graduate to, and test himself against, the next level of opposition. Last year, the 22-year-old Zayas – who is from Puerto Rico and fights out of Florida – won wide decisions over former title challenger Patrick Teixeira and the 25-2 Damian Sosa. Zayas is ranked first by the WBO, third by the WBC and fifth by the IBF.
Spomer, 20-0 (11 KOs), is a 32-year-old from Germany and is rated 11th by the WBO. He last fought in November, returning after a 13-month layoff but getting very little activity to shake off any rust, as Spomer needed just 42 seconds to dispose of the 23-12-2 Adam Ngange. Prior to that, Spomer scored a 10th-round technical knockout over the 20-0 Milan Prat in October 2023.
Mielnicki, 20-1 (12 KOs), is a 22-year-old from New Jersey who is moving up to middleweight after a few years at 154lbs. He said he’ll be stronger at 160. Mielnicki has won 12 straight since losing a majority decision to the 6-2 James Martin nearly four years ago. In Mielnicki’s last appearance, he won a majority decision over the 16-5-1 Khalil El Harraz in September.
Coyle is a 34-year-old originally from Ireland and now living in Florida. He fought just once in 2024, returning in August after nearly a year away, scoring a points win over the 12-1 Kyle Lomotey. That brought Coyle’s record to 21-0 (9 KOs).
The preliminary broadcast includes several notable names in separate bouts: lightweight prospect Abdullah Mason (against Manuel Jaimes, who was last seen losing to Rolando Romero in September); welterweight prospect Rohan Polanco; junior welterweight prospect Delante “Tiger” Johnson (a 2020/2021 Olympian); heavyweight Jared Anderson, who is returning from his first defeat; middleweight Nico Ali Walsh; welterweight prospect Keon Davis (one of Keyshawn’s brothers) in his second pro fight; and Juanma Lopez De Jesus (son of retired two-division titleholder Juan Manuel Lopez) making his pro debut.
Saturday, February 15: Jack Catterall vs Arnold Barboza (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. ET (7 p.m. GMT).
The other big fight this week will see Catterall and Barboza meet at the Co-op Live in Manchester, England, in a fight for the WBO’s interim junior welterweight title.
On paper, Catterall-Barboza isn’t the most stylistically appealing, but this fight has import: The winner will earn a mandatory shot at Teofimo Lopez Jnr, who is also the lineal champion. If that fight doesn’t happen within 180 days, then Lopez will be stripped and the Catterall-Barboza winner will be upgraded.
Catterall, 30-1 (13 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Chorley, England, about half an hour from Manchester. He was nearly a titleholder before – and nearly the undisputed champion – but instead wound up hearing the judges award a controversial split decision to the defending king, Josh Taylor, back in February 2022. Since then, Catterall has won four straight, including a unanimous decision in a rematch win over the since-deposed Taylor last May (Taylor lost to Lopez in 2023) and a unanimous decision over faded former titleholder Regis Prograis in October.
Last year got off to a rough start for Barboza, 31-0 (11 KOs), a 33-year-old from Los Angeles. In April, he struggled his way to a disputed split decision over Sean McComb. In November, Barboza won a clear unanimous decision over Jose Ramirez. He has been in the paid ranks for nearly 12 years, and this will at last be the litmus test to show just where he belongs at junior welterweight.
Saturday, February 15: Oscar Duarte vs Miguel Madueno (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET (1 a.m. GMT).
This show at the Honda Center in Anaheim, California, was originally supposed to be headlined by Duarte taking on Prograis, but Prograis suffered an injury and Madueno stepped in as a late replacement.
Duarte, 28-2-1 (22 KOs), is a 29-year-old junior welterweight from Chihuahua, Mexico. He has won two straight since suffering an eighth-round knockout against Ryan Garcia in December 2023. Those victories came against Joseph Diaz Jnr (a ninth-round stoppage last April) and Batyr Akhmedov (a unanimous decision in a fun fight in November). Duarte’s other loss was a split decision to the 28-3 Adrian Estrella in early 2019.
Madueno, 31-3 (28 KOs), is a 26-year-old originally from Sinaloa, Mexico, and now living in Orange, California. He has lost two of his past three, outpointed by Steve Claggett in November 2023, winning a split decision over the 17-1 Justin Pauldo in February 2024 and dropping a wide decision to Keyshawn Davis last July. The other defeat came on the scorecards against Jezreel Corrales in March 2022.
The undercard is also scheduled to include super middleweight prospect Darius Fulghum, 13-0 (11 KOs), against Winfred Harris Jnr, 22-2-2 (10 KOs); flyweight contender Ricardo Sandoval, 25-2 (18 KOs), against Saleto Henderson, 10-1 (7 KOs); welterweight prospect Kenneth Sims Jnr, 21-2-1 (8 KOs), against Kendo Castaneda, 21-7 (9 KOs); and welterweight prospect Joel Iriarte, 5-0 (5 KOs), continuing his development in the show’s opening bout.
Saturday, February 15: Rashidi Ellis vs Jose Angulo, Carlos Gonzalez vs Alexander Espinosa (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. ET (midnight GMT).
Although the DAZN listing has Gonzalez-Espinosa as the main event at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut, a press release from the promoter says the show will be headlined by Ellis-Angulo.
Ellis, 25-1 (16 KOs), a 31-year-old welterweight from Massachusetts, will fight for the second time since his majority decision loss to Roiman Villa in January 2023.
Ellis won his first 24 fights, including a unanimous decision over the previously undefeated Alexis Rocha in October 2020. But he was upset by Villa on the undercard of Gervonta Davis vs Hector Garcia. Villa dropped Ellis twice in the final round, which proved to be the difference on the scorecards. Ellis then spent more than 21 months out of the ring before returning in October, stopping the 14-5 Brian Damian Chaves after two rounds.
Angulo, a 28-year-old from Ecuador, is 16-9 (9 KOs). He has been fodder for a number of fighters, including prospects Cain Sandoval and Ernesto Mercado.
Gonzalez, 14-0 (13 KOs), is a 27-year-old featherweight prospect from Springfield, Massachusetts. He scored four victories in 2024, including an eighth-round TKO of the 24-1 Duke Micah – though Micah was an undersized fighter returning from a four-year layoff and whose punch resistance is gone – and a first-round stoppage of the 24-9 Gregorio Lebron.
Espinosa, 23-6-2 (8 KOs), is a 32-year-old from Managua, Nicaragua. He has lost to some familiar names, including Andrew Moloney and a young Peter McGrail, and there are also some defeats against less-heralded opposition. Espinosa did take a split decision over the 9-0 Gustavo Rivera Rio last May, then fought again in September for a unanimous decision over a 16-39-7 foe.
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