This evening promise to have more than just a little bit of interesting action.

For us the pick of the action is in Mexico. This show is headlined by a very hard to defend WBC Super Flyweight world title bout which will see Carlos Cuadras (32-0-1, 25) defending his belt against 21 year old Nicaraguan Dixon Flores (11-2-2, 3). The match up is horrible but it will probably be Cuadras's final defense before a rematch with Srisaket Sor Rungvisai.

The more exiting fight on this show is at Light Flyweight as Ramon Garia Hirales (20-6-1, 12) takes on Juan Hernandez (27-3, 19) in a bout for a WBC International title. Hirales will be fighting for the first time since he was stopped by Jonathan Taconing back in April and enters following back-to-back losses. Hernandez on the other hand will be looking for revenge against his fellow Mexican who stopped a couple of years ago in a world title eliminator. This really could be the hidden gem of the weekend.

In Canada fans will see local favourite Lucian Bute (31-2, 24) battle against little known Italian fighter Adrea Di Luisa (17-2, 13). This is a must win for Bute, who's career really is at the stage where he must win to remain relevant following 2 losses in his last 3. For De Luisa this is a big opportunity to become a “known” fighter but with 2 stoppage losses on his record it's likely he's been selected to make Bute look good.

Also in Canada is an intriguing bout between unbeaten fighters each looking to make a statement. This fight sees unbeaten Canadian based Colombian Eleider Alvarez (17-0, 10) take on unbeaten Argentinian puncher Isidro Ranoni Prieto (24-0-3, 20). On paper this looks like the fight of the night and really could an explosive one if the styles gel we expect them to.

A third bout of note in Canada is at Heavyweight as the touted Bogdan Dinu (12-0, 8) takes on Ed Perry (20-5-2, 11). The 6'5 Dinu is a Canadian based Roman who some have tipped very highly though anything but a stoppage against Perry would be considered a disappointment. Perry has only been stopped once from his 5 losses but he hasn't really faced many punchers, other that Lateef Kayode who did stop him.

The one big show this coming Friday comes from Illinois and features a host of notable fights.

The most significant of the bouts will see WBA Light Middleweight champion Erislandy Lara (20-2-2, 12) defending his title against the popular, but fundamentally limited, Delvin Rodriguez (28-7-4, 16). Lara, who was widely criticised for his style against Canelo Alvarez, is likely to try and make a statement here and may well set off with bad intentions against Rodriguez who is exciting but several levels below Lara.

There is guaranteed excitement at Light Heavyweight as the big punching Artur Beterbiev (8-0, 8) takes on Alexander Johnson (16-2, 7). Johnson may not be a big name but he has gone the distance with Luis Garcia and Eleider Alvarez and may well be the toughest test that Beterbiev has faced so far. Saying that we do expect the Russian destroyer to get his 9th straight stoppage win. Another Light Heavyweight bout will see rising contender Eleider Alvarez (16-0, 9) take on Anatoliy Dudchenko (19-3, 13) in what should be a straight forward win for the Canadian based Colombian.

An interesting Heavyweight bout will see Poland's popular Artur Szpilka (18-1, 13) battle against veteran Manuel Quezada (29-9, 18). Szpilka is continuing his rebuilding following a loss to the talented Bryant Jennings and although the win here should be a formality it's still a good step in the right direction for the exciting Polish fighter.

This past Saturday was a very busy day in the boxing world with numerous world level fighters in action around the globe. It was, in some ways, one of the most interesting days of the year for boxing fans despite a lack of elite level fights or huge name fighters.

One of the key bouts was a Middleweight clash between former world title challenger Martin Murray (29-1-1, 12) who scored a technical decision win over Italian tough guy Domenico Spada (39-6, 19). The bout, for the WBC silver Middleweight title, was certainly not the best fight of the weekend but was a very important one and it seems likely the winner , Murray, will be facing Gennady Golovkin next February, also in Monaco. That bout looks like one of the best that can be made in the division but can see past a Golovkin stoppage against the game British fighter.

Another bout on the same show saw Unbeaten Light Heavyweight contender Eleider Alvarez (16-0, 9) score a statement win by stopping previously unbeaten South African Ryno Liebenberg (16-1, 11) in 7 rounds. Liebenberg was attempting to defend the WBC silver Light Heavyweight title for the first time however the win for Alvarez is likely to put him right in contention for a WBC world title fight.

For us however the most interesting bout, both in the ring and in terms of general significance, was a Bantamweight bout between the unbeaten Randy Caballero (22-0, 13) and former champion Stuart Hall (16-4-2, 7). The bout was a very competitive and exciting one as both men gave their all, sadly for Hall his all wasn't enough to over-come the more technically capable Caballero who scored a second round knockdown and just edged the contest. For Caballero this opportunity was a well deserved one following his win in an eliminator against Kohei Oba earlier this year and now we're hoping Caballero will be considering a unification bout with Shinsuke Yamanaka.

In Montenegro we saw two other fringe world class fighters in action. 

One of those two fighters was Dejan Zlaticanin (20-0, 13) who dropped the teak tough Alex Bone (10-19-3, 4) twice on route to a very wide decision victory. Zlaticanin is a world ranked fighter and is best known for his upset win over Ricky Burns though it does seem likely that he could struggle to find other big fights due to a lack of a major backer.

The other man on the card was Super Middleweight contender Nikola Sjekloca (28-2, 8) who out pointed Jorge Rodriguez Olivera (25-10, 12) in a clear cut 8 round bout. Unlike Zlaticanin it's fair to say that Sjekloca isn't struggling to get big bouts and has fought both Sakio Bika and Arthir Abraham recently and will be back in the ring on November 22nd to fight Callum Smith.

One final bout of note was a female on in Mexico as Yazmin Rivas (31-8, 9) defended her WBC Bantamweight title with a 10 round decision over Australian veteran Susie Ramadan (23-2, 8). 

(Image courtesy of  http://www.goldengloves.co.za)

This Saturday is a great day for boxing fans with a genuinely brilliant card coming from Monaco which is developing a real niche position in European boxing circles for some interesting international shows that show case many interesting fighters, some of which are getting their main exposure via these shows.

The headline bout here will see Middleweight hopeful Martin Murray (28-1-1, 12) battle against former contender Domeico Spada (39-5, 19) in a WBC Silver Middleweight title bout. In theory, and lets be honest boxing never does what it should, the winner of this bout should face the winner of a contest between Miguel Cotto, the WBC world champion, and Gennady Golovkin, the WBC interim world champion. We're hoping to see Spada and Murray put on a great fight but we do feel that Murray has been over-rated for a decent showing against a badly damaged Sergio Martinez and that Spada has had more chances than he actually deserves.

In a second Middleweight bout Britain's Nick Blackwell (15-3, 6) will be battling the under-rated Sergey Khomitsky (29-11-2, 12). This is a great bout even if no titles are on the line and we actually prefer it to the other Middleweight bout despite this bout being a level lower, that's because it's a more competitive match up. At least to us.

At Light Heavyweight we get another WBC silver title bout as Ryno Liebenberg (16-0, 11) faces fellow unbeaten fighter Eleider Alvarez (15-0, 8). This is a genuinely great bout between two top 15 Light Heavyweights and it's hard to call either way. Both men are looking for the "big win" to get them into the mix and a win here could well be that big one that they so desperately want.

Another bout on this card that looks very interesting will see the IBF Bantamweight title up for grabs as Randy Caballero (21-0, 13) battles against former champion Stuart Hall (16-3-2, 7). The belt, which was vacated by Paul Butler, was held by Hall earlier this year and we had hoped to see Caballero fighting Hall for the belt when Hall held it. Instead Caballero gets his chance now, a chance he earned when he went over to Japan and stopped Kohei Oba. We suspect this could be a good fight but we can't hide the fact that we are Caballero fans and hope that he can pick up the win here.

One other bout on this card will see China's Xiong Zhao Zhong (24-5-1, 14) battling against Hekkie Budler (26-1, 9) in a WBA Minimumweight title bout. Whilst this is in Monaco it does feature an Asian fighter and we have fully previewed this bout here.

As well as the action in Monaco we also have a very notable female title fight in Mexico as the very talented Yazmin Rivas (30-8, 9) battles the once beaten Susie Ramadan (23-1, 8) in a very interesting contest for the WBC female Bantamweight title. Both of these women are top tier fighters and both will come in to this bout with serious confidence and self belief. In many ways it's the bout of the day and we're expecting a very memorable contest between two equally talented fighters.

(Image courtesy of http://www.goldengloves.co.za)