We've had a few quiet days in boxing recently but over the next few hours the sport really comes alive in explosive and exciting fashion.

The first of the major bouts is expected in the UK where British fighter Anthony Crolla (29-4-2, 11) looks to complete a remarkable comeback and claim the WBA Lightweight title as he takes on Colombian Darleys Perez (32-1, 20). Both fighters have great back stories and both will be looking to score a major win here in a bout that is certainly charged with emotion.

On the same British card we'll also see a mouth watering bout at 122lbs as WBA champion Scott Quigg (30-0-2, 20) defends his belt against former IBF champion Kiko Martinez (32-5, 24). This is the first really big test for Quigg since claiming the title in strange circumstances more than a year ago. Whilst this is a great test for Quigg it does need saying that Martinez has twice been beaten by Quigg's public rival Carl Frampton.

Having just mentioned Carl Frampton (20-0, 14) it's worth noting that he'll be defending his IBF title in Texas as he takes on Alejandro Gonzalez Jr (25-1-2, 15), who is best known for stopping the once touted Hanzel Martinez. This has been widely criticised as a mismatch though interesting we know that Shingo Wake will be in attendance with the intention of scouting the winner, for whom he'll be the mandatory challenger.

Also in Texas we'll see former Middleweight title holder Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-2-1-1, 32) take on Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24) in a bout that saw Chavez fail to make weight, not for the first time in his career. Chavez is coming back following his first stoppage loss and he really does need a win here or his career will effectively be over.

We also get two more bouts of note in Germany, both at 168lbs. The first of those sees touted puncher Vincent Feigenbutz (19-1, 18) battling against inactive veteran Mauricio Reynoso (15-1-1, 11) for the WBA “interim” title, in what really seems like a joke bout to hand Feigenbutz a belt. The other bout will see WBO champion Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28) defending his title against nemesis Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27), in what will be a 4th meeting between the two men. The loser of this rematch, of a rematch, or a rematch, will almost certainly be looking at retirement whilst the winner may get another big payday due to their title.

This Saturday much of the action us in the US where there are 4 bouts of note, there will also be interesting action in Europe with a couple of contests.

Of those US bouts two will be taking place in California with the biggest of those being a compelling Light Heavyweight contest between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) and former US based Pole Andrzej Fonfara (26-3-0-1, 15). This bout has been over-looked by many fans who have looked towards other contests for this weekend but this one looks like it could, potentially, be the most interesting bout of the weekend.

On the came card in California we'll also see WBA interim Super Bantamweight champion Oscar Escandon (24-1, 16) battle against Moises Flores (22-0-0-1, 16). Escandon is the luckiest “champion” in the sport and his win over Tyson Cave last year was probably the US robbery of the year. With that said however Flores is the man stepping up and could well find himself falling short.

In New York we get one of the most mouth watering bouts of the year so far as the hard hitting Lucas Martin Matthysse (36-3, 34) meets fellow puncher Ruslan Provodnikov (24-3, 17) in a contest that appears to be a nailed on war. We really can't see anything but an all out slugfest here in a bout that really has all the ingredients of a FOTY contender. Notably there isn't a world title on the line going into this bout but the winner will certainly be in the mix for a title bout in their next contest, lets just hope that there is enough left of the winner to really compete in a title bout.

Staying in the US fans in Texas will get the chance to see the very talented Terence Crawford (25-0, 17) take on the once beaten Thomas Dulorme (22-1, 14) in a bout for the WBO Light Welterweight title. Crawford was the standout American fighter in 2014 and will be hoping to have a similarly impressive 2015 with this bout being his first of the year. As for Dulorme this is a great opportunity to claim a world title, though the once hotly tipped fighter will need a career best performance to over-come Crawford.

British fans get an interesting Lightweight match up as the popular and exciting Derry Matthews (37-9-2, 20) takes on hard working Canadian Tony Luis (19-2 7) in what looks to be a solid bout for the WBA interim title. The bout has been put together on about a weeks notice after Frank Warren, the promoter of Matthews, saw two other foes fall out. Originally Matthews was supposed to fight WBA champion Richar Abril though Abril pulled out at late note and was replaced by Israel Barroso, he himself failed to get a visa allowing Luis to get the bout. Although it was put together in a haste it should be a very good fight and Luis was in preparations for a different bout, suggesting he will be in good shape when the men get in the ring together.

In Ukraine we'll see the sensational Oleksandr Usyk (6-0, 6) attempt to continue his rise through the ranks as he takes on the once beaten Andrey Knyazev (11-1, 6). On paper this is a step backwards for the unbeaten fighter however Usyk is one of the fights on an incredibly steep trajectory and it seems clear that he's only a fight or two away from a major title fight, possible by the end of this year.

This past Saturday was the first monster day of the boxing year. It may have taken some time coming but what a day it was and what a memorable day it was with fights taking place all over the globe, multiple titles changing hands, multiple champions in action and an amateur stand out attempting to create history. To say that Saturday March 1st was a bumper day in boxing is to merely state the obvious.

The action began in Australia where WBC female Super Featherweight champion Diana Prazak (13-2, 9) retained her title by stopping compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-3, 5) in round 5. Prazak's power presented O'Connell problems from the off and the challenger was dropped twice in round 2 before being saved by the referee in round 5.

Prazak is amongst the most feared female fighters on the planet right now and this result showed why. She's got dynamite in her hands and stopping O'Connell, who lost a close decision to Hyun-Mi Choi last year, was nothing short of impressive.

Although Prazak retained her title several fighters in Europe didn't. One of those was Britain's Ricky Burns (36-3-1, 11) whose luck finally ran out as he faced unbeaten American Terence Crawford (23-0, 16). Crawford, who appeared to fight well within himself, controlled the fight from round 4 onwards with his speed and combinations. Unfortunately British commentary team Jim Watt and Nick Halling seemed to do all they could to downplay Crawford's victory though it was obvious that Burns was well beaten. This victory saw Crawford claiming the WBO Lightweight title and put himself amongst the elite at 135lbs.

Another WBO title changed hands in Germany where Arthur Abraham (39-4, 28) reclaimed the WBO Super Middleweight title with a narrow points victory over rival Robert Stieglitz (46-4, 26). This result was a genuine shock to us as we viewed Abraham as washed up though the "King" had reclaimed his crown and taken a 2-1 lead from a trilogy with Stieglitz. The bout was an interesting one though a 12th round knock down by Abraham did effectively seal the fight for him.

On the same card in Germany WBO female Middleweight champion Christina Hammer (17-0, 8) put on a clinic to out point Jessica Balogun (23-3, 11). Balogun was game through out though her technical limitations cost her any chance at a victory as Hammer won every round with her skills and movement. Although Hammer's shots never hurt Balogun they were so technically sound they they prevented the challenger from getting much going offensively herself.

In South Africa was saw another champion retain their title with Hekkie Budler (25-1, 8) defended his WBA interim Minimumweight title for the first time. Budler, a genuine non-puncher, needed just a round to see off the very limited Karluis Diaz (21-5, 14). We're now hoping to see Budler fight IBF champion Katsunari Takayama in a unification bout though their appears to be work to be done if this fight is to be made.

Across the Atlantic the action continued with even more major bouts.

The most notable bout on the American continent happened in the US as Ukrainian amateur great Vasyl Lomachenko (1-1, 1) attempted to secure his place in professional boxing history. Lomachenko, fighting for the WBO Featherweight title in just his second bout unfortunately came up short against grizzled veteran Orlando Salido (41-12-2-1, 28). Although Lomachenko lost a split decision to Salido plenty felt he took more from the loss than many prospects take from 25 wins and with Salido failing to make the weight and being stripped of the title we'd not be shocked if Lomachenko fights for the vacant title next time out. If Lomachenko had won he'd have broken the almost 40 year record of Saensak Muangsurin who won a world title in just his third pro bout.

As well as the Lomachenko bout there was also a major rematch on the same card as Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (48-1-1-1, 32) managed to take a clear, but hard fought, victory over the game Brian Vera (23-8, 14). The two men had fought last year with many feeling Vera was robbed this time however Chavez took a genuine victory even if he did do some things that were very annoying, especially in round 12 where he ran and danced. After the fight their murmurs of a bout between Chavez Jr and Gennady Golovkin, though presumably Golovkin would have to make the move to Super Middleweight for the bout to make sense.

Staying with rematches Mexico saw a major rematch as female star Zulina Munoz (41-1-2, 26) managed to defend her WBC Super Flyweight title and avenge her sole defeat as she claimed a technical decision over Alesia Graf (26-4, 11). Graf, who beat Munoz back in 2007, traded shots with Munoz willingly in one of the nights best fights but unfortunately a clash of heads in round 6 forced the bout to the scorecards which all favoured Munoz. This wasn't a pretty fight in terms of boxing but it was highly entertaining stuff with both freely swinging at the other. Great action for as long as it lasted.

Going further down the America's there was also a world title fight in Argentina where the ultra-talented Erica Anabella Farias (19-0, 9) successfully retained her WBC female Lightweight title with a victory over compatriot Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-8-2). The bout was a mismatch with Farias just being too good at everything for Lopez though the key thing about the bout was that it was a tune up for Farias who will be fighting in a much more meaningful contest next time out against Delfine Persoon, her mandatory challenger.

(Picture courtesy of http://www.thesweetscience.com/)

One of the big complaints we've made this year is that there was a real lack of big time action. We're two months in to the year and we could count the number of significant fights on one hand, we could then use the other hand to count how many genuinely good fighter we've had. Honestly it's been an awful start to the boxing year.

Thankfully March seems to kick off the boxing for 2014. It may be late but it is much, much better than never. Unfortunately however the sheer number of high quality fights make it almost a given that you will be missing something this weekend.

The first notable fight, and the one featured in the small image, is one of several female contests of interest and takes place in Australia as the hard hitting Diana Prazak (12-2, 8) attempts to make the first defense of her WBC female Super Featherweight title. Prazak will be fighting fellow compatriot Shannon O'Connell (8-2, 5) in a bout that has all the ingredients to be a fire cracked. 

O'Connell is best known to use for her close fight with Korea's Hyun-Mi Choi last year whilst Prazak announced herself last year by stopping Frida Wallberg and unfortunately ending Wallberg's career in the process. Although it's a female fight it could be the best of the day.

The O'Connell/Prazak bout isn't the only major female bout of the day and in Germany we get another as the highly popular Chrstina Hammer (16-0, 8) defends her WBO female Middleweight title against fellow German Jessica Balogun (23-2, 11). Whilst the Prazak/O'Connell bout looks like a fantastic match up, this one is unfortunately a huge mismatch and it's hard to see anything other than an easy defense for the talented Hammer.

On the same card in Germany their is a WBO Super Middleweight title fight as Robert Steiglitz (46-3, 26) battles Arthur Abraham (38-4, 28) for the third time in less than 18 months. Although the men are 1-1 it seems that Abraham's career is in free fall and we'd be shocked if Steiglitz doesn't retain his title again here.

The Stieglitz/Abraham trilogy isn't the only world title fight in Europe as Scotland's Ricky Burns (36-2-1, 11) tries to put poor back-to-back performance behind him and defend his WBO Lightweight title against America's unbeaten Terence Crawford (22-0, 16) in what looks like one of the nights most interesting match ups. We'd favour Crawford here though it's certainly his toughest bout to date and Burns, for the faults he has shown in recent bouts, has shown that he's not got any quit in him. Unfortunately we have the feeling this could end up being either a total dud or controversial with fans on both sides of the Atlantic being unsatisfied by either the action or the result.

Staying in Britain there is another major contest involving a Brit as James DeGale (17-1, 11) battles the unbeaten Gevorg Khatchikian (20-0, 8) in what looks to be a semi-final eliminator to fight Sakio Bika for the WBC Super Middleweight title. The winner of DeGale/Khatchikian is likely to need to beat another top contender to get a world title fight but this is a big step towards one.

Across the Atlantic the action comes just as thick and fast.

The highlight bout state side sees Vasyl Lomachenko (1-0, 1) fighting grizzled Mexican veteran Orlando Salido (40-12-2-1, 28) for the WBO Featherweight title. A victory for Lomachenko gets him into the record books for fewest professional bouts before winning a world title (in regards to men, the actual record is held by the aforementioned Choi who won a WBA title on her debut) though this is far from a foregone conclusion and it should prove to be one of the most enthralling and anticipated bouts of the year.

On the same card as Lomachenko/Salido we get a major non-title fight as former WBC Middleweight champion Julio Cesar Chavez Jr (47-1-1-1, 32) takes on the under-rated Brian Vera (23-7, 14) for the second time. The two men fought last year with Chavez being given a highly debatable victory over Vera. Although Chavez had his excuses for his performances it does sound like he means business this time and is expected to "show up" this time around.

Going south, down the American continent, we get another major female bout in Mexico. Strangely this is another major rematch as Zulina Munoz (40-1-2, 26) attempts to avenge her sole defeat. Munoz, the current WBC female Super Flyweight champion, is unbeaten in over 6 years, since she dropped a decision to Alesia Graf (26-3, 11) this time Munoz is more experienced, wiser and more mature as well as the home fighter. The Mexican champion has ti be favoured here.

Finally, in Argentina, we get one more female world title fight. Like the Hammer/Balogun fight this one is also a mismatch as WBC Lightweight champion Erica Anabella Farias (18-0, 9), one of the premier pound-for-pound female fighters on the planet, defends her title against Maria Eugenia Lopez (8-7-2). To call this a mismatch is little more than stating the obvious, unfortunately however we do sometimes need to state the obvious. A win for Farias however sets up a fight with Belgium's excellent Delfine Persoon in what should be considered a female super-fight.