Here’s All The Boxing Classics You Can Watch On TV This Weekend For April 24, 25

With the strong TV ratings ESPN received from running a boxing marathon of classic fights last weekend, the network is showcasing more old fights on Saturday, including those involving Floyd Mayweather, Manny Pacquiao and Miguel Cotto. Meanwhile, Showtime—which has also recently been showcasing some of its best bouts from the past few decades—is broadcasting two more on Friday night involving lightweight turned junior welterweight John Molina.

For those who miss watching live boxing, which is indefinitely on hold in most of the world because of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s certainly not a bad option to watch good fights that occurred earlier this century (although there is actually live action Saturday night at 11 p.m. ET from Nicaragua on ESPN Deportes which features Robin Zamora (who once lost to Francisco Fonseca) vs. Ramiro Blanco (who once lost to Jhonny Gonzalez) in the main event).

Here is the list of classic fights you can watch this weekend.

Showtime Boxing, Friday, 10 p.m. ET/PT

• John Molina vs. Lucas Matthysse: This Ring magazine fight of the year from 2014 featured both boxers scoring two knockdowns apiece before Matthysse finished it in the 11^th round. “I still have longtime members of the boxing press to this day come up and tell me that in 30 years of covering boxing, the Matthysse fight was the only fight they’ve ever had to turn away from and not watch because it was such a brutal war,” Molina said. “I didn’t realize how special it was ‘til I went back and watched it.”
• John Molina vs. Mickey Bey: In 2013, Molina was down big on all three scorecards before he finally roared back in the 10^th and final round.

BOXING RANKINGS:

ESPN Boxing, Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

• Floyd Mayweather vs. Zab Judah: Though he was only guaranteed $1 million to Mayweather’s $5 million minimum, Judah gave Mayweather plenty of problems in 2006, seemingly knocking him down in the second round, though it wasn’t ruled as such. The event was almost upended in the 10^th round by a near-riot, and it’s a fight that could have ended Mayweather’s perfect record.

• Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez II: Four years after their first exciting matchup ended in a draw, the two junior lightweight rivals turned legends battled it out again in a 2008 fight that ended in a split decision.
• Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto: This 2009 meeting was one of the most dominant (and most stunning) performances of Pacquiao’s career.
• Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao: If you want to go to bed early, you’d be OK to skip this one. The much-hyped fight from 2015 turned out to be a rather dull affair that left most everybody wishing the two had stepped into the ring together five years earlier.

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