Luis Ortiz trailed Deontay Wilder by a single point on all three official scorecards when he was TKO'd in the 10th round of their title fight, but reportedly will be in career-best shape for the rematch on Saturday in Las Vegas. If he doesn't fade, could this 6-to-1 betting dog pull the upset this time?
Likewise, rolly-poley Andy Ruiz stunned the boxing world in June with a TKO conquest of previously unbeaten world champion Anthony Joshua. Ruiz is expected to be leaner and meaner for their rematch, but Joshua also has exchanged muscle mass for tone.
Expert analysts Rizwaan Zahid and John J. Raspanti tell us how much impact those transformations are likely to have with an in-depth preview of both fights.
They also discuss Eddie Hearn's confession that he's now considering future boxing shows featuring YouTubers, an unapologetic scheme to line his pockets under the guise of creating new fans for the sport, as opposed to voyeurs for a carnival act.
And we talk about the strange silence surrounding the physical condition of Errol Spence, who, according to his team, was only slightly injured when he flipped his Ferrari five times while driving drunk on Oct. 10. Rumors abound that Spence's injuries are far more-serious than reported. If it's fake news, we wonder why we haven't seen or heard from the fighter since the wreck.
And author and boxing historian Ron Jackson tells us the tale of a brutal and illegal "fight of the decade" that happened 130 years ago on a barge to avoid authorities. This remarkable story is the focus of Jackson's new book, "Fight to the Finish: The Barge Battle of 1889, Gentleman Jim Corbett, Joe Choyinski, and the Fight that Launched Boxing's Modern Era."
Dennis Taylor is host of The Ringside Boxing Show, editor/publisher of www.ringsideboxingshow.com, and co-author (with John J. Raspanti) of "Intimate Warfare: The True Story of the Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward Boxing Trilogy," an Amazon bestseller.