After the women light up MSG on Friday, the attention turns to the men as Ring Magazine presents their RING III card. The fights will be LIVE from the iconic Louis Armstrong Stadium in New York City. A venue that normally hosts the US Open tennis! Strap yourselves in because this one’s going to be electric!

A card that boasts a double main event, and a undercard dripping with exciting world title fights! This article is going to concentrate on the top of the card, but be sure to tune into the action live on DAZN! As I promise you, these fights will deliver! Let’s get into it!

SHAKUR STEVENSON V WILLIAM ZEPEDA – WBC Lightweight World Title.

Shakur Stevenson is the fighter everyone loves to hate. The kid is supremely talented and arguably the best pure boxer on the planet. The problem for him is he is in an era where the sweet science of hit and not get hit, isn’t appreciated by the majority of the boxing fan base. But regardless what you think of his style, Shakur isn’t going away anytime soon. Because he is just to dam good. Plus, people now tune in just to see if he loses. Or hope he loses. He is unbeaten as a pro, but will face his toughest test to date this Saturday night.

His opponent William Zepeda is world class. Whilst he doesn’t posses the skills that Shakur has, he more than makes up for it in pressure, volume and tenacity. Super tough as you’d expect with a Mexican fighter. The southpaw Zepeda will look to trap his opponent, limit his movement and make him stand and trade. Which will delight the fans watching if he can pull it off, as that’s what people pay their hard earned money for. Shakur will be doing all he can to avoid that very scenario. It’s what makes the match up so intriguing. Which style will prevail? Personally I am expecting Shakur to silence the critics and put on a master class of pure boxing. However, I’ll happily be proven wrong and we simply get an absolute tear up. Game on!

EDGAR BERLANGA JR V HAMZAH SHEERAZ – WBC Super middleweight title eliminator.

Basically this fight is on last, but that’s mainly because Edgar Berlanga is from NYC, and Hamzah Sheeraz is getting groomed by Turki Alalshikh to be the next opponent for Canelo Alvarez. Hate to be a hater, but it’s true. However this is still a great fight. I just prefer to see the last fight of the night to be for a world title. Not basically for a shot at Canelo, and a big pay day.

Sheeraz is unbeaten with a record of 21 wins, 0 losses and 1 draw. This will be his debut in the 168lb division. Moving up from 160lb’s following his draw with Carlos Adames last time out. A fight he looked terrible in and arguably got saved from a loss by the judges in Riyadh.

Berlanga is a puncher, hailing from Brooklyn. He makes the walk with a record of 23-1. His only loss coming at the hands of Canelo. Berlanga hopes a win here will get him a rematch with Canelo and another mega money pay day. Berlanga can be exciting to watch when he steams forward looking for the killer blow. But if things aren’t going his way, and the going gets tough, it appears he has some quit in him. He will fight on, but if he’s taking a beating he tends to just shell up and go into survival mode. But why he’s exciting is because he has one punch knockout power. So if Sheeraz gets sloppy and leaves himself open, Berlanga has the power to turn his lights out. Even if he’s getting outboxed for the 1st 11 rounds. Don’t be turned off this fight just cos I don’t believe it shouldn’t be on last. It’s still got all the makings and potential to be a barn burner. I’d just prefer it if there was a title on the line. Not a just a shot at Canelo.

UNDERCARD FIGHTS : 

•  Alberto Puello (24-0, 10 KOs) vs. Subriel Matias (22-2, 22 KOs) – 12 rounds, for Puello’s WBC junior welterweight title

•  David Morrell (11-1, 9 KOs) vs. Imam Khataev (10-0, 9 KOs) – 12 rounds, light heavyweight

•  Reito Tsutsumi (1-0) vs. Isiah Rodrigues (3-3, 1 KO) – 6 rounds, junior lightweights

•  Mohammed Alakel (4-0) vs. Placido Hoff (2-3-1) – 6 rounds, lightweights

Enjoy the violence.
Phil.

Phillip Dean

Phillip Dean is a seasoned combat sports journalist from England, with over 27 years of ringside experience. Phillip delivers engaging, in-depth reporting on the world of combat sports.