The spring pay-per-view boxing calendar is set to rumble with the recent announcement of three marquee boxing cards on tap beginning in April.
On April 16, World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. will return to the ring to fight World Boxing Association welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in a PPV unification fight distributed by Showtime. Spence, who will enter the ring for the first time since 2020 when he defeated Danny Garcia, was scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao in August 2021 but had to withdraw after suffering an eye injury.
Ugas replaced Spence in the fight and defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision.
“The welterweight division has always been boxing’s glamour division … this is a three-belt unification fight and exactly the kind of fight that Showtime has become known for,” said Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza during Tuesday’s press conference to announce the fight.
A week later, current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defend his title against contender Dillian Whyte. The fight, which will be distributed by ESPN PPV, will mark Fury’s first fight since his 11th round knockout of Deontay Wilder in their October 2021 trilogy fight. That fight reportedly generated around 600,000 PPV buys.
Super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will enter the PPV ring a month later, moving up in weight to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in a May 7 PPV event distributed by DAZN. If Alvarez wins, he has already committed to fight former champion Gennady Golovkin in a highly anticipated third bout between the two in September.
Fox Sports kicked off the 2022 PPV boxing schedule with its February 5 Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios welterweight event. Given the marquee fighters on the PPV boxing cards and live sports' continued appeal to viewers, April and May’s lineup of fights could punch up some significant PPV revenue numbers for the category. ■
