5 things to watch for on a quiet boxing weekend: Oscar Duarte’s moment, Anthony Joshua’s latest and more

I know what you’re thinking: You should wait for one of the most threadbare weekends of boxing this year to launch a weekly column, focusing on the five biggest things to look forward to.

Well, you’re in luck!

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As D:Ream sang in 1993, “Things Can Only Get Better” — but that’s not to say we are writing off this weekend’s action. So buckle up, as we take a whistlestop tour across Venezuela, California, Chicago and the mind of Jake Paul.

1. Can Oscar Duarte continue to be a troublemaker at junior welterweight?

You get the impression that Oscar Duarte (29-2-1, 23 KOs) is sick of being considered a “fringe contender” at junior welterweight. On Saturday night against Kenneth Sims Jr. (22-2-1, 8 KOs) in Chicago, Illinois — live on DAZN — Duarte gets the opportunity to build upon an impressive three-fight win streak and maneuver himself into the conversation for world titles at 140 pounds.

If he does, he’ll have to do it the hard way — in the backyard of hometown hero Sims Jr.

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It’s being billed as a classic “boxer vs. brawler” matchup inside the Credit Union 1 Arena, with Duarte playing the aggressive role of the latter, something that bore fruits in April 2024 when the Mexican became the first and only man to stop Joseph “JoJo” Diaz.

Duarte went on to take the scalps of Batyr Akhmedov — a fighter Sims also registered a win over — and Miguel Madueno via seventh-round knockout, rebounding well after his loss to Ryan Garcia back in 2023.

2, What’s left in the tank of Regis Prograis?

Regis Prograis (29-3, 24 KOs) has lost his past two fights and his opponent this Saturday, “JoJo” Diaz (34-7-1, 15 KOs), has lost six of his past eight, so it’s not a stretch to suggest that the loser of this co-main event in Chicago should consider retirement.

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But that’s not to suggest that Prograis and Diaz are on similar rungs of boxing’s ladder.

Prograis’ two most recent of his three career defeats have come against top-level operators in Jack Catterall and Devin Haney. If the tricky southpaw is able to put Diaz to the sword in convincing fashion, then you’d easily be able to craft an argument to suggest he’s worthy of another roll of the dice at 140 pounds.

Shifting his training base from Houston to Las Vegas has seemingly lit a fire under the 36-year-old as he narrows in on a final shot at glory, but just how much of a springboard he will be given into the junior welterweight title picture will depend heavily on how he negates an experienced and durable Diaz.

3. Does a final world title bid loom for Jerwin Ancajas at 122 pounds?

In what will be his third fight up at junior featherweight, “Pretty Boy” Jerwin Ancajas (36-4-2, 24 KOs) takes on Uruguay’s Ruben Dario (13-4, 5 KOs) this Saturday night in Long Beach, California, hoping to sow the seeds for a final title run in his storied career.

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Ancajas held the IBF’s junior bantamweight title between 2016-2022 making nine successful defenses. But since losing his belt to Fernando Martinez in 2022, he’s gone 2-3 spanning three different weight classes.

The 33-year-old Filipino was expected to fight on the undercard of Manny Pacquiao’s return against Mario Barrios, but due to opponent concerns from the Nevada commission, Ancajas was forced to wait it out, eventually landing on this opportunity in an eight-rounder.

This will be Ancajas’ fourth fight in 18 months, and now freed from the restrictions of making unachievable weight limits, Ancajas believes he has another title run in him at 122 pounds.

4. Panya Pradabsri and Carlos Canizales rematch at junior flyweight

Eight months after their first meeting, we have a rematch between light flyweights Panya Pradabsri (44-2, 27 KOs) and Carlos Canizales (27-3-1, 19 KOs) this Friday night, from Caracas, Venezuela.

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Pradabsri edged an extremely contentious majority decision back in December to bag the vacant WBC title at 108 pounds, but if he is to retain his title, he’s going to have to do it the hard way — fighting outside of Asia for the first time in 11 years, in a journey across the globe that took him 40 hours.

Pradabsri is a two-division world champion and a 46-fight veteran, but at age 34, it’s a big ask to travel for this title defense to the backyard of Canizales, who himself is looking to become a full world champion for the first time in his 11-year career.

Blink and you’ll miss a flurry of action in this one between two guys with history and a score to settle.

5. Will Anthony Joshua actually fight Jake Paul?

We haven’t seen Anthony Joshua (28-4, 25 KOs) inside a ring since September 2024, when he lost in emphatic style to a bludgeoning Daniel Dubois onslaught.

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At age 35 in the most unforgiving of divisions, Joshua has continued to hint that his time in the sport is running out, opening the door for one, maybe two more fights.

Oleksandr Usyk is out of reach; Tyson Fury is, well, Tyson Fury-ing; Joseph Parker is waiting for a title shot; and the crop of heavyweights standing behind them don’t feel like obvious “AJ” opponents in what would now be considered a pre-retirement run.

So, what about an easy and lucrative night’s work in the shape of Jake Paul (12-1, 7 KOs)?

Paul’s right-hand man, Most Valuable Promotions co-founder Nakisa Bidarian, seems to think it’s a viable option this year, telling Sky Sports that “the fight can actually happen,” and they are “actively discussing it with Matchroom.”

Joshua’s clock is ticking and Paul doesn’t strike me as a man who is going to wait around for endless negotiations to drag on. Perhaps a decision is closer than we think.