Everything You Need to Know About the Weekend in Boxing

On Friday, Diego De La Hoya proved his doubters wrong -- for one night at least -- by stopping Jose Salgado in the 7th round of their fight. Salgado had been in with better competition than De La Hoya, but proved to be the inferior fighter as De La Hoya beat him to the punch consistently throughout the night before Salgado’s corner called for the bout to be stopped. It was a good win for the young 22 year-old cousin of Oscar De La Hoya, whom ESPN ranked before the fight as the 10th best fighter at junior featherweight, and should lead to him getting a fight with an elite contender if that’s what “Golden Boy” wants for “The Golden Kid.”

Jermell Charlo did just as well his brother Jermall had against mutual opponent Austin Trout, winning a majority decision on Saturday night. Charlo put Trout down twice in the fight, in the3rd and 8th rounds but Trout hung in tough in a fight that fans incessantly booed throughout. It was a largely forgettable fight, except for Charlo’s incredibly strange decision to wear a lion head on his walk to the ring. Rumors have Charlo scheduled to face undefeated 154er Jarrett Hurd in his next outing.

In a rematch that was just as good as the first, the result was the same as it was years ago. Leo Santa Cruz once again defeated Abner Mares in another thrilling battle. Although their fights have been great, with two victories over Mares, and having won four of his last five fights it is time for Santa Cruz to move on. Talks are that he will face the man with the fastest hands in boxing, Gary Russell Jr. in a match to unify their featherweight titles.

Tyson Fury returned to the ring after a 31-month break from action with an easy win over Albanian Sefer Seferi. As with most Tyson Fury fights, the fight was far less intriguing than his antics, which included lifting his opponent like a baby at the weigh in and stopping from fighting in the middle of the ring to watch a brawl that had broken out in the stands. Rumored opponents for his next fight include Tony Bellew and David Price.

And finally, in the weekend’s biggest fight, Terence Crawford demolished Jeff Horn in his welterweight debut, dropping and ultimately stopping the brave Australian in the ninth round. This was an absolute clinic, and a showcase fight for Crawford, who is quickly becoming a star despite not having the most magnetic personality, or the backing of a major American city. What is next for “Bud?” By far the most compelling fight would be a match with fellow American Errol Spence Jr., which Crawford seemed more than happy to accept. How big would this fight be? Well, boxing expert Lee Wylie said on twitter that it could be "this era’s Hagler-Leonard."

Speaking of Errol Spence Jr., he fights Carlos Ocampo this weekend on Showtime with a junior featherweight matchup between Danny Roman and Moises Flores on the undercard. Be sure to tune in to see if you think he can beat Crawford.