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Five-division world champion Claressa Shields is back at middleweight and headlining Atlanta's State Farm Arena against unified beltholder Kaye Scott on Saturday night.
A week after Tammara Thibeault became the fastest boxer, male or female, to win Ring championship honors just five bouts into her professional career, Shields (18-0, 3 KOs) is back in the division she's long dominated.
The 31-year-old challenges Australia's Scott (5-1-1) knowing the Sydney titleholder was an established amateur who perhaps turned pro late and is coming off a two-fight series with Olivia Curry in 2025.
Caroline Veyre makes the first defense of her WBC 130-pound world title against Bernice Ferreira elsewhere on a sneakily busy Salita Promotions show, even after some unsavory news emerged at Friday's weigh-in.
The Ring's No. 10 junior welterweight Ernesto Mercado will box after all, facing short-notice replacement Roger Hilley over 10 rounds at welterweight after Ghanaian veteran Emmanuel Tagoe's remarkable 10-pound weight miss for their proposed chief support bout.
Mercado's fight has been removed from the fantasy slate, but the aforementioned world title fight makes up for its absence.
Speaking of Ring-ranked contenders, middleweight hopeful Troy Isley (16-0, 6 KOs) seeks another statement showing when facing Michigan's Joseph Hicks on the DAZN main card starting at 8.30pm ET. The Ring's No. 5 at 160 pounds, the 27-year-old will be aware of the landscape in a thin weight class among the elite.
Then, we turn attention to Asia for an intriguing lightweight matchup at Tokyo's famed Korakuen Hall in Japan on Wednesday.
The Ring's Mike Coppinger predicts the only stoppage of note will come there in the championship rounds for Shu Utsuki (18-1, 15 KOs), who faces exciting southpaw prospect Reito Takahashi (6-0, 6 KOs) in the latter's first encounter scheduled for the 10-round distance. Who do you fancy in that one?
Lamont Roach let our expert down to start August though Callum Simpson's toughness during some nervy periods against Troy Williamson ensured he went 4-for-4 last week. If you're reading this and you haven't made your selections, what are you waiting for? Time is running out... Read his picks below and try to beat him!

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