The weekend is coming and from Friday to Sunday there will be a “fight of the hour” somewhere in the world. Every Thursday, The Ring will bring you the latest information on the top fights you need to see in this condensed, streamlined fight week schedule. Our goal is to provide a quick checklist for those in the know and a handy guide to the most crucial information for the boxing novice.

Here are the most crucial fights of this week:

Friday, September 27 – Madison Square Garden Theatre, Fresh York

There is no love lost between these two. They’ve already set everything up nicely in a fiery press conference and vow to bring the heat to the ring as well. In a weekend ruled by women’s boxing, this fight may be the fight we remember most come December when we decide our annual awards. They have a lot of talent and power that goes hand in hand with mutual contempt, and that’s always a fun recipe. Don’t blink.

Also on this card: :

Where to watch it: ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+

Friday, September 27 – Lux Studios, Atlanta, Ga.

Baumgardner has come under close scrutiny after showing mixed results in several doping tests following her latest victory. She chose a hellish enemy from whom she wanted to clear her name. Persoon is a killer punch and a slightly sullied fighter who will not be afraid of a fierce competition with the current Ring champion. It won’t be pretty, but I guess we all like it that way, right?

Also on this card: :

Where to watch it: BrinxTV

Friday, September 27 – Park Community Arena, Sheffield, England

Where to watch it: DAZN

Friday, September 27 – York Hall, London

Friday, September 27 – Resorts Hotel and Casino, Atlantic City, Fresh Jersey

Saturday, September 28 – Park Community Arena, Sheffield, England

Where to watch it: DAZN

Saturday, September 28 – MHP Arena, Ludwigsburg, Germany

Where to watch it: DAZN

Saturday, September 28 – 2300 Arena in Philadelphia

Saturday, September 28 – Pacific Palms Resort, City of Industry, California.

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Tim Tszyu is coming off of losing his world title to Sebastian Fundora — a bloody fight in which Tszyu suffered a solemn injury — to a clash with another world titleholder, Bakhram Murtazaliev.

Oh, and he was originally hoping to face Vergil Ortiz in the summer until doctors told Tszyu he couldn’t return to the ring just yet.

It’s a different path than many other fighters have taken. But that’s just how Tszyu wants it to be.

“There’s no fear. It’s not in my bloodstream at all,” Tszyu told media during a Sept. 24 conference call. “I only want the biggest and best contenders. Whoever they call the bad guy, give him to me. Feed him to me.”

Murtazaliev (22-0, 16 KOs) won the IBF junior middleweight title in early April, a week after Tszyu’s fight with Fundora, by knocking out Jack Culcay in the 11th round.

Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) isn’t particularly familiar with his next opponent, but he knows what to expect.

“I haven’t watched much,” Tszyu said. “I know what he brings. He brings heat. You hit him and he keeps coming. These types of styles are arduous because they have a dog in them. It always presents us with a huge task. I believe in my skills and everything goes according to plan. Nothing should be uncomplicated on the way to the top. There’s no such thing as an uncomplicated camp or an uncomplicated fight. If you want to get to the top and win gigantic money, you have to go through fire.”

Fire is what Tszyu faced in behind schedule March when his head accidentally collided with Fundora’s elbow behind schedule in the second round, opening a horrific hairline gash. Blood poured out and blocked his vision. Tszyu lost a split decision and lost his WBO world title, while Fundora also won the vacant WBC belt.

Fire is also what Tszyu would have had to face on August 3rd if he had been allowed to fight Ortiz. Instead, Ortiz won a battle with Serhiy Bohachuk on August 10th.

We can expect that fire on October 19 at the Caribe Royale Orlando, when Murtazaliev-Tszyu will headline the Prime Video show on Amazon.

“I’m turning up the heat,” Tszyu said. “I hope he doesn’t take a step back. I hope there won’t be as much blood on my side this time. I hope there’s some non-stop action and we give the fans a fight they won’t forget.”

And if he can beat Murtazaliev, Tszyu could be fighting for the best and worst, considering he plays in a division loaded with talent.

“Warming up names, some gigantic matchups to make,” he said. “When you think about it, let’s just say there are going to be so many crazy matchups to make in the near future. It’s so stimulating.”

Indefinite WBC featherlight heavyweight champion David Morrell has confirmed on social media that he is in talks to fight interim WBC champion David Benavidez.

If the two undefeated 175-pound novices, Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs) and Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs), agree to a deal, the fight could take place in December. That would put the winner in a spot where he could fight for the undisputed championship in 2025 against the winner of the Oct. 12 fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

Morrell, 26, is a younger, stronger and technically gifted fighter than Benavidez, but lacks the experience he does have. If the Cuban Morrell adjusts his game to improve his needy striking output, Benavidez will likely lose this fight by knockout. The difference in power between Morrell and Benavidez is huge. I suspect Benavidez didn’t eat his Wheaties growing up.

Although Morrell has only fought 11 times as a pro, he has a lot of experience as an amateur in Cuba, which puts him ahead of Benavidez. He has fought much better fighters in the amateurs than the opponents Benavidez has fought in the pros, which are mostly older guys like Demetrius Andrade and Anthony Dirrell.

Morrell is a much better puncher than him and has a style more suited to the 175-pound division. Benavidez, 27, is a fish out of water in the featherlight heavyweight division and is no longer the fearsome puncher he was at 168, where he had a size advantage over his smaller prey.

If Benavidez loses to Morrel, it will reinforce in the minds of the fans that he was always just weight tyrant from day one. He would be seen as another example of a juvenile fighter cheating the system by fighting in a weight class below his size.

Benavidez has been a professional fighter for longer and has defeated Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Demetrius Andrade, Caleb Plant, David Lemieux and Anthony Dirrell.

Benavidez’s high volume of strikes could potentially cause Morrell problems, as he throws a lot of punches in a machine gun style, overwhelming opponents with shots. In Benavidez’s 175-pound debut last June against Gvozdyk, he outnumbered him.

Gvozdyk was the stronger boxer and landed the cleaner punches in each round, but Benavidez’s high efficiency allowed him to claim the victory.

Morrell punches much harder than Benavidez, but he may have volume issues if he doesn’t improve that part of his game by the time they fight. That’s what Morrell lacked in his last fight with

Radivoje Kalajdzic on Aug. 3 on the undercard of the Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov fight at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles. Morrell hurt former Artur Beterbiev knockout victim Kalajdzic several times in their 12-round fight, but was unable to take him down because he focused on landing single punches rather than throwing a series of punches the way Benavidez would.

If Morrell had more experience and adjusted his game, he would have easily knocked out Kalajdzic, as he appeared early on in this fight and often.

The punches Morrell landed seemed to be harder than the ones knockout champion Beterbiev landed five years earlier, during their 2019 clash. The difference was that Beterbiev didn’t let up or leisurely down once he had Kalajdzic in trouble, as Morrell did.

A Morrell win in this fight will likely put a huge smile on Canelo Alvarez’s face, as Benavidez has been relentless in his pursuit of him over the last few years. Benavidez has been pushing like crazy trying to get the fight, at times seeming fixated on getting that substantial payday.

It would be really humorous if Morrell was the one who ended up winning the fight with Canelo instead of Benavidez. That would be humorous and suggest that karma works. Morrell didn’t harass Canelo like Benavidez did.