Neither player holds a title and neither has been part of any real championship talk in recent seasons. Nery has already held the bantamweight and junior featherweight belts, although his recent appearances at featherweight have shown that the path up is confined. At 126 pounds, he looked undersized and unable to apply the same pressure that once carried him through lighter divisions, which makes a return to 122 pounds a more practical move.

Saikou x Lush Boxing will promote the event as part of a three-day boxing show in the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The gala will be held at the Gazprom Sports Convoluted, an extraordinary setting for two players who regularly appeared on larger international stages at the beginning of their careers.

Nery (37-2, 28 KO) will fight in Kyrgyzstan for the second time in a row after appearing there in October last year. The 31-year-old Mexican southpaw defeated Sathaporn Saart by technical decision in the eighth round after an accidental head collision put the fight on the scorecards.

The win was his second in a row since Naoya Inoue stopped him in the sixth round in May 2024. Nery made a comeback earlier in 2025, stopping Kyonosuke Kameda in the seventh round before extending his rebound stretch with a victory over Saart.

Casimero (35-5-1, 24 KOs), now 37, built his reputation by winning junior flyweight, flyweight and bantamweight titles early in his career. Activity has been confined and results inconsistent over the past few seasons, leading to him being 2-1-1 in his last four fights.

His last fight was in December, when he defeated Tom Mizokoshi in the fifth round in Japan. Two months earlier, he appeared at the same October gala in Kyrgyzstan, where Nery fought Saart and lost to Kameda by unanimous decision of ten rounds.

The April meeting brings together two former champions who once operated at the forefront of the sport’s lighter divisions. At this stage, it could be read as more of a veteran clash between recognizable names rather than a fight expected to impact the junior featherweight championship race.

Oleksandr Usyk is taking Rico Verhoeven seriously, perhaps because he will face a bigger challenge later.

The elite southpaw will face kickboxing icon Verhoeven on May 23 in Egypt in a fight focused on spectacle after years of hard-fought victories on the road. Even though Usyk has strayed from his usual matchmaking, he has now assured fans that they can expect a return to top-level championship boxing later.

Speaking on DAZN’s Inside the Ring, Usyk revealed that after the fight, his goal would be to become the undisputed heavyweight champion for a third time, with his primary goal being either Daniel Dubois or Fabio Wardley.

“For me it’s a real fight. Yes, Rico is not a good boxer, ok, nice fight, no problem, but I want my next fight [against the] Daniel Dubois and Wardley winner.”

Wardley was promoted from interim to full WBO champion when the Ukrainian vacated the belt rather than face him as mandatory challenger. His first defense against Dubois, scheduled for May 9 in Manchester, is perilous.

This is a legacy-based strategy that Usyk has used in the past, dropping the IBF belt to allow Dubois’ elevation, defending against Anthony Joshua, and then facing him to regain the belt. If “DDD” defeats Wardley, he could expect a trilogy fight, but fan interest may wane given how the first two fights went.

It all depends on whether Usyk retains his three titles. Although the fight for the WBC belt with Verhoeven is highly controversial, the IBF and WBA leagues have not been mentioned yet. The sanctioning authorities may well decide to declare a vacancy in their belts.

Fighters like Raymond Muratalla, Abdullah Mason, William Zepeda and Floyd Schofield represent the direction many expected from Davis, making the return to Cruz a remarkable step, even if the first fight remains the one fans remember.

The fight is being discussed in the 140-pound weight class. Their first meeting took place at lightweight in December 2021 and ended in a unanimous decision for Davis after twelve rounds.

Cruz’s pressure forced Davis (30-1, 28 KO) in a cautious fight rather than the knockout victories that marked much of his career. Davis injured his left hand early in the fight and relied heavily on movement, defense and counters with his right hand while Cruz continued to press forward and raise the volume of his throws.

The judges scored the fight 115-113, 115-113 and 116-112 for Davis. Cruz’s pressure kept the contest close and led to a physical twelve-round battle that looked different than many of Davis’ other victories.

Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KO) continued to build his record after this fight, and his victories put him near the top of the division. His aggressive style and willingness to constantly push forward made it the first fight that fans still bring up when discussing Davis’ toughest fights.

Davis most recently fought to a twelve-round draw against Lamont Roach in March 2025 and has been inactive since that fight. A second fight with Cruz would mark a return to a fight that continues to attract attention whenever we analyze Davis’ career.

A novel element is the weight class. Discussions about a rematch point to a fight at 140 pounds, rather than the lightweight limit where they first met.