Lomachenko vs Rigondeaux, more: Boxing fight times and TV schedule for December 8-9

Friday, December 8

FS1, 9:00 pm ET, Ahmed Elbiali vs Jean Pascal, Bryant Perrella vs Alex Martin. Here’s the thing about this: PBC are positioning Elbiali as the A-side, listing his name first on promotional materials and such. He’s an unbeaten prospect (16-0, 13 KO) from Egypt, now living in Miami, where this fight is taking place. Pascal is a former champion who has seen better days, but this is a shot for him to get back in the mix at 175, too. A scheduled fight between Chad Dawson and Edwin Rodriguez was canceled a few days ago, but they hope to reschedule. BLH will have live coverage.

Saturday, December 9

SHO YouTube / BT Sport (UK) / BoxNation (UK), 2:50 pm ET, James DeGale vs Caleb Truax, Lee Selby vs Eduardo Ramirez. Showtime is streaming these fights to U.S. viewers on their YouTube and Facebook pages, plus two more fights (Anthony Yarde vs Nikola Sjekloca and Daniel Dubois vs Dorian Darch). The two main fights are pretty much DeGale and Selby looking to close 2017 strong with some momentum into 2018, plus DeGale is returning from injury that’s kept him out since January. Selby is in a bit tougher, and I wouldn’t totally count out Eduardo Ramirez. BLH will have live coverage.

ESPN, 9:00 pm ET, Vasyl Lomachenko vs Guillermo Rigondeaux, Christopher Diaz vs Casey Ramos. For the purists out there, Lomachenko-Rigondeaux is something of a dream matchup. Maybe not in its current state — Rigondeaux is 37, after all — but just the idea of these two amateur legends, both pro world champions. We’ll see what the actual fight amounts to, but even with the perhaps exaggerated size difference, it’s great to see Rigondeaux fighting someone elite, and great to see Lomachenko in with someone you can at least imagine has the ability to match his skills. BLH will have live coverage.

HBO, 10:20 pm ET, Orlando Salido vs Mickey Roman, Tevin Farmer vs Kenichi Ogawa, Francisco Vargas vs Stephen Smith. While most eyes will be on the more important Lomachenko-Rigondeaux clash, don’t sleep on this card. HBO has lined up a night of 130-pound action that should be a hoot to watch, particularly the Salido-Roman main event, which has the ingredients to be a blood-and-guts war. Farmer-Ogawa is for a title, and Vargas is never in a bad fight. BLH will have live coverage.

HBO Latino, 1:05 am ET, Denis Shafikov vs Rene Alvarado. Technically Sunday, I know, but it gets confusing. This will air on HBO Latino after the main fights on HBO are over.