What to Know
- Fight announcements include a three-belt unification fight at super welterweight between Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly on February 27 in Atlanta.
- WBA and Lineal Strawweight champion Oscar Collazo will defend his title on January 9 against an opponent to be named on the Amanda Serrano undercard in Puerto Rico on January 9.
- Undercard fights added to the Fury vs Joshua card on December 11 including Martin Bakole vs Solomon Adebayo and Da’Mazion Vanhouter vs Michael Essomba.
Boots vs Kelly Unification Confirmed on February 27
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Josh Kelly will put their three titles on the line in a super welterweight unification fight on Saturday, February 27, at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The bout will headline the February edition of the TNT Sports and DAZN Boxing series “The Fight” and will be broadcast co-exclusively in the U.S. on TNT, truTV and DAZN and worldwide on DAZN.
- What to Know
- Boots vs Kelly Unification Confirmed on February 27
- Oscar Collazo Joins Amanda Serrano Card in Puerto Rico on January 9
- Undercard Fights Filling Out Fury vs Joshua Card
- American Amateur Boxers Rise in World Rankings
- Watch my recent interview with Lorenzo Patricio.
- USA Boxing’s Elite High Performance Team: November 2026 World Boxing Rankings
Ennis and Kelly will appear at a news conference in Carson, California on Friday, November 14 after the weigh-in for the Pacheco vs Fulghum card to discuss the details and offer their initial thoughts.
Ennis of Philadelphia (36-0, 32 KOs) won the WBA and WBO belts after stopping Xander Zayas in the seventh round in June at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Kelly of England (19-1-1, 9 KOs) scored what was considered an upset win over Bakhram Murtazaliev to win the IBF title in January. Kelly defended the title in July by decision over Caoimhin Agyarko of Ireland in Saudi Arabia.
Matchroom Boxing, which promotes both Ennis and Kelly, hopes the winner will then face WBC World Super Welterweight champion Sebastian Fundora for the undisputed division titles in the summer.
Oscar Collazo Joins Amanda Serrano Card in Puerto Rico on January 9
Lineal/WBA strawweight champion Oscar Collazo of Puerto will defend his title against an opponent to be determined on January 9. Collazo co-promoter Golden Boy is working with Most Valuable Promotions as Collazo will box in the co-feature in support of Puerto Rican champion Amanda Serrano vs Skye Falzon. Serrano defends her lineal and WBO/WBA titles in the final fight of her career at Coliseo de Puerto Rico in San Juan.
Collazo (15-0, 12 KOs) vacated his WBO strawweight title, declining a fight with his mandatory challenger Ryusei Matsumoto of Japan (9-0, 4 KOs). Matsumoto has not been elevated to full champion.
Collazo had been scheduled to move up to flyweight to challenge then-unified titlist Ricardo Sandoval on Oct. 10, but a week before the fight, Collazo suffered a rib injury and withdrew. With the flyweight title shot off, Collazo’s team said he would return to strawweight.
Undercard Fights Filling Out Fury vs Joshua Card
Two additional fights have now been confirmed for the main card headlined by the heavyweight fight between British foes Tyson Fury and Anthony Joshua on December 11 at Principality Stadium.
Heavyweight Martin Bakole of Scotland (21-2-1, 16 KOs) will face Solomon Adebayo of Lagos, Nigeria (15-0, 14 KOs). But before this fight, Adebayo has a fight scheduled for November 28 in Nairobi. It remains to be seen whether that fight will be pulled. Adebayo’s record has come against domestic talent in Nigeria. Bakole last fought to a majority-decision win over Eje Ajagba in May 2025.
American heavyweight prospect Da’Mazion Vanhouter of St. Petersburg, Florida (14-0, 11 KOs) will get a golden opportunity to perform in front of a worldwide audience in the opening fight of the main card against Michael Essomba of Belgium (11-2, 10 KOs).
The previously announced co-main features the first heavyweight fight for cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia against former American heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder. Promoters Matchroom Boxing, Queensberry Promotions, and Sela say they will add more fights in the coming days.
American Amateur Boxers Rise in World Rankings
World Boxing officially released its updated rankings for November 2026. USA Boxing reports that six members of its 14-member Elite High Performance Team have been ranked in World Boxing’s top 10, eight in the top 15 and 10 in the top 25 of their respective weight divisions.
Leading the way for Team USA is 2025 World Boxing Championships silver medalist Yoseline Perez of Houston, ranked second in the world in the women’s 54 kg weight class after a silver medal performance at the PanAm Championships in Mexico. Perez has won two medals in 2026 and six medals over the past two years.
Team USA super heavyweight Gilbert Kabamba of Boston is ranked fifth in the men’s 90+ kg weight class. Kabamba secured his second gold medal of the year in Mexico.. Kabamba also won gold at the 2026 Copa America earlier this year in Colombia.
Bantamweight Lorenzo Patricio ranks sixth in the men’s 55 kg weight class. The 19-year-old Hawaii native won his second gold medal of the year in Mexico and third medal overall in 2026. Patricio has been dominant for Team USA this year, earning two gold medals and one silver with an overall 15-2 record.
Watch my recent interview with Lorenzo Patricio.
Also ranked within the top ten for Team USA are Alyssa Mendoza, ranked seventh in the women’s 57 kg weight class; Jajaira Gonzalez also ranked seventh in the women’s 60 kg division, and Simona Winkler ranked at number eight in the women’s 70 kg weight class.
USA Boxing’s Elite High Performance Team: November 2026 World Boxing Rankings
Men’s 55 kg (Bantamweight) | Lorenzo Patricio | No. 6
Men’s 60 kg (Lightweight) | Salim Ellis-Bey | No. 15
Men’s 65 kg (Welterweight) | Marcus Luther | No. 33
Men’s 80 kg (Light Heavyweight) | Rahim Gonzales | No. 37
Men’s 90 kg (Heavyweight) | Joseph Awinongya | No. 21
Men’s 90+ kg (Super Heavyweight) | Gilbert Kabamba | No. 5
Women’s 51 kg (Flyweight) | Noelle Haro | No. 15
Women’s 54 kg (Bantamweight) | Yoseline Perez | No. 2
Women’s 57 kg (Featherweight)| Alyssa Mendoza | No. 7
Women’s 60 kg (Lightweight) | Jajaira Gonzalez | No. 7
Women’s 70 kg (Light Middleweight) | Simona Winkler | No. 8
Women’s 75 kg (Middleweight) | Kendra Samargis | No. 23
The United States National Amateur Championships are scheduled for December 5–12 in Lafayette, Louisiana.
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
