Nearly a month after the blockbuster trade that ended his tenure with the Cleveland Cavaliers, All-Star point guard Darius Garland made his debut with the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday.

It came at a huge time for the franchise, too.

The Clippers surged ahead in the fourth quarter to grab a 114-101 win over the Golden State Warriors at the Chase Center. That sliced a game off the 2.5-game deficit they trailed the Warriors by entering the night and gave them a 2-1 edge in their series with Golden State. Now, the Clippers are in position to take the head-to-head tiebreaker with a win in the regular-season finale on April 12.

With a record of 29-31, this win very well could be critical down the stretch.

Garland played a solid part in that, too. The 26-year-old hasn’t suited up since Jan. 14 while continuing to work back from injuries to the big toes on both of his feet. He had 12 points and went 4 of 9 from the field, though he had a team-high five turnovers.

While Garland came off the bench and played only 23 minutes, which was expected, head coach Tyronn Lue and Co. hope his introduction will continue to provide a jolt to a Clippers offense that, with the notable exception of Kawhi Leonard’s individual brilliance, has often been moribund since shipping out star point guard James Harden and starting center Ivica Zubac.

The Clippers have treaded water over the past month, going 5-5 since the Harden/Garland trade, but have done so largely on the strength of their defense. During the 5-5 stretch, the Clippers rank 21st in points scored per possession, 29th in made 3-pointers per game, dead last in 3-point attempts, 25th in team 3-point accuracy and 28th in assists per game.

Garland averaged 18 points, 6.9 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 30.5 minutes per game across 26 appearances in Cleveland this season, shooting 52.1% on 2-pointers, 36% on 3-point attempts and 86.1% from the free-throw line. While battling the toe injuries, Garland often seemed to lack the explosiveness, balance and shot-making prowess that made him a two-time All-Star in Cleveland, and a key cog in a Cavaliers attack that set offensive efficiency records last season. If his wheels are healthy, though, he could give Lue a potent weapon to wield as he tries to propel the Clippers through the play-in tournament and into the postseason proper.

“He’s different from James and we can play different with a faster pace,” Lue told reporters last month. “We can play him off the ball more. It’s going to be exciting. I’ve known DG for a while and having a young point guard under my tutelage, I think it’s the first time I have had one since Kyrie [Irving].”

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Leonard led the Clippers on Monday night with 23 points and eight rebounds. Kris Dunn added 16 points, 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

Brandin Podziemski led the Warriors with 22 points after he went 9 of 18 from the field. Nate Williams finished with 18 points off the bench, and Al Horford added 17 points. The Warriors fell to 31-30 with the loss, which was their second straight.

While it might take some time for Garland and Lue to iron out the kinks and establish a working rhythm, he seems eager to seize the opportunity in front of him in Los Angeles. In the short term, Garland gets to pair with an elite two-way wing in Leonard, who has produced at an All-NBA level this season, and see if the Clippers can’t make some unexpected noise come springtime.

And looking forward, Garland, who’s under contract through the 2027-28 season, has a chance to be a foundational figure for the next phase of the Clippers franchise, whatever that might look like.

“I’m good with the change,” Garland recently told Marc J. Spears of Andscape. “When it first happened, I was kind of skeptical. But I couldn’t turn down this opportunity to play with another Hall of Famer [Leonard] and having a ball in my hands damn near 99% of the time. […] I’m in another good situation over here in L.A., trying to do something, trying to rebuild this whole brand of the Clippers, and try to make it one of the biggest teams in L.A.”

That’s a tall task: Achieving it will require both the kind of regular-season success Garland experienced in Cleveland last season, and the brand of postseason success that neither he nor the Clippers have achieved. Whether they’ll get there remains to be seen; after what must have felt like a very long month, though, the process finally got started Monday night.

“Whatever T-Lue wants me to be, whatever position he wants me to be in, I’m going to do that,” Garland told reporters after the trade. “I’m here to win games.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo looked like his old self Monday night in his return to the court.

But the Milwaukee Bucks failed to put up much of a fight at Fiserv Forum.

The Boston Celtics rolled to a 108-81 win over the Bucks, spoiling Antetokounmpo’s return after a calf injury has kept him out for months. Antetokounmpo had a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. He went 7-of-18 from the field.

But the Celtics led nearly the entire way in the dominant win. All five of their starters hit double figures, and Payton Pritchard led the team with 25 points while making five 3-pointers off the bench. The win, their third straight, got them to 41-20 on the season.

“Feels good, feel a little bit rusty, but obviously something new in my career being out for such a long time and not just one time, multiple times into a season,” Antetokounmpo said of his return, via The Athletic’s Eric Nehm. “Definitely disrupt[ed] my rhythm, but at the end of the day, I just try to take it day by day, game by game. I’m happy that I’m back. I’m just happy that I’m on the court.”

Antetokounmpo has battled the calf strain for most of this year. He first suffered the injury in early December and missed eight games before returning Dec. 27 against the Bulls. In his first game back, he showcased his explosiveness with a windmill dunk in the final seconds of the game.

The 31-year-old’s return comes at an interesting time. Monday’s loss dropped the Bucks to 26-34 on the season, which has them just outside of the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference. While the Bucks held on to Antetokounmpo at the trade deadline, there is no guarantee he will remain with the team after this offseason.

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With Antetokounmpo having played only 30 games this season, he is no longer eligible for NBA awards such as MVP or All-NBA honors. The NBA requires players to appear in at least 65 games to qualify.

Antetokounmpo appears to still want to compete despite trade speculation, award ineligibility and no guarantees of making the playoffs or play-in tournament. In the Nuggets game in which he re-injured himself, Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said he tried to take his superstar out of the game, but Antetokounmpo was adamant about staying in.

Rivers told reporters in January there were no plans to shut down Antetokounmpo, despite there being no clear timetable for his return. He also said he has noticed similar injuries to players around the league and is still trying to determine the best way to keep Antetokounmpo on the court.

Despite the Bucks not wanting to rush him back and risk re-injury, Antetokounmpo was seen practicing in early February. He also told reporters before the trade deadline that he wanted to be in Milwaukee, and he seemed thrilled to simply be playing at all again on Monday night.

“I’m just in a mindset where I try not to take nothing for granted,” Antetokounmpo said. “Obviously, did not play well tonight. But at the end of the day, I’m just happy that I’m out there being able to help my teammates in any way that I can and just do what I love, which is play basketball.”

He also seems to have a new mindset about his career at this stage of his career.

“I’m 31 years old,” he said. “Just gotta be able to be more smarter moving forward because things that I was able to do in the past, maybe I’m not able to do now. And I’ve just gotta be more methodical with my rehab, the way I take care of my body, the way that I play, but yeah, that’s pretty much it. 

“Moving forward, I just gotta be smarter.”

Antetokounmpo should provide a significant boost to the Bucks, who have now their last three games. He entered Monday averaging 28 points, 10 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game. The Bucks are 11–17 without him this season.

But if Monday’s outing was any indication, the Bucks need more than just Antetokounmpo back on the floor to start winning again.

Increasingly, injury time is not Arne time. A night when Wolves could savour an action replay left Arne Slot lamenting the “same old story”. For the second time in four days, Rob Edwards set off down the touchline in manic celebration. Wolves, as their fans had chorused, are bound for the Championship, but on the way they are bloodying the noses of those with ambitions of Champions League qualification. First Aston Villa and now Liverpool have fallen at Molineux.

For Slot, the sense of déjà vu was depressing. His side are record breakers in the wrong sense, the first team in Premier League history to lose five matches in a season due to 90th-minute goals. “The three times we lost in the last 22 games were all three in extra time,” Slot said after Wolves, like Bournemouth and Manchester City before them, struck at the death. Include the late equalisers Fulham and Leeds got and Liverpool have let nine points slip through their grasp in injury time. It may cost them Champions League football.

Liverpool could call their latest setback cruel, when the decider needed a deflection, when they had hit the woodwork twice. “That it happens in extra time might be a coincidence but it happens so many times,” said Slot. Once again, it calls into question Liverpool’s game management.

For him, there were further familiar themes, another occasion when Liverpool dominated possession, had more shots, had the better of the statistics beyond the scoreline. “We hardly give away a chance but they score two,” he rued.

Yet Virgil van Dijk did not plead misfortune. “I think it’s down to ourselves,” said the Liverpool captain. “It was slow, we were predictable, sloppy in possession and [guilty of] wrong decision-making.” It was an excoriating verdict but scarcely an exaggeration.

Defeat came late but Liverpool could trace it to their sluggish start. Even as they picked up the pace, even as Mohamed Salah ended a Premier League goal drought that had extended over four months, even though Wolves did not attempt a shot of any kind until their opening goal, Liverpool arguably did too little over the course of a match that was three-quarters forgettable fare, one quarter frenetic entertainment.

Wolves began frustrating Liverpool with their obduracy and ended doing it with their attacking. They began compact and organised, four central midfielders and three centre-backs forming a solid block. But Edwards rationalised the game would open up and made influential substitutions.

Two combined for the breakthrough with a second goal in as many games for the man who finished off Villa. Rodrigo Gomes had only been on the pitch for eight minutes when he struck. A fellow replacement, Tolu Arokodare, was too strong for Van Dijk, turning him and supplying on the on-rushing Gomes to dink a shot over Alisson.

After Salah levelled, as Liverpool committed men forward in the search for a winner, so did Wolves. After Alisson’s poor kick, Andre’s shot looped up off Joe Gomez and left the goalkeeper helpless. Wolves, the team with the four Gomeses, got the decisive touch from a Gomez. “We conceded a deflected shot, which was not even a chance,” said Slot.

Liverpool are nevertheless left to consider the prospect their struggles against their supposed inferiors will cost them a top-five finish. They have lost to Nottingham Forest and Wolves this season, drawn with Burnley and Leeds. Some 12 points have escaped their grasped in those games.

When it seemed they had salvaged something at Molineux, it was when Salah briefly turned back time. There are times, even when their powers are waning, when the greats can summon a little of their old selves. Hitherto ineffectual, Salah then darted into a gap and improvised a finish which he flicked with the outside of his left foot. Jose Sa got his left hand to it, but the ball nestled in the net. Salah’s 253rd Liverpool goal was his first in the Premier League since November.

Perhaps, though, it summed up the current Salah that it did not prevent defeat. Liverpool had struck the woodwork twice, in distinctly different fashion. A couple of minutes before Salah struck, Rio Ngumoha’s low shot was brilliantly turned on to the post by Sa. Just after half-time, a combination of Curtis Jones’s shoulder and Cody Gakpo’s boot turned the ball on the bar after Hugo Ekitike had flicked on Salah’s corner. After three goals from set-pieces against West Ham on Saturday, Liverpool ought to have had another.

But they mustered too little else. “What didn’t change in the last five, six seven games is that we struggle and find it very hard to score from open play chances that we do create,” admitted Slot. Nor did they create enough.

This was a game that was crying out for Ngumoha long before his introduction, though, at 64 minutes, it was the earliest he had come on in the Premier League. Gakpo, though, had been poor as a starter.

And Wolves finished with a flourish; on the night and perhaps over the season. After one win all season, they have two in a week. “We are showing we are not as bad as people thought,” said Edwards, whose touchline dash showed the emotional relief of victory and brought pain, though not the sort Slot was feeling. “It’s my groin this time,” the Wolves manager said. “I’m falling apart.”

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — J.P. Estrella scored 22 points, Felix Okpara added 20 and No. 23 Tennessee rolled past South Carolina 78-59 on Tuesday night to stop a two-game skid.

The Volunteers (21-9, 11-6 Southeastern Conference) were a force inside, even without injured starter and second-leading scorer Nate Ament, a 6-foot-10 freshman.

Tennessee shook off Ament’s absence with post players Estrella and Okpara dismantling South Carolina’s defense with dunks and layups.

Ja’Kobi Gillespie, the Vols’ leading scorer at 18.7 points per game, was held to eight points on 3-of-9 shooting. But he had a career-high 12 assists as he regularly found Estrella and Okpara close to the basket.

The Vols held a 56-18 scoring edge in the paint as Estrella and Okpara combined to make 20 of 27 shots.

Meechie Johnson, who was honored on senior night, scored 20 points to lead the Gamecocks (12-18, 3-14), who’ve lost 10 of 11.

The Vols took a 21-10 lead eight minutes in and continued pounding the ball inside. South Carolina had no answers as Tennessee’s big men lurked near the basket awaiting passes.

South Carolina cut the Vols’ lead to 46-40 on Kobe Knox’s basket with 16 minutes left. But Estrella had three more inside buckets during Tennessee’s 10-4 charge to take control.

Tennessee shot 54% (33 of 61) from the field, its highest percentage in an SEC game this season. The Vols remain in the hunt for a double-bye in the league tournament with one regular-season game left.

Up next

Tennessee: Hosts No. 24 Vanderbilt on Saturday.

South Carolina: Ends the regular season at Mississippi on Saturday.

___

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The Golden State Warriors have had over 600 players don the more than 60 jersey numbers used by their players over the more than 75 years of existence the team has enjoyed in its rich and storied history.

Founded in 1946 during the Basketball Association of America (BAA – a precursor league of the NBA) era, the team has called home the cities of Philadelphia, San Francisco, Oakland, and even San Diego.

To commemorate the players who wore those numbers, Warriors Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team. For this article, we begin with the sixth of eight players who wore the No. 50 jersey for the Warriors.

That player would be Golden State big man alum Felton Spencer. After ending his college career at Louisville, Spencer was picked up with the sixth overall selection of the 1990 NBA Draft by the Minnesota Timberwolves.

The Louisville, Kentucky native played the first three seasons of his pro career with Minnesota. He also played for the Utah Jazz and Orlando Magic before he was dealt to the Dubs in 1996. His stay with the team lasted until he signed

During his time suiting up for the Warriors, Spencer wore only jersey No. 50 and put up 3.4 points and 4.1 rebounds per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Warriors Wire: Warriors jersey history – No. 50 – Felton Spencer (1996)

The Brooklyn Nets have 52 jersey numbers worn by over 600 different players over the course of their history since the franchise was founded in 1967 as a charter member of the American Basketball Association (ABA), when the team was known as the “New Jersey Americans”.

Since then, that league has been absorbed by the NBA with the team that would later become the New York Nets and New Jersey Nets before settling on the name by which they are known today, bringing their rich player and jersey history with them to the league of today.

To commemorate the players who played for the Nets over the decades wearing those 52 different jersey numbers, Nets Wire is covering the entire history of the franchise’s jersey numbers and the players who sported them since the founding of the team.

And for today’s article, we will continue with the 12th of 21 people to wear the No. 44 jersey, After ending his college career at Maryland, Massenburg was picked up with the 43rd overall selection of the 1990 NBA Draft by the San Antonio Spurs.

The Sussex, Virginia native played parts of the first two seasons of his pro career with Charlotte Hornets. He also played for the Boston Celtics, Golden State Warriors, in other leagues, for the Los Angeles Clippers, Toronto Raptors, and Philadelphia 76ers before he signed with the (then) New Jersey (now, Brooklyn) Nets in 1996.

His stay with the team lasted until he signed with Boston again in 1997. During his time suiting up for the Nets, Massenburg wore only jersey No. 44 and put up 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Nets Wire: Nets jersey history No. 44 – Tony Massenburg (1996-97)

The Houston Rockets have had players donning a total of 52 different jersey numbers (and have one not part of any numerical series for Houston assistant coach and general manager Carroll Dawson) since their founding at the start of the 1967-68 season, worn by just under 500 players in the course of Rockets history.

To honor all of the players who wore those numbers over the decades, Rockets Wire is covering the entire history of jersey numbers and the players who wore them since the founding of the team all those years ago right up to the present day.

With seven of those jerseys now retired to honor some of the greatest Rockets of all time to wear those jerseys, there is a lot of history to cover.

And for today’s article, we will continue with the fourth of 20 who wore the No. 9, guard alum Melvin Booker. After ending his college career at Missouri, Booker went unselected in the 1994 NBA Draft, playing in other leagues until he signed with the Houston Rockets in 1996.

The Pascagoula, Mississippi native played the first 11 games of his NBA career with Houston, coming to an end when he signed with the Atlanta Hawks that fall.

During his time suiting up for the Rockets, Booker wore only jersey No. 9 and put up 4.0 points and 1.9 assists per game.

All stats and data courtesy of Basketball Reference.

This article originally appeared on Rockets Wire: Rockets jersey history No. 9 – Melvin Booker (1996)

Mar. 3—SIOUX FALLS, S.D. — South Dakota State University and the University of South Dakota women’s basketball teams combined to put a trio on the all-Summit League first team, as announced by the conference on Tuesday.

SDSU was represented on the top honor squad by Brooklyn Meyer and Madison Mathiowetz, joined by USD’s Angelina Robles. Also on the all-Summit first team were North Dakota State’s Avery Koenen, who was named conference player of the year and defensive player of the year, along with St. Thomas’ Alyssa Sand and Denver’s Coryn Watts.

Meyer, Koenen and Sand all doubled as selections on the league’s all-defensive team alongside Oral Roberts’ Ari Gordon and Omaha’s Avril Smith.

USD’s Molly Joyce was named the Summit newcomer of the year and landed on the all-conference second team. With Joyce on the all-Summit second team were the NDSU duo of Marisa Frost and Jocelyn Schiller, Kansas City’s Elauni Bennett and Oral Roberts’ Jalei Oglesby. Joyce and Coyote teammate Elise Turrubiates were named to the all-newcomer team with St. Thomas’ Jada Hood, North Dakota’s Mackenzie Hughes and Oral Roberts’ Anna Trusty.

SDSU’s Emilee Fox, a Mount Vernon native, received an honorable mention all-conference nod, as did Turrubiates, Hughes, Trusty and Bennett. Jackrabbit teammate Hadley Thul was named to the conference all-freshman team, which was headlined by NDSU’s Karrington Asp, the Summit’s freshman of the year and sixth woman of the year. Also on the all-freshman squad were Omaha’s Smith and Regan Juenemann and Oral Roberts’ Kayten Donley.

NDSU’s Jory Collins was named Summit League coach of the year.

USD’s Cameron Fens earned a place on the all-Summit League first team and defensive team, as announced Tuesday.

Joining Fens on the top honor team was Denver’s Carson Johnson, who was named Summit player of the year and newcomer of the year, as well as NDSU’s Trevian Carson, Omaha’s Paul Djobet and the St. Thomas pair of Nick Janowski, also the conference freshman of the year, and Nolan Minessale.

Like Fens, Carson and Minessale doubled as all-defensive team picks. Also selected were UND’s Eli King, who was named Summit defensive player of the year, and Omaha’s Ja’Sean Glover.

Another Coyote, Jordan Crawford, landed on the all-conference second team with King and UND teammate Greyson Uelmen, Oral Roberts’ Ty Harper and NDSU’s Damari Wheeler-Thomas.

The all-newcomer team was comprised of Johnson, Carson, Djobet, Janowski and Uelmen.

SDSU had two honorable mention picks in Joe Sayler and Damon Wilkinson. Also among the honorable mentions were St. Thomas’ Carter Bjerke, Denver’s Jeremiah Burke and NDSU’s Andy Stefonowicz.

Rounding out the Summit League individual awards, NDSU’s Noah Feddersen was named sixth man of the year, and David Richman was named coach of the year for the Bison.

The Summit League women’s and men’s basketball tournaments tip off Wednesday in Sioux Falls with a pair of first-round games. Quarterfinals take place between Thursday and Friday, with the semifinals on Saturday and the title games on Sunday.

2025-26 Summit League Women’s Basketball Awards

All-Summit League First Team

Avery Koenen, North Dakota State (Jr., F)*

Madison Mathiowetz, South Dakota State (Sr., G)

Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (Sr., F)**

Angelina Robles, South Dakota (Sr., G)

Alyssa Sand, St. Thomas (So., F)

Coryn Watts, Denver (So., G)

All-Summit League Second Team

Elauni Bennett, Kansas City (Jr., G)

Marisa Frost, North Dakota State (So., G)

Molly Joyce, South Dakota (Jr., G)

Jalei Oglesby, Oral Roberts (RSr., G)**

Jocelyn Schiller, North Dakota State (So., G)

All-Summit League Honorable Mention

Emani Bennett, Kansas City (Jr., G)

Emilee Fox, South Dakota State (So., G)

Mackenzie Hughes, North Dakota (Gr., G)

Anna Trusty, Oral Roberts (So., G)

Elise Turrubiates, South Dakota (Sr., F)

All-Defensive Team

Ari Gordon, Oral Roberts (RJr., G)

Avery Koenen, North Dakota State (Jr., F)

Brooklyn Meyer, South Dakota State (Sr., F)

Alyssa Sand, St. Thomas (So., F)

Avril Smith, Omaha (Fr., F)

All-Newcomer Team

Jada Hood, St. Thomas (Gr., G)

Mackenzie Hughes, North Dakota (Gr., G)

Molly Joyce, South Dakota (Jr., G)

Anna Trusty, Oral Roberts (So., G)

Elise Turrubiates, South Dakota (Sr., F)

All-Freshman Team

Karrington Asp, North Dakota State (RFr., F)

Kayten Donley, Oral Roberts (Fr., F)

Regan Juenemann, Omaha (Fr., G)

Avril Smith, Omaha (Fr., F)

Hadley Thul, South Dakota State (Fr., G)

Player of the Year: Avery Koenen, North Dakota State

Newcomer of the Year: Molly Joyce, South Dakota

Freshman of the Year: Karrington Asp, North Dakota State

Sixth Woman of the Year: Karrington Asp, North Dakota State

Defensive Player of the Year: Avery Koenen, North Dakota State

Coach of the Year: Jory Collins, North Dakota State

2025-26 Summit League Men’s Basketball Awards

All-Summit League First Team

Trevian Carson, North Dakota State (Jr., G)

Paul Djobet, Omaha (Jr., G)

Cameron Fens, South Dakota (Sr., C)

Nick Janowski, St. Thomas (RFr., G)

Carson Johnson, Denver^ (So., G)

Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas (So., G)

All-Summit League Second Team

Jordan Crawford, South Dakota (Jr., G)

Eli King, North Dakota (Sr., G)

Ty Harper, Oral Roberts (Gr., G)

Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota (RFr., G)

Damari Wheeler-Thomas, North Dakota State (Jr., G)

All-Summit League Honorable Mention

Carter Bjerke, St. Thomas (RJr., F)

Jeremiah Burke, Denver (Gr., F)

Joe Sayler, South Dakota State (Jr., G)

Andy Stefonowicz, North Dakota State (So., G)

Damon Wilkinson, South Dakota State (So., C)

All-Defensive Team

Trevian Carson, North Dakota State (Jr., G)

Cameron Fens, South Dakota (Sr., C)

Ja’Sean Glover, Omaha (Sr., G)

Eli King, North Dakota (Sr., G)

Nolan Minessale, St. Thomas (So., G)

All-Newcomer Team

Trevian Carson, North Dakota State (Jr., G)

Paul Djobet, Omaha (Jr., G)

Nick Janowski, St. Thomas (RFr., G)

Carter Johnson, Denver (So., G)

Greyson Uelmen, North Dakota (RFr., G)

Player and Newcomer of the Year: Carson Johnson, Denver

Defensive Player of the Year: Eli King, North Dakota

Sixth Man of the Year: Noah Feddersen, North Dakota State

Freshman of the Year: Nick Janowski, St. Thomas

Coach of the Year: David Richman, North Dakota State

^Player of the year automatically on first team

*previous all-league selections noted above

If you blinked, there’s a chance you missed February’s boxing action.

Twenty eight days later and we’re ready to do it all again, chalking up the best March has to offer.

With more happening outside the ring than inside it, we’re all collectively due a timely reminder of what makes boxing so special. Oh, and because we’ve been so patient, how’s about throwing another new belt into the mix?!

Let’s take a closer look at the best of the pugilistic action in March.

5. Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton, 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title, March 8

Soon, Zuffa’s matchmaking will be required to do more of the heavy lifting to get onto these lists.

Jai Opetaia vs. Brandon Glanton isn’t going to be a reincarnation of Marvin Hagler vs. Tommy Hearns, but with a Zuffa title on the line for the first time — as well as Jai Opetaia’s IBF cruiserweight title, perhaps? — it’s going to be extremely interesting to see how the optics of this maiden crowning play out.

Opetaia is a scary fighter and ticks all of the boxes as a cruiserweight. He’s expected to walk through Glanton with relative ease inside Las Vegas’ Meta Apex, but that’s not what we’ll be tuning in to see.

Opetaia has made his feelings very clear: He wants to keep his IBF world title and become undisputed. But will his Zuffa paycheck throw a grenade into these plans? The fact that we don’t yet know is #classicboxing.

4. Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin Jr., 10 rounds, heavyweight, March 28

Moses Itauma vs. Jermaine Franklin is another savvy rung on the ladder of Itauma’s career — a career that could turn into a very special one.

The British phenom is still just a baby in heavyweight terms (21) and is being fed a slow progression of opponents before he attempts to state his claim as the next generation’s numero uno.

Itauma’s past nine fights have finished in either the first or second round — which includes wins over the likes of Dillian Whyte, Mike Balogun and Demsey McKean — so if you’re Jermaine Franklin on March 28, your first target has to be seeing the seventh minute of the contest.

Again, this is less about the fight itself, and more about the spectacle — Itauma is a scary sight, and the dictionary definition of “passing the eye test.”

3. Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Kenneth Sims Jr., 12 rounds, welterweight, March 14

Boxing has a funny way of solving problems. If things aren’t working at one weight, you simply eat a little more and call it a fresh start. Simple, right?

Arnold Barboza Jr. and Kenneth Sims Jr. are doing exactly that, moving up to welterweight for a 12-round main event in Anaheim, California, on March 14.

Barboza, now 34, is fresh off his first defeat — a clear decision loss to Teofimo Lopez in a WBO super lightweight title bid this past May. It was educational, if not enjoyable. Rather than dwell, he’s decided 147 pounds looks far more welcoming, and that Anaheim will provide home support, familiar air and hopefully friendlier scorecards.

Across from him stands Chicago’s Sims, 32 years old and equally keen to forget recent events. His last outing ended in defeat to Oscar Duarte at 140 pounds, forcing him to make the seven-pound leap.

Sims has boxed at 147 pounds before, Barboza too, but now they return as slightly older, slightly wiser versions of themselves, both looking to use each other’s names to springboard into bigger welterweight opportunities.

Mark Robinson via Getty Images

2. Carlos Adames vs. Austin Williams, 12 rounds, for Adames’ WBC middleweight title, March 21

In a funny way, it’s worked out well for everyone that Carlos Adames vs. Austin Williams now headlines its own show on March 21.

Originally slated for the undercard of Teofimo Lopez vs. Shakur Stevenson, Adames fell ill pre-fight and forced a postponement, allowing Williams a 10-round run-out win over Wendy Toussaint.

This show now heads to the Caribe Royale Orlando, where “Ammo” Williams will attempt to become a world champion for the first time against the compact and aggressive Dominican.

Speaking to Uncrowned at the start of the year, Williams spoke with detail about some unique training methods he has used over the past couple of years, including ballet, singing and breathing exercises. These are all well and good, but a big heart and an even bigger pair of cojones may be required if he’s to rip the WBC middleweight title from the champion.

1. Sebastian Fundora vs. Keith Thurman, 12 rounds, for Fundora’s WBC super welterweight title, March 28

Keith Thurman’s tall order heads up our March list, as the former unified welterweight world champion attempts to cement his legacy by beating Sebastian Fundora for the WBC super welterweight title.

This one has also been rescheduled from October of last year, allowing the champion Fundora to recover from a hand injury that forced a postponement.

Thurman’s lone career loss came at the hands of Manny Pacquiao in 2019, and with three-year breaks coming between two subsequent wins over Mario Barrios and Brock Jarvis, there are massive question marks about the 37-year-old as he challenges a man in his fighting prime.

But Thurman is still a massive name in the sport. And who’s to blame a guy for attempting to roll back the clock and give us “One More Time?”