The spring pay-per-view boxing calendar is set to rumble with the recent announcement of three marquee boxing cards on tap beginning in April. 

On April 16, World Boxing Council and International Boxing Federation welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. will return to the ring to fight World Boxing Association welterweight champion Yordenis Ugas in a PPV unification fight distributed by Showtime. Spence, who will enter the ring for the first time since 2020 when he defeated Danny Garcia, was scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao in August 2021 but had to withdraw after suffering an eye injury.

Ugas replaced Spence in the fight and defeated Pacquiao by unanimous decision.  

“The welterweight division has always been boxing’s glamour division … this is a three-belt unification fight and exactly the kind of fight that Showtime has become known for,” said Showtime Sports president Stephen Espinoza during Tuesday’s press conference to announce the fight. 

A week later, current WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury will defend his title against contender Dillian Whyte. The fight, which will be distributed by ESPN PPV, will mark Fury’s first fight since his 11th round knockout of Deontay Wilder in their October 2021 trilogy fight. That fight reportedly generated around 600,000 PPV buys.

Super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez will enter the PPV ring a month later, moving up in weight to face light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol in a May 7 PPV event distributed by DAZN. If Alvarez wins, he has already committed to fight former champion Gennady Golovkin in a highly anticipated third bout between the two in September. 

Fox Sports kicked off the 2022 PPV boxing schedule with its February 5 Keith Thurman-Mario Barrios welterweight event. Given the marquee fighters on the PPV boxing cards and live sports' continued appeal to viewers, April and May’s lineup of fights could punch up some significant PPV revenue numbers for the category. ■ 

Boxing legend Manny Pacquiao will step into the pay-per-view boxing ring in August to challenge undefeated Errol Spence in a welterweight championship fight.

Pacquiao, who announced the fight in a Tweet Friday night, has generated the second most PPV revenue ever behind Floyd Mayweather. Pacquiao’s 2015 fight against Mayweather remains the biggest PPV event ever, generating 4.6 million PPV buys.

Pacquiao will fight for the first time since defeating Keith Thurman in 2019. Spence, the WBC and IBF welterweight champion, last fought in December, defeating Danny Garcia. The Pacquiao-Spence fight will take place in Las Vegas, according to ESPN. 

The fight is arguably the biggest PPV boxing event announced so far in an already crowded late spring/early summer schedule of PPV fights. Mayweather will fight a Showtime-distributed June 6 PPV exhibition fight against YouTube star Logan Paul; Triller will distribute the June 19 Teófimo López-George Kambosos Jr. lightweight championship PPV event; and Showtime will offer the June 27 Mario Barrios-Gervonta Davis junior welterweight title PPV fight.

Also Read: Showtime Sets June Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul PPV Exhibition Fight

Showtime will serve as the official distributor of the June 6 Floyd Mayweather-Logan Paul exhibition pay-per-view boxing event, the network announced Thursday.

The event, which will pit the retired, undefeated boxing champion Mayweather against YouTube celebrity Paul, will also feature several undercard fights including a rematch between light heavyweight champion Jean Pascal and former champion Badu Jack, according to Showtime. Former NFL wide receiver Chad Johnson will also make his boxing debut in an exhibition fight on the card. 

Read Also: Canelo Alvarez, Floyd Mayweather Lead Busy Spring PPV Boxing Schedule 

Mayweather was last seen in the ring in 2018 for an exhibition event in Japan. Mayweather’s 2017 fight against mixed martial arts star Conor McGregor drew more than 4.3 million PPV buys, second only to Mayweather’s 2015 fight against Manny Pacquiao, which garnered 4.6 million buys. 

Read Also: Mayweather-McGregor PPV Buys Fall Short of Record 

Showtime did not release as suggested PPV price for the event, which will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.  

Read Also: Showtime Sets June Gervonta Davis-Mario Barrios PPV Boxing Event 

If pound-for-pound Pay-Per-View boxing champion Manny Pacquiao is indeed retiring, he’s leaving the sport of boxing on a high note, earning a unanimous victory over Timothy Bradley Jr. in last night's big PPV bout.

Pacquiao, in the industry’s first major pay-per-view boxing event of 2016, knocked Bradley down twice during the 12-round fight, garnering a 116-110 decision on all three judges’ scorecards for his 58th victory.  The win comes nearly one year after he lost a unanimous decision to now retired undefeated champion Floyd Mayweather in the most lucrative PPV fight in history.

Pacquiao, who won two of three PPV fights against Bradley, said both before and after the event that he is retiring, adding that he will now focus on running for a Senate seat in his home country of the Philippines. He is currently the second-biggest revenue earner in PPV boxing history behind Floyd Mayweather.