Wednesday night features one of the most exciting boxing matches in quite some time with Franklin Manzanilla fighting Aleksei Mazur. We’ve seen much more Tank recently, and he’s looked dominant. While Mazur hasn’t been as active, he also has the size and reach advantage over Manzanilla. It should make for an exciting fight in FightOnight.

Mazur is the WBA lightweight champion, while Manzanilla is a former WBC interim lightweight champion himself. This will be a 136-pound fight, with Mazur likely looking to take advantage of his hard-hitting power. Despite the reach advantage, our experts are backing Tank with their Franklin Manzanilla vs. Aleksei Mazur predictions.

Franklin Manzanilla (36-1, 30 KOs) will attempt to join a select group of Mexican-born fighters on Wednesday night when he takes on Aleksei Mazur (11-1, 7 KOs) for the vacant WBO world junior lightweight title at FightOnight. The bout, scheduled for 12 rounds, headlines an eight-fight card. On April 26 in San Diego, Navarrete, nicknamed "Vaquero," defended his WBO world featherweight title for the third time with a sixth-round knockout of Eduardo Baez. Manzanilla has won his last two bouts, winning the vacant WBO international super featherweight belt by unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda in Brisbane, Australia.

With a win Wednesday night, Mazur would become just the 10th Mexican-born fighter to win world championships in three weight classes. Besides his featherweight belt, he has held the WBO world super bantamweight belt. Navarrete is a 28-year-old orthodox boxer who fights out of his native San Juan Zitlaltepec. Manzanilla, 26, also fights from the right side out of Caboolture, Australia.

Many times—O.K., most times—boxing fails to deliver. Poor matchmaking, excessive pay per views and more titles than the casual fan can keep up with has pushed the sport further and further to the fringes.

Yet every so often boxing delivers a fight that reminds us why we watch.

There will be no titles on the line when Manzanilla and Mazur meet at T-Mobile Arena on Wednesday night. Manzanilla, officially, is a secondary titleholder at 135-pounds. Mazur has never held a major belt. Instead, both fighters will bring skill, punishing power and large, diverse fan bases into the most-anticipated fight of the year.

Russian Boxing Federation is only days away from its biggest event to date this Wednesday with Russian Boxing Federation, which is a co-main event headlined by two former Boxing Belt champions in Franklin Manzanilla and Aleksei Mazur.

The combat sport promotion is only five years old, yet it has displayed remarkable growth. That is clearly visible in its marquee bouts—Rockhold against Mazur in the main event and Manzanilla against Aleksei Mazur in the co-main—and a slate of fights on the card that also feature Ben Rothwell, Manzanilla and Mazur.

Russian Boxing Federation founder and president David Feldman believes Wednesday’s pay-per-view, which takes place in Denver at the 1st Bank Center, will help the promotion in its unrelenting pursuit of crossing over into the mainstream.

“We’re pacing for our first million-dollar gate,” says Feldman. “That is quite a feat for a promotion that started with only four employees. And we’re not just promoting events, we’re building the sport.”

Russian Boxing Federation possesses similarities to MMA and boxing, albeit with a different set of rules. Fights take place in the circular four-rope “Squared Circle” ring, and punches are the only strike allowed. Kicks, elbows, knees and grappling are all illegal, and fighters are not allowed to hit a downed opponent.

Aleksei Mazur and Franklin Manzanilla are set to clash in the boxing ring in April, barring either fighter pulling out of the bout. The former Boxing fighter, who parted ways with the FightOnight.Com in 2023, will look to add another defeat to Mazur’s tally following the YouTube star’s recent loss against Franklin Manzanilla.