April’s 5 Best Boxing Fights: No, Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury Aren’t No. 1

April’s boxing calendar is stacked with crossroads clashes, comeback attempts and genuine 50-50 showdowns. While marquee names such as Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder still move the needle, neither man claims top billing this month. Instead, the list is topped by a high-stakes light heavyweight shoot-out that could reshape the 175-pound landscape.

1. Callum Smith vs. David Morrell Liverpool’s M&S Bank Arena hosts the fight most insiders are labeling the month’s true main event. Smith and Morrell are both ranked inside the top ten at light heavyweight and are hunting a second crack at a world title after coming unstuck against the division’s apex predators, Artur Beterbiev and David Benavidez. Each man is a heavy-handed puncher; each can ill-afford another defeat. Add a city that breeds atmosphere and the April 18 meeting has every ingredient for an early Fight-of-the-Year contender.

2. Tenshin Nasukawa vs. Juan Francisco Estrada Only eight contests into his boxing venture, kickboxing superstar Tenshin Nasukawa was flattened by Takuma Inoue in a November WBC bantamweight title attempt. He now faces one of the sport’s master technicians, Juan Francisco Estrada. At 35, “Gallo” is bidding to prove his split-decision win over Roman Gonzalez in 2022 was no last hurrah. Youthful athleticism meets veteran guile in a bout dripping with narrative tension.

3. Derek Chisora vs. Deontay Wilder Five years ago the matchup would have felt absurd; today it is grimly logical. Wilder, a former WBC champion of 1,859 days, has looked increasingly fragile, while Chisora—13 defeats and all—has become the betting favourite. Both men celebrate their 50th professional starts at London’s O2 Arena on April 4, and Chisora insists the night will be his farewell. Whether he can walk away after potentially notching the most significant win of his roller-coaster career remains the subplot.

4. Andres Cortes vs. Eridson Garcia Zuffa Boxing’s fifth show offers no golden trinkets, but plenty of intrigue. Undefeated 130-pound contender Cortes (24-0) risks his quietly built ranking against Garcia, who has rebounded from a 2023 knockout loss to Jordan White with six straight victories. The twist: the contract is at lightweight, a division north of both men’s comfort zones, injecting an extra layer of jeopardy into an already hard-to-pick encounter.

5. Tyson Fury vs. Arslanbek Makhmudov Even Fury’s fifth retirement U-turn can’t dampen curiosity. The “Gypsy King” hasn’t boxed on British soil since 2022, and consecutive defeats to Oleksandr Usyk have left question marks over his heavyweight standing. Enter Makhmudov, the Russian-born puncher familiar to UK viewers after stopping cult favourite David Allen last October. Netflix cameras will roll, casual fans will tune in, and Fury, 37, will attempt to show he still has miles left on the odometer.

April, then, is less about the resurrection of faded superstars and more about the sport’s relentless churn: prospects trying not to stall, veterans refusing to fade, and a light heavyweight duel that could catapult the winner back among the elite.