Isaac Cruz makes a second defence of his WBC interim super lightweight title, with Lamont Roach moving up in weight to face him this Saturday in San Antonio.
Premier Boxing Champions promote Cruz vs Roach at the Frost Bank Center and the card is live on Amazon Prime pay-per-view.
Cruz (28-3-1, 18 KOs), who burst onto the scene in 2021 after taking Gervonta Davis the distance in a close loss, saw his career derailed last August following a split decision defeat to Jose Valenzuela.
This first professional reverse came just over four months after an arguably career-best victory over Rolando Romero.
‘Pitbull’ has won his last two bouts, overcoming Angel Fierro and then Omar Salcido Gomez last time out to claim the WBC interim crown.
Roach (25-1-2, 12 KOs) once again moves up a division to challenge the 27-year-old Mexican.
‘The Reaper’, who remains the WBA super featherweight champion, was held to a contentious draw with the aforementioned Davis in a bid for the WBA lightweight title in January, with many believing the Washington man had done enough to win the fight.
Davis activated his rematch clause and a second outing was expected to take place in August, but Davis instead opted to face Jake Paul in an exhibition, which was subsequently cancelled.
Prediction: Roach, 30, put in an impressive display against Davis and was unfortunate not to see his hand raised, but he won’t be denied this time and I expect him to run out a clear winner on the cards.
Lara faces Gonzalez after Janibek withdrawal
Erislandy Lara defends his WBA middleweight world title against late-replacement, Johan Gonzalez who has agreed to step-in to face the Cuban on four days’ notice.
Lara (31-3, 19 KOs) was scheduled to face Janibek Alimkhanuly in an eagerly-anticipated middleweight unification, but the Kazakh returned an adverse analytical finding in a VADA test on Tuesday and was withdrawn from the bout.
Gonzalez (36-4, 34 KOs) was reportedly on standby in a scenario where Janibek or Lara were unable to fight and now gets his opportunity at world title glory.
The 34-year-old bounced back from defeat to Yoenis Tellez by overcoming Jarrett Hurd by split decision in March, who beat Lara back in 2018.
Lara, 41, who has been boxing professionally for 17 years, is enjoying an Indian summer, but has been out of the ring for over a year since retiring Danny Garcia in nine rounds.
Prediction: Gonzalez is the fresher of the pair, but Lara’s experience should be enough for him to take a points win.
Foster-Fulton meet for world title
In an intriguing super featherweight showdown, O’Shaquie Foster defends his WBC world title against Stephen Fulton.
The pair were supposed to have fought in October on the Sebastian Fundora vs Keith Thurman card, but the whole event was postponed after Fundora suffered an injury.
Foster (23-3, 12 KOs) is in his second reign as WBC champion, having dropped the belt in a controversial split decision loss to Robson Conceicao, before gaining revenge over the Brazilian in an immediate rematch.
Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs) is aiming to become a three-weight world champion, having previously held titles at super bantamweight and featherweight.
The Philadelphia man has won two in a row since an eighth round loss to Naoya Inoue, putting in an impressive display to rip away the WBC featherweight crown from Brandon Figueroa in their rematch in February.
Prediction: This is likely to be a closely-contested clash, but I just edge towards Fulton to secure a points victory.
Ramos Jr meets Mosley Jr
In another WBC interim title battle, Jesus Ramos Jr meets Shane Mosley Jr at middleweight.
Ramos Jr (23-1, 19 KOs) has won his last three contests since defeat to Erickson Lubin in 2023, while Mosley Jr (22-4, 12 KOs) is unbeaten in five, his last victory a points win over former world champion, Danny Jacobs.
Prediction: Ramos Jr will likely have to settle for a points win.
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Remaining Undercard
Frank Martin (18-1, 12 KOs) returns for the first time since an eighth round loss to Gervonta Davis last June, moving up to super lightweight and ‘The Ghost’ can halt Rances Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs).
Rising Mexican super welterweight, Isaac Lucero (17-0, 13 KOs) can remain unbeaten by stopping compatriot Roberto Valenzuela Jr (31-5, 29 KOs).
Dominican super featherweight, Luis Reynaldo Nunez (21-0, 14 KOs) should keep his undefeated record in tact with a points win over Hector Andres Sosa (18-3, 9 KOs).
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Daniel Blancas (13-0, 6 KOs) should see off William Townsel (8-2, 6 KOs) over eight rounds at super middleweight, while super flyweight prospect and younger brother of Lamont, Jordan Roach (5-0, 2 KOs) can stop Bryan Santiago (2-3-1) before the end of their four-rounder.
Also in four-rounders at lightweight, Hugo Amador Mendez (5-0, 3 KOs) should beat Nelson Hampton (11-10, 6 KOs) on points and Robert Guerrero Jr (6-0, 3 KOs) can become the first man to halt Eduardo Tarango (1-3).
Rounding off the card, Adrian Neaves (3-0, 1 KO) can make it four straight professional wins in a points success over Roberto Castro (3-2, 1 KO), while Benjamin Johnson (5-0, 5 KOs) is likely to stop Josias Gonzalez (2-5-2) in their welterweight clash.
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