The main event pits WBC junior featherweight champion, Luis Nery, against minor champion Brandon Figueroa in what appears to be an almost guaranteed action fight.
Nery didn't dazzle anyone in his last fight in a decision win over Aaron Alameda, but in previous fights, Nery had shown an aggressive style that had seen him stop his last ten opponents before going the distance with Alameda, but chose to change things up after a change to trainer Eddy Reynoso entering that fight for a boxer-puncher manner that didn't work to his benefit.
Nery has returned to his original training team with a vow to return to slugging and against Figueroa, holder of a minor belt (the real WBA champion is Murodjon Akhmadaliev), Nery should find an opponent that will give him all the toe to toe opportunities that he'll ask for.
The undefeated Figueroa will face his toughest test and while Figueroa has beaten a solid group of opponents, they were of the top ten to fifteen types without the power of Nery.
Plus two fights ago, Figueroa drew with Julio Ceja in a fight I thought Ceja won (115-113), but Ceja missed weight by so much, Figueroa had a legitimate excuse against a much larger opponent.
I think this should be an excellent fight and it could end before the twelve-round distance.
The winner will fight WBO champion Stephen Fulton in the fall in a unification matchup that will leave the division with two fighters each holding two of the four titles.
The co-feature will pit a fighter that formerly held two of those titles in Daniel Roman, who lost to Akhmadaliev via a split decision in 2019 against Ricardo Espinoza.
Roman, who could very easily have gotten the decision against Akhmadaliev, would be very deserving of a rematch, or now that he fights for PBC a chance against the eventual winner of September's fight and isn't matched easily against Espinoza, who has won two straight since being stopped in the final round against JohnRiel Casimero.
Against Casimero, Espinoza was ahead on one card and was even on the other entering the last round before the stoppage and should give Roman a solid run.
The opener will pair undefeated junior lightweight Xavier Martinez against former WBC champion Juan Carlos Burgos in a match that has both fighters meeting with something to prove.
Martinez was knocked down twice by Claudio Marrero in his last fight and won a close decision in his first step toward contention, while Burgos lost decisions to Devin Haney and Hector Tanajara in an ill-advised move to lightweight before winning a decision over an 8-6 fighter.
Martinez needs to show that he can take a good punch from world-class opponents, while Burgos will be attempting to prove that he is still a world-class boxer and hasn't dropped a step to gatekeeper status,
In the boxing challenge, I lead Ramon Malpica 62-60.
Daniel Roman vs Ricardo Espinoza
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