The pairing that is even on paper is from Matchroom/DAZN in Phoenix as legendary veteran Juan Francisco Estrada defends his WBC junior bantamweight belt against unbeaten former champion Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez.
Rodriguez vacated the title to drop to flyweight where he won the IBF and WBO titles, unifying those titles in his last fight, breaking down smooth boxing Sunny Edwards in nine rounds.
Estrada hasn't fought since winning the title by a majority decision in his rubber match against Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez in December 2022 and it's fair to wonder what the thirty-four-year-old future Hall of Famer will bring to this fight against a younger competitor.
It has all the makings of a screenplay, the aging gunfighter attempting to make one final stand against a younger and faster future star attempting to use his opponent's career to build his own.
Everything points to Bam Rodriguez but I'm not counting out "Gallo" Estrada.
Sunny Edwards returns from his loss to Rodriguez in the co-feature against Adrien Curiel in a flyweight pairing of former champions in need of a victory.
Edwards defended his IBF flyweight title four times before losing to Rodriguez but took a surprising amount of punishment in that fight, while Curiel was an undistinguished fighter before winning the WBC light flyweight title from Sivenathi Nontshinga via second-round knockout before losing the rematch by unanimous decision.
Miami is the site of a Top Rank/ESPN with Teofimo Lopez in the main event against Canada's Steve Claggett.
The erratic Lopez's performances range from brilliance in wins over Vasyl Lomachenko and Josh Taylor to dull in close victories that he may not have deserved against Sandor Martin and Jamaine Ortiz.
Lopez will likely look spectacular against the moderately talented Claggett, who has been specifically chosen to come forward, make Lopez look strong, and fall spectacularly.
I'd rate this one as a lopsided mismatch and really doesn't deserve to be called a title fight.
The co-feature doesn't look any better as former WBO featherweight champion Robeisy Ramirez returns from his defeat against Rafael Espinoza against Brandon Benitez.
Ramirez is trying to stay sharp for a scheduled fall rematch against Espinoza and Benitez doesn't look like he will stand in the way, as Benitez has only one win over a recognizable opponent- former minor titleholder Xu Can.
Not a very exciting night from Top Rank.
Boxing Challenge
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