The main event is for a minor title in the junior welterweight division as Isaac "Pitbull" Cruz meets WBA junior lightweight champion Lamont Roach.
Both fighters made their names as the two fighters who pushed Gervonta Davis to the edge, Cruz losing a close unanimous decision in 2021, and Roach drawing with Davis earlier this year when a knockdown that wasn't scored as such cost Roach the win.
Roach, who hasn't defended his title since June 2024, will be making his first attempt at 140 pounds, while Cruz has won decisions over Angel Fierro and Omar Salcido since losing his WBA version of the title to Jose Valenzuela.
Roach could outbox Cruz, but standing and fighting off the aggressive Pitbull would be an exciting capper to the evening.
The co-feature will unify three-quarters of the middleweight titles as IBF and WBO champion Janibek Alimkhanuly faces WBA titleholder Erislandy Lara.
Alimkhanuly has yet to meet a top-quality opponent in his five title defenses, but I don't blame him, as the 160-pound division is very weak right now, and I think he would fight anyone placed in front of him.
Lara has been one of the most derided champions since winning a minor version of the WBA title and being promoted to the full version.
Since winning the minor title with a one-round KO of the lightly regarded "Cornflake" LaManna in 2021, Lara has defeated journeymen Spike O'Sullivan and Michael Zerafa before a battering of former junior welterweight and welterweight champion Danny Garcia, who was fighting for the first time in the division.
As the 42-year-old Lara has aged, he's used his legs less and fought in the pocket more, but that would surely spell doom against Alimkhanuly, yet if he tries to move for twelve rounds, he'll likely fade and be hunted down.
I think Alimkahnuly wins in the most lopsided fight on the card, but the chance for a three-title unification and the biggest name on his resume, make it interesting.
Editor's Note: Janibek Alimkhanuly failed a PED test and has been replaced by Johan Gonzalez.
Gonzalez's biggest win was over former junior middleweight champion Jarrett Hurd.
No word on the status of the IBF and WBO titles held by Alimkhanuly at this writing.
Another interesting fight is O'Shaquie Foster defending his WBC junior lightweight championship against Stephen Fulton, who holds the WBC featherweight title.
Foster regained his title last November from Robson Conceicao by split decision after losing the title to him by a very controversial split decision earlier in 2024.
Fulton held the WBC and WBO junior featherweight titles before a knockout loss to the Monster Naoya Inoue in 2023, and when his next fight saw him get a really bad split decision over Carlos Castro, Fulton looked like his best days were behind him.
Instead, Fulton beat Brandon Figueroa for a second time in February to take the WBC featherweight title and revitalize his career.
I like Foster in this one, but Fulton has surprised me before!
The opener is a middleweight eliminator between Jesus Ramos and Shane Mosley Jr.
Ramos has scored three knockouts in a row since his only loss, a controversial unanimous decision that I thought he deserved to Erickson Lubin in 2023.
Mosley Jr. has won five straight since his last loss and defeated the washed-up Daniel Jacobs in his last fight in July 2024, but is a cut below Ramos in my opinion.
Boxing Challenge
TRS: Roach Split Decision
TRS: Alimkhanuly KO 8
V.S:
V.S: Foster KO 9
Middleweights. 10 Rds
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