KO artist Vergil Ortiz Jr (18-0, 18 KOs) of Grand Prairie, Texas faces British Michael McKinson (22-0, 2 KOs) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX on Saturday, August 6. The pair squares off in the scheduled for twelve rounds welterweight main event bout live stream on DAZN. The the list of bouts featured on the undercard has been announced.
The co-main event pits unified WBC and WBA flyweight champion Marlen Esparza (12-1, 1 KOs) of Houston, TX up against her mandatory, former WBA interim flyweight champion Eva Guzman (19-1, 11KOs) from Maracay, Venezuela. Also, on the card, Dallas, TX fan favorite Maurice Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs) takes on Blair Cobbs (15-1-1, 10 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA in the ten-rounder at welterweight. Opening the DAZN stream, Bektemir Melikuziev (9-1, 7 KOs) of Indio, CA takes on Sladan Janjanin (32-10, 24 KOs) of Boston, MA in the eight-rounder at super middleweight.
Tickets for the event are on sale and can be purchased through TicketNetowork and Vivid Seats.
Among the bouts featured as part of Golden Boy Fight Night, Alex Martin (17-4, 6 KOs) returns to the ring against Henry Lundy (31-10-1, 14 KOs) in the ten-rounder at super lightweight.
“I am ready for Eva Guzman. Mandatory defense or title fight, all fights are serious business for me!” said Marlen Esparza.
“This is the opportunity I have been waiting for to prove I am the best,” said Eva Guzman. “After this victory, the whole world will know I am the most dangerous fighter at 112lbs.”
“I’m ready to show the world I’m still a warrior,” said Maurice Hooker. “I’m ready to give them a fight they will always remember.”
“Blair the Flair is saying absolutely nothing. See you August 6,” said Blair Cobbs.
“It’s been a long time in training camp, the opponents pulled out, the dates rescheduled, so I am happy to finally have a fight and step back in the ring on August 6 on a big Golden Boy show,” said Bektemir Melikuziev.
Marlen Esparza defends unified titles against Eva Guzman
Marlen Esparza was born to make history in boxing. Born in Houston, Texas, Marlen Esparza began her boxing career at 12 years old after growing up in a household that loved the sport. In May 2012, Esparza became the first American woman to qualify to compete in the 2012 Olympics in London, the first year that women’s boxing made its debut as an Olympic event. She would win the bronze medal in the women’s flyweight division. In 2017, Esparza became the first female fighter signed by Golden Boy Promotions.
In 2021, Esparza had a successful year, with an unanimous decision victory against Ibeth Zamora Silva for the WBC flyweight world championship and successfully defended her new world championship title against former world champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz.
On April 9, as part of the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs Emmanuel Tagoe, Esparza faced her toughest challenge to date, taking on five-division world champion Naoko Fujioka. The fight pitted the #1 vs. #2 in the female flyweight division, granting them the honor of fighting for the first-ever Ring Magazine female flyweight world championship. After 10-rounds of non-stop action from two of the mightiest female fighters in the flyweight division, the judges ruled in favor of Esparza unanimously, crowning her the new WBC, WBA, and Ring Magazine World Champion.
An accomplished fighter since her professional debut in 2015, Eva Guzman has rapidly risen the ranks to a world championship by defeating some of the toughest fighters in the division. Her first big test came in 2018 when she faced Yaditza Perez for the IBA minimumweight World Championship.
In 2021, she earned the most significant accomplishment in her career thus far, moving up in weight and fighting in Mexico for the first time against Isabel Millan to claim the crown as the WBA’s newest interim flyweight champion. The new title had also earned her the honor of becoming the new mandatory to fight Marlen Esparza for the WBA flyweight championship, something she has dreamed of becoming since her professional debut.
The current Ortiz Jr vs McKinson fight card can be found below. The finalized fight card is expected to be announced shortly.
Ortiz Jr vs McKinson fight card
Main Card
- Vergil Ortiz Jr vs. Michael McKinson, 12 rounds, welterweight
- Marlen Esparza vs. Eva Guzman, 10 rounds, flyweight – Esparza’s unified WBC and WBA flyweight titles
- Maurice Hooker vs. Blair Cobbs, 10 rounds, welterweight
- Bektemir Melikuziev vs. Sladan Janjanin, 8 rounds, super middleweight
Vergil Ortiz Jr ‘100% ready’ to face Michael McKinson – ‘It would look good on my resume if I defeat him’
Undercard
- Alex Martin vs. Henry Lundy, 10 rounds, super lightweight
The post Ortiz Jr vs McKinson undercard: Marlen Esparza faces Eva Guzman, plus more bouts official for Aug 6 appeared first on FIGHTMAG.