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Joshua Greer Jr., Jose Pedraza & Emanuel Navarrete To
Headline At MGM Grand & TV Azteca Studios
Don’t blink. Top Rank on ESPN’s summer schedule resumes with
a trio of shows, commencing Tuesday, June 16, with the
return of bantamweight contender Joshua “Don’t Blink” Greer
Jr. in a 10-rounder against 23-year-old Filipino upstart
Mike Plania at the MGM Grand Conference Center – Grand
Ballroom in Las Vegas.
The action continues from MGM Grand Thursday, June 18, when
former two-weight world champion Jose “Sniper” Pedraza will
face former world title challenger Mikkel LesPierre in a
10-round super lightweight showdown.
Week 2 concludes Saturday, June 20, at TV Azteca Studios in
Mexico City, when WBO junior featherweight world champion
Navarrete will fight Uriel “Yuca” Lopez in a 10-round
featherweight bout. Navarrete-Lopez will headline one of two
June cards from TV Azteca Studios, which will be promoted by
Top Rank in association with Zanfer Promotions.
All three Week 2 events will air live on ESPN and ESPN
Deportes (in Spanish), with start times to be announced
shortly.
“It is exciting to see these great fighters back in action
and in fights that promise to be action-packed,” said Top
Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Greer and Pedraza have tough
opponents in front of them, but if they are victorious, we
could see them in world title fights before the end of the
year. Navarrete is the king of the 122-pounders, a throwback
fighter who wants to stay as active as possible.”
June 16
MGM Grand Conference Center – Grand Ballroom
Main Event
Joshua Greer Jr. (22-1-1, 12 KOs) vs. Mike Plania (23-1, 12
KOs)
10 rounds, Bantamweight
Greer, the Chicago product who taunts potential KO victims
with custom-made pillows, is knocking on the doorstep of a
world title shot. He has won 19 fights in a row and is
currently the WBO No. 1 contender at bantamweight. Plania,
meanwhile, has won eight straight bouts since a March 2018
decision loss to Juan Carlos Payano, a fight that propelled
Payano to a world title shot against pound-for-pound great
Naoya Inoue.
“Whoever the opponent is, it doesn’t matter. I prepare the
same,” Greer said. “Every fight is a world title fight for
me. I’m ranked number one in the world, so I have to take
advantage of this opportunity. ‘Mr. ESPN’ is back!”
Co-Feature
Antonio DeMarco (33-8-1, 24 KOs) vs. Giovani Santillan
(25-0, 15 KOs)
10 rounds, Welterweight
Former lightweight world champion DeMarco, who is coming off
a competitive decision loss to top contender Jamal James,
represents a quantum leap in class for the 28-year-old
Santillan. A native of San Diego who has stopped his last
four opponents, Santillan hopes to become the first man to
knock out DeMarco in nearly eight years. In his last bout,
he overcame a nearly 19-month layoff to knock out Wilfrido
Buelvas in two rounds.
Undercard
Nikoloz Sekhniashvili (5-0, 4 KOs), a 26-year-old who hails
from the nation of Georgia, will make his 2020 debut against
Detroit native Isiah Jones (8-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder at
super middleweight. Sekhniashvili, trained by Javiel Centeno,
is part of a deep stable of fighters that includes Puerto
Rican phenom Xander Zayas and lightweight contender George
Kambosos Jr.
Super featherweight prospect Edward Vazquez (7-0, 1 KO),
from Fort Worth, Texas, will face an opponent to be named in
a six-rounder.
Puerto Rican-born heavyweight Hector Perez (6-2, 3 KOs) will
fight southpaw spoiler Juan Torres (5-2-1, 2 KOs), from
Cypress, Texas, in a six-round bout. Torres has won two
straight and has never been knocked out in a professional
match.
June 18
MGM Grand Conference Center – Grand Ballroom
Main Event
Jose Pedraza (26-3, 13 KOs) vs. Mikkel LesPierre (22-1-1, 10
KOs)
10 rounds, Super Lightweight
Pedraza, who won world titles at junior lightweight and
lightweight, is taking another run at the super lightweight
division following last September’s decision loss to Jose
“Chon” Zepeda. His opponent LesPierre challenged Maurice
Hooker for a world title last year, dropping a unanimous
decision. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Brooklyn
resident received deliveries and assisted doctors and nurses
at Mount Sinai Beth Israel in Manhattan.
“I am very excited to finally return to the ring after this
long break. During quarantine, I made adjustments and
trained hard from home, Pedraza said. “Despite everything
that is happening in the world, my team and I have had a
great training camp. I have done many runs up the mountains
in Cidra, Puerto Rico. I am now focused on giving the fans a
great show on June 18 against Mikkel LesPierre. We know he
is a world-class fighter, but I am, too, and I am determined
to return to the top once again.”
“I’m excited and blessed to be a part of the first round of
televised sports as we navigate through this pandemic,”
LesPierre said. "Jose Pedraza is a good fighter and a former
world champion, but I feel that I have the tools to beat
him. It will be a great fight and an opportunity for me to
take my career to the next level. The Maurice Hooker fight
was just a taste of what the elite level is all about. I'm
determined to get back to title contention. This fight is
the first step toward that goal. I’m ready to go."
Co-Feature
Gabriel Flores Jr. (17-0, 6 KOs) vs. Josec Ruiz (21-2-3, 14
KOs)
10 rounds, Lightweight
The 20-year-old Flores, fresh off a win on the Deontay
Wilder-Tyson Fury 2 undercard, returns in his first
scheduled 10-rounder. Flores, the Stockton, California
native who signed with Top Rank when he was 16 years old,
packed more than 10,000 spectators into the Stockton Arena
last May to establish himself as one of the sport’s top
regional ticket-sellers. Ruiz is unbeaten in his last 16
bouts.
Undercard
David “The Lion of Zion” Kaminsky (6-0, 3 KOs) will face
noted spoiler Clay Collard (6-2-3, 2 KOs) in a six-rounder
at super middleweight. Collard, who also is a veteran MMA
pro, has defeated unbeaten prospects in his last two fights.
In four-round bouts each, Puerto Rican super featherweight
Frevian Gonzalez (2-0, 1 KO) will fight an opponent to be
named, while super lightweight Victor Rodriguez (2-0, 1 KO)
will face Justin Horsley (0-1).
June 20
TV Azteca Studios
Main Event
Emanuel Navarrete (31-1, 27 KOs) vs. Uriel Lopez (13-13-1, 6
KOs)
10 rounds, Featherweight
Boxing’s most active world champion, Navarrete defended his
title five times (all by KO) in nine months, most recently
knocking out Jeo Santisima on the Wilder-Fury 2 Pay-Per-View
undercard. Navarrete is fighting as a featherweight for the
first time in nearly three years in what will be his sixth
bout in 13 months. Lopez has a 2016 knockout victory over
longtime Japanese contender Ryo Matsumoto.
Undercard action will feature Carlos “Chinito” Ornelas
(25-2, 14 KOs), who will take on Edwin “Pupo” Palomares
(12-3-1, 3 KOs) in a 10-rounder at featherweight.
Featherweight prospect Sergio Chirino Sanchez (14-1, 8 KOs)
will look to extend his winning streak to six against
Gustavo Alan Pina (8-2, 5 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
Former interim world champion Silvia Torres (20-2-2, 7 KOs)
will face 21-bout veteran Edith de Jesus Flores in an
eight-rounder at light flyweight.
Mexico City-based flyweight prospect Ivan Armando Garcia
(5-0, 3 KOs) will fight Roberto Palomares (5-4-1, 1 KO) in
his first scheduled six-rounder.
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