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Two
In-House Battles Head To Fantasy Springs On Stacked
Undercard Of Diaz Jr. vs. Rakhimov Feb. 13
Two exciting in-house battles between some of Golden Boy’s
best talent will head toFantasy Springs Resort Casino in
Indio, Calif. on the undercard of Diaz vs. Rakhimov as Ronny
Rios (32-3, 16 KOs) and Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (19-2-2, 7
KOs) face off in a super bantamweight battle and Jason
Quigley (18-1, 14 KOs) and Shane Mosley Jr. (16-3, 9 KOs)
fight for the NABO Middleweight Title.
The stacked event will take place Saturday, Feb. 13 and will
be streamed live exclusively on DAZN in more than 200
countries and territories, including the U.S., Mexico,
Russia, Tajikistan, Brazil and Argentina.
“Golden Boy’s first journey to Fantasy Springs in 2021 picks
up right where we left off—with an action-packed card from
top to bottom,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of
Golden Boy. “A true crossroads fight will see Jason Quigley
and Shane Mosley Jr. leaving it all in the ring to regain
contender status in the middleweight division. And after
upsetting my cousin Diego De La Hoya, Ronny Rios will look
to keep it rolling against an always-tough customer in Oscar
Negrete, whose only two losses have come to a world
champion.”
Rios is a 30-year-old contender of Santa Ana, California who
is coming off three consecutive stoppage wins, including a
dominant knockout victory of then-undefeated Diego De La
Hoya in 2019. Rios plans to capitalize on this opportunity
in convincing fashion in order to accelerate his path to
another world title shot.
“COVID-19 robbed all of us of something, whether it was
memories, family members, friends, or in my case, a year of
my boxing career,” said Ronny Rios. “I have lost
opportunities to make up for, and I’m hungrier than I’ve
ever been. That’s not good news for Oscar Negrete. I have a
lot of respect for Oscar, but at the end of the day, I have
one job and that’s to break the will of every opponent I
face. My time to capitalize on the momentum I’ve built in
this sport starts with this fight.”
Negrete, a 33-year-old native of Tierralta, Colombia, will
return to 122 pounds after a unanimous decision victory
against two-time Olympian Alberto “Impacto” Melian and an
unforgettable trilogy against Joshua “The Professor”
Franco,who is now a world champion.
“I am delighted to be returning to the ring against Ronny
Rios on February 13,” said Oscar Negrete. “Both he and I
have a style that is very aggressive, and that’s going to
guarantee a real war inside the ring. This fight will be
very important in determining the future of this competitive
division. That’s why I’ll be training at 100% in order to
walk away with the victory and earn another opportunity at a
world title.”
Quigley, a 29-year-old native of Donegal, Ireland will
return after knockout victories against Abraham Cordero and
Fernando Marin. He’ll look to regain his spot in the
division after suffering his first and only defeat against
Tureano Johnson in 2019.
“I feel more than ready for this fight,” said Jason Quigley.
“I worked hard during lockdown and have stayed ready to
fight at any time. I have to go in there and take care of
business. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to fight on
this card.”
Mosley Jr., a 30-year-old native of Pomona, California, will
seek to earn a top stop at the division after signing with
Golden Boy in 2020 and defeating Jeremy Ramos in his last
outing.
"I want to thank everyone at Golden Boy and The Contender
for giving us this opportunity," said Shane Mosley Jr. "I
have been working extremely hard, and I'm ready to show that
I belong among the best in the world. Make sure to watch me
live on DAZN on February 13 against an excellent fighter in
Jason Quigley."
The card will also feature many rising prospects and
contenders.
Uzbek Olympian Bektemir “Bully” Melikuziev (6-0, 5 KOs) will
make his highly anticipated return in a 10-round super
middleweight clash.
Explosive Armenian contender Azat “Crazy A” Hovhannisyan
(18-3, 15 KOs) will return in a 10-round super bantamweight
bout.
Victor Morales (13-0, 7 KOs), the charismatic rising
prospect of Vancouver, Washington, will participate in an
eight-round featherweight bout against Jose Gonzalez
(23-8-1, 13 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico.
Hawaiian prospect Dalis Kaleiopu will make his professional
debut in a four-round lightweight fight against Eduardo
Sanchez (2-3) of Corcoran, California.
The opponents for Melikuziev and Hovhannisyan will be
announced shortly.
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