Lightweight Catchweight Bout: Joseph Diaz (c) (31-1) vs. Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (15-0)
Luke Irwin: Well, Diaz badly missed weight and got stripped off his championship, so this loses some serious luster. Nevertheless, Rakhimov will be a capable challenger down the road, but I think it might be a bit too much right now. He was the IBO champ at 130lbs, but he lacks even a marginally good win. The young challenger has absolute dynamite in his hands, and while Diaz isn’t one for a bombing, he can make it interesting. Diaz via UD.
WBO World Junior Middleweight Championship: Patrick Teixeira (c) (31-1) vs. Brian Carlos Castano (16-0-1)
Luke: This is how interim titles are supposed to work, Teixeira was the interim WBO champion, who then got elevated to world champion. This isn’t an excuse to have three champions per division, WBA. Neither of these two have fought in 15 months, sooooo we might be in for a bunch of rounds knocking off the rust. Teixeira via SD.
Junior Featherweight Bout: Oscar Negrete (19-2-2) vs. Ronny Rios (32-3)
Luke: Rios via UD.
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