HBO Boxing shows up in the late night slot with two title fights tonight. In the main event, Miguel Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) defends his WBC World Super Featherweight belt against Takashi Miura (31-3-2, 24 KOs) at the Forum in Inglewood, Calif.
In the undercard, Jezreel Corrales (21-1, 8 KOs) defends his WBA Super World Super Featherweight belt against Robinson Castellanos (24-12, 14 KOs).
I’ll be picking up this show when Corrales and Castellanos take the ring, hopefully. As always, scroll on down for the live blog. Keep reading for the press release from HBO.
Berchelt-Miura, Smith-Barrera, Corrales-Castellanos Set For 7/15
LOS ANGELES – The white-hot super featherweight division will be on full display Saturday, July 15 when two world title fights come to Los Angeles’ “Fabulous” Forum as part of a stacked tripleheader on HBO Boxing After Dark.
In the main event that has “Fight of the Year” candidate written all over it, newly crowned WBC World Super Featherweight Champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt (31-1, 28 KOs) will make his first title defense against former world champion and mandatory challenger Takashi Miura (31-3-2, 24 KOs).
In the co-main, Panamanian superstar and WBA Super Featherweight World Champion Jezreel “El Invisible” Corrales (21-0, 8 KOs) will look to keep his title and undefeated record, as he makes his stateside debut against a resurgent Robinson “Robin Hood” Castellanos (24-12, 14 KOs), hot off his massive upset victory over two-time world champion Yuriorkis Gamboa.
Opening up the televised card, WBC International Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith, Jr. (23-1, 19 KOs) will return West from Long Island to put his belt on the line against the Miami-based Sullivan Barrera (19-1, 14 KOs) in a battle of heavy-handed sluggers.
“The super featherweight division is absolutely stacked with skilled, high-action fighters right now, and the four competitors atop this card are competing to see who will be the top dog,” Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy Promotions said.”Add to that a showdown between two of the top light heavyweights in the world in Smith and Barrera, and you have all the makings of a trio of absolute wars on July 15.”
Riding a 10-consecutive knockout streak culminating in an 11th-round stoppage of Francisco “El Bandido” Vargas in January, Berchelt — fighting out of Merida, Mexico — will look to continue his winning ways in just his second fight on American soil.
“I took on this challenge, because I only want to fight the best,” Berchelt, 25, said. “I know that Miura is a true warrior and always leaves it all in the ring, but I am young and hungry and am confident that I will return to Mexico with the world championship belt still around my waist.”
Miura, one half of the consensus 2015 Fight of the Year with Vargas, returns after a dynamic 12th-round stoppage against Miguel “Mickey” Roman on the same card that Berchelt defeated Vargas for the WBC crown.
“I have wanted to regain my championship belt from the moment I lost it in November of 2015,” Miura said. “I know Berchelt is strong, and I know that we’ll go head to head for this world championship title that will prove to be a great fight.”
The fights start on HBO tonight at 9:50 p.m. Watch them with me.
