This Friday night, ESPN2 brings us boxing action from California as Veterans Petr Petrov (35-4-2) clashes with Gamaliel Diaz (38-11-3) in a lightweight, 10-round bout that is the feature fight of the broadcast.
At welterweight, undefeated Taras Shelestyuk (11-0) faces a stiff challenge from Juan Rodriguez Jr, whose record is 12-1. Right now the books are not showing lines yet, but the ESPN2 Friday night fight cards traditionally show up with lines the day before the fight.
Petrov is best remembered for his failed September 2011 world title bid when he was KO’d by Marcos Maidana. He won three fights in the calendar year 2014, all in the United States, so he is transitioning from his home base of Spain over to the USA for one more title run. Diaz is also a veteran, but he has been through a rough spell lately, going 1-2-1 in his last four outings. He has a solid level of competition throughout his career, but he has also been stopped seven times, so this fight is expected to be a showcase for Petrov. With a win, Petrov could conveivably crack the top 10 in the lightweight division.
Shelestyuk is a another in a long line of fighters from the Ukraine that are breaking into the pros with extensive amateur background. Consider Shelestyuk one of the elites from Europe, as his resume brings a 2011 world championship with it. He has already logged two fights in 2015 as he is trying to fast track his way to the top. Rodriguez has a solid record, but he does not have the pedigree of his opponent. In April of last year, he was stopped in the fisrt round for his only loss, hitting the canvas three times in the process against undefeated Sammy Vasquez. For Rodriguez at the time, Vasquez was a step up in oppostion and it did not go well for him, and this upcoming fight is another big jump in oppostion class.
The live event takes place in Corona, Calif. and features undefeated fighters Sukhrab Shidaev (9-0), Cesar Villaraga (6-0) and Emmanuel Robles (12-0-1), as well as several young fighters making their boxing debuts.
