Miguel Flores will be his uninspiring challenger in the FOX main event.
As the news continues to trickle out of the Premier Boxing Champions’ press conference concerning their first quarter dates with FOX, we have another world title main event that looks like a mismatch on paper. This time featherweight titleholder Leo Santa Cruz (35-1-1, 19 KOs) will be defending against entirely undeserving challenger Miguel Flores (23-2, 11 KOs).
Flores was an exciting young prospect rising through the ranks on PBC’s Fox Sports 1 series in 2016, but 2017 was a disaster for him. First he was stopped in a huge upset at the hands of Dat Nguyen before suffering a more controversial cuts stoppage loss to Chris Avalos. Flores returned earlier this year in February with a nothing win over a journeyman scheduled for only six rounds. Now he is getting a shot both at a world title and my top rated featherweight in the sport.
Why? I guess maybe Santa Cruz and his team wanted a softer touch after beating Abner Mares in June. Mares himself was an altogether unnecessary rematch of a wide Santa Cruz win though. Maybe PBC is looking to give him a flashy showcase win to a presumably much bigger audience on FOX than Leo ever got on Showtime before moving him into a bigger fight later in the year. Either way, this one is a total let down and a waste of everyone’s time all around. Boo to PBC’s matchmaking all around today.
No word has come out about any undercard fights for this show, but they may be announced at the official press conference later today.
