Welcome to 2019, boxing.
Friday, January 11th
Devin Haney (20-0, 13 KOs) v Xolisani Ndongeni (25-0, 13 KOs), lightweights & Ruben Villa (14-0, 5 KOs) v Ruben Cervera (10-0, 9 KOs), featherweights & Frank Sanchez Faure (10-0, 8 KOs) v Willie Jake Jr (8-1-1, 2 KOs), heavyweights – Shreveport, Louisiana – ShoBox – Showtime, 10 PM Eastern
Boxing’s 2019 year starts Friday night on ShoBox. It is a good one too. Devin Haney is absolutely one of the top prospects in all of the sport. South African opponent Xolisani Ndongeni is a reasonable opponent as well. He brings his unbeaten record from his pretty solid regional scene. Ruben Villa was a top US amateur and Olympic alternate. He split a 2-2 record against eventual silver medalist Shakur Stevenson and would have made the the US team had Stevenson not been there. His opponent is an unknown Colombian, but at least Villa is finally getting a showcase. Finally, unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Frank Sanchez Faure gets the first real exposure of his career as well. Faure was a top national level amateur within the vaunted Cuban system. His career peaked with a 2015 national championship win over 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Erislandy Savon before defecting. This is a very solid ShoBox.
Sunday, January 13th
Jose Uzcategui (28-2, 23 KOs) v Caleb Plant (17-0, 10 KOs), IBF super middleweight title & Brandon Figueroa (17-0, 12 KOs) v Moises Flores (25-1, 17 KOs), featherweights & Joey Spencer (5-0, 5 KOs) v Brandon Harder (2-1, 1 KO), junior middleweights & Ahmed Elbiali (17-1, 14 KOs) v Allan Green (33-5, 22 KOs), light heavyweights – Los Angeles, California – PBC on FS1, 8 PM Eastern (main card)
The main portion of the first major card of 2019 is also Premier Boxing Champion’s first Fox Sports 1 show under their lucrative new deal with FOX. It has a good main event too, or at least it does on paper. Jose Uzcategui is a powerful top super middleweight who can bring a lot of pressure. Caleb Plant has been billed as a top PBC prospect and did score a nice win over a faded Rogelio Medina, but this is still a massive step up. It is hard to predict if this one will be good or not because of this giant leap. Uzcategui also promises action while Plant likes a more tactical battle, so the entertainment value here could also be determined by who takes control. Rising contender Brandon Figueroa, brother to Omar, will get a step up against recent secondary titleholder Moises Flores as well. 18 year old prospect Joey Spencer will also be showcased. The light heavyweight battle between once beaten Egyptian brawler Ahmed Elbiali and former contender Allan Green is reportedly a swing bout that may or may not air depending on time.
Lindolfo Delgado (7-0, 7 KOs) v Martin Nicolas Matamala (11-7, 3 KOs), junior lightweights & Guillermo Rigondeaux (17-1, 11 KOs) v Giovanni Delgado (16-8, 9 KOs), super bantamweights & Kevin Watts (12-3, 5 KOs) v Ryan Karl (15-2, 9 KOs), junior welterweights – Los Angeles, California – PBC on FS1, 6:30 PM Eastern (prelims)
The PBC on FS1 main show will be preceded by a 90 minute preliminary broadcast on the same channel. Mexican Olympic blue chip prospect Lindolfo Delgago and the return of Guillermo Rigondeaux will be the featured attractions on this portion of the show. Both are in soft, but both are also tremendous talents at exact opposite points of their career. Delgado needs to continue to grow while Rigo needs to prove he is still a top fighter in his very late 30s. As with Elbiali-Green, Watts-Karl 2 will air as a time dependent swing bout. Kevin Watts’s stoppage win was a fun one the first time around so hopefully we get to see the rematch.
