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FIGHT WEEK
Super-middleweight rival Edgar Berlanga will take on Jason Quigley in his title pursuit. Meanwhile, 160-pound athlete Carlos Adames will face off against Julian Williams.
EDGAR BERLANGA (20-0, 16 KOs) VS. JASON QUIGLEY (20-2, 14 KOs)
- Day: Saturday, June 24
- Time: 8pm ET / 5pm PT (main event after that)
- Where: Madison Square Garden Theater, New York
- television/stream: DAZN
- Assignment: Super Medium (168 pounds)
- threatened: No main title
- the odds: Berlanga 85-1 favorite (multi-store average)
- Also on the card: Reshat Mati vs Dakota Linger, junior welterweight; Adam Kownacki vs. Joe Cusumano, heavyweight opponent
- Guess: Berlanga KO 10
- Background: Berlanga went far from a 16-match knockout streak to start his professional career but he went on to win, claiming his last four wins by decision. He last fought in June last year, when he beat Roamer Alexis Angulo by a decision from one side. Berlanga a little inexplicable Angulo in that fight and then suspended. He is ranked in the Top 11 by all four major sanctioning bodies, ranked 3rd by the IBF. That means a headline shot is on the horizon unless he slips. Quigley is a good fighter but probably doesn’t have enough firepower to upset Berlanga. The one-time silver medalist at the Amateur World Championship from Ireland was stopped by Tureano Johnson in July 2019 but came back to win three games in a row, including a victory. decisive majority victory over Shane Mosley Jr. at number 160 in May 2021. Then he was blew out in two rounds against then-middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade, which seemed to have exposed his limitations. He went back to 168th after losing and knocking out Gabor Gorbics this past April.
CARLOS ADAMES (22-1, 17 KOs) VS. JULIAN WILLIAMS (28-3-1, 16 KOs)
- Day: Saturday, June 24
- Time: 9pm ET / 6pm Pacific Time (main event follows)
- Where: Armory, Minneapolis
- television/stream: Showtime
- Assignment: Middleweight (160 pounds)
- threatened: No main title
- the odds: Adames 3½-1 favorite (multi-store average)
- Also on the card: Erickson Lubin vs Luis Arias, junior middleweight; Fernando Martinez versus Jade Bornea, minor (for Martinez’s IBF title)
- Guess: Adames University
- Background: Adames, a 160-pound top contender, is on the verge of a title shot. The 29-year-old boxer from the Dominican Republic lost a close loss to Patrick Teixeira to compete for the “temporary” title in November 2019 but has learned from experience. He’s had four straight wins since the defeat, including a breakthrough majority decision overcame veteran Sergey Derevyanchenko in December 2021 and entered the third round beat Juan Montiel last October. Williams, 33, may be in a life-or-death situation. The batting technician from Philadelphia overtook Jarret Hurd to become the 154-pound champion in May 2019 but has struggled since. He was stopped for five rounds by Jeison Rosario on the first defense and lost one divisive decision for Vladimir Hernandez in his next battle. He last fought in November, when he overtook journeyman Rolando Mansilla in his first fight as an official 160-pound athlete. If he lost to Adames, he could be seen as an elite warrior.
JOSHUA FRANCO (18-1-3, 8 KOs) VS. KAZUTO IOKA (29-2-1, 15 KOs)
- Day: Saturday, June 24
- Time: 4 a.m. ET / 1 a.m. PT (main event follows)
- Where: Ota City General Gymnasium, Tokyo
- television/stream: No TV in America
- Assignment: Small bantamweight (115 pounds)
- threatened: Franco’s WBA title
- the odds: Even (average of multiple stores)
- Also on the card: Musashi Mori vs Takuya Watanabe, junior lightweight; Daigo Higa vs Sirichai Thaiyen, chicken class
- Guess: Ioka SD
- Background: Franco and Ioka fought to a majority draw in a title match in December at the same venue in Ioka’s country, with Franco winning one card and the other two referees giving a draw. Franco is the younger fighter (27 years old), rising after consecutive wins against Andrew Moloney (not counting the non-match between those fights) and a draw with Ioka. The highly trained boxer from Texas hasn’t lost since he was stopped by Lucas Fernandez in 2018, although he has three draws since (two-time Oscar Negrete and Ioka). He overcame Negrete in the second of their three thrilling innings. Ioka, a 34-year-old former three-division champion, proved he still has plenty of battle left in him by easily overtaking Donnie Nietes last July in his final WBO title defense (which he later won). I gave up) and the draw with Franco. Nietes defeated Ioka by a split decision in December 2018, the most recent defeat for the Japanese star. The Franco-Ioka show is not for American fans as of this posting.
FIGHT THIS WEEK
FRIDAY
- Jesus Saracho vs Tarik Zaina, junior weight class, Ontario, California (Thompson Boxing YouTube and Facebook)
SATURDAY
- Sarah Bormann vs Perla Perez, strawweight, Ludwigsburg, Germany (DAZN)
- Antonio Napolitano vs Brandon Brewer, super middleweight, Niagra Falls, Canada (FITE)
