By Jake Donovan
The undercard continues to take shape for the November 10 super bantamweight showdown between Abner Mares and Anselmo Moreno at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. A tripleheader is planned for the Showtime-televised portion of the show, while a minimum of two bouts will air on the lead-in edition on Showtime Extreme.
Unbeaten light heavyweight titlist Nathan Cleverly will appear in the main event on the Showtime Extreme portion of the show. The Brit was slated to face Ryan Coyne, but matters beyond the ring interfered with that fight becoming a reality.
As of press time, all signs point towards Cleverly (24-0, 11KO) still crossing the Atlantic for the second stateside fight of his career.
“We are working on Nathan Cleverly’s opponent for his next title defense,” Golden Boy VP and Matchmaker Eric Gomez confirmed Thursday afternoon during a conference call. “I’ve been working closely with Dean Powell, the matchmaker for Frank Warren. We had an opponent who fell out, but have been zeroing in on another opponent. We’ve very close and it will come out shortly.
“We also have Antonio Orozco, the red hot prospect.”
Orozco (15-0, 11KO) will open the televised portion of the Showtime Extreme card, facing fellow local prospect Danny Escobar (8-1, 5KO). The fight represents Escobar’s third straight against an unbeaten opponent, having beaten Jose Perea and Abner Lopez in consecutive fights.
Orozco – who, along with Mares, fights out of the Espinoza Boxing Gym - makes his second appearance at the Staples Center. His debut at the venue came last September, winning a six-round decision over Fernando Rodriguez on the non-televised undercard for Saul Alvarez’ knockout win over Alfonso Gomez.
Time permitting, unbeaten super welterweight Chris Pearson (5-0, 4KO) could also see screen time. The former amateur standout is slated for his first scheduled eight-round bout, coming 50 weeks after his pro debut last Thanksgiving weekend.
“Chris Pearson is a swing bout, so there is a chance that he can make the telecast,” Gomez mentioned. “We’re close on securing his opponent.”
Unbeaten bantamweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz (21-0-1, 12KO) faces Victor Zaleta (20-2-1, 10KO) in the Showtime-televised co-feature.
The tripleheader opens with the ring return of Alfredo Angulo, who fights for the first time since his thrilling knockout loss to James Kirkland a year ago. The free-swinging Mexican was recently released from ICE Dentention Center in California earlier this summer after being detained for seven months.
Angulo (20-2, 17KO), now training with Virgil Hunter, faces Raul Cazares (19-2, 9KO) in a scheduled 10-round super welterweight bout.
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter: @JakeNDaBox