By Francisco Salazar
Junior lightweight prospect Abraham Nova will return to action tonight against Mario Lozano at the MGM Springfield in Springfield, Massachusetts.
The 10-round bout will headline a Murphy’s Boxing card and will be streamed live on UFC Fight Pass at 9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT.
Nova (14-0, 10 knockouts), who is originally from Puerto Rico and now resides in Albany, New York, last fought on Dec. 15 in Charleroi, Belgium, defeating Brian Pelaez by unanimous decision over eight rounds.
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Nova weighed in at 134.5 pounds. Lozano (18-2-1, 9 KOs), who resides in Buenos Aires, Argentina, weighed 133.5 pounds.
The 25-year-old Nova will be making his debut under the Split-T Management banner, which is made up of David McWater and Tim VanNewHouse. Nova was once promoted by Greg Cohen.
Three of Nova’s last four bouts have gone the distance, but Nova is known for his strength and has yet to reach his full potential at 130 pounds.
Abraham Nova is super-explosive at 130 pounds,” VanNewHouse told Boxingscene in a recent interview.
He was actually an outstanding amateur and ranked number one in his weight class.”
VanNewHouse has watched Nova develop since his days as an amateur. He believes Nova could become a legit fighter at both 130 and 135 pounds.
Nova even caught the eye of rapper 50 Cent, when he used to be a promoter.
“I tried to recruit him out of the 2016 Olympic Trials when I was with 50 Cent. 50 really liked the kid at the time. It didn’t work out, but I continued to follow his career and really excited to bring him on the team now.”
“We have big plans for him.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
