Alexis 'Lex' Rocha continues to properly maintain his welterweight frame.
The 25-year-old southpaw from Santa Ana, California was right within the tight weight range that he has enjoyed throughout his pro career spanning more than seven years. His latest trip to the scale was no exception as Rocha was 146.6 pounds for his rescheduled twelve-round contest versus Atlantic City’s Anthony 'Juice' Young, who was 146.4 pounds.
Their bout headlines a four-fight DAZN show this Saturday from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California.
Rocha was previously on course to challenge unbeaten three-division and reigning WBO welterweight titlist Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (39-0, 30KOs) as his mandatory challenger. Talks were abandoned once it was learned that Crawford re-entered negotiations for an undisputed championship showdown versus WBA/IBF/WBO champ Errol Spence (28-0, 22KOs), which is now set for July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Opting to not stand in the way, Rocha instead chose to remain active. Saturday will mark his seventh fight in less than two years, as he enters on the heels of a seventh-round knockout of George Ashie on January 28 in Inglewood, California. The win extended his current six-fight win streak.
Ashie was a late replacement at the time for Young (24-2, 8KOs), who was forced to withdraw due to injury suffered late in training camp. The 35-year-old welterweight last fought in an eight-round decision win over Jose Zaragoza on October 29 in his Atlantic City hometown.
The lone title fight of the evening pits defending WBO strawweight beltholder Melvin Jerusalem versus Puerto Rico’s Oscar Collazo (6-0, 4KOs). Both boxers made weight for their scheduled twelve-round contest.
Jerusalem (20-2, 12KOs) was 104.6 pounds for the first defense of the title he claimed in a stunning second-round knockout of Masataka Taniguchi on January 6 in Osaka, Japan. Saturday will mark Jerusalem’s second straight road trip after having fought exclusively as a pro in his native Philippines.
Collazo was right at the 105-pound strawweight limit as he aims to win a major title with the fewest number of fights by a Puerto Rican fighter. The current mark is enjoyed by Alex ‘Nene’ Sanchez, who won this very same title in just his 12th pro contest. Collazo—a 26-year-old from Villalba, P.R. -- became mandatory with a fifth-round knockout of Yudel Reyes in their WBO title eliminator on the January 28 Rocha-Ashie undercard.
DAZN main card, 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. local time
Oscar Duarte (25-1-1, 20KOs), Chihuahua, Mexico, 135 pounds vs. D'Angelo Keyes (17-2, 11KOs), Houston, Texas, 134.2 pounds—10 rounds, lightweight
John ‘Scrappy’ Ramirez (11-0, 8KOs), Los Angeles, 114.6 pounds vs. Fernando Diaz (12-3-1, 4KOs), Riverside, California, 114.8 pounds—10 rounds, junior bantamweight
Golden Boy YouTube/Facebook, 7:15 p.m. ET/4:15 p.m. local time
Eric Priest (9-0, 7KOs), Los Angeles, 159.8 pounds vs. Ricardo Ruben Villalba (20-8-1, 8KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 160 pounds—8 rounds, middleweight
Jonathan Canas (pro debut), Santa Ana, California, 136.4 pounds vs. Jose Alvarado (1-7, 0KOs), Puebla, Mexico, 138 pounds—4 rounds, lightweight
Leonardo Sanchez (4-0, 3KOs), Cathedral City, California, 130 pounds vs. Uhlices Avelino-Reyes (1-0, 1KOs), Omaha, Nebraska, 129 pounds—4 rounds, junior lightweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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