By Francisco Salazar

Junior welterweight Abel Ramos will face veteran Juan Jesus Rivera Friday night, manager Andrew Zak recently stated to BoxingScene.com.

The eight round bout will take place at the Legends Event Center in Phoenix, Ariz.

Ramos (16-1-2, 11 KOs) is coming off a fifth round technical knockout win over Dario Ferman in his hometown of Phoenix on May 20.

The 25-year-old Ramos suffered his only defeat as a pro on December 11, when he was stopped after the eighth round at the hands of unbeaten Regis Prograis.

Ramos' other notable fight came in January of 2014, when he fought to a majority decision draw against unbeaten Maurice Hooker.

Both the Prograis and Hooker fights were 'ShoBox' telecasts.

Rivera (28-14, 18 KOs), who resides in Aguascalientes, Mexico, stopped Jesus Lopez in his last bout on May 14. The win snapped a four-bout losing streak.

Rivera has lost recently to the likes of Dierry Jean, Roberto Ortiz, and Samuel Vargas.

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 (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing