Elijah Pierce-Lorenzo Parra has new date, plus Pacquiao Jnr and Moton return

The fight between Elijah Pierce and Lorenzo Parra was originally supposed to headline Manny Pacquiao Promotions’ first-ever show in the United States. Instead, it will now serve as the main event of the second.

Pierce vs. Parra will take place on February 28 at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, just down the road from the International Boxing Hall of Fame. The 10-round featherweight bout will be part of a show streaming on Amazon’s Prime Video.

Their bout was originally scheduled for November 29 in California, but an ill Pierce pulled out the day of the weigh-in. Adding further disappointment to the promotional company’s legendary namesake, fight night saw son Emmanuel Pacquiao Jr., also known as Jimuel Pacquiao, held to a draw in his first pro bout by fellow junior welterweight debutant Brendan Lally.

Pierce, 21-2 (17 KOs), is a 29-year-old from the state of Georgia who will be fighting in his second bout at featherweight after competing at or near 122lbs. He outpointed Tramaine Williams and scored a third-round knockout over Mike Plania in 2023, then had a fourth-round TKO of Arthur Villanueva and a unanimous decision over Jose Sanmartin in 2024. 

Last July, Pierce moved up and notched a ninth-round KO of Michael Dasmarinas. Both of Pierce’s defeats came against quality foes at 126lbs: a unanimous decision to Giovanni Cabrera in 2018 and a majority decision to Sulaiman Segawa in 2019.

Parra, 23-1-1 (17 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Venezuela. His sole loss came in 2017, when he dropped a decision to the 19-2-1 Yonfrez Parejo. Parra was on a run of nine consecutive victories before fighting to a draw with featherweight prospect Omar Trinidad this past August.

In the co-feature, junior welterweight Bryce Mills, 20-1 (7 KOs), will face Tobias Green, 12-3-1 (4 KOs), in a 10-round bout.

Also scheduled for the show in separate matches are Jimuel Pacquiao, 0-0-1 (0 KO), and well-touted lightweight/junior welterweight prospect Curmel Moton, 8-0 (6 KOs). Their opponents have not yet been announced.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.