By Francisco Salazar
Middleweight contender Tureano Johnson will face Antonio Gutierrez of Mexico on Saturday night, Golden Boy Promotions announced Monday afternoon.
The 10 round bout will take place at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California. Also taking place on the Golden Boy Promotions card will be a 10 round welterweight bout between former WBO welterweight titleholder Sadam Ali and Jorge Silva.
Both fights will be part of the non-televised undercard prior to the HBO ‘Boxing After Dark’ telecast, which will be headlined by the 10 round junior lightweight bout between Francisco Vargas and Miguel Berchelt.
Johnson (19-1, 13 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since October of 2015, when he defeated Eamonn O’Kane by decision. It was during the O’Kane fight when he tore his right rotator cuff, which required surgery.
Gutierrez (21-2-1, 9 KOs) bounced back from a close decision loss to Gabriel Rosado, which took place on June 4, to defeat Jorge Melendez on September 2.
Ali (23-1, 13 KOs) was victorious in his last bout on September 17, dropping Saul Corral in round four en route to a 10 round unanimous decision. It was his first bout since suffering his first defeat as a pro to Jessie Vargas, who won Ali’s world title belt in the process.
Silva (22-12-2, 18 KOs) snapped a three-bout losing streak in his last bout on November 11, stopping Adriel Juzaino in the eighth round.
Also fighting on the card will be top lightweight prospect Lamont Roach Jr. (12-0, 4 KOs). The Upper Maroboro, Maryland resident will face Alejandro Valdez (26-8-2, 20 KOs) in an eight round bout.
“This undercard has the makings of everything the SoCal boxing fans are looking for in an exciting fight-from a world title on the line to some of the desert's fan favorites," said Golden Boy Promotions CEO and Chairman Oscar De La Hoya. "We also have some intense Mexico vs. California matchups, which I am confident will give the fans a night of knockouts."
Four more preliminary fights will round out the card.
The undercard will be streamed in its entirety on RingTVLive.com, beginning at 3 p.m. PT.
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
