The full undercard has been confirmed for the February 21 Mario Barrios-Ryan Garcia DAZN pay-per-view event.
A mix of titlists and contenders from both Premier Boxing Champions and Golden Boy Promotions grace the supporting cast, as confirmed Tuesday by Ring Magazine who will present the show from T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.
No surprise on the two title fights added to the show, as both bouts were already reported by BoxingScene. Fellow 140lbs titlists Richardson Hitchins and Gary Antuanne Russell, who hold the IBF and WBA belts, respectively, will appear in separate defenses.
Brooklyn’s Hitchins, 20-0 (8 KOs) risks his IBF belt for the second time as he faces Mexico’s Oscar Duarte, 30-2-1 (23 KOs), who enters his first career title fight.
Russell, 18-1 (17 KOs), who hails from the greater Washington D.C. area, puts his WBA belt on the line for the first time as he faces mandatory challenger Andy Hiraoka, 24-0 (19 KOs).
New to the lineup are a pair of contender-level fights, both which largely serve as time-marking affairs for the A-sides.
Former title challenger Frank Martin will enjoy a quick ring return, as the former title challenger is set to face Nahir Albright. The bout will take place at the junior welterweight limit, where Martin last fought in a highlight reel 4th round knockout of former two-division titlist Rances Barthelemy on December 6 in San Antonio, Texas.
Philadelphia’s Albright, 17-2 (7 KOs) was prepared to jump in on very late notice to face Adam Azim this weekend, once it was learned that Argentina’s Gustavo Lemos was injured. The opportunity was taken off the table, however, when Azim also suffered a hand injury towards the end of training camp.
As luck would have it, Martin was also in need of an opponent for this show after former two-time 140lbs titlist Regis Prograis dismissed the opportunity as not worth his time.
Rounding out the five-fight PPV event, WBA 168lbs mandatory challenger Bektemir Melikuziev, 16-1 (10 KOs) will face fringe contender Sena Agbeko, 29-4 (23 KOs) in a super middleweight contest.
Melikuziev is theoretically next in line for WBA super middleweight titleholder Jose Armando Resendiz, 14-2 (11 KOs). Of course, the sanctioning body would have to actually order the fight to force the hand of the recently upgraded titleholder.
Meanwhile, Melikuziev will make his way back to the ring for the first time since his hard-fought points win over unbeaten Darius Fulghum in their May 31 WBA title eliminator.
Headlining the show, Barrios, 29-2-2 (18 KOs) aims to attempt his third defense as full WBC 147lbs titleholder against Garcia, 24-2 (20 KOs), who landed the opportunity despite having not officially won a fight in more than two years.
