WBO junior welterweight world champion Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker has promised to hand down a beating to mandatory challenger Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo, on November 16 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma.
Hooker (24-0-3, 16 KOs) will be making the first defense of the title he captured on June 9, when he traveled to Manchester, England to win a twelve round split decision over undefeated Terry Flanagan in an upset.
Hooker has won three consecutive bouts since fighting to a controversial draw with Darleys Perez in the fall of 2016, as part of the undercard of the first bout between Andre Ward and Sergey Kovalev in Las Vegas.
In his last fight, Saucedo (28-0, 18 KOs), on June 30 at the Chesapeake Energy Arena, he won a world title eliminator by stopping Australian Lenny Zappavigna in the seventh round of a very grueling fight. Saucedo himself was close to being stopped in the fourth.
Hooker is promising to close the show in style.
“On Nov. 16, I’m turning his dream into a nightmare,” Hooker said.
“He will find out why I am world champion. I don't care where I fight. The ring is my home. I’m gonna punch him in the mouth, Mexican style!”
Hooker is co-promoted by Roc Nation Sports and Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport.
"I am over-the- top excited about this great matchup between Maurice Hooker and Alex Saucedo,” said Roc Nation Sports Promoter Dino Duva.
“It has fight of the year written all over it. It's a top-notch cross-state rivalry and is a very personal grudge match. Saucedo is a very tough kid, but I'm very confident in Maurice. He's getting better and better with every fight, so I can't wait to watch ‘Mighty Mo’ bring home the victory again. He will continue his journey to superstardom and prove he's the best 140-pounder in the world."
