Jordan Panthen was lifted from a non-DAZN undercard bout onto the main event of Friday’s main event versus highly-ranked welterweight Raul Curiel.
The switch was necessitated by Alexis Rocha, 25-2-1 (16 KOs), struggling through his weight cut before Thursday morning’s session, leading to his withdrawal from a planned rematch with Curiel, 16-0-1 (14 KOs), following their entertaining draw in December 2024.
The replacement bout will be fought at a contracted catchweight of 158lbs after Panthen, 11-1-1 (9 KOs), weighed in at 157 pounds during his morning weigh-in for a scheduled bout against a Puerto Rican opponent.
Curiel then returned to the scale in the afternoon and weighed 155.8 pounds after being allowed to hydrate following the official morning weigh-in session.
“Very excited … I’ve got the jitters, nervous, but it’s good,” Panthen told BoxingScene. “It’s what I’ve trained for. They asked me about it, I thought for one or two seconds and said yes. [Curiel] is a great fighter. I know he’s going to come forward and look to fight. He has a lot of experience, trained by a great coach in Robert Garcia.
“I’m expecting a good, hard fight and I’m looking to throw hands. Coming to win, coming to do my best.”
While Curiel has to adjust to the weight and opponent change after saying he repetitively studied his draw versus Rocha, Panthen has to prepare for a fighter ranked No. 3 by the WBA, No. 5 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF.
“I do watch tape, but just a little before camp. Then, I don’t touch it, and will look at it before the fight,” Panthen said. “So tonight, I’ll look at him. Everything changes. I know you can win or lose with a game plan.”
Panthen switched trainers to the respected veteran cornerman Ronnie Shields this camp, so he has valued scouting perspective to lean upon.
“I’ve seen glimpses of [Curiel-Rocha], and I was at one of his other fights, but got a phone call and missed most of it, so I don’t have much. I know the aura around him, but don’t know as much as I should know,” Panthen said. “I’ll start learning.
“I’m not here just for taking an opportunity. I’m here to win and I’m focused on that.”
Panthen is coming off an all-action majority decision triumph in Indio, California in July, saying it precipitated his trainer change.
As for Curiel, the Rocha bout was seen as an opportunity to bring him closer to a title shot at WBA champion Rolly Romero or perhaps Golden Boy stablemate Ryan Garcia should Garcia win the WBC belt on February 21 versus Mario Barrios.
Curiel manager Frank Espinoza Jnr said taking the fight against a junior middleweight on short notice proves the quality of Curiel, 30.
“Raul has trained hard for an opportunity. We had to weigh the options with Alexis Rocha missing weight. It was either fight or not fight. This is the best option for him to be impressive fighting in front of this crowd,” Espinoza said. “At the end of the day, he’s a fighter.
“It doesn’t mean it’s easier. The opponent is heavier. But it’s going to be a good fight. [Panthen] is durable and strong and comes to fight. That’s what Raul and the fans want.”
