On Saturday Justin Pauldo will look to strengthen his case for a world title shot at lightweight when he takes on Nike Theran at the Save Mart Center at Fresno State in Fresno, California atop the latest ProBoxTV Contender Series.
Born in Orlando, Florida, but now living in Houston and training with world-renowned coach Ronnie Shields, 31-year-old Justin Pauldo, 19-2 (9 KOs) is a four-time ProBoxTV veteran. Pauldo came to ProBox after 11 consecutive wins followed his first defeat; a split-decision to Efrain Cruz in July 2015. In his ProBoxTV debut in August 2023, Pauldo scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Eduardo Estela (then 14-2) at the Whitesands Events Center in Plant City, Florida. He returned there in November 2023 to stop Jerry Perez (then 14-3-1) in three rounds.
Pauldo suffered his second career setback on ProBoxTV air in February 2024, dropping a controversial 10-round split decision to Miguel Madueno (30-2), but returned to one year later to score an upset eighth-round knockout over former IBF junior lightweight boss, Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov (then 17-1-1) in February of this year. Pauldo scored two knockdowns on the night, the latter of the two producing an immediate stoppage.
In his most recent ring appearance, Pauldo took a 10-round unanimous decision over Said Chino last August.
“Training has been great,” said Pauldo. “I’ve gotten a lot of great work to sharpen my skills and be at my best come fight night. I know my opponent is a tough guy coming out of Colombia. He’s got quite a few fights under his belt, so I’m looking forward to facing an experienced and hungry fighter and to being back on ProBoxTV. I’m going to put on a great show for all the fans.”
“Coming off his stellar performance against highly regarded Shavkatdzhon Rakhimov, Justin Pauldo will be looking to continue his climb to a world title shot,” said ProBoxTV's founder and CEO, Garry Jonas. “This should be a phenomenal fight and a real test to see if Justin Pauldo is that guy. If he has another performance like Rakhimov, he is the running for a title fight in the 135-lb division.”
Theran, 28, is a nearly nine-year professional with a 20-1 (14 KOs) record. He will be making his debut fighting in the United States, having spent the bulk of his career fighting in South America and The Dominican Republic.
“Training camp has been going great; I’m very motivated,” said Theran. “Pauldo is a very good fighter and one of the best on ProBoxTV because he likes to fight. God gave me this opportunity and I’m well-prepared physically and mentally to win. I’m very happy for the opportunity and being in this important fight only gives me more motivation.”
In the 10-round junior lightweight co-feature WBC #4-ranked Muhammad Yaqubov, 23-1 (12 KOs), of Isfara, Tajikistan, will go to war with Cristian “Lacandonsito” Cruz Chacon, 24-7-1 (12 KOs), of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Yaqubov had been scheduled to face Jessie Magdaleno in the night’s original main event, but Magdaleno pulled out with an injury.
“We’re not happy that Jessie Magdaleno fell out,” said Garry Jonas, “but we’re fortunate enough to get a great replacement in Cristian Cruz Chacon, who recently had a huge win over Jeremy Hill on ProBoxTV. Honestly, this could be a tougher test for Yaqubov.”
30-year-old southpaw Muhammad Yaqubov started boxing at the age of 10 and turned professional in late 2015.
Holding one of the most deceiving records in boxing, 28-year-old Cruz Chacon turned professional in 2014 and disappointingly lost five of his first seven fights before turning things around and going 22-2-1 since then.
Also, on the televised slate that night is a women’s battle for the vacant WBC junior bantamweight title between Adelaida Maria “La Cobra” Ruiz, 17-1-1 (8 KOs), of Downey, California, via Los Angeles and Alexas “Iron Lady” Kubicki, 13-2 (2 KOs) of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Also featuring: the light flyweight battle between leading contenders Badillo Mares, 18-0 (8 KOs), of México, Mexico, and Elwin “La Pulga” Soto, 21-3-1 (13 KOs) of Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico; and well another 10-rounder, this time at junior welterweight, between knockout artist Carlos Balderas, 16-2 (14 KOs), of Santa Maria, California, and proven veteran Ricardo Quiroz, 13-6 (7 KOs) of Oxnard, California.
The opening televised bout will feature the sole addition to ProBoxTV’s Future StarsSeries, which features emerging boxing talents and serves as a platform for up-and-coming fighters to showcase their skills, as undefeated lightweight Charlie Sheehy, 11-0 (6 KOs) of Brisbane, California, will try to prove his worth against veteran D'Angelo Keyes, 18-6 (11 KOs), of Houston.
Tickets to attend ProBoxTV’s The Contender Series in person at the Save Mart Center in Fresno, California, start at $77 and are available from the ProBoxTV website, the Save Mart Center Box Office, or directly from Ticketmaster.
How to Watch from Home: ProBoxTV is available in 100% of U.S. and Canadian households with broadband access, on a wide range of platforms and media partners, including ProBoxTV’s YouTube and YouTube Espanol Channels, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Roku, Tubi, Pluto, Swerve TV Combat, Swerve Sports, Fubo TV, Fubo Sports YouTube Channel, Google TV, LG Channels, Plex, SLING TV, Samsung, Vizio, Xumo Play, DIRECTV, Free Live Sports, Lights Out Sports, Zeam, TV and TCL TVs.
