A pair of fringe junior lightweight contenders will attempt to move into position for a title opportunity when Mukhammadkhuja Yaqubov and William Foster III meet on Friday, August 15 at the ProBox Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Both Yaqubov, 22-1 (12 KOs), of Isfara, Tajikistan and Foster, 19-2 (11 KOs), New Haven, Connecticut are ranked in the top ten by a sanctioning body each, with Foster ranked number 7 with the WBA and Yaqubov at number 5 with the WBC.
Yaqubov, who is promoted by Sampson Lewkowicz, has won four straight since his lone defeat, a unanimous decision to now-WBC champion O’Shaquie Foster in March of 2022. In his most recent fight, Yaqubov stopped Zafar Parpiev in four rounds in Russia.
William Foster III, who is a year older at 31, has won two straight, including a shutout of Brandon Benitez in April on the ProBox card headlined by Jordan White vs. Jose Matias.
The co-feature will bring together a pair of heavy-handed, if inactive welterweights as Starling Castillo, 19-1-1 (13 KOs), of Quina Sueneo, Dominican Republic meets Trenton, New Jersey’s Shinard Bunch, 21-2-1 (17 KOs).
Bunch hasn’t fought since 2023, when he knocked out Abraham Afful in two rounds, while Castillo hasn’t fought since his split decision win over Jesus Saracho in March of 2024, but ProBox TV’s Daniel Rubin tells BoxingScene that the two have been in the gym, unable to secure high profile matchups.
“That should be interesting. Both former ShoBox guys, 50-50 right down the middle. It’s going to be interesting, guaranteed,” said Rubin.
Both Yaqubov-Foster and Bunch-Castillo will be scheduled for ten rounds.
The rest of the undercard will feature three Valle brothers as Marques Valle, 10-1 (7 KOs), seeks to bounce back from his first defeat when he steps up to middleweight to meet unbeaten Dominican Luis Georges, 12-0 (10 KOs), in a ten-round bout, while Dominic Valle, 11-0 (7 KOs), faces Iron Alvarez, 15-3 (11 KOs), in a junior lightweight bout scheduled for eight rounds.
The youngest Valle brother, Kenyan, will make his professional debut on the card as well.
In another high stakes matchup, Elijah Flores, 9-0 (3 KOs), of Redlands, California will meet Elijah Vines, 8-0 (7 KOs), of Philadelphia in an eight-round junior middleweight fight. Flores, 21, is coming off an impressive win over Omar Rosario last October while the 30-year-old Vines has been mostly inactive since March of 2024, outside of his participation in Team Combat League action.
The undercard will also feature the professional debut of Miguel Mendez, the younger brother of former IBF junior lightweight champion Argenis Mendez.
