Yusniel Abrahante hoping ProBoxTV upset over Luis Coria will open doors

Junior bantamweight Yusniel Abrahante says he’s hoping for a career-changing upset over hard-punching Luis Coria of Moreno Valley, California, when they do battle this Saturday, July 18, as part of ProBox Promotions’ marathon 14-fight “Contender Series” event at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California.

Abrahante, 7-2 (1 KO), and Coria, 5-0 (5 KOs), will meet in a six-round bout, one of five bonus fights scheduled after the main event and broadcast live on the ProBoxTV YouTube channel.  

The show’s nine-fight main card, headlined by WBC No. 12-ranked Bryan Flores, 28-1 (16 KOs), taking on Jonathan Navarro, 18-2 (9 KOs), in a junior welterweight 10-round main event, will also be broadcast live on several streaming services including Roku, Amazon Prime, and Fubo beginning at 1 pm PT/4:00 pm ET. 

Abrahante, 25, says he’s not intimidated by Coria’s thus far perfect record of five knockouts in his first five fights.

"This is the type of fight every boxer wants," said Abrahante. "Luis is undefeated, he's confident, and people expect him to win. I respect what he's done, but once we step into the ring, none of that matters. I've put in the work, I've prepared for this moment, and I'm ready to show everyone that I belong with the best young fighters in this division.

Cuba's Abrahante claims to know what a victory over the fast-rising Coria could mean for his professional boxing outlook moving forward. In 2023, he was able to take the undefeated records of then 8-0-1 Adrian Alvarado and then 5-0 Paige Suchit before dropping an eight-round decision to then 9-0 Ephraim Bui the following year. Abrahante also lost his second professional fight in 2021.

After a year and a half layoff, he returned to take a unanimous decision over Jose Lopez, 4-4-3 in March of this year.

"A victory changes everything," said Abrahante. "It puts my name on people's radar and proves I can compete at this level. That's what I've been working toward since I turned professional. I'm not looking past this fight, but I know what a win could mean for my career.

"I'm coming to win," he added. "That's the only thing on my mind.”