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Junior middleweight contender Kanat Islam made his triumphant ring return in quick and spectacular fashion. Islam immediately dropped Julio De Jesus, forcing a quick stoppage in the opening round late Friday night at the Baluan Sholak Sports Palace in Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Thulani Mbenge has passed every significant test thus far in his career. He faces another stiff test and on foreign soil, but an impressive victory could lead to more lucrative opportunities later this year and in 2020. Mbenge will face Sebastian Formella in a clash of unbeaten welterweights Saturday night at the CU Arena Neugraben in Hamburg, Germany.
Jeovanis Barraza keeps going back and forth between fighting at 147 and 154 pounds. Saturday night will be fought as a junior middleweight. Barraza will face Gabriel Maestre in a 10-round bout at the Coliseo Sugar Baby Ramos in Barranquilla, Colombia. Both will be fighting for a regional title belt.
Unbeaten featherweight Adrian Montoya will face Victor Manuel Martinez in a stay-busy fight tonight in Tijuana, Mexico. The 21-year-old Montoya, who is originally from Puerto Penasco, Mexico and now lives and trains in the boxing hotbed of Oxnard, California, defeated Luis Alberto Gomez in his last bout on Mar. 30, which also took place in Tijuana.
Carlos Adames thinks highly of himself that he wants to fight the best fighters at 154 pounds. He also believes he can one day fight and defeat Canelo Alvarez. Adames must get by a stern test against a fighter who is on a winning streak and would love nothing more than to pull off the upset win. The unbeaten Adames will face Patrick Day tonight at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, California. The 10-round bout will precede the main event bout between IBF lightweight titleholder Richard Commey and Ray Beltran.
Welterweight prospect Keith Hunter wants to prove his win over prospect Sanjarbek Rakhmanov is the beginning of moving forward to becoming a contender and becoming the face of boxing in Las Vegas. Hunter must get through gatekeeper Cameron Krael tonight in a crossroads clash at Sam’s Town Hotel & Gambling Hall in Las Vegas. The fight, along with the main event bout between Angelo Leo and Mark John Yap, will stream live on the Mayweather Promotions Facebook page.
Heavyweight Ruann Visser is receiving praise for his improving skill-set in the ring as well as for his extraordinary height. Visser notched another knockout victory Sunday night, stopping Justice Siliga in the opening round at Time Square Casino in Pretoria, South Africa. The 28-year-old Visser, who resides in the Johannesburg suburb of Meyerton, towered over Siliga and was the aggressor from the opening bell. A right-left combination to the head dropped Siliga (8-7, 6 KOs), forcing an immediate stoppage by referee Tony Nyangiwe.
Featherweight prospect Jose Enrique Durantes defeated veteran Jose Estrella by unanimous decision Sunday evening at the Club Events Center in San Bernardino, California. Durantes, who is originally from Texcoco, Mexico and now resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Montebello, was the quicker and more-effective fighter throughout most of the fight. Scores were 80-71, 80-71, and 79-72 for Durantes, who improves to 17-0, 9 knockouts.
Fringe lightweight contender Tony Luis won defeated Adrian Estrella by majority decision Friday night at the Civic Complex in his hometown of Cornwall, Ontario, Canada. With the win, Luis improves to 28-3, 10 knockouts. It was a crossroads clash between Luis and Estrella, with the winner likely receiving a ranking in the WBC. Luis was not eligible for a regional title belt that was on the line when he failed to make weight (137.6 pounds) during Friday morning’s weigh-in.
Unbeaten Joselito Velazquez could possibly be Mexico’s best boxing prospect. That will not last long as he continues to impressively win. The fast-rising flyweight will be in action tonight when he squares off against Martin Tecuapetla at the Plaza de Toros ‘Jesus Gonzalez Cortazar’ in Ahualulco del Mercado, Jalisco, Mexico.