BoxingScene.com has been advised that lightweight contender Michel “La Zarza Ali” Rivera (23-0) will return to the ring on October 15th at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY. The fight will be part of the Deontay Wilder-Robert Helenius undercard that will be distributed by FOX pay-per-view.
The 24-year-old was last in action in March when he outpointed the previously undefeated Joseph Adorno (14-1-2) in Minneapolis.
As of this writing, an opponent hasn’t been finalized for Rivera but Jezzrel Corrales is one of the front runners to land the fight. The Panamanian has won three bouts in a row since dropping back to back decisions to Ladarius Miller and Chris Colbert.
He burst onto the scene in 2016 when he stopped Takashi Uchiyama in 2 rounds in Tokyo to capture the super WBA super featherweight title. He would follow that up with skit decision victory over Uchiyama 8 months later in their rematch.
Former champions Caleb Plant and Anthony Dirrell will square off in the co-feature bout.
A fight between Subriel Matthias and Jeremias Ponce for the vacant IBF super lightweight title was also expected to be a part of the card. However, those plans were scrapped when Argentina’s Ponce couldn’t secure a visa in time. The fight will now be scheduled for another date.
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