All of the participants did their job at the scale for the next installment of Golden Boy Promotions' Thursday Night Fight series.
Headlining the card—which airs live from Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California (Thursday, DAZN, 10:00pm ET/7:00pm PT and local time)—rising 112-pound prospect Ricardo Rafael Sandoval collides with Philippines' Raymond Tabugon in a 10-round flyweight contest.
The bout was billed as a junior bantamweight contest, although both sides of the headline attraction were well within the 112-pound flyweight limit.
Sandoval (17-1, 12KOs)—a Southern California product who trains out of Riverside, California—checked in at a trim and ready 111.2 pounds as he looks to extend his 13-fight win streak. The rising prospect—who turned 21 on Wednesday—makes his third appearance at this venue, which served as the site for his United States debut in 2017 after having fought exclusively in Mexico through his first eight bouts as a pro.
Tabugon weighed in at 111.8 pounds in hopes of improving on his previous performance at this venue, when he was stopped in five rounds by former junior flyweight titlist Angel 'Tito' Acosta last October.
The evening's chief support pits Argentina's Alberto Melian (6-1, 4KOs) versus Colombia's Oscar Negrete (18-2-2, 7KOs) in a scheduled 10-round regional bantamweight title fight.
Both boxers easily made weight, coming in under the 118-pound divisional limit. Melian—who represented Argentina in the 2016 Rio Olympics—tipped the scales at 117.5 pounds. Negrete weighed 117.4 pounds for his first fight in more than 18 months against an opponent other than Joshua Franco, as the two collided in 30 extremely competitive rounds over a 10-month stretch. Negrete went 0-1-2 in the three-fight set, including a repeat draw last August.
Opening the DAZN livestream, unbeaten flyweight contender Sulem Urbina (11-0, 2KOs) faces veteran trialhorse Noemi Bosques (12-14-3, 2KOs) in a six-round contest. Urbina-a 29-year old from Phoenix, Arizona by way of Hermosillo, Mexico—weighed 112 pounds, one pound lighter than St. Petersburg, Florida's Bosques who checked in at 113.6 pounds.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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