Tyler Howard: record, next fight and profile →
Junior lightweights Luis Melendez and Thomas Mattice stayed ready. The contenders, on less than two weeks’ notice, agreed to face off Friday, Nov. 5 in the eight-round co-feature to the Mikaela Mayer-Maiva Hamadouche title unification tilt at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, part of Curio Collection by Hilton.
Edgar Berlanga remains in search of a quality opponent for his first fight of 2021. It just so happens that fellow unbeaten prospect Tyler Howard knows a guy interested in the assignment. It can be argued that Berlanga (16-0, 16KOs) is ahead of the rest of the pack, if not only from a notoriety standpoint. The Brooklyn-bred Boricua was named 2020 Prospect of the Year by many outlets—including BoxingScene.com—and is aiming to land super middleweight contenders in the ring in the year ahead.
The knockout king of the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, junior welterweight southpaw Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez, hopes to put an exclamation point on his 2020 Prospect of the Year campaign.
Something has to give. IBF lightweight world champion Richard Commey is one of the division’s biggest punchers. For his first title defense, he’ll face a rugged ex-champion who hasn’t been knocked out in more than a decade.
Robert “Bravo” Brant enjoys a homecoming appearance for the first defense of his secondary middleweight title, as he faces unbeaten contender Khasan Baysangurov. Their bout will air live on ESPN from Grand Hinckley, Minnesota. The fight marks the 11th appearance at this venue for Brant (24-1, 16KOs), whose St. Paul (Minn.) hometown is roughly 90 minutes south. It’s his first home fight with a major title at stake, as he captured a belt in a landslide decision win over Ryota Murata last October.
Jonathan Guzman (22-1, 22 KOs) — Hailing from the Dominican Republic, Guzman is a former IBF junior featherweight world champion, having knocked out Shingo Wake in the 11th round in July 2016 to capture the title. In his first title defense, on Dec. 31, 2016, he dropped a competitive unanimous decision to Yukinori Oguni in Japan. Guzman has not fought since the Oguni defeat, but he is targeting a return to title contention at 122 pounds.
A Stacked Undercard has been announced for this Friday night’s Massive Night of World Class Professional Boxing at the Allstate Arena in Rosemont, IL headlined by a sensational light heavyweight clash between Undefeated and #3 World Ranked Light Heavyweight MIKE LEE, (20-0-0, 11 KO’s), of Chicago, IL facing battle-tested Mexican veteran JOSE HERNANDEZ, (19-3-1, 9 KO’s), of Lancaster, CA in the ten-round main event. The fight will be contested for the NABO Light Heavyweight Title.