By Jake Donovan
Erislandy Lara and Delvin Rodriguez both easily made weight for their junior middleweight clash Friday evening at UIC Pavilion in Chicago, Illinois. The bout will headline the latest installment of PBC (
Premier Boxing Champions
) on Spike TV.
Lara came in at a chiseled 153.6 lbs. for the second defense of his alphabet title. Rodriguez tipped the scales at a fighting ready 153.4 lbs. for his third bid at a major belt.
In the televised co-feature, unbeaten light heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev travels south of the Canadian border for the first time in his ambitious career as he faces Maryland's Alexander Johnson in a scheduled 10-round bout.
Beterbiev (8-0, 8KOs) came in right at the 175 lbs. divisional limit. Johnson was slightly under at 174.2 lbs.
All but Beterbiev are making their PBC series debut with Friday's show. Beterbiev appeared on the April 4 installment of PBC on CBS, knocking out former light heavyweight titlist Gabriel Campillo in the 4th round of their televised bout in Quebec City, Canada.
Friday's show also features local heavyweight attraction Artur Szpilka, who faces Manuel Quezada in a scheduled 10-round bout.
Szpilka (18-1, 13KOs) is coming off of a 2nd round knockout of Ty Cobb in this very same venue on April 24. Their bout took place just as the Spike TV telecast went off air, although his knockout win produced by far the greatest crowd reaction of the evening.
Quezada (29-9, 18KOs) has lost in each of his last five stars.
FULL WEIGHTS
Erislandy Lara, 153.6 lbs vs. Delvin Rodriguez, 153.4 lbs—12 rds, junior middleweight
Artur Beterbiev, 175 lbs vs. Alexander Johnson, 174.2 lbs–10 rds, light heavyweight
Artur Szpilka, 231 lbs vs. Manuel Quezada, 235 lbs—10 rds, heavyweight
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox
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