Omar Figueroa Jr. and Sergey Lipinets, both coming off losses, will face off in a 140-pound title eliminator on Saturday in Hollywood, Florida.
OMAR FIGUEROA JR. (28-2-1, 19 KOS) VS. SERGEY LIPINETS (16-2-1, 12 KOS)
- Date: Saturday, Aug. 20
- Time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event later in show) (Editor’s note: The starting time was incorrect earlier.)
- Where: Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Hollywood, Florida
- TV/Stream: Showtime
- Division: Junior welterweights (140 pounds)
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Alberto Puello and Batyr Akhmedov, junior welterweights (for vacant WBC title); Roger Gutierrez vs. Hector Garcia, junior featherweights (for Gutierrez’s WBA title); Brandun Lee vs. Will Madera, junior welterweights
- Prediction: Lipinets UD
- Background: Figueroa was supposed to have fought Adrien Broner but Broner pulled out Monday to tend to his mental health needs, after which Lipinets agreed to step in. The older brother of Brandon Figueroa is coming off consecutive losses, a wide unanimous decision against Yordenis Ugas in July 2019 and a sixth-round stoppage against Abel Ramos in May of last year. The one-time 135-pound titleholder said that he has had his own mental health challenges but is now in a good place. The 32-year-old Texan can’t afford another loss if he hopes to remain a relevant fighter. Lipinets also will be trying to bounce back from a setback, a sixth-round knockout against rising sensation Jaron Ennis at welterweight in April. That followed a draw with Custio Clayton the previous October. The 33-year-old from Kazakhstan hasn’t fought at 140 pounds since he lost his IBF title to Mikey Garcia in 2018. He said he has been in training the past three months in case an opportunity presented itself.
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