FIGHT WEEK
Secondary 115-pound titleholder Jesse Rodriguez will face veteran Srisaket Sor Rungvisai on Saturday in San Antonio.
JESSE RODRIGUEZ (15-0, 10 KOS) VS. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI (50-5-1, 43 KOS)
- When: Saturday, June 25
- Time: 9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m.. PT (main event later in show)
- Where: Tech Port Arena, San Antonio
- TV/Stream: DAZN
- Division: Junior bantamweight (115 pounds)
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Julio Cesar Martinez vs. McWilliams Arroyo, flyweights (for Martinez’s WBC title); Murodjon Akhmadaliev vs. Ronny Rios, junior featherweights (for Akhmadaliev’s IBF and WBA titles); Jessica McCaskill vs. Alma Ibarra, welterweights (for McCaskill’s undisputed championship); Raymond Ford vs. Richard Medina, featherweights
- Prediction: Sor Rungvisai KO 10
- Background: “Bam” Rodriguez delivered a major upset when he easily outpointed 115-pound stalwart Carlos Cuadras to win a secondary WBC title (Juan Francisco Estrada is the “franchise champion”) in February, instantaneously making him a major player in the division. The 22-year-old southpaw will have the advantage of fighting in his hometown on Saturday. The big-punching Sor Rungvisai, 35, has been a dominating figure in the junior bantamweight division for a decade, with two reigns as a titleholder. He’s best known for defeating all-time great Roman Gonzalez twice in 2017, the second time by knockout. He has won three consecutive fights since he lost the WBC belt to Estrada in 2019. This card is stacked with important fights. Martinez (18-2, 14 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since he moved up in weight and lost a one-sided decision to Gonzalez in March. Akhmadaliev (10-0, 7 KOs) will be making the third defense of the titles the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist won by outpointing Daniel Roman in 2020. And the late-blooming McCaskill (11-2, 4 KOs) became a star when she outpointed Cecilia Braekhus to become undisputed welterweight champion in 2020 and then did it again in their rematch last year. The 37-year-old last fought in December, when she stopped Kandi Wyatt in seven rounds.
ELWIN SOTO (19-2, 13 KOS) VS. HEKKIE BUDLER (33-4, 10 KOS)
- When: Saturday, June 25
- Time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m.. PT on ESPN (main event later in show)
- Where: Palenque Fex, Mexicali, Mexico
- TV/Stream: ESPN+
- Division: Junior flyweight (108 pounds)
- Rounds: 12
- At stake: No major titles
- Pound-for-pound ranking: None
- Odds: NA
- Also on the card: Jesus Riegos vs. Genaro Rodriguez, junior featherweights; Kenin Betancourt vs. Ivan Mercado, bantamweights
- Prediction: Soto UD
- Background: This fight is being billed as a WBC junior flyweight title eliminator. Soto lost his WBO belt to Jonathan Gonzalez by a split decision in October, the Mexican’s first setback since the third fight of his career. Budler, 34, might be in a must-win situation. The former two-division titleholder from South Africa is 2-2 in his last four fights and 4-3 in his last seven. He’s coming off a unanimous-decision victory over journeyman Jonathan Almacen on May 22 in Johannesburg, Budler’s hometown.
ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK
JUNE 24
- Jonathan Gonzalez vs. Mark Anthony Barriga, junior flyweights (for Gonzalez’s WBO title), Kissimmee, Florida (ProBox.TV).
- Leandro Jose Blanc vs. German Valenzuela, strawweights, Buenos Aires (Estrella TV).
JUNE 25
Denzel Whitley vs. Maycon Oller Da Silva, welterweights, Framingham, Massachusetts (Boxing TV).