Unified bantamweight titlist Naoya Inoue defends his IBF and WBA belts against Jason Moloney in the main event of a Top Rank card at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas (ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET).
At the Alamodome in San Antonio, WBA “regular” lightweight titleholder Gervonta Davis takes on WBA “super” junior lightweight titlist Leo Santa Cruz in a 130-pound battle with both belts at stake (Showtime PPV, 9 p.m. ET).
But before those two main events, two other title fights are set to take place — one on each undercard.
In the co-main event in Las Vegas, Mikaela Mayer goes for her first world title as she challenges WBO junior lightweight titleholder Ewa Brodnicka in a 10-round battle.
Mayer (13-0, 5 KOs), who represented the U.S. at the 2016 Rio Olympics, dominated Helen Joseph in July to win a one-sided unanimous decision. After that fight, Mayer called for a title opportunity next and got her wish.
Brodnicka (19-0, 2 KOs), of Poland, won the title with a 10-round unanimous decision over Sarah Pucek in 2018. Brodnicka has defended her belt four times, including a decision victory over Djemilla Gontaruk in March.
In San Antonio, Mario Barrios defends his WBA “regular” junior welterweight title against Ryan Karl in a 12-round bout.
Barrios (25-0, 16 KOs) defeated Batyr Akhmedov by unanimous decision to win the title in September 2019. He has won eight of his past 10 fights by stoppage and is making the first defense of his belt against Karl.
Karl (18-2, 12 KOs) has won three consecutive fights by stoppage since losing to Kevin Watts in April 2018, including a fifth-round TKO win in a rematch against Watts in January 2019.
Also on that card in Texas, former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis faces Juan Heraldez in a 10-round junior welterweight fight. Prograis (24-1, 20 KOs), who hasn’t fought since losing to Josh Taylor in the World Boxing Super Series final in October 2019, had trouble making the weight limit on Friday, but an agreement between both camps was made for the fight to take place.
Heraldez (16-0-1, 10 KOs) is coming off a controversial majority draw against Argenis Mendez in May 2019.
Stay here for live undercard results and analysis.
Fight in progress in Las Vegas: Ewa Brodnicka vs. Mikaela Mayer, 10 rounds, for Brodnicka’s WBO junior lightweight title
Fight in progress in San Antonio: Mario Barrios vs. Ryan Karl, 12 rounds, for Barrios’ WBA “regular” junior welterweight title
Results:
Cruz KOs Magdaleno in first round
Lightweight prospect Isaac Cruz jumped on Diego Magdaleno like he had somewhere to be — knocking him down with relentless power blows 30 seconds into the fight, and then following up with a beautiful double uppercut finish that sent Magdaleno crumpling to the ground a second time as the referee waved the bout off.
Cruz (20-1-1, 15 KOs) won the IBF lightweight eliminator in dominant fashion, showing off eye-opening power as he nailed Magdaleno with equal blows to the head and the body, and quickly forcing Magdaleno up against the ropes, where he was finished. On the second knockdown, Magdaleno landed in the bottom ropes and needed several moments to regain his bearings after the TKO.
Magdaleno (32-4, 13 KOs) has now been knocked out twice in his last three fights, with the first coming at the hands of lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez Jr. in the seventh round of their fight. Cruz, the man some call mini-Tyson, did little to disrespect the heavyweight legend with his lightning quick first-round KO of Magdaleno. — Cameron Wolfe
Conceicao gets up from canvas to defeat Coria
Robson Conceicao overcame an early trip to the canvas and two point deductions for low blows to defeat Luis Coria by unanimous decision in a bruising and physical 10-round slugfest.
Despite all the hardships, Conceicao was ruled the winner on all three cards: 94-93, 95-92 and 95-92.
A left hook from Coria sent Conceicao to the canvas in the second round, and it was no flash knockdown — he was legitimately hurt. But Conceicao finished the round fairly strong, and in the next few rounds he was more than willing to stand and trade with Coria.
Both Conceicao and Coria were landing hard combinations on one another, and for much of the night, Conceicao had blood coming from his mouth. Conceicao was docked a point in both the fourth round and the sixth round for low blows.
The action in this bout featured plenty of prolonged exchanges, and neither man gave an inch. ANd while it seemed as though that Coria may have had the edge, especially with Conceicao losing two points, the judges preferred the activity of Conceicao.
Rodriguez demolishes Lopez in four rounds
Junior welterweight prospect Julian Rodriguez put forth a strong outing, sending veteran Jose Lopez to the canvas four times to win a TKO victory in Round 4.
The fight could’ve been stopped in the first round when a well-placed left hook to the body sent Lopez (29-8-2, 15 KOs) to the canvas. Referee Robert Hoyle gave Lopez plenty of time to think about whether he wanted to continue after he got up at the count of nine.
In the following round, a Rodriguez right hook from the southpaw stance sent Lopez down for the second time. In the third round, a left jab sent Lopez down again. Finally, after a series of body blows sent Lopez to the canvas one more time, Hoyle stopped the fight at 2:10 of the fourth round.
Rodriguez (21-0, 16 KOs), who stopped Anthony Laureano in one round in August, is quickly developing into a contender in the 140-pound division. — Steve Kim
Anderson wins again
Highly touted heavyweight prospect Jared Anderson made quick work of Luis Pena, scoring a first-round TKO victory.
From the very onset, Anderson (7-0, 7 KOs) came out letting both hands go liberally with left hooks to the body and hard right hands over the top, and it was clear that his intent was to finish Pena (6-2, 6 KOs) as soon as possible.
Pena took numerous punches to both the body and head, but as he stumbled away after taking a prolonged beating in the corner near the end of the first round, the fight was waved off. This was Anderson’s fourth victory in 2020 inside the Top Rank bubble at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. — Steve Kim
Hiraoka stops Edwards in Round 4
Junior welterweight Andy Hiraoka scored a fourth-round TKO of Rickey Edwards in the first contest of the night at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.
Japan’s Hiraoka (16-0, 11 KOs) needed a round or two to get a bead on Edwards (12-5, 3 KOs), who proved to be athletic and quick. Hiraoka sent Edwards down for the first time in the third round with a nice combination, and that helped him take full control of the proceedings.
In the following round, Hiraoka kept up his attack on Edwards, and after sending him down twice, referee Celestino Ruiz waved off the fight at 2:20 of the fourth round. — Steve Kim
Still to come:
Las Vegas
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Title fight: Naoya Inoue vs. Jason Moloney, 12 rounds, for Inoue’s IBF/WBA bantamweight world titles
San Antonio
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Title fight: Gervonta Davis vs. Leo Santa Cruz, 12 rounds, for Davis’ WBA lightweight title and Santa Cruz’s WBA junior lightweight title
