The bright lights of Las Vegas shine on the junior lightweight division when HBO BOXING AFTER DARK: ORLANDO SALIDO VS. MIGUEL ROMAN, TEVIN FARMER VS. KENICHI OGAWA AND FRANCISCO VARGAS VS. STEPHEN SMITH is seen SATURDAY, DEC. 9 at 10:20 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) from Mandalay Bay Events Center. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO, HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.
In a night of three 130-pound clashes, the main event features four-time world champion Orlando Salido (44-13-4, 31 KOs) from Ciudad Obregón, Mexico, now living in Phoenix, taking on Miguel Roman (57-12, 44 KOs) of Ciudad Juárez, Mexico in a 10-round bout.
With 130 fights between them, veterans Salido and Roman are known for tenacity and fan-friendly styles. Salido was last seen on HBO in June 2016 when he fought Francisco Vargas in an evenly pitched consensus Fight of the Year, resulting in a majority draw decision. Roman was last seen on HBO in January, suffering a memorable hard-fought loss to Takashi Miura.
The co-main event spotlights Philadelphia’s Tevin Farmer (25-4-1, 5 KOs) and Tokyo’s Kenichi Ogawa (22-1, 17 KOs) in a 12-round world title contest. Farmer was on an 18-bout win streak until he was shot in the hand while attempting to break up an altercation at a party. Now recovered, he seeks to resume his championship quest. Fighting in the U.S. for the first time, Ogawa has won 14 straight bouts following his only loss, in 2012. The fight marks the first shot at a world title for either man.
The night opens with Francisco Vargas (23-1-2, 17 KOs) from Mexico City, Mexico taking on Stephen Smith (25-3, 15 KOs) of Liverpool, UK in a 10-round contest. Vargas looks to get back on a win streak following a majority draw against Orlando Salido and a KO loss to Miguel Berchelt in a brutal fight seen last January on HBO. Smith has knocked out more than half his opponents and is fighting in the U.S. for just the second time.
The action-packed night of boxing action continues on the HBO Latino service starting at 1:05 a.m. ET or immediately following the HBO Boxing After Dark telecast. The HBO Latino Boxing doubleheader (tape-delayed) is headlined by a scheduled 10-round junior lightweight fight between Russia’s Denis Shafikov (38-3-1, 20 KOs) and Nicaragua’s Rene Alvarado (27-8, 19 KOs). The opening bout on HBO Latino Boxing pits undefeated prospect Jaime Mungia (25-0, 21 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico, against Paul Valenzuela (20-6, 14 KOs) of Baja, Mexico, in a scheduled eight-round matchup in the junior middleweight division.
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The executive producer of HBO Sports is Rick Bernstein; producer, Jonathan Crystal; director, Johnathan Evans.
® HBO BOXING AFTER DARK is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.
Loma – Rigo on BoxNation
Vasily Lomachenko believes he will knockout Cuban foe Guillermo Rigondeaux in one of the most anticipated fights in recent years.
Two of boxing’s most decorated amateurs are set to do battle this Saturday night, exclusively live on BoxNation, in a showdown that will see Ukrainian superstar Lomachenko’s WBO super-featherweight world title up for grabs.
Despite the belt being on the line both men are regarded by most observers as the sport’s two most skilled fighters, with 29-year-old Lomachenko aiming to make a quick night of it.
“I am going to walk through him like a tank and knock him out. I am like every single fighter – going into the ring I have in my mind ‘finish the bout before all the rounds are over and to get the victory before that,” said Lomachenko.
“There is a good possibility that the fight will end before the twelfth round. I am not promising to knock him out but I am promising to squash him.
“I have a plan in my head, a picture of what I am going to do but I don’t think it would be too smart to talk about it right now. I think it is better one time to see than 100 times to say,” he said.
It looked unlikely that the pair would ever share the ring but this historic clash will now mark the first time two-time Olympic gold medalists have fought each other professionally at the highest level.
“I agree that it is a historical bout, it is an interesting bout and most importantly it is an interesting bout for me,” said Lomachenko.
“A lot of time was spent to make this bout. For a while it was never happening and finally it happened. It is very, very interesting and all of the boxing fans wanted to see the fight and finally we can deliver it,” he said.
37-year-old Rigondeaux has held multiple world titles at super-bantamweight but will be moving up eight pounds to take on Lomachenko at the 130-pound super-featherweight limit.
However, ‘The Jackal’ is unconcerned at this and believes he will be just as strong at the new weight, as he looks to give fans a fight to remember at the sold-out Madison Square Garden.
“I went up to 130 because it was the only way I could get this fight made. I would rather it have been at a lower weight, but I want to show the world that I can do it by moving up two weight classes,” said Rigondeaux.
“I feel stronger than ever and I am going to do it and do it right. Moving up has had no negative effect whatsoever on my speed or power.
“It is the first time in history that two multiple Olympic champions are going to fight each other and it is going to be a very good fight.
“It’s going to be a great fight for the fans and it’s going to be a great historical fight that fans will forever look back on,” he said.
Prior to the monster clash from New York, BoxNation will also be live from the Copper Box Arena in London in a stacked card that sees IBF super-middleweight world champion James DeGale defend his title against the dangerous American Caleb Traux.
‘Chunky’ DeGale fights in the UK for the first time in three years following his 2014 third round win over Marco Antonio Periban and will headline a card that also sees IBF featherweight world champion Lee Selby back in action.
The Welsh star goes up against Mexico’s Eduardo Ramirez, with rising stars Anthony Yarde and heavyweight Daniel Dubois featuring on the night.
The live action from London starts at 6.35pm this Saturday evening, with Lomachenko v Rigondeaux taking place later that night exclusively live on ‘The Channel of Champions’.
BoxNation is available on Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/ online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon) for just £12 a month. Buy now at boxnation.com.