Saul “Canelo” Alvarez vs. Terence Crawford fight week continues to fill up.
Fight financier Turki Alalshikh’s “RING” is set to launch its new series of cards, “The Underdog,” on Sept. 11 in Las Vegas ahead of one of boxing’s most anticipated clashes in recent years.
Advertisement
The new series, streaming on DAZN, will feature events on a monthly basis and promises to showcase rising contenders and prospects in evenly matched fights.
The inaugural show takes place on the Thursday of Alvarez vs. Crawford fight week at Las Vegas’ Fontainebleau, as part of the build-up to the undisputed super middleweight title clash between pound-for-pound greats “Canelo” and Crawford, which will stream on Netflix from Allegiant Stadium on Sept. 13.
Anthony Olascuaga will defend his WBO flyweight world title against the No. 1 contender, Juan Carlos Camacho Jr., in the Sept. 11 main event.
Olascuaga (9-1, 6 KOs) was just 5-0 when he stepped in on 10 days’ notice to challenge then-unified light flyweight champion Kenshiro Teraji for his WBA and WBC world titles in April 2023. Despite losing in the ninth round, Olascuaga’s valiant performance elevated his standing in the division.
Advertisement
The Los Angeles native, trained by Rudy Hernandez, stopped Riku Kano in three rounds, two fights after losing to Teraji, to capture the WBO flyweight title. He has made a pair of successful title defenses against former 108-pound champions, Jonathan Gonzalez and Hiroto Kyoguchi.
Puerto Rico’s Camacho (19-1, 8 KOs) progressed to the No. 1 spot in the WBO rankings after winning a split decision over the Filipino two-time title challenger Jayson Mama this past October. Camacho won another split decision, this time over the 6-6-2 David Humberto Tapia, in March.
Also on the show, Jalil Hackett (9-1, 7 KOs) returns from his first career defeat to clash with Elijah Vines (8-0, 7 KOs) in a super welterweight bout. Hackett, a Floyd Mayweather protégé and Gervonta “Tank” Davis sparring partner, lost a controversial split decision to Jose Roman Vazquez on the Liam Paro vs. Richardson Hitchins prelims this past December in Puerto Rico. He was supposed to rematch Vazquez in March, but a freak injury forced him out of the bout, and he now moves up from welterweight to face Vines, who has not fought since stopping Nelson Morales in March 2024.
Advertisement
Elsewhere on the card, Justin Viloria (9-0, 7 KOs) meets Joshafat Ortiz (13-1, 6 KOs) at super featherweight, unbeaten super bantamweight prospects Emiliano Alvarado (8-0, 5 KOs) and Juan Garcia (7-0, 2 KOs) square off, and amateur standout Jamar Talley (3-0, 3 KOs) battles Isaiah Thompson (11-4-2, 10 KOs) in a cruiserweight matchup.
Read the full article here
