Alexis Rocha was all smiles while Giovani Santillan was all business as they soaked in the last bit of ambiance during Friday’s weigh-in ceremony.
Both welterweights made weight for their scheduled twelve-round bout. Rocha was 147 pounds, while the unbeaten Santillan was 146.6 pounds for their DAZN main event this Saturday from Kia Forum in Inglewood, California.
Rocha (23-1, 15KOs) has won seven in a row and is the current WBO number-one ranked contender for the title held by undisputed champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. The 26-year-old southpaw from Santa Ana was previously ordered to fight for the belt before the WBO rescinded upon learning that Crawford was due to face Errol Spence for all the welterweight hardware.
The development didn’t hold back Rocha, who proceeded to face and beat Anthony Young via fifth-round knockout in a May 27 stay-busy bout in Indio, California.
San Diego’s Santillan (31-0, 16KOs) last fought in a ten-round, unanimous decision over Erick Bone on July 22 in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The fight was his first since a harder-fought and disputed points victory over unbeaten Julio Luna last August 20 in his San Diego hometown.
The bout’s lone title fight of the evening pits IBF flyweight queen Arely Mucino versus first time challenger Gabriela ‘Sweet Poison’ Fundora. Both boxers were under the limit for their scheduled ten-round contest.
Mucino (32-3-2, 11KOs) was 111.8 pounds as she attempts the first defense of her fourth title reign. The 34-year old from Monterrey, Mexico claimed the belt in a ten-round decision over then-unbeaten champ Leonela Paola Yudica last October 29 in San Diego.
Fundora was a lean and ready 110.8 pounds. The 21-year-old, 5’9” southpaw from Coachella, California is the younger sister of former interim WBC junior middleweight titlist Sebastian Fundora.
DAZN main undercard, 8:00 p.m. ET/5:00 p.m. PT
John ‘Scrappy’ Ramirez (12-0, 8KOs), Los Angeles, 115 pounds vs. Ronal Batista (15-3, 9KOs), Panama City, Panama, 114.2 pounds—12 rounds, junior bantamweight
Ricardo Sandoval (22-2, 16KOs), Rialto, California, 111.8 pounds vs. Victor Efrain Sandoval (37-3, 23KOs), Tijuana, 111.2 pounds—10 rounds, flyweight
David Stevens (13-0, 9KOs), Reading, Pennsylvania, 167 pounds vs. Joeshon James (7-0-2, 4KOs), Sacramento, California, 164.8 pounds—8 rounds, super middleweight
Non-televised undercard, 7:05 p.m. ET/4:05 p.m. PT
Iyana ‘Roxy’ Verduzco (pro debut), Los Angeles, 132.8 pounds vs. Clarice Morales (0-2, 0KOs), Toledo, Ohio, pounds 132.2—4 rounds, junior lightweight
Fabian Guzman (2-0, 2KOs), Orange, California, 154.2 pounds vs. Rueben Johnson (0-2, 0KOs), Milwaukee, 154 pounds—4 rounds, junior middleweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox