Alycia Baumgardner was always the star of the show this weekend.
However, the supporting cast continues to dwindle for the undisputed junior lightweight queen.
The DAZN undercard has taken additional hits heading into fight week, including lightweight prospect Marc Castro who suffered an injury and will no longer fight on this Saturday’s DAZN show from Masonic Temple in Detroit. Fresno’s Castro (10-0, 7KOs) was due to face Chilean lightweight Gonzalo Fuenzalida (12-2, 3KOs) but was forced out of what would have been his second fight in just over three months.
“I don’t know where to begin. I’m ready to fight but due to an injury I have to postpone my July 15th fight,” Castro confirmed Monday evening via social media. “It is out of my control. This hurts me since I am a fighter & I want to display my talents on the big stages.
“I know it hurts my supporters, my sponsors, my manager [Keith Connolly] & my promoter [Matchroom Boxing] too.”
The fallout comes just more than two weeks after the show lost its originally scheduled co-feature between Richardson Hitchins and Montana Love. The junior welterweight bout was postponed after Love suffered an injury during training camp. Their bout is due to be rescheduled later this summer or early fall.
Another undercard bout was nearly lost when Junior Wright (20-4-1, 17KOs) withdrew from a planned heavyweight clash versus divisional gatekeeper Jermaine Franklin, who will remain on the show. Franklin (21-2, 14KOs)—who hails from Saginaw, roughly 90 minutes from Detroit—will now face Mexico’s Isaac Munoz (17-0-1, 14KOs).
Baumgardner (14-1, 7KOs) remains in the evening’s main event, as she defends her undisputed junior lightweight championship versus former two-time WBO 140-pound titlist Christina Linardatou (14-2, 6KOs).
The bout is a rematch to their July 2018 meeting, won by Linardatou via split decision. It remains the lone career defeat for Baumgardner, who has won seven straight en route to fully unifying the 130-pound division. Saturday will mark her first career fight in her hometown and also her debut as a televised headliner.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox