Norbelto Jimenez looks to improve on his last performance against a former four-division titlist while still in pursuit of his first major belt as a pro.
The former title challenger is set for his scheduled ten-round junior bantamweight fight with Nicaragua’s Keyvin Lara, as both fighters made weight for their main event atop Friday’s show at Centro Olimpico’s Pabellon de Esgrima in Jimenez’s hometown of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Jimenez (30-9-6, 15KOs) weighed 115.2 pounds for his first fight at home in more than a year. Lara (31-4-1, 11KOs) weighed 114 pounds for his third straight fight on the road, having spent his previous two in Panama, including a sixth-round knockout of Jose Saant last August 28.
The homecoming appearance for Jimenez comes on the heels of a disputed ten-round draw with former four-division titleholder Donnie Nietes (43-1-6, 23KOs), who is now in talks for a mandatory title fight rematch with WBO junior bantamweight titlist Kazuto Ioka (28-2, 15KOs). Jimenez was bothered by the outcome of the December 11 bout in Dubai and its length being shortened from twelve to ten rounds without his knowledge.
The end result was, remarkably, his sixth career draw and second in the span of three fights since coming up just short in a June 2015 bid versus then-WBA junior bantamweight titlist Kal Yafai in Providence, Rhode Island. The setback was the lone defeat for Jimenez over a 35-fight stretch after stumbling to a 1-8-1 career start.
Ranked number two in the WBO junior bantamweight ratings, Jimenez hopes a win on Friday will lead to a shot at the winner of Ioka-Nietes once they finalize terms for their ordered rematch.
Friday’s show also features two former titlists on the rebound in separate fights.
Local junior featherweight Jonathan Guzman (24-2, 23KOs) aims to bounce back from a stunning eight-round split decision defeat to Carlos Jackson last October 30 in New York City. Guzman, a former IBF junior featherweight titlist faces Venezuela’s Starling Martinez (8-2, 7KOs) in a scheduled eight-round contest. Both boxers weighed 123 pounds.
Former WBO strawweight titlist Wilfredo ‘Bimbito’ Mendez (16-2, 6KOs) fights for the first time since his title-losing, 11th round knockout at the hands of Masataki Taniguchi last December 14 in Japan. Mendez—based in Trujillo Alto, Puerto Rico but who has spent more than half his career fighting in D.R.—weighed 106 pounds for his first post-title reign appearance versus Kenny Cano (14-4, 11KOs) who weighed 108 pounds for their eight-round contest.
Also on the show:
Monterrey, Mexico’s Yudel Reyes (13-1, 4KOs) and Humacao, Puerto Rico’s Rene Santiago (9-2, 7KOs) both weighed 104.4 pounds for their scheduled ten-round regional strawweight title fight. Reyes fights outside of Mexico for just the second time in his career. Santiago returns to D.R. for the fifgth time in his past seven starts.
Former amateur standout Nicole Ocasio makes her pro debut in a scheduled four-round junior lightweight bout versus locally based Soranyi Severino (0-1). Ocasio, a Carolina, Puerto Rico-born boxer based out of Fort Worth, Texas who is now managed by seven-division champ Amanda Serrano, weighed 131 pounds; Severino weighed 129 pounds.
The show will air live on promoter Shuan Boxing’s YouTube channel, beginning 5:00 p.m. ET.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox