Unbeaten Rising Star Brandon Figueroa Defends
WBA Super Bantamweight Title Against Former Champion Julio Ceja
&
Undefeated Mexican Power-Puncher Luis Nery Takes
on Puerto Rico’s Emmanuel Rodríguez in Battle of Former Bantamweight World Champions
Highly Anticipated Deontay Wilder vs. Luis
Ortiz
WBC Heavyweight Championship Rematch Plus Leo
Santa Cruz Seeks a Title in a Fourth Division Against Miguel Flores in
Pay-Per-View Event from the MGM Grand Garden Arena
in Las Vegas
LAS VEGAS (October 22, 2019) – Undefeated rising star Brandon
“The Heartbreaker” Figueroa will make the first defense of
his WBA Super Bantamweight Titleagainst former champion Julio Ceja while
undefeated Mexican power-puncherLuis Nery battles Emmanuel
Rodríguez in a matchup of former
bantamweight champions on Saturday, November 23 in FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View
action live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The pay-per-view event
is headlined by boxing’s longest reigning heavyweight world champion Deontay
“The Bronze Bomber” Wilder defending his WBC title in a rematch
against once-beaten Cuban slugger Luis “King Kong” Ortiz.
Three-division champion “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz will
seek a title in another division in the co-main event when he takes on Miguel
“El Michoacan” Flores for the WBA Super Featherweight
Championship as part of the pay-per-view action beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m.
PT.
“With these two
all-action matchups added, the November 23 card is shaping up to deliver
another memorable night of excitement on FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View,”
said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “In addition to the Wilder
vs. Ortiz rematch and the Santa Cruz vs. Flores title fight, one of the
122-pound division’s hottest young stars Brandon Figueroa will make his first
title defense against a very tough opponent in former champion Julio Ceja.
Rounding out the night is Mexican knockout artist Luis Nery and tough former
champion Emmanuel Rodríguez, who will be sure to kick off the pay-per-view in style with
another classic in the Mexico vs. Puerto Rico rivalry.”
Tickets for the event,
which is promoted by BombZquad Promotions, TGB Promotions and Mayweather
Promotions, are on sale now and can
be purchased atwww.mgmgrand.com or www.axs.com.
The 22-year-old Figueroa
(20-0, 15 KOs) will look to make the first defense of his super
bantamweight championship in his fourth fight of 2019. He knocked out Moises
Flores in January on FS1 and won an interim super bantamweight title in April
on FOX by stopping Yonfrez Parejo. Representing Weslaco, Texas, Brandon, the
younger brother of former world champion Omar, has a seven-fight knockout streak
that he brings into the ring on November 23, having most recently stopped
Javier Nicolas Chacon with an exciting fourth-round knockout in an FS1 main
event in August. He was subsequently elevated to full champion by the WBA.
“This
is probably going to be the biggest test of my career in the first defense of
my title against a solid fighter like Ceja,” said Figueroa. “To be
fighting on pay-per-view of the Wilder-Ortiz II undercard at MGM Grand is a
dream come true. I’ve been working towards this moment my whole life. I
attended Pacquiao vs. Thurman in July and the crowd was electric that night. I
told myself while watching that fight ringside that I couldn’t wait to fight at
MGM on a similar card, and now look at where we are. Ceja might have lost
against Rigondeaux, but he put on a great fight and I know he’s going to come
forward and brawl with me on November 23.”
Fighting out of
Tlalnepantla, Mexico, Ceja (32-4, 28 KOs) will look to rebound from a loss to
Guillermo Rigondeaux on FOX in June, when he was stopped in round eight while
leading on all three judges’ scorecards. The 26-year-old knocked out Hugo Ruiz
in 2015 to win an interim title before eventually being elevated to the full
champion. While he lost the rematch to Ruiz, Ceja put together wins in two of
his next three fights heading into the Rigondeaux bout.
“This is a great
opportunity and I plan to win the world title again on November 23,” said
Ceja. “I know what it takes to win and I will have the best training of my
career for this fight. I hope Brandon Figueroa is prepared for fireworks. This
title is coming back to Mexico for my country, my pride and my people.”
Nery (30-0, 24 KOs) is a
power puncher who has stopped his last 11 opponents and 15 of his last 16. The
24-year-old southpaw from Tijuana, Mexico will be making his third appearance
on a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View this year. He scored a dominant stoppage
victory over McJoe Arroyo on the March event in Arlington, Texas and returned
on the July 20 show to stop former champion Juan Carlos Payano. He scored a TKO
victory over Shinsuke Yamanaka to win the bantamweight world title in 2018.
“I’m
excited for another opportunity to perform on the biggest stage and show that
I’m the best bantamweight in the world,” said Nery. “Rodríguez is a tough competitor and he will help bring out my best on
November 23. Mexico and Puerto Rico have a storied rivalry in this sport and I
intend to make my mark in history with a spectacular win.”
The 27-year-old Rodríguez (19-1, 12 KOs) will
also look to put himself back in position to reclaim a 118-pound belt with a
statement win on November 23. Fighting out of Vega Baja, Puerto Rico, Rodríguez won the IBF
Bantamweight World Title with a unanimous decision victory over Paul Butler in
2018 and defended it successfully against then-unbeaten Jason Moloney. He most
recently was stopped by unbeaten champion Naoya Inoue in their May title bout.
“Switching
opponents is no problem for me since we always train for different fighting
styles,” said Rodríguez, who had previously been scheduled to face
former champion Rau’shee Warren before Warren withdrew due to injury. “My
Puerto Rican and Mexican people want to see a great fight and that’s what they
will have on November 23. I know what Nery brings to the table and I’m
ready for that. We are confident in victory and that in 2020 I will be
crowned world champion again.”
# #
#
For more information:
visit www.premierboxingchampions.com,http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepageand www.foxdeportes.com,
follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes,
@TGBPromotions, @MayweatherPromo and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook
at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions,www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.