Foster-Fulton joins Janibek-Lara unification on Pitbull-Roach PPV
PBC finalizes strong undercard for Dec. 6 event in San Antonio
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Premier Boxing Champions announced a deep undercard this week for Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz’s WBC interim junior welterweight title defense against Lamont Roach Jr. on Dec. 6 (Prime Video PPV, PPV.COM, 8 p.m. ET) at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio.
In the expected co-feature, WBO/IBF middleweight titlist Janibek Alimkhanuly and WBA titleholder Erislandy Lara will meet in a three-belt unification fight.
Alimkhanuly, who has made five defenses, claimed the WBO belt in 2022 and in 2023 knocked out Vincenzo Gualtieri in the sixth-round of a one-sided fight to take his IBF crown in a two-belt unification fight. But Alimkhanuly (17-0, 12 KOs), 32, a 2016 Olympian from Kazakhstan fighting out of Oxnard, California, has fought just twice since, most recently in April when he knocked out Anauel Ngamissengue in the fifth round of a Kazakhstan homecoming.
“My goal is to unify four belts and make my name a part of history,” Alimkhanuly said. “I’ve been working tirelessly on this path. I’ve been calling out champions for a long time, and Lara agreed. The big fight is on. God willing, I’ll win my third title.”
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Lara (31-3-3, 19 KOs), 42, a Cuban defector fighting out of Houston and a former longtime junior middleweight titleholder, has been at middleweight since 2021 and made three defenses but been quite inactive. He hasn’t fought since September 2024, when he stopped the much smaller Danny Garcia, a former junior welterweight and welterweight titlist, in the ninth round.
“I’ve faced the best throughout my career and this is no different,” said Lara, who has not faced a serious opponent since 2019. “Janibek is a strong, skilled opponent, but I’ve never backed down from a challenge. I will become unified middleweight champion of the world and take one step closer toward securing my place in the Hall of Fame.”
The other two bouts on the pay-per-view will look familiar as they were originally scheduled to take place on the Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman pay-per-view on Oct. 25 but the whole show was postponed three weeks ago when Fundora suffered a hand injury.
The co-feature of the Oct. 25 show was supposed to be WBC junior lightweight titlist O’Shaquie Foster (23-3, 12 KOs), 32, of Orange, Texas, defending against WBC featherweight titlist Stephen Fulton (23-1, 8 KOs), 31, a former unified junior featherweight titlist from Philadelphia, in a bout that had already been delayed multiple times.
Initially, PBC was not going to include it on Dec. 6 but sources involved in the event told Fight Freaks Unite that Fulton so badly wanted the fight — and to have it before the end of the year — that he agreed to financial concessions that allowed the fight to fit the Dec. 6 budget.
“I’ll be more than ready on Dec. 6,” Fulton said. “The fans should expect a great fight from me and for me to become a three-division, four-time world champion. I will win and dominate this fight.”
Foster will make the first defense of his second title reign. He lost the 130-pound title by split decision to Robson Conceicao in July 2024 but they had an immediate rematch and Foster regained the title via split decision in November.
“The 130-pound division runs through me,” Foster said. “Respect to Stephen Fulton for stepping up in weight, but he’ll find out real soon that he should have stayed at featherweight. I’ve gone through a lot in this game to become a two-time world champion. I’m ready to take full advantage of this opportunity.”
In the opening bout, Jesus Ramos (23-1, 19 KOs), 24, a southpaw from Casa Grande, Arizona, will face Shane Mosley Jr. (22-4, 12 KOs), 34, of Las Vegas, the son of the Hall of Fame former three-division champion, for the vacant WBC interim middleweight title
“There’s a new date but it’s the same mission,” said Ramos, who has won three fights in a row since a controversial decision loss to Erickson Lubin in 2023. “I’m going to end this little winning streak that Mosley Jr. has been on and introduce myself to all the fans in San Antonio in impressive fashion.”
Mosley has won five fights in a row and is coming off a one-sided decision over former middleweight titlist Daniel Jacobs that sent him into retirement in July 2024.
“I’m excited to have the fight back on,” Mosley said. “I can’t wait to get back in the ring and show the world my greatness.”
Although not officially announced, PBC told Fight Freaks Unite that the all-Mexican junior middleweight 10-rounder between Isaac Lucero (17-0, 13 KOs), 27, and Roberto Valenzuela Jr. (31-5, 29 KOs), 26, which was originally set to open the Oct. 25 PPV, will be part of the Prime Video free preliminaries on Dec. 6 as will other fights also rescheduled from Oct. 25.
One of those fights will include the return of Frank Martin (18-1, 12 KOs), 30, of Indianapolis, who has not fought since Gervonta Davis spectacularly knocked him out in the eighth round of a highly competitive lightweight title bout in June 2024. Martin is moving up to junior welterweight and will face former lightweight and junior lightweight titlist Rances Barthelemy (30-3-1, 15 KOs), 39, a Cuban defector fighting out of Las Vegas.
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Foster-Fulton photo: Lina Baker/PBC
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Very good undercard on paper I will be buying it