Showtime, PBC unveil three-fight undercard for Spence-Ugas pay-per-view
A quick note to Fight Freaks Unite readers: If you have upgraded to a paid subscription, thank you! If you have not, please consider doing so to receive the most content. A paid subscription is also your way of keeping this reader-supported newsletter going and supporting independent journalism.
Showtime and Premier Boxing Champions made the three televised undercard bouts on the Errol Spence Jr.-Yordenis Ugas welterweight unification fight official on Thursday.
The co-feature for the April 16 Showtime PPV card (9 p.m. ET) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, is as expected — a 10-round lightweight fight between contender Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz and former unified featherweight titlist Yuriorkis Gamboa, who both lost to Gervonta “Tank” Davis in world title fights.
The lineup also includes two other scheduled 10-round fights: rising lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela versus former junior lightweight titlist Francisco Vargas and, in the opening bout, unbeaten welterweight Cody Crowley against veteran former world title challenger Josesito Lopez.
A look at the three bouts:
Isaac Cruz vs. Yuriorkis Gamboa
Cruz (22-2-1, 15 KOs), 23, of Mexico, turned in a strong performance in his last fight in a disputed decision loss challenging secondary lightweight titlist Davis in the main event of a Showtime PPV on Dec. 5.
Gamboa (30-4, 18 KOs), 40, a former unified featherweight titlist and 2004 Cuban Olympic gold medalist, is well past his prime and has lost two fights in a row, a 12th-round knockout to Davis in a secondary lightweight title bout in December 2019 and a one-sided decision loss challenging lightweight titlist Devin Haney in November 2020.
Cruz: “I can’t wait to be back in the ring and to fight at AT&T Stadium. I love the fans in Texas. They always give me tremendous support. My promoter, Manny Pacquiao, has fought at AT&T Stadium before and won both times. I’m excited to follow in his footsteps against a very accomplished former champion in Gamboa. I’m coming to show the fans why I’m one of the best lightweights in the world and to drive Gamboa into retirement on April 16.”
Gamboa: “I always come to the ring to display my talents and April 16 will be no different. It’s very motivating to be facing a young, strong opponent like Isaac Cruz. I’m going to test him and see if he can stand up to my power. I’m coming to win and make a big statement that I still have what it takes to become champion again.”
Jose Valenzuela vs. Francisco Vargas
Valenzuela (11-0, 7 KOs), a 22-year-old Mexican based in Seattle, is one of the hottest prospects around. He is coming off a dominating fourth-round knockout of Austin Dulay in December.
Vargas (27-3-2, 19 KOs), 37, of Mexico, is on the backside of his career but still a step up for Valenzuela, who is a stablemate of former two-time super middleweight titlist David Benavidez.
Vargas is best known for his appearance in back-to-back fights of the year — a ninth-round knockout of Takashi Miura to win the WBC 130-pound title in 2015 and a draw in a 2016 defense against Orlando Salido. However, he is a 4-3 since the draw and coming off a one-sided decision loss to Cruz in June.
Valenzuela: “It’s a dream come true to be on a high-stakes, stacked card like this. I’ve admired and studied Spence for a long time, especially because we’re both lefties. I can’t wait to get in the ring. I’m not overlooking or underestimating Francisco Vargas in any way. I’m expecting fireworks. You always get a big fight when two Mexican warriors go head-to-head, so I know the fans are going to be delighted with what they see on April 16.”
Vargas: “It is an honor to be on such a big card with so many great fighters. I’m going to come prepared for this fight and ready to leave the ring with a victory. I know Valenzuela will be trying to make a statement, but I’m coming to do the same. As always, the fans can expect a tremendous fight from start to finish.”
Cody Crowley vs. Josesito Lopez
Crowley (20-0, 9 KOs), 28, a Canadian southpaw, was limited to just one fight in 2020 and one in 2021, but he is coming off his biggest win in December — a unanimous decision over Kudratillo Abdukakhorov in his Showtime debut.
Crowley survived a second-round knockdown to win the fight and bump off Abdukakhorov, who gambled his position as Spence’s IBF mandatory challenger and lost.
The vastly experienced Lopez (38-8, 21 KOs), 37, of Riverside, California, was limited to one fight in 2020 and did not fight in 2021, but since losing a majority decision challenging then-welterweight titlist Keith Thurman in 2019, Lopez has two solid wins in a row, both coming on Spence undercards — an eighth-round knockout of John Molina in September 2019 and a 10th-round stoppage of Francisco Santana in December 2020.
Crowley: “After my win in December on Showtime, I’m ready to accept the next challenge on my journey to becoming welterweight champion of the world. Josesito Lopez is always tough and he brings an exciting style to the table. Unfortunately for him, he will discover what 20 fighters before him have learned, which is that I will not be stopped from achieving my destiny. I want to thank my team for this opportunity to display my skills, heart and relentlessness on this great card at the home of the Dallas Cowboys.”
Lopez: “I’m eager and very motivated to step back in the ring and prove myself as one of the best fighters in the world. I expect a stiff challenge from Crowley and the fans can expect to see me at my very best. I’m in great shape and ready to put everything on the line.”
Two other previously announced bouts on the undercard will air live on Showtime before the pay-per-view begins: Radzhab Butaev (13-0, 10 KOs) defending his WBA “regular” welterweight title against mandatory challenger Eimantas Stanionis (13-0, 9 KOs) and junior welterweight prospect Brandun Lee (24-0, 22 KOs) taking on Zachary Ochoa (21-2, 7 KOs).
You can now read Fight Freaks Unite in the new Substack app for iPhones.
With the app, you’ll have a dedicated inbox for my Substack and any others you subscribe to. New posts won’t get lost in your email filters or stuck in spam. Longer posts won’t be cut off by your email app. Overall it’s a big upgrade to the reading experience.
The Substack app is available for iOS. If you don’t have an Apple device, you can join the Android waitlist here.
To upgrade your subscription please go here: https://danrafael.substack.com/subscribe
Thank you so much for your support of Fight Freaks Unite!
Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/danrafael1/
Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/DanRafael1
Follow me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DanRafaelBoxing