Avila Perspective, Chap. 313: Global Cooperation — Golden Boy and Matchroom Boxing

Boxing always spreads the wealth globally.

This weekend, in particular, powerhouse promotions Golden Boy and Matchroom Boxing connect in a super lightweight main event with world title implications on Saturday, Feb. 15. First in Manchester, England, then moving on to Anaheim, California in the USA.

DAZN will stream both cards.

Saturday morning begins in England where native son Jack Catterall (30-1, 13 KOs) meets Southern California’s Arnold Barboza (31-0, 11 KOs) in a super lightweight eliminator to decide who meets champion Devin Haney later this year.

Yes, Haney still retained the super lightweight world titles though starched badly by Ryan Garcia last April in New York. PED results forced the titles to remain with Haney.

Catterall, 31, who fights for Matchroom Boxing, just recently fought and defeated Regis Prograis last October in Manchester. Both traded knockdowns with the clever southpaw from Lancashire emerging the victor.

Barboza, 33, who fights for Golden Boy, recently won convincingly against former world champion Jose Carlos Ramirez when they battled in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia this past November.

Also, on the Matchroom Boxing card, will be an interesting super featherweight title match between Reece Bellotti (19-5. 14 KOs) and Michael Gomez Jr. (21-1, 6 KOs) for British titles.

SoCal

As soon as the British boxing card ends on DAZN, the Southern California portion begins with the main card featuring Oscar Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) against late replacement Miguel Madueno (31-3, 28 KOs) in another super lightweight clash.

Oscar Duarte

The Golden Boy boxing card takes place at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Doors open at 1 p.m. Pacific Time.

Duarte was supposed to fight Regis Prograis, but the former world champion was forced to withdraw due to injury. A week ago, Madueno was selected to take the place of Prograis. It’s now a battle between Mexican sluggers.

Madueno, 26, last fought and lost by decision against Keyshawn Davis. The Sinaloan also lost to Canada’s Steve Claggett. Audiences in Southern California are very familiar with Madueno who fought several times on Thompson Boxing shows in Ontario and Corona, Calif. He likes to bang.

“Duarte is a tough, aggressive fighter who comes forward with power, But I’m prepared for that style,” Madueno said. “This is going to be a battle of two Mexican warriors.”

Duarte, 29, has back-to-back wins over Jojo Diaz and Botirzhon Ahkmedov since losing by knockout to Ryan Garcia on December 2023. The late replacement appeals to Duarte because of his similar fighting style.

“I’m ready for this fight and for this war,” said Duarte at the press conference on Thursday. “He is going to stand in front of me.”

Oscar De La Hoya said that though they regret Prograis was unable to fight, the replacement Madueno offers a stylistic matchup that appeals to fans.

“He’s a very exciting fighter and a hard worker,” said De La Hoya of Duarte. “He is in a tough fight.”

Some of the other interesting fights include welterweight phenom Joel Iriarte, an undefeated fighter from Bakersfield, Calif. Also, super middleweight Darius Fulghum of Houston meets Winfred Harris Jr. of Detroit in the semi-main event. Twelve bouts are planned in Anaheim.

Mohegan Sun – Love and War

On Saturday, at the Mohegan Sun, a solid fight card by CES Boxing is led by Rashidi Ellis (25-1) meeting Jose Angulo (16-9) in a welterweight fight. Also, featherweights Carlos Gonzalez (14-0) fights Alexander Espinoza (23-6-2). DAZN will stream the fight card.

Ellis is based in nearby Massachusetts and has wins over So Cal’s Alex Acosta and New York’s Eddie Gomez. He is a stylish fighter who relies on technique, but can pop.

Felix Sturm

In Germany, former world champion Felix Sturm (44-6-3, 19 KOs) at 46 is fighting Benjamin Blindert (14-1-2, 10 KOs), who is 38 on Saturday at Bayern, Germany.

Yes, it’s the same Sturm who fought Oscar De La Hoya back in 2004. It brings back memories to see the German fighter’s name. I remember when he was first supposed to fight De La Hoya back around 2001 or so. The promoters staged a welcome home media day at the Santa Monica Airport. I remember that day vividly because I forgot to check my gas and barely made it to the airport parking lot. When I returned to the car it would not start. I was out of gas. It took me two hours to get the car started again.

That fight did not happen that year due to an injury by De La Hoya. They later fought in a quasi-middleweight world title tournament a couple of years later. De La Hoya won a squeaker in Las Vegas. Then he fought Bernard Hopkins to unify the middleweight division. Hopkins won.

Sturm was always a very solid fighter. Not a big puncher, but a strong fighter with technique. That’s what has kept him in the game.

Fights to Watch

Sat. DAZN 11 a.m. Jack Catterall (30-1) vs Arnold Barboza (31-0).

Sat. DAZN 4:30 p.m. Rashidi Ellis (25-1) vs Jose Angulo (16-9).

Sat. DAZN 5 p.m. Oscar Duarte (28-2-1) vs Miguel Madueno (31-3).

Oscar Duarte photo credit: Al Applerose