September just keeps getting better and better for boxing fans. Premier Boxing Champions have made sure that the very end of the month will have even more action.
For those thinking the WBSS final at the end of the month in Saudi Arabia between George Groves and Callum Smith was the last bit of interesting action to look forward to in September, there’s more.
Unbeaten featherweight contender Brandon Figueroa takes on rugged veteran Oscar Escandon in a 10-round bout and 2016 British Olympian Joe Joyce battles Iago Kiladze in an eight-round heavyweight attraction in Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes action Sunday, September 30 from Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, California.
The telecast begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and will also see 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas (6-0, 5 KOs) continue his rise in the lightweight ranks in a six-round match and 2016 Nigerian Olympian Efe Ajagba (6-0, 5 KOs) returning to the ring in a six-round heavyweight fight. Sensational super welterweight prospect Joey Spencer (4-0, 4 KOs) steps in for his fifth fight this year in a four-round bout.
Former welterweight champion “Vicious” Victor Ortiz (36-6-3, 25 KOs) clashes with hard-hitting brawler John Molina, Jr. (30-7, 24 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight battle that promises plenty of action and fireworks in the main event.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions and Ringstar Sports, are on sale now and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com.
Figueroa (16-0, 11 KOs), the brother of former lightweight world champion Omar Figueroa, Jr., continues to climb the ladder in the featherweight division with a step up match against the tough former title challenger Escandon. The 21-year-old out of Weslaco, Texas was busy last year as he won all four of his matches and he has logged two knockout victories this year, beating Giovanni Delgado in March and Luis Roy Suarez Cruz in his last fight on August 4.
The 34-year-old Escandon (25-4, 17 KOs), who fought in the 2004 Olympian for Colombia, is a hardnosed veteran from Ibague, Colombia looking to rebound from two tough losses to Tugstsogt Nyambayar on May 26 on FS1 and WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell, Jr. in 2017.
A 6-foot-6 heavyweight, Joyce (5-0, 5 KOs) won the silver medal in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games as a super heavyweight from Great Britain. The 32-year-old from London turned pro in 2017 and has been on a knockout roll since. Joyce, whose nickname is ‘Juggernaut,’ has ended four of his five fights inside of two rounds. He scored a first-round KO victory over Ivica Bacurin in his last fight on June 15.
Kiladze (26-3, 18 KOs) is an experienced veteran who will test Joyce early in his young career. The 32-year-old out of Ukraine who now lives in Los Angeles and will be looking to rebound from back-to-back losses to Michael Hunter and Adam Kownacki. Before those losses he had put together a six-match win streak.
The 22-year-old Balderas (6-0, 5 KOs), a first-generation Mexican-American, competed on the U.S. Olympic boxing team in the 2016 Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil before turning pro in April 2017. Representing Santa Maria, Calif., Balderas scored knockout victories in his last two fights and will look to make it three in a row when he enters the ring on September 30.
The 24-year-old Ajagba (6-0, 5 KOs), who represented Nigeria in the 2016 Olympics, will be stepping into the ring again a month after his last match ended in disqualification. His opponent, Curtis Harper, walked out of the ring without throwing a punch after touching gloves and the bell sounded to start the fight on Aug. 24 that was live on FS1.
