Fight fans have a busy schedule ahead, with action happening from the U.S. to Japan, plus a stop in England. The main spotlight falls on Naoya Inoue defending his undisputed super bantamweight belts against late-replacement Ye Joon Kim in Tokyo. But there are plenty of other can’t-miss matchups spread across three days, including Eric Priest vs. Tyler Howard on Thursday with Lopez vs. Castillo on Friday, followed by Dalton Smith vs. Walid Ouizza and Diego Pacheco vs. Steven Nelson on Saturday.
Eric Priest and Tyler Howard collide at Commerce Casino & Hotel in California for a 10-round middleweight main event. Priest remains undefeated and hopes a strong showing puts him on the map, while Howard tries to rebound from a loss. Jordan Panthen vs. DeAundre Pettus in the co-feature, plus Hector Valdez, Franklin Gonzalez, and others round out a busy undercard.
Naoya Inoue defends his undisputed 122-pound championship in Tokyo against South Korea’s Ye Joon Kim. The challenger stepped in after Sam Goodman withdrew due to an injury setback. It’s Inoue’s eighth straight fight in Japan, and he’s hungry for another KO. On the undercard, Jin Sasaki meets Shoki Saka in a 10-round welterweight clash.
Also, light heavyweight prospect Najee Lopez meets Lenin Castillo in Tampa, Florida. Lopez has been on a tear with three ProBox wins this year, but faces a seasoned foe who’s shared the ring with some boxing legends.
Dalton Smith takes on Walid Ouizza at Nottingham Arena with the WBC “Silver” super lightweight title and the vacant EBU European belt on the line. Ellie Scotney defends her IBF and WBO super bantamweight titles on the undercard. Later in Las Vegas, Diego Pacheco puts his WBC USA and WBO International straps at super middleweight on the line against Steven Nelson. Andy Cruz battles Omar Salcido Gamez, and former two-division champ Jose Pedraza faces Ernesto Mercado in a potential thriller at 140.
Image Credit: Top Rank