Emiliano Fernando Vargas, Troy Isley to feature on Mikaela Mayer-Sandy Ryan rematch undercard

The undercard is set for Mikaela Mayer and Sandy Ryan’s March 29 rematch at the BleauLive Theater at Fontainebleau Las Vegas. In the co-feature, Brian Norman Jnr makes the first defense of his WBO welterweight world title against Puerto Rico’s Derrieck Cuevas.

Junior welterweight Emiliano Fernando Vargas and middleweight Troy Isley will feature in separate bouts on the card.

Vargas will take on veteran Giovannie Gonzalez in an eight-rounder, while Isley squares off against Etoundi Michel William in a 10-round clash. This will be both Vargas’ and Isley’s first fight of 2025.

Vargas, 12-0, (10 KOs), the 20-year-old son of former junior middleweight world champion Fernando Vargas, had a successful 2024. He outpointed Nelson Hampton in March before stopping Angel Varela in the sixth round in May. A month later, he tore through Jose Zaragoza in a first-round stoppage and tallied a fifth-round TKO over Larry Fryers in September. Gonzalez, 20-7-2 (15 KOs), is a veteran who last fought in October, dropping an eight-round decision to Jose Luis Vazquez.

Isley, 14-0 (5 KOs), launched his pro career in February 2021 and is now trained by Brian “BoMac” McIntyre. The 26-year-old scored three wins in 2024. In March, he stopped Marcos Hernandez in the seventh round. Three months later, he beat his former amateur rival Javier Martinez over 10 rounds. He also defeated Tyler Howard in November. William, 16-1 (12 KOs), is a 31-year-old native of Ivory Coast who suffered his first defeat against Jose Miguel Borrego in October.

Unbeaten featherweight contender Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington will face Jose Enrique Vivas in a 10-round WBC final eliminator, the featured bout of the ESPN+-streamed undercard. Vargas-Gonzalez and Isley-William will also stream live and exclusively on ESPN+.

In other undercard action, Cleveland’s 14-0 (6 KOs) Tiger Johnson will return in an eight-round welterweight tilt against San Antonio-born Kendo Castaneda, 21-8 (9 KOs). Last year, he vanquished Paulo Cesar Galdino via first-round TKO in February and registered eight-round decision victories over Tarik Zaina in June and Yomar Alamo in September. Johnson, a Tokyo Olympian, was supposed to fight on February 14 before his opponent withdrew due to weight issues.

Dedrick Crocklem, 1-0 (1 KO), the latest boxing talent from Tacoma, Washington, goes for pro win number two in a four-round junior lightweight bout versus Dionne Ruvalcaba, 2-1 (1 KO). Crocklem signed with Top Rank in December and made his pro debut last month in Tacoma with a hometown second-round TKO against Nesly Trezile.

Mayer-Ryan II and Norman-Cuevas will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN+ at 10pm ET/7pm PT.