Pick It: Robson Conceicao vs. O’Shaquie Foster II
When to Watch: Saturday, November 2.
The preliminary broadcast begins at 5:50 p.m. Eastern Time (9:50 p.m. GMT).
According to a Top Rank spokesman, the co-featured bout (Raymond Muratalla vs. Jesus Perez) is expected to begin around 10 p.m. Eastern Time (2 a.m. GMT).
How to watch: ESPN+
Why to Watch: Foster feels he was robbed on the scorecards — and therefore robbed of his world title — when he and Conceicao first met nearly four months ago in New Jersey. He’s looking to right a wrong.
Conceicao, meanwhile, believes he deserved the win the first time around. And he’ll look to make his case more emphatically in this rematch. That victory over Foster was the fourth world title try for Conceicao. He doesn’t want to go back to being title-less so soon.
All of which could lead to a more entertaining approach from both men.
Foster understandably thought he had done more than enough before, limiting Conceicao to just 76 landed punches out of 701 thrown, a mere 10.8% connect rate, according to CompuBox. Conceicao went 27 of 388 with jabs (7%) and 49 of 313 with power shots (15.7%)
Meanwhile, Foster was 109 of 435 in total (25.1%), including 51 of 263 with jabs (19.4%) and 58 of 172 with power shots (33.7%).
Except the judges apparently favored activity over accuracy, aggression over defense. Conceicao got the split decision. Two judges gave the nod to Conceicao 116-112 and 115-113, while the other arbiter saw things for Foster by a 116-112 margin.
As unfair as it might be, Foster (22-3, 12 KOs) will need to do more to differentiate himself from Conceicao if he wants to regain his WBC title, which was vacant when he topped Rey Vargas for the belt by unanimous decision in February 2023.
Close fights on the scorecards became a theme as the 31-year-old from Texas made his defenses. Foster was far behind on the cards before stopping Eduardo Hernandez with mere seconds to go in the 12th round of their fight in October 2023. And he similarly scored a pivotal knockdown in the 12th round of his February defense against Abraham Nova, picking up a split decision win.
Conceicao (19-2-1, 9 KOs) feels he was himself deprived of victory by judges in two of his title shots. The 2016 Olympic lightweight gold medalist dropped a decision to Oscar Valdez in 2021 and had to settle for a draw against Emanuel Navarrete in November 2023. (A decision loss to Shakur Stevenson in 2022 was without dispute.)
Conceicao, who hails from Salvador, Brazil, is now 36 years old. He may only have a few good years left in the sport. Retaining this world title would help him maximize whatever time is left.
The victor may move toward a fight with the winner of another rematch, December’s fight between Navarrete (the WBO titleholder) and Valdez. Foster has also exchanged words with WBA titleholder Lamont Roach Jnr, though Roach is expected to challenge lightweight titleholder Gervonta Davis next.
As for the undercard at the Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York:
Raymond Muratalla vs. Jesus Perez: Muratalla (21-0, 16 KOs) is a lightweight contender making his third appearance of 2024. In his last fight, the 27-year-old from Fontana, California, defeated his best opponent yet, winning a unanimous decision over former 130-pound titleholder Tevin Farmer.
Muratalla is in the same Top Rank stable as Vasiliy Lomachenko and Keyshawn Davis. A win here could set Muratalla up for fighting for a title — whether it’s the IBF belt (especially in case Lomachenko retires) or for the WBO belt currently held by Denys Berinchyk.
Perez (25-5, 18 KOs) is a 27-year-old from Tijuana, Mexico. He’s coming off the biggest win of his career, a split decision over Joseph Diaz Jnr in February. That fight was at junior welterweight. Prior to that, Perez had a pair of defeats at welterweight, losing decisions to Alexis Rocha in 2022 and Brian Norman Jnr in 2023. Can Perez score another upset?
Abraham Nova vs. Humberto Galindo: Nova has lost both of his fights in 2024 so far, dropping a split decision in a title bout with O’Shaquie Foster in February and a unanimous decision to Andres Cortes in June. The 30-year-old, who was born in Puerto Rico and now lives in Albany, New York, is 23-3 (16 KOs). His other defeat came via fifth-round knockout against Robeisy Ramirez in 2022.
Galindo is a 24-year-old born in West Covina, California, and living in Tijuana. He is 14-3-2 (11 KOs) and has gone 1-3-1 in his last five fights, with his three most recent appearances bringing a unanimous decision loss to Artem Harutyunyan in 2022, a ninth-round knockout loss to the aforementioned Muratalla in March 2023, and a draw with the 25-13 Oscar Bravo in October 2023. This will be Galindo’s first fight in more than a year.
Wednesday, October 30: Rene Santiago vs. Azael Villar (ESPN+)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT).
There are two fights featuring 108- and 112-pound contenders at the Coliseo Alcalde Marcelo Trujillo Panisse in Humacao, Puerto Rico.
At junior flyweight is a fight between Santiago and Villar.
Santiago (12-4, 9 KOs) is from Humacao and therefore in the main event. In his last outing, the 32-year-old dropped a unanimous decision to titleholder Jonathan Gonzalez in March.
Villar (21-3-4, 15 KOs) is a 30-year-old from Panama City, Panama. In March, he lost a unanimous decision to contender Jairo Noriega. Villar returned in July with a decision over the 7-2 Kevin Vivas.
Also on this show: a flyweight bout between Juan Carlos Camacho and Jayson Mama.
Camacho (17-1, 8 KOs) is a 28-year-old living in Juana Diaz, Puerto Rico. In his last three appearances, Camacho outpointed former contender Carlos Buitrago, took out the 17-3-2 Jorge Orozco in one round and outpointed the 27-12-4 Josue Morales.
Mama is 20-1 (10 KOs), so only half the time has Mama said knock you out. He’s notched four straight victories since suffering his lone defeat, a wide decision against Sunny Edwards in December 2021.
Friday, November 1: Jamaine Ortiz vs. Cristian Ruben Mino (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT).
Ortiz (17-2-1, 8 KOs) has come up short on the scorecards against two big names, dropping decisions to Vasiliy Lomachenko at lightweight in 2022 and against junior welterweight titleholder Teofimo Lopez in February. If the 28-year-old from Worcester, Massachusetts, is going to be in the mix in the packed 140-pound division, then he will need to put together a series of victories.
He’ll seek to start that streak with this main event at the Caribe Royale Orlando. Ortiz will face Mino (24-9-2, 17 KOs), a 27-year-old from outside of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Mino has lost two of his last three, both by first-round knockout, taken out in 86 seconds by Manuel Jaimes at lightweight in May 2023 and in 91 seconds by Vlad Panin at junior middleweight last December. In-between those defeats, Mino outpointed the 9-45-7 Sergio Alejandro Blanco.
Friday, November 1: Padraig McCrory vs. Leonard Carrillo (ProBoxTV.com)
The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. GMT).
McCrory (18-1, 9 KOs) has competed over the years at both super middleweight and light heavyweight. He’s returning to 175 for his first appearance since his first loss, when he was knocked out in six rounds by Edgar Berlanga in February. The 36-year-old hails from Belfast, Northern Ireland, and will be performing in front of his home crowd at the SSE Arena.
Carrillo (17-5, 16 KOs) is a 35-year-old from Barranquilla, Colombia, and now fighting out of Barcelona, Spain. He’s dropped four of his last six and also has spent much of his career down at junior middleweight and middleweight. He might be too small and may be there, in essence, to help send McCrory’s fans home happy.
On the undercard, Robbie Davies Jnr faces Javier Fortuna.
Davies (23-5, 15 KOs) will try to end his two-fight losing streak. He was stopped in three rounds by Darragh Foley in March 2023 and then outpointed by Sergey Lipinets this past May.
Fortuna (38-4-1, 27 KOs) has lost two of his last four. He lost a decision to Joseph Diaz Jnr in 2021, took out a designated opponent in February 2022, was taken out in six rounds by Ryan Garcia in July 2022, and last appeared nearly 14 months ago, dispatching the 19-8 Juan Medina in two rounds in September 2023.
(Note: BoxingScene.com is owned by ProBox.)
Friday, November 1: Tahmir Smalls vs. Seantorious Martin (DAZN)
The broadcast begins at 7:15 p.m. Eastern Time (11:15 p.m. GMT).
These two unbeaten junior middleweights will face off in the main event at the Red Owl Boxing Club in Houston.
Smalls (11-0, 8 KOs) is a 25-year-old from Philadelphia. He’s won five straight by knockout, all in the first round, including a 30-second victory in February over the 22-12 Bruno Leonardo Romay.
Martin (10-0, 6 KOs) is a 28-year-old from Marietta, Georgia, returning to the ring after 14 months away. This will be his first time facing an opponent with more wins than losses. In Martin’s last appearance, he shut out the 17-32 Brandon Baue over six rounds.
Friday, November 1: Josniel Castro vs. Denzel Whitley (BXNG TV)
The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. GMT).
This is a junior middleweight fight headlining at the DCU Center in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Castro (13-1, 8 KOs) is a 27-year-old originally from Carolina, Puerto Rico, and now living in Boca Raton, Florida. His lone loss came in January 2023, when he was knocked out in four rounds by the 6-3-2 Mitch Louis-Charles. Castro has won four in a row since then.
Whitley (14-0, 8 KOs) is a 26-year-old from Holyoke, Massachusetts. In his last two appearances, he took a split decision over the 7-0-1 Kenny Larson and took out the 3-6 Joe Wilson Jnr in two rounds.
Saturday, November 2: Floyd Schofield vs. Rene Tellez Giron (DAZN)
The main broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (midnight GMT). A preliminary broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (10 p.m. GMT).
Schofield (17-0, 12 KOs) is a 22-year-old lightweight prospect who is four years into his pro career and is continuing to develop. In March, the Texan defeated the 13-1 Esteuri Suero via fifth-round disqualification after a series of fouls.
Schofield was supposed to return in July on the undercard of Mike Tyson vs. Jake Paul but instead was sidelined when that show was postponed.
He’ll face Rene Tellez Giron (20-3, 13 KOs), a 25-year-old who is coming off a June technical knockout of the 20-2-1 Alex Dilmaghani. Giron came in massively overweight for that bout. The fighter from Queretaro, Mexico, has shocked other fighters, knocking out prospect Carlos Balderas in six rounds in 2019 and outpointing the 17-1 George Acosta in February.
Giron’s three defeats came against a pair of then-undefeated prospects in Michel Rivera (UD8 in 2019) and Giovanni Cabrera (UD8 in 2022), and against the 26-3 Jose Matias Romero (MD10 in 2023).
This show at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas featured a pair of undercard bouts worth mentioning — including a fight for the undisputed women’s flyweight championship.
That contest is between Gabriela Celeste Alaniz (WBA, WBC and WBO) and Gabriela Fundora IBF).
Alaniz, a 28-year-old from Buenos Aires, won the WBO title with a seventh-round TKO victory over Tamara Elisabet Demarco in 2022. After one defense, Alaniz stepped in with unified WBA and WBC titleholder Marlen Esparza in July 2023. Esparza won their first fight by majority decision. Alaniz took the rematch, and all three belts, with a split decision in April. She is now 15-1 (6 KOs).
Fundora, a 22-year-old from Coachella, California, is the younger sister of unified junior middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora. She’s made her own name, utilizing her 5-foot-9 frame and boxing ability well while building a record of 14-0 (6 KOs). Fundora captured the IBF title in October 2023 with a fifth-round TKO of Arely Mucino and has since defended it with a 10th-round TKO of Christina Cruz and a shutout decision over Daniela Asenjo.
Also on this show: super middleweight Bektemir Melikuziev (14-1, 10 KOs) goes for his eighth straight win since he suffered a knockout upset at the hands of Gabriel Rosado in 2021. Melikuziev won their rematch in 2023 with a wide decision. Since then, he’s also stopped Alantez Fox in four rounds and taken an eight-round technical decision over the previously undefeated Pierre Hubert Dibombe.
Melikuziev’s opponent is David Stevens, who is also 14-1 (10 KOs). Stevens was put away in one round by Joeshon James in October 2023 and then returned this June with a first-round TKO of the 14-5 Sergio Nahuel Lopez.
Saturday, November 2: Liam Davies vs. Shabaz Masoud (TNT Sports 2)
The broadcast begins at 7 p.m. GMT.
Davies (16-0, 8 KOs) is a junior featherweight contender who wants to be in with the big names in the division, including undisputed champion Naoya Inoue. But for the nearer future, the 28-year-old from Donnington, England, is eyeing fights with the likes of countryman Dennis McCann, among other opponents.
Davies has scored three straight victories by stoppage, defeating the 32-6 Jason Cunningham in one round, the 13-0 Vincenzo La Femina in five, and the 15-1 Erik Robles Ayala in two.
Masoud, given his pro record of 13-0 (4 KOs), has never been stopped himself. The 28-year-old from Stoke-on-Kent stopped the 17-0 Jack Bateson in late 2022, took a split decision over the 34-7-1 Jose Sanmartin in late 2023, and shut out the 24-17 Marvin Solano in July in a bout held several pounds north of 122.
On the undercard at Resorts World in Birmingham, England:
Former undisputed women’s junior welterweight champion Chantelle Cameron (19-1, 8 KOs) will fight for the second time since her loss to Katie Taylor in their November 2023 rematch. The 33-year-old from Northampton returned in July, taking a majority decision over Elhem Mekhaled to pick up the interim WBC belt — and a potential shot at the winner of another rematch, this one between Taylor and Amanda Serrano on November 15.
Cameron’s opponent is Patricia Berghult (17-1, 4 KOs), a 30-year-old from Malmo, Sweden, who won a vacant junior middleweight title in November 2021, outpointing Olivia Belkacem, but lost it via unanimous decision to Natasha Jonas in September 2022. She’s since moved down in weight and won two in a row.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2 and @UnitedBoxingPod. He is the co-host of the United Boxing Podcast. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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