After more than a year away from the ring, unified welterweight world titlist Errol Spence Jr. returns to defend his WBC and IBF belts against Danny Garcia on Saturday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Spence (26-0, 21 KOs) defeated Shawn Porter in September 2019 and as talks were heating up for his next fight, Spence was involved in a one-car accident that left him hospitalized with lacerations on his face and broken teeth. He was charged with driving while intoxicated. Spence was able to return to training in March, but there are a lot of questions about his ability to take punches after the accident.
Garcia (36-2, 21KOs), is a former junior welterweight lineal champion and welterweight world titlist. He has lost his past two attempts to recapture a 147-pound belt in close decision loses to Porter and Keith Thurman, but had a dominant performance in a one-sided victory over Ivan Redkach in January.
In the co-main event, Sebastian “The Towering Inferno” Fundora takes on Habib Ahmed in a WBC junior middleweight eliminator. Fundora (15-0-1, 10 KOs) has two victories thus far in 2020, a unanimous decision over Daniel Lewis in February and a sixth-round KO against Nathaniel Gallimore in August. Ahmed (27-1-1, 18 KOs) replaced original opponent Jorge Cota this week after Cota tested positive for COVID-19.
Also on the PPV undercard, Josesito Lopez (37-9, 20 KOs) takes on Francisco Santana (25-8-1, 12 KOs) in a welterweight battle, and Eduardo Ramirez (23-2-3, 10 KOs) faces Miguel Flores (24-3, 12 KOs) in a WBA featherweight eliminator.
Ben Baby provides recaps and analysis from the action as it happens.
Fight in progress: Vito Mielnicki Jr. vs. Steven Pulluaim, 6 rounds, welterweights
Results:
Delgado upsets Brooks in split decision win
The Spence camp is hoping the start to Saturday night’s TV undercard isn’t an omen for the team for the rest of the evening. Burley Brooks, who is under the tutelage of Spence trainer Derrick James, suffered a rather surprising upset loss against Marco Delgado.
Delgado won in a split decision, 59-53, 55-57, 59-53 in a fight that was nowhere near as close as the scorecards indicated. Despite a severe height and reach disadvantage, Delgado was able to get inside easily and landed big hooks and power shots in nearly every round, including in the second when Brooks was hobbled by a left hook to the top of the head. Brooks was docked two points for low blows, which made judge Javier Alvarez’s scorecard in his favor even more puzzling. It’s a great moment for Delgado (7-1, 5 KOs) and one that should be a major learning experience for Brooks (6-1, 5 KOs) as he continues his career.
Still to come:
-
Title fight: Errol Spence Jr. vs. Danny Garcia, 12 rounds, for Spence’s WBC and IBF welterweight titles
-
Sebastian Fundora vs. Habib Ahmed, 12 rounds, WBC junior middleweight eliminator
-
Josesito Lopez vs. Francisco Santana 10 rounds, welterweights
-
Eduardo Ramirez vs. Miguel Flores, 12 rounds, WBA featherweight eliminator
-
Isaac Avelar vs. Sakaria Lukas, 10 rounds, featherweights