Featherweight prospect Vladimir Nikitin, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Russia, will fight on his second Michael Conlan undercard in a row as Top Rank builds toward their eventual professional rematch.
Top Rank announced on Monday that Nikitin will face Juan Tapia in a six-round bout on March 17 (ESPN+, 3 p.m. ET) at the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York, where Conlan will headline the St. Patrick’s Day card in a previously announced 10-round bout against Ruben Garcia Hernandez.
Conlan nemesis Nikitin (2-0, 0 KOs), 28, turned pro in July and then won his second pro fight on an Oct. 20 card in Las Vegas that Conlan also appeared on.
Nikitin won a hugely controversial decision over Conlan in the 2016 Rio Olympic quarterfinals that prompted Conlan to famously lash out at the judges by giving them double middle fingers in the ring and then to say that Russian president Vladimir Putin had paid off the judges to give the decision to Nikitin, who was so busted up from the fight that he withdrew from the competition and was unable to fight in the semifinals.
When Nikitin decided to turn pro he signed with Top Rank for the express purpose of eventually fighting Conlan again. He still needs more pro seasoning but it’s a fight Top Rank plans to put on eventually.
“The fight I want after I take care of business on March 17 is Michael Conlan,” Nikitin said. “He wants revenge, and I want to show everyone that I was, and still am, the superior fighter. I respect Michael and his team. While there is no bad blood outside the ring, we have unfinished business inside the ring.”
Conlan (10-0, 6 KOs), 27, of Northern Ireland, is also interested in the pro rematch with Nikitin.
“Nikitin is a rival from the 2016 Olympics and clearly someone who I look forward to fighting in the professional ranks,” Conlan said. “This is the second time we’ve fought on the same card, and I look forward to seeing his progress as a professional.”
Tapia (8-2, 3 KOs), 25, of Brownsville, Texas, is coming off an eight-round decision loss on Feb. 16 to Shakur Stevenson, a 2016 U.S. Olympic silver medalist and another of Top Rank’s best prospects.
Also added to the main card was two-time Irish Olympic bronze medalist and former world title challenger Paddy Barnes (5-1, 1 KO), 31, who will look to rebound from a fourth-round body-shot knockout loss challenging Cristofer Rosales for a flyweight world title on Aug. 18 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Barnes will face Oscar Mojica (11-5-1, 1 KO), 26, of Dallas, in a six-round bantamweight fight.
Brooklyn native and former welterweight world titlist Luis Collazo (38-7, 20 KOs), 37, will face Samuel Vargas (30-4-2, 14 KOs), 29, a Colombia native fighting out of Toronto, in a previously announced featured fight on the main card.
Also announced for the undercard:
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Top lightweight prospect Joseph Adorno (11-0, 10 KOs), 19, of Allentown, Pennsylvania, will face Victor Rosas (10-8, 4 KOs), 31, of Laredo, Texas, in a six-rounder.
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Junior welterweight Josue Vargas (12-1, 8 KOs), 20, of Bronx, New York, will face Adriano Ramirez (10-2, 6 KOs), 34, of the Dominican Republic, in an eight-rounder.
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Junior welterweight John Bauza (11-0, 5 KOs), 20, of North Bergen, New Jersey, will have his first fight since signing with Top Rank against Ricardo Maldonado (8-8-1, 1 KO), 30, of Arlington, Washington, in a six-rounder.
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Welterweight Lee Reeves (2-0, 2 KOs), 24, a two-time Irish national amateur champion, will meet Eduardo Torres (1-1, 0 KOs) in a four-round fight.