The preliminary bouts prior to the April 20 pay-per-view broadcast headlined by welterweight world titlist Terence Crawford defending against Amir Khan will air live on ESPN2, Top Rank announced on Wednesday.
The pay-per-view (9 p.m. ET) from Madison Square Garden in New York will feature four bouts with a five-fight broadcast of preliminary fights kicking off the night at 6 p.m. ET. The ESPN2 telecast will be topped by up-and-coming junior middleweight Carlos Adames taking on Frank Galarza in a 10-round match.
Adames (16-0, 13 KOs), 24, of the Dominican Republic, signed with Top Rank last year after first coming to the attention of company officials after giving Crawford quality sparring.
“I am thrilled and proud to fight at Madison Square Garden once again,” said Adames, who made his Top Rank debut at MSG last May on the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Jorge Linares undercard. “It is a great honor to be in action on such a big stage and on an important card like this one.”
The fight will be Adames’ first under the tutelage of renowned trainer Robert Garcia.
“We are working on a lot of new things,” Adames said. “This will be the new era of ‘Caballo Bronco.’ Frank Galarza is a good, experienced fighter. I know he has faced good opposition and that he is training hard for this fight. It will be a very interesting fight because he will be battling against someone that wants to be one of the greats in the sport. I’m coming to make noise in the 154-pound division.”
Galarza (20-2-2, 12 KOs), 33, of Brooklyn, has won three fights in a row since back-to-back losses to unified world titleholder Jarrett Hurd – before he won his belts – and former world titlist Ishe Smith in 2015 and 2016, respectively.
“There is no better place for this fight to be than at the Garden,” Galarza said. “It’s a dream come true for me. I’m ready to show the world what I’m really made of. Carlos and I both are ranked in the top 15 in the WBO. He is coming to my backyard, and it’s going to be a great fight.”
Also, former Indian amateur standout Vikas “The Indian Tank” Krishan (1-0, 1 KO) will face Noah Kidd (3-1-1, 2 KOs), 23, of Jefferson City, Missouri, in a six-round junior middleweight bout.
Krishan was a two-time Olympian and is the most decorated amateur boxer in Indian history signed with Top Rank last fall. He is the only Indian fighter to win gold medals at the Asian and Commonwealth Games. Krishan turned pro with a first-round knockout victory on Jan. 18 on the Oscar Rivas-Bryant Jennings undercard.
“As I continue my pro journey, it’s an honor to fight on such a significant card,” Krishan said. “There is a large Indian population in New York and New Jersey, and I can’t wait to see the support from my Indian people. It’s going to be a special night.”
Also on the ESPN2 telecast:
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Puerto Rican middleweight Edgar Berlanga (9-0, 9 KOs), 21, of New York, who has won all of his fights by first-round knockout, will face Samir Dos Santos (37-15-3, 26 KOs), 38, of Brazil, in a scheduled eight-round fight. The fight will be Berlanga’s first since signing with Top Rank.
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Bantamweight Lawrence Newton (11-0, 7 KOs), 22, of Boynton Beach, Florida, and a stablemate of Crawford’s, will face Jonathan Garza (7-2, 2 KOs), 22, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, in a six-round fight.
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Junior welterweight Larry Fryers (9-1, 3 KOs), 28, an Ireland native fighting out of New York, will face Dakota Polley (5-2, 2 KOs), 20, of Saint Joseph, Missouri, in a four- or six-round bout.