The battle between WBA “Regular” Welterweight Champion Manny Pacquiao and WBA Super World Welterweight titleholder Keith Thurman is the undeniable draw for the July 20 card at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, but the fight will be preceded by a pretty strong undercard.
Take a look at the fights that will set up the main event.
IBF Super Middleweight – (c) Caleb Plant (18-0, 10 KO) vs. Mike Lee (21-0, 11 KO)
After a spirited and impressive performance against Jose Uzcategui to capture the IBF title in January, Plant is set for his first world title defense against Chicago’s Mike Lee. Both men are undefeated as professionals, and this should be an entertaining scrap.
Neither Plant nor Lee is a big puncher, so this is a fight that looks like it’ll go the distance, but you never know until they lock horns in the ring.
WBC Welterweight – Yordenis Ugas (23-4, 11 KO) vs. Omar Figueroa Jr. (28-0-1, 19 KO)
Fresh off a controversial loss to Shawn Porter in his last fight, Ugas climbs into the ring with former world champion Omar Figueroa Jr. The latter is trying to regain momentum after long periods of inactivity. Figueroa Jr. is still undefeated at 28-0-1. In his last bout, he scored a unanimous-decision victory over John Molina Jr. A win would potentially elevate him into the conversation amongst the next tier of welterweights signed with Premier Boxing Champions.
At one point, I thought Figueroa might be a good opponent for Pacquiao, but the legend and PBC had sights set higher. If Figueroa were to pull off a win against Ugas, it would go a long way toward raising his stock.
Welterweight – Sergey Lipinets (15-1, 11 KO) vs. John Molina Jr. (30-8, 24 KO)
Lipinets is a man with some positive momentum. He scored a thrilling stoppage victory over the rugged Lamont Peterson in March, which led to the latter’s retirement. He’s not drawing an elite fighter in Molina, but one who is experienced and who has been in with many of the top names in the division.
This could turn out to be a bit of a showcase fight for Lipinets against an opponent who hasn’t been hard to hit throughout his career. However, Molina can take a shot, and he has power. Lipinets never backs down from a slugfest, so this one could be another brawl.
Thurman – Pacquiao Presser
The two main-eventers met face-to-face for a presser on Wednesday in Los Angeles. While there is evident respect between the two men, Thurman made it known, he plans on stopping Pacquiao. It’s also clear, Pacquiao is motivated by taking on a challenge from a man 10 years his junior whom everyone seems to believe will beat him.
Pacquiao is unlike anyone we’ve seen in the sport, so he’s a hard fighter to count out?even when all signs point to a defeat. That makes the fight all the more compelling, and the respectable undercard doesn’t hurt the overall broadcast.
