Top Rank's November 2nd undercard in Carson, California will see the return of Oklahoma City’s Alex “El Cholo” Saucedo. In the opposite corner will be Pennsylvania's Rod Salka, who faces Saucedo in an eight-round junior welterweight bout. Saucedo-Salka and the rest of the undercard will stream live on ESPN+ beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.
Saucedo (28-1, 18 KOs), who turned 25 years old in June, overcame cuts and a swollen face to knock out Lenny Zappavigna in front of his hometown fans in a 2018 Fight of the Year contender. He returned to the Chesapeake Energy Arena last November and was knocked out in seven rounds by Maurice Hooker in a failed bid for the WBO junior welterweight world title. Saucedo regrouped and enlisted the services of a new trainer, Pedro Neme. Saucedo and Neme have been working together for the past four months and have focused on refining his defensive skills.
Salka (24-5, 4 KOs) has not fought since an April 2018 knockout loss to former champion Francisco Vargas, but before the Vargas defeat, he had won five in a row.
“I am excited to finally be back in the ring,” Saucedo said. “I enjoyed my time off, but the time was right to come back. I have a new team and can’t wait to show everyone the new Alex Saucedo. On November 2nd, I will steal the show.”
In other undercard bouts:
Southern California native and 2008 U.S. Olympian Javier Molina (20-2, 8 KOs) hopes to extend his winning streak to four versus Hiroki Okada (19-1, 13 KOs) in a ten-round junior welterweight bout. Okada fought Ray Beltran in an ESPN-televised Fight of the Year candidate in February, losing via ninth-round knockout.
“I’m pumped to be fighting an opponent like Hiroki Okada,” Molina said. “We know he’s a tough fighter, but these are the types of fights we are looking for. A win over him will get me one step closer to a world title shot, and that’s what we are aiming for. He’s coming off a loss to Beltran, so we know he’s hungry to get back in the win column. We are going to be ready for anything he brings to the table.”
2016 Australian Olympian Daniel Lewis (4-0, 3 KOs) will make his United States debut against Alexis Gaytan (6-4, 2 KOs) in a 154-pound bout scheduled for eight rounds.
Armenian welterweight Gor Yeritsyan (11-0, 10 KOs) will face fellow unbeaten Damien Lopez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) in an eight-rounder. The Freddie Roach-trained Yeritsyan has won four straight bouts via knockout.
Dominican junior welterweight Elvis Rodriguez (4-0-1, 4 KOs) will make his fifth ring appearance of 2019 against Chile's Luis Norambuena (4-4-1, 0 KOs) in a six rounder.
Raymond Muratalla (8-0, 6 KOs) will fight Arnulfo Becerra (7-2, 5 KOs) in a six-rounder at lightweight.
Ruben Rodriguez (9-0, 3 KOs), from Indio, California, will see action in a six-round junior welterweight bout versus an opponent to be named.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Zanfer Promotions and Peltz Boxing, tickets can be purchased by visiting AXS.com, charge by phone at 888-9-AXS-TIX (888-929-7849) and in person at the Dignity Health Sports Park Box Office (Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. PT to 6 p.m. PT).
