Undefeated Brazilian Esquiva “La Pantera” Falcao will look to turn back China's Ainiwaer Yilixiati in a ten-round middleweight fight Saturday, Feb. 1st at Mission Hills Haikou in Haikou, Hainan, China. Yilixiati (17-1, 12 KOs) has won seven in a row, including a pair of victories since moving down to the middleweight ranks. Falcao vs. Yilixiati will serve as the co-feature to the WBC/WBO junior welterweight championship defense by Jose Ramirez against former WBC title holder Viktor “The Iceman” Postol (ESPN, 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT).  The undercard will stream on ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

 

“We’ve promoted Falcao since the beginning of his career, and this is his opportunity to showcase his tremendous ability in front of a large audience on ESPN,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum.

 

“2020 is the year I challenge for a world title, but my journey continues in China against a very tough opponent,” Falcao said. “This is a chance to show I can compete with all the middleweights, and at 30 years of age, I am in the prime of my career. My amateur career took me all over the world, and I can’t wait to travel to Haikou to put on a show for the Chinese people, my fans back home in Brazil and everyone watching on ESPN.”

 

Falcao (25-0, 17 KOs), a 2012 Olympic silver medalist, turned pro following a 215-15 amateur run that also included a bronze medal at the 2011 World Championships and a gold medal in 2012 at the prestigious Cheo Aponte Tournament. He turned pro under the Top Rank banner in 2014. A southpaw boxer-puncher, Falcao went 3-0 in 2019 with knockout wins over Manny Woods and Jesus Antonio Gutierrez, in addition to a decision win in Brazil against Jorge Daniel Miranda. 

 

UNDERCARD

 

China's Yongqiang Yang (13-0, 10 KOs) will face Filipino veteran Jhon “The Disaster” Gemino (21-12-1, 11 KOs) in a junior lightweight twelve rounder. In July 2018, Yang knocked out the big-punching Harmonito Dela Torre in two rounds, and he most recently stopped JR Magboo in two rounds at lightweight...

 

Chinese Jianhao Diao (2-0, 2 KOs) will take on Eduardo "The Nightmare" Mancito (18-10-2, 9 KOs) in a six-rounder...

 

Korean super middleweight Sung Jae Jo (11-0, 8 KOs) will fight Zulipikaer Maimaitiali (12-2-1, 8 KOs) in a ten-rounder.