Mark Anthony Barriga vs. Carlos Licona - December 1, 2018

[Ruthless-RKO]

The Mark Anthony Barriga-Carlos Licona IBF strawweight title fight has finally found a home, and on one of the biggest cards of the year.

The unbeaten fighters from the Philippines and Mexico will face off on the undercard of the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury WBC heavyweight title fight, set for December 1 at Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The news was confirmed to RING by MP Promotions matchmaker Sean Gibbons and Barriga’s trainer Joven Jimenez.

The fight had been in the offing since July, when Hiroto Kyoguchi signaled his intention to vacate and move to 108 pounds instead of meeting mandatory challenger Barriga (9-0, 1 knockout), a 2012 Olympian from Panabo City, Philippines. Barriga had risen to the no. 1 ranking with his shutout victory over Gabriel Mendoza in May.

Gibbons says Licona (13-0, 2 knockouts), the next highest rated challenger at no. 3, is “made to order” for Barriga, who is two years older at 25 than Licona. Licona is coming off a split-decision over Jose Ramirez Armenta in June, and has never competed in a fight scheduled for twelve rounds and has competed in only one ten-rounder.

“This is a very good fight,” said Jimenez. “Both are hungry. It’s very dangerous.”

Jimenez has been deep in training with Barriga for several months at Survival Camp in Cavite, Philippines – the complex owned by Barriga’s stablemate Jerwin Ancajas – as they awaited a fight date. Jimenez says he’d like to see Barriga, a pure boxer who has drawn comparisons to Ivan Calderon, sit down on his punches and be more entertaining in front of the sport’s powerbrokers in his U.S. debut.

“This is his opportunity to show his skills,” said Jimenez.

Barriga is rated no. 10 by THE RING at 105 pounds while Licona is unrated.

[Boxing Prospect]

Would be mega surprised by a stoppage here...

[Ruthless-RKO]

Would be mega surprised by a stoppage here...

My first thought.

Should be a good fight. Wonder if it will be televised. World title fight.

[Boxing Prospect]

Suspect ESPN5 will show it, might need a vpn if you're outside of the Philippines

[Ruthless-RKO]

Showtime App might show it...

[Ruthless-RKO]

In what is a card full of big men, who rule the heavyweight division, one of the undercard bouts will come from the smallest boxing weight class when Mark Anthony Barriga of the Philippines takes on Carlos Licona of Los Angeles for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) minimum championship belt (105 lbs).

The fight takes place on the same night that Deontay Wilder will defend his World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight world championship against Tyson Fury in the main event.

The championship card is promoted by the Premier Boxing Championship at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California and will be telecast on Pay-Per-View by Showtime with the undercards streaming on all Showtime platforms.

Barriga (9-0, 1 KO) is a 2012 Olympian trained and managed by Joven Jimenez, who also trains IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas. The team will arrive this Thursday to Los Angeles for its final week of preparation after a long training camp in the Philippines.

“We have done all the work we need to do, now we will work on the weight and put the final touches as we look forward to the fight on December 1,” said Joven Jimenez about his pupil.

Licona (13-0. 2 Kos) of Mexico is a long time resident of Westmister, California, a suburb of Los Angeles, and hopes to have fans behind him for this very important battle.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Did this fight not happen?

[iamasadlittleboy]

It happened off TV, Licona won a split decision