BoxRec

Stevenson-Caraballo will be the first of multiple June events to take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center Grand Ballroom. The action will continue Thursday, June 11 when former junior featherweight world champion and top featherweight contender Jessie Magdaleno faces Dominican puncher Yenifel Vicente in a 10-rounder.

These events will be closed to both the public and the media, as only essential fight camp members and event staff will be permitted on site.

“I would like to thank MGM Resorts and the Nevada State Athletic Commission for their assistance in helping to bring back world-class boxing,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are all looking forward to a spectacular summer of live boxing across ESPN platforms. Shakur is among the best young talents I’ve ever promoted, and he is going to put on a show on June 9.”

ESPN’s Top Rank play-by-play commentator, Joe Tessitore, will be calling the action from ESPN’s Bristol, Conn., studios. Andre Ward (analyst), former #1 pound-for-pound two-division world titleholder and 2004 Olympic gold medalist, Tim Bradley (analyst), former two-division world titleholder and boxing insider Mark Kriegel, will join from their home studios. Boxing reporter Bernardo Osuna will be on-location in Las Vegas.

Below is the full list of fights ESPN will air June 11.

Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KOs), Las Vegas, vs. Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KOs, 1 NC), Miami, 10 rounds, junior lightweights.

Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KOs), Glendale, California vs. Luis Coria (12-2, 7 KOs), Moreno Valley, California, 10 rounds for the vacant NABF featherweight title.

Bryan Lua (5-0, 2 KOs), Madera, California, vs. Dan Murray (5-3, 0 KOs), Lanoka Harbor, New Jersey, 6 rounds, lightweights.

Gabriel Muratalla (2-0, 2 KOs), Fontana, California, vs. Fernando Robles (2-2, 0 KOs), Pearland, Texas, 4 rounds, bantamweights.

Eric Mondragon (3-0, 2 KOs), Maywood, California, vs. Mike Sanchez (6-0, 2 KOs), Colton, California, 6 rounds, lightweights.

Tonight at 8 pm ET on ESPN, Jessie Magdaleno is back in action in a 10-round junior lightweight main event, facing Yenifel Vicente in Top Rank’s second card back in action from the empty MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KO) is working toward a possible featherweight title fight down the line, taking a 128-pound catchweight bout here to stay busy and get active again. Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KO) will be looking to pull a major upset.

How to watch Magdaleno vs Vicente

The entire four-fight card will air on ESPN tonight at 8 pm ET. No prelim fights will be streaming on ESPN+, which will be the standard for the time being, as ESPN has a lot of air to fill and very little by way of live sports.

Bad Left Hook will have full live coverage tonight at 8 pm ET so check back for that on the main page.

Here’s the full lineup.

Main Card (ESPN, 8 pm ET)

Jessie Magdaleno (27-1, 18 KO) vs Yenifel Vicente (36-4-2, 28 KO) - Junior Lightweights, 10 rounds

Eric Mondragon (3-0, 2 KO) vs Mike Sanchez (6-0, 2 KO) - Lightweights, 6 rounds

Gabriel Muratalla (2-0, 2 KO) vs Fernando Robles (2-2, 0 KO) - Bantamweights, 4 rounds

Adam Lopez (13-2, 6 KO) vs Luis Coria (12-2, 7 KO) - Featherweights, 10 rounds

This Vincente does not look like some bum to me. Could be tough night for Magdaleno maybe ?

vicente with a low blow followed hugeeee late right. 2 point deduction, but that just massivly improved his chance of winning.

Looked to me like Magdaleno also strayed a bit low in the closing seconds of the round.

Pretty decent card overall. The Main event was a little ho hum, Vicente was dropped twice, and landed a sh*t load of low blows before finally being DQ'd.

A lot of 'em looked intentional.

Vicente probably was frustrated since the first KD and that's eventually led to those low blows. The fight actually looked competetive, but it also looked like Magdaleno was cautious, methodical, while he relied on countering and just let Vicente push the pace, because he had established a huge lead in the 4th round. Magdaleno did a great job of countering.

Despite a shorter telecast and with far more entertaining bouts, the most edition of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN saw a ratings dip from its previous series installment.

Thursday’s four-fight card—topped by Jessie Magdaleno’s 10th round disqualification win over Yenifel Vicente (36-5-2, 28KOs)—aired live on ESPN from MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, averaging 311,000 viewers over the course of the three-hour show, according to Nielsen Media Research. The telecast peaked at 392,000 viewers, which was fewer than the viewership average for Tuesday’s show on the same network, which saw unbeaten featherweight titlist Shakur Stevenson make his 130-pound debut in a knockout win over Puerto Rico’s Felix Caraballo.

The aforementioned card with Stevenson marked the first live boxing telecast in the United States since March 13, as the start of a summer series featuring shows every Tuesday and Thursday from Las Vegas at least through the end of July. Among the feedback from the June 9 card —which averaged 397,000 viewers and peaking at 609,000 viewers—was the lack of competitive action.

The low ratings came on a slow night for TV viewership as a whole. A lead-in offering of

NBA’s The Jump on ESPN averaged just 203,000 viewers, while the normally popular 11:00pm ET edition of ESPN’s SportsCenter averaged 180,000 viewers on the night.

Magdaleno (28-1, 18KOs) appeared in his first ESPN headliner since April 2018. It also marked his lone career defeat, suffering an 11th round stoppage at the hands of Isaac Dogboe which ended his junior featherweight title reign. The event averaged 711,000 viewers on the night, aided by day-long coverage of the NFL Draft.

From Boxing Scene

Yenifel Vicente may face punishment for low blows to Jessie Magdaleno

The Nevada State Athletic Commission is considering punishment for Yenifel Vicente after repeated low blows to Jessie Magdaleno led to Vicente's disqualification in Thursday night's Top Rank main event.

Vicente had four points deducted for low blows throughout the fight before referee Robert Byrd stopped the fight in the middle of the 10th round. Vicente lost two points for a low blow and late shot to Magdaleno's head in the fourth round, another point in the fourth round for a low blow and then a fourth point deduction in the final round.

Magdaleno told ESPN on Friday that he felt Vicente was frustrated. In addition to taking shots to the groin, Magdaleno also took hits on his thighs and a knee and said that he felt Vicente's tactics were "dirty."

"I think he should be penalized," Magdaleno said. "I think he should be penalized for what he did. It was just a foul move that he did. He just couldn't catch my rhythm. He couldn't catch my speed or my power so, to me, I think he should be penalized for that.

"It was uncalled for."

Bob Bennett, the executive director of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, told ESPN on Friday they are looking into possible discipline for Vicente.

"There were several shots below the belt," Bennett said. "Subsequent, referee Byrd took points and as the executive director I am considering moving forward with a recommendation of a suspension or a letter of reprimand to Vicente."

Before any discipline would be decided on, Vicente would present his case to the Nevada State Athletic Commission and the commission would weigh whether there was an intent to injure Magdaleno consistently before deciding on a possible fine or suspension.

The deputy attorney general would lay out the facts of the case, and whatever Bennett recommended as far as a suspension or a reduction of his purse. It would then be up to the chairman and the commissioners to agree with Bennett's assessment or deliberate publicly about an appropriate punishment.

"They should suspend him for a while," Magdaleno said. "It's just, I don't wish nothing bad upon him but something should happen. They should do something to either suspend him for the rest of the year or take something from his pay.

"It sucks to be in that position. I wouldn't want any fighter to go through that. It does suck and it does bring a lot of wear and tear on you."

Magdaleno said Friday he kept wondering throughout the fight when Byrd might disqualify Vicente and that he was getting fed up with being continually hit low. He also felt Vicente's punch to Magdaleno's head after a low blow in the fourth round -- while Byrd was trying to step in -- was dirty.

Regardless, Magdaleno said he woke up Friday incredibly sore from repeated low shots.

"I'm sore as hell," Magdaleno said. "I'm telling you, I feel like the lower half of my body has been through a marathon and it was 10 rounds and it just felt like a marathon run I've been through. And just the whole marathon I'm being hit in my nuts.

"That's what it felt like."