BoxRec

Press Release

From Down Under to “The Bubble,” Australia’s Moloney twins — Andrew and Jason — are set for their Las Vegas debuts.

Andrew “The Monster” Moloney will make the first defense of his WBA super flyweight world title Tuesday, June 23 from the MGM Grand Conference Center—Grand Ballroom against Joshua “El Professor” Franco (ESPN & ESPN Deportes, 8 p.m. ET). Moloney-Franco will be the first men’s boxing world title bout since February 29.

The fights continue from the MGM Grand Thursday, June 25, when WBO No. 2 bantamweight contender Jason Moloney will face Leonardo Baez in a 10-rounder (ESPN & ESPN Deportes, 8 p.m. ET).

Week 3 of the Top Rank on ESPN summer series concludes from TV Azteca Studios in Mexico City on Saturday, June 27, when WBC super featherweight world champion Miguel “El Alacran” Berchelt will face Eleazar “Tronco” Valenzuela in a 10-round lightweight bout (ESPN & ESPN Deportes, 11 p.m. ET).

“It’s very exciting times as Australia's only world champion, Andrew Moloney, will defend his title against a tough warrior in Joshua Franco,” said Tony Tolj, who manages the Moloney brothers. "Jason has trained hard and is ready for world championship opportunities. Both are in tough fights that the fans are going to love. We want to fight the best. It's a great honor to headline back-to-back shows, especially at MGM Grand.”

June 27
TV Azteca Studios

Main Event
Miguel Berchelt (37-1, 33 KOs) vs. Eleazar Valenzuela (21-13-4, 16 KOs)

Berchelt, the long-reigning WBC super featherweight kingpin, will return in his first non-title bout since 2015. A native of Cancun, Mexico, he has notched five consecutive knockouts, including a devastating fourth-round stoppage over former world champion Jason Sosa in his last outing. Valenzuela is 8-3 with one no contest in his last 12 bouts.

Undercard

Omar “Pollo” Aguilar (17-0, 16 KOs), a 21-year-old punching prodigy from Ensenada, Mexico, will fight Dante “Crazy” Jardon (32-6, 23 KOs) in a 10-rounder at junior welterweight.

In a 10-round junior lightweight bout, Mauricio “Bronco” Lara (18-2, 12 KOs) will fight unbeaten Tijuana native Humberto Galindo (12-0-1, 9 KOs).

Rafael “El Divino” Espinoza (14-0, 12 KOs) will look to extend his knockout streak to eight in an eight-round featherweight battle against Luis Guzman (8-14, 1 KO).

Junior welterweight prospect Ruben “Pollito” Aguilar (9-0, 7 KOs), who has five consecutive first-round knockouts, will fight Emanuel Herrera (7-10, 1 KO) in a six-rounder.

HUGE disapointment.

Normally I'd say the same, but ain't gonna be too many good high level fights during da covid, I'm happy just to see Miggy back in action

margaret thatcher wrote: ↑17 Jun 2020, 14:27 Normally I'd say the same, but ain't gonna be too many good high level fights during da covid, I'm happy just to see Miggy back in action

Berchelt is one of my favorite boxers, but this Valenzuela guy is sooooo bad. Remembering seeing him at pro debut of Zou Shiming years ago, he was very bad. Berchelt is world calibre. Such a mismatch damn :( :( :(

A time-marking ring appearance by Miguel Berchelt along with a strong combat sports lead-in helped ESPN produce its most favorable ranking for a boxing telecast during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The reigning junior lightweight titlist from Merida, Mexico moved up in weight for a non-title showcase headliner versus countryman Eleazar Valenzuela (21-14-4, 16KOs). The bout topped the June 27 special edition of Top Rank Boxing on ESPN, live from a closed-doors TV Azteca studio lot in Mexico City with the telecast averaging 416,000 viewers according to Nielsen Media Research.

Saturday’s card reached a peak viewing audience of 793,000, which came right at the start of the telecast at 11:43pm ET. The overall telecast average is an improvement from the same location one week prior, when reigning 122-pound titlist Emanuel Navarrete scored a 6th round stoppage of Uriel Lopez in a non-title fight which averaged 327,000 viewers. The June 20 event peaked at 808,000 viewers, most of which lingered from a preceding UFC Fight Night card and very few of whom stuck around for the main event.

The live feed was picked up 43 minutes after its originally scheduled 11:00pm ET start time, due to a lead-in UFC Fight Night card running long. Two preliminary bouts on the Mexico City card failed to make the broadcast as a result, though viewers had to be content with what ran its in place.

The latest installment of UFC Fight Night—which aired live from Las Vegas—was headlined by Dustin Poirier’s unanimous decision win over Dan Hooker in one of the best fights to take place in any combat sports capacity in 2020. The five-round war anchored the 163-minute main card telecast which averaged 1,070,000 viewers.

For the second straight week, however, the opening bout of the trailing boxing telecast carried far more viewers than the main event. By the time Berchelt (38-1, 34KOs) made his way to the ring, the televised audience was reduced by more than half as 381,000 viewers remained locked in for the start of the main event, dropping to an average of 349,000 viewers over the course of his latest victory.

Unbeaten featherweight titlist Shakur Stevenson headlined the June 9 inaugural edition of Top Rank’s closed-doors summer series in Las Vegas, with the show averaging 397,000 viewers and a peak viewing audience of 609,000 coming at the time of Stevenson’s 6th round knockout of Felix Caraballo in their non-title fight.

Both figures serve as the best among the six cards to air live from Las Vegas over that stretch. The ratings for Stevenson’s bout remains the most watched boxing main event during the ongoing pandemic.