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Golden Boy welterweights Alexis Rocha, Raul Curiel head Dec. 14 DAZN card

Alexis Rocha seeks to extend his climb up the welterweight ratings by taking on Raul Curiel, an undefeated product of Mexico, in a bout pitting Golden Boy Promotions stablemates Dec. 14 at Toyota Center in Ontario, Calif., BS learned Wednesday.

The 27-year-old Rocha (25-2, 16 KOs) is ranked No. 2 in the WBO rankings behind new champion Brian Norman Jr. and his top-ranked mandatory contender Shakhram Giyasov (16-0), and No. 7 in the IBF rankings.

The southpaw from Orange County, Calif., steps up from smaller venues in Indio, Calif., and Inglewood, Calif., to head the DAZN-streamed card against the 28-year-old Curiel (15-0, 13 KOs).

Rocha has rallied from a sixth-round knockout loss to Giovanni Santillan in October 2023 to defeat Fredrick Lawson (retired, seventh round on March 30) and Santiago Dominguez by unanimous decision on July 19.

Curiel has knocked out or stopped 10 consecutive opponents. He most recently stopped Jorge Marron Jr. in the first round April 27 in Fresno, Calif.

Golden Boy secured the date and venue as Premier Boxing Champions also holds Crypto.com Arena – home of the Los Angeles Lakers – on Dec. 14 for a fight card that would include David Benavidez.

With PBC also seeking to plan late-2024 dates for its unified junior-middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora and lightweight champion Gervonta “Tank” Davis, an official close to the talks said it will be interesting to see which bout settles where and when considering the pay-per-view heavyweight-title fight between champion Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury is earlier in the day on Dec. 21.

“You’ve heard people say, ‘Things change day to day.’ In boxing, things change hour by hour,” a boxing official monitoring the scheduling situation for his fighter told Boxing Scene.

Charles Conwell, John 'Scrappy' Ramirez to fight on Rocha-Guriel card

The undercard of the Golden Boy Promotions show headlined by Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel on December 14 at the Toyota Arena in Ontario, California is beginning to take shape.

Junior middleweight contender Charles Conwell will take on fellow unbeaten Gerardo Luis Vergara, and 115-pound contender John “Scrappy” Ramirez is also set to be showcased on the card against an opponent yet to be determined, separate sources informed of the fighter’s plans told BS.

Conwell (20-0, 15 KOs), a 2016 United States Olympian, last fought in August and knocked out Khiary Gray in two rounds.

Vergara (20-0, 13 KOs), a 30-year-old southpaw, will be making his US debut after fighting in his native Argentina throughout his seven year career. He’s scored four consecutive technical knockout stoppage wins.

Ramirez (13-1, 9 KOs) will be fighting for the first time since suffering his first career loss to David Jimenez in April for the WBA interim super flyweight title.

Rocha (25-2-0, 16 KOs) versus Curiel (15-0, 13 KOs) will be a 10-round fight and will stream on DAZN.

“The best versus the best is Golden Boy’s mantra and fans will see just that when Rocha and Curiel face off with everything on the table,” promoter Oscar De La Hoya said when the card was announced. “Rocha is a veteran contender with his sights set on a world title, Curiel is an undefeated blue-chip prospect with potential through the roof. This is truly a 50/50 fight that I can’t wait to see.”

December undercard for Alexis Rocha-Raul Curiel clash is set

The undercard is set for the welterweight clash between Alexis Rocha and Raul Curiel, taking place December 14 at Toyota Arena in Ontario, California.

The DAZN telecast begins at 5 p.m. PT (8 p.m. ET), with prelims streamed on Golden Boy’s YouTube channel at 1:10 p.m. PT.

Rocha, 25-2 (16 KOs), a former WBO No. 1 contender, faces Curiel, 15-0 (13 KOs), an undefeated 2016 Mexican Olympian who trains with Freddie Roach, in a 12-round main event with title implications. Rocha has rebounded with two wins since his October 2023 loss to Giovani Santillan, including a July victory over Santiago Dominguez. Curiel, who has only fought twice in 2024, last appeared in April with a first-round stoppage of Jorge Marron Jnr.

In the co-main event, 2016 U.S. Olympian Charles “Bad News” Conwell, 20-0 (15 KOs), competes at junior middleweight against Gerardo Vergara, 20-0 (13 KOs), of Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a 10-round bout. Conwell rides a two-fight knockout streak, while Vergara, on a four-fight knockout streak, makes his debut outside Argentina.

John “Scrappy” Ramirez, 13-1 (9 KOs), returns in a 10-round junior bantamweight clash against Ephraim Bui, 10-0 (8 KOs). Ramirez looks to recover from his first career defeat, a unanimous decision loss to David Jimenez in April.

Former U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and unified titleholder Marlen Esparza, 14-2 (1 KO), takes on four-time world champion Arely “Ametralladora” Mucino, 32-4-2 (11 KOs), in a junior bantamweight crossroads bout.

Victor “El Tornado” Morales, 19-0-1 (9 KOs), opens the DAZN broadcast with a 10-round junior lightweight matchup against Jose Ortiz, 16-2-1 (6 KOs), of Ensenada, Mexico.

The prelims feature Jorge Chavez, 12-0 (8 KOs), against Ruben Casero, 12-3 (4 KOs), in an eight-round junior featherweight fight. Additional prelim bouts include Gael “El Terror” Cabrera, 5-0 (3 KOs), versus Garen Diagan, 10-5 (5 KOs), in a six-round junior featherweight contest, and Joshua “El Americano” Garcia, 9-0 (4 KOs), against Uhlices Avelino-Reyes, 2-1 (1 KO), in a six-round junior lightweight bout.

Fight Week!!

Never been too impressed with Curiel, think Rocha wins a decision

Fight Night!

Curiel should win this. Bigger and stronger on the scales. Slight favorite at 1.65

Banger material, feeling like a semi-final for a world title fight

Date: Saturday December 14, 2024
Location: Toyota Arena - Ontario, CA
TV/Stream: DAZN

Start Times
Youtube: 6 pm ET | 3 pm PT | 11 pm GMT (Preliminary Card)
DAZN: 8 pm ET | 5 pm PT | 1 am GMT (Main Card)

Promoted by: Golden Boy Promotions

Main Card

10 Round Welterweight Bout
Alexis Rocha vs. Raul Curiel

10 Round Super Welterweight Bout
Charles Conwell vs. Gerardo Luis Vergara

10 Round Super Flyweight Bout
John Ramirez vs. Ephraim Bui

10 Round Super Flyweight Bout
Marlen Esparza vs. Arely Mucino

10 Round Super Featherweight Bout
Victor Morales vs. Jose Ivan Guardado Ortiz

Preliminary Card

8 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Jorge Chavez vs. Ruben Dario Casero

6 Round Super Bantamweight Bout
Gael Cabrera vs. Garen Diagan

6 Round Super Featherweight Bout
Joshua Garcia vs. Uhlices Avelino-Reyes

6 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Ricardo Ruvalcaba vs. Jabin Chollet

4 Round Super Welterweight Bout
Fabian Guzman vs. Travis Floyd

4 Round Super Lightweight Bout
Javier Meza vs. David Music

NObody watching ? or scoring ?

Some great stuff from the women and Cornwell and a good 'scrappy' Ram vs Bui.

i watched conwell stop the argie, conwell one of the better inside fighters today , a bit old school

draw in main event, i was in and out but it seemed like an evenish fight

Apparently it was FOTY contender

it was competitive and they were busy but it lacked any particular highlight moments and was a bit of the same thing over and over. neither could really hurt the other much either. solid fight but not a serious foty contender

FOTY- no way. I thought Rocha won.

Had Rocha nicking it 115-113, draws fine with me though, every round was competitive and there was plenty thrown, missed and landed by both guys, Curiel is a quick combination puncher, puts his shots together well, both guys counter punching was good too, Rocha took the last 3 on my card after having it even after 10, not a FOTY by any stretch but still a great fight with some great exchanges and I'm up for a rematch

Ruthless-RKO wrote: ↑15 Dec 2024, 03:20 Apparently it was FOTY contender

Not at all.
It was a good fight for sure, but not enough wild swings, KDs, claret or etceras...