The bout between Roiman Villa and Ricardo Salas has been added to the Canelo Alvarez vs Edgar Berlanga prelims on September 14 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The pair squares off in the scheduled for 10 rounds contest at welterweight.
31-year-old Colombian Villa (26-2, 24 KOs) looks to return to winning ways. In his previous outing last July, the Rosario, Venezuela-born contender was stopped by Jaron Ennis in the 10th round of their interim IBF title fight.
“I’m very happy to be returning to the ring and I’m ready to chase my dream of becoming world champion,” Roiman Villa said. “I’m 100% ready to make the most of this opportunity. My team has put me in a great position and now it’s on me to execute in the ring. I learned a lot in my last fight and I can’t wait to show everyone what I can do on September 14.”
Salas (19-2-2, 14 KOs) makes his U.S. debut and targets his second straight victory. Mexico’s 25-year-old KO’d Jose Gutierrez Bolanos in the third round last time out in March.
“Ever since I started boxing, my goal was to fight in the U.S. and in Las Vegas like my idol Julio Cesar Chavez Sr. did,” Ricardo Salas said. “I can’t wait to finally make that dream a reality on September 14. I’m going to make sure that everyone knows my name after this fight. I’m thankful to my whole team and I’m extremely motivated and excited to step into the ring.”
Also confirmed for the preliminary action, an eight-round super featherweight bout between Jonathan Lopez and Richard Medina.
Orlando, Florida-based unbeaten Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) makes his third ring appearance for the year. The 21-year-old stopped Leonardo Padilla in the first round in July and Edgar Ortega in the eighth round in May.
“I’m very motivated by this opportunity and I’m thankful to Eddy Reynoso, Canelo and my whole team for putting me on this platform,” Jonathan Lopez said. “This is a huge chance for me to fight on Canelo’s undercard and I’m going to make the most of it. I’m ready to go out there and give the fans a great fight that they’re going to love.”
Medina (15-2, 8 KOs) looks to get back in the win column. The 23-year-old native of San Antonio, Texas dropped a unanimous decision against George Acosta last December.
“I’m working extremely hard right now so that I can make the most of this opportunity on September 14,” Richard Medina said. “I’m expecting the best version of my opponent, but I’m gonna be the toughest opponent he’s faced and I’m getting better with every fight. Fans can expect a great matchup, because I’m coming to win. I’m gonna leave it all in the ring and give the fans their money’s worth on September 14.”
On top of the Canelo vs Berlanga prelims, previously announced former unified super bantamweight champion Stephen Fulton (21-1, 8 KOs) of Philadelphia faces Phoenix-based Carlos Castro (30-2, 14 KOs) of Mexico. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds at featherweight.
In the main event live on pay-per-view, Mexico’s undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez (61-2-2, 39 KOs) takes on unbeaten Puerto Rican Edgar Berlanga (22-0, 17 KOs). The bout is scheduled for 12 rounds with the unified WBC, WBA and WBO 168-pound belts on the line.