Vianello and Santillan feature on June 26th Lomachenko-Nakatani prelims
Prospects coming off underwhelming performances look to get back on track Saturday
Several Top Rank prospects have been added to the undercard for Saturday night’s Lomachenko vs Nakatani showdown. Heavyweight Guido Vianello (7-0-1, 7 KO) takes on 37-year-old Marlon Williams (6-1, 3 KO) in a four-rounder, a bit of a soft touch after a near-disastrous performance last time out against Kingsley Ibeh. Vianello was scheduled to appear on this past week’s Inoue-Dasmarinas undercard, but now gets a new opponent and date.
Thompson Boxing stalwart and recent addition to Top Rank’s stable Giovanni Santillan (26-0, 15 KO) returns against veteran Cecil McCalla (23-4, 10 KO) in an eight or ten-round welterweight fight. Santillan is coming off a majority-decision victory over Antonio Demarco, and is likely looking to improve on that attempt at a step-up. McCalla’s four losses came against really solid opposition in Chris van Heerden, Tony Harrison, Ishe Smith, and Madiyar Ashkeyev, none of whom where able to stop him. If Santillan wants to make hay while the sun still shines, this is the fight to look impressive in.
San Antonio’s Robert “Biggie” Rodriguez (9-0-1, 5 KO) faces off with prospect-checker Luis Fernando Saavedra (8-6, 3 KO) in a six-round bantamweight contest. Rodriguez scored impressive early knockouts in his last two fights, both against undefeated opponents, prior to which he suffered his one professional setback in a disputed draw against Ramiro Martinez.
Rounding out the card: young bantamweights Jaime Jasso (2-0) and Floyd Diaz (1-0) square off in a four-rounder, Japanese prospect Subaru Murata makes his professional debut against Kevin Monroy, and DeMichael Harris (3-0, 3 KO) takes on Jonatan Hernan Godoy (5-8).