Saturday night, boxing legend Manny Pacquiao is back in action to take on the flamboyant Adrien Broner. It’s live on PPV for, yes, $75. We’ll have a preview of the main event later, but for now, here’s a look at what else you’ll be seeing on the PPV undercard.
Badou Jack (22-1-3; 13 KO) vs. Marcus Browne (22-0; 16 KO) - Light Heavyweight
Boxing PPVs aren’t exactly known for their depth, but this is a quality Light Heavyweight fight between two top 10 talents. The bigger name fighter here, and the favorite, is Badou Jack. Jack has had a weird, rocky ride up to the top of the sport. There once was a perception that Jack was a sure-fire champion, and that perception has waxed and waned over the years. He suffered a huge setback in 2014 when he was KO’d in one round on ShoBox (by an opponent who is 0-5 since). He’s certainly bounced back from that, but has just not been able to look consistently strong. He comes in here on a 1-0-2 run, and prior to that had won a fight on DQ (though one of those draws came against Adonis Stevenson in a fight Jack was so very close to winning). It’s just a weird record where he keeps failing to truly show his greatness. He has a shot here against the undefeated Browne. Browne has been moving up the ranks and has been discussed for a number of big name fights - Adonis Stevenson, Artur Beterbiev, Sergey Kovalev - but all have fallen through. Of course, it must be said that the Kovalev fight fell through only because Browne was arrested for domestic violence. He finally gets that big name opponent here, and should be a tough challenge for Jack in a good fight.
Rau’shee Warren (16-2; 4 KO) vs. Nordine Oubaali (14-0; 11 KO) - Bantamweight
This fight is for the vacant WBC 118 pound title. Warren is a 6 year pro who came to the professional ranks after a very good amateur career. He has a number of solid wins on his recent resume, including Juan Carlos Payano and McJoe Arroyo, and won the WBA title in 2016. Warren is not a big puncher, as his record indicates, but he’s a good fighter looking to reclaim his world title here. Oubaali is ranked #8 in the division by Ring Magazine. He’s 5 years into his pro career, but has not been particularly active, and has so far competed almost solely in his native France. Like Warren he had a good amateur career - the two actually met in the 2012 Summer Olympics, with Oubaali taking the win. He has a great opportunity to make a big name on the international stage here - we’ll see if he takes it.
Jhack Tepora (22-0; 17 KO) vs. Hugo Ruiz (38-4; 33 KO) - Featherweight
Tepora is a 25 year old Filipino fighter who, on this show, is certain to draw comparisons to Manny Pacquiao. He’s had success at Super Bantamweight and now moved up to Featherweight. Like Oubaali, he’s taking his first fight in the US here, and he’s the significant favorite to win. Ruiz is the more experienced fighter, and is a good veteran test for Tepora. He missed two years of action between 2016-2018 and is 2-0 since returning. This could be a showcase fight for Tepora, but Ruiz is also the kind of fighter that could spoil those plans if he plays his cards right.
Join us here at Bloody Elbow Saturday night for live fight night coverage of Pacquiao vs. Broner.