A world title fight and the grand son of “The Greatest” take spotlight on Saturday, May 20 as part of the ESPN-televised prelims to the PPV centerpiece headlined by indisputable light-weight champ Devin Haney’s title defense against previous pound-for-pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The 2-fight telecast is headlined by the uninhabited WBO junior bantamweight world title face-off in between Australia’s previous world champ Andrew Moloney and Japan’s unbeaten previous WBO flyweight titlist Junto Nakatani.
Opening the broadcast will be unbeaten middleweight possibility Nico Ali Walsh, grand son of Muhammad Ali, in a set up eight-rounder against a to-be-determined opponent.
Moloney-Nakatani and Ali Walsh’s return will be transmitted live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
The Haney vs. Lomachenko primary card will stream reside on Top Rank on ESPN+ PPV, the occasion’s unique digital supplier in the United States, starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Additionally, it will be offered through cable television and satellite pay-per-view suppliers and is priced at $59.99 throughout all suppliers.
The PPV undercard includes a 10-round junior light-weight co-feature in between two-division world champ Oscar Valdez and Adam “BluNose” Lopez in a rematch of their 2019 fight.
In the PPV opener, increasing light-weight Raymond “Danger” Muratalla will handle big-punching Namibian competitor Jeremia Nakathila in a 10-round clash.
Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Devin Haney Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, tickets beginning at $104, plus appropriate service fee, are on sale now at axs.com.
Moloney (25-2, 16 KOs) intends to end up being a two-time world champ in the city where Joshua Franco upset him by a unanimous choice back in June 2020. The 2 battled two times more, with a questionable no contest and 2nd Franco choice triumph closing the chapter on their trilogy.
Following the 3rd Franco fight in August 2021, Moloney regrouped in December 2021 with a clear points triumph over Froilan Saludar. In 2022, he battled 3 times, consisting of a set of homecoming looks on the Devin Haney-George Kambosos Jr. cards in Melbourne, Australia. Moloney, ranked No. 2 by the WBO at 115 pounds, made the title shot with a 10-round choice over Norbelto Jimenez last October for the WBO International strap.
WBO No. 1 junior bantamweight competitor Nakatani (24-0, 18 KOs), a 25-year-old southpaw from Inabe-weapon, Mie, Japan, ranks amongst the hardest lighter-weight punchers in boxing. An eight-year pro, Nakatani caught the uninhabited WBO flyweight world title in November 2020 with an eighth-round knockout over Giemel Magramo. Nakatani safeguarded his flyweight crown two times, bloodying and stopping Angel Acosta in 4 rounds and knocking out Ryota Yamauchi in 8.
He left his title to go up to junior bantamweight and scored a one-sided choice over previous unified world champ Francisco Rodriguez Jr. last November.
Ali Walsh (8-0, 5 KOs) goes up to his very first arranged eight-rounder almost 2 years gotten rid of from his professional launching. He made his Las Vegas launching last April at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, eliminating Alejandro Ibarra with a left-right mix in the preliminary.
Ali Walsh righted the only acne on his record last August, stopping Reyes Sanchez in the 2nd round of their rematch with a body shot. Sanchez lost a bulk choice to Ali Walsh in December 2021. He made his 2023 launching in February, outliving the rugged Eduardo Ayala en path to a persuading six-round consentaneous choice.
