Both Elijah Pierce and Lorenzo Parra came in well under the limit for their featherweight bout, which will headline a card Saturday night at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York.
Pierce, 21-2 (17 KOs), came in at 125.0lbs, while Parra, 23-1-1 (17 KOs), was slightly heavier at 125.1lbs for their 10-round fight with a minor belt on the line.
The southpaw Pierce, 29, of Lawrenceville, Georgia, is on a 12-fight winning streak, having most recently knocked out Michael Dasmarinas in nine rounds last July. Pierce is currently rated No. 2 by the WBO and WBA at 126lbs.
“This fight is just the next step to become who I was meant to be,” said Pierce. “I will be fighting for a world title after this and I’ll be a star. We were supposed to face each other a few months ago, so now him and I are more prepared. We’re going to put it all on the line.”
Venezuela’s 31-year-old Parra previously fought in August, drawing with the unbeaten Omar Trinidad. Parra is unbeaten in his past 10 fights since his only defeat, a unanimous decision against Yonfrez Parejo.
“I know Pierce is a good fighter,” said Parra. “He’s a professional. I was ready to go and on weight when we were first scheduled to fight. I use that as motivation because this opportunity has been a long time coming and I’m planning to take the WBO international featherweight belt home with me.”
The card, which will air live on Amazon Prime, lost one notable fight, as Emmanuel Pacquiao Jnr’s fight with Luis Santana Figueroa was nixed from the lineup. Pacquiao Jnr (0-0-1), the son of legendary boxer Manny Pacquiao, was seeking his first win after drawing in his pro debut.
That doesn’t mean that the Manny Pacquiao Promotions card will be without any standout Filipino boxers from notable boxing families.
Shera Mae Patricio, a former USA national team boxer from Waianae, Hawaii, will face Maribel Ramirez, 15-13-4 (3 KOs), in a six-round junior bantamweight fight. Patricio, 7-0 (3 KOs), came in at 116lbs while Ramirez was 115.5lbs.
In the co-featured bout, local favorite Bryce Mills, 20-1 (7 KOs), weighed in at 139.6lbs for his 10-round bout with Tobias Green, 12-3-1 (4 KOs), who came in at 140lbs even.
Remaining weights from the card:
Welterweights – 10 rounds
Curmel Moton (142.0lbs) vs Wilfredo Flores (144.0lbs)
Lightweights – four rounds
Rodrigo Mosquera III (134.5lbs) vs Khalil Sanders (133.5lbs)
Junior middleweights – four rounds
Brandan Poulard (159.0lbs) vs Charles Scott Jnr (155.0lbs)
Junior bantamweights – four rounds
Damiana Andrello (115.6lbs) vs Jessica Maltez (115.6lbs)
Junior welterweights – four rounds
Katrina Scalzo (139.9lbs) vs Michelle Cook (139.5lbs)
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
