Derrieck Cuevas is ready to take a significant step towards the upper echelon of the welterweight division.
An impressive win over Marlon Aguas will put him towards that goal.
Cuevas will square off against Aguas tonight at the Coliseo de Combates in Panama City, Panama. The 10-round bout will headline an All Star Boxing card that will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States and on ESPN Knockout throughout Latin America (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, both fighters weighed in at the contracted weight of 149 pounds.
Cuevas (26-1-1, 18 knockouts), who resides in Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, last fought on August 4, also at the Coliseo de Combates, stopping fringe contender Alberto Mosquera in the fourth round. In his previous fight on April 14, Cuevas knocked out once-beaten Damian Rodriguez in the second round.
The 29-year-old Cuevas has won his last three fights, all by knockout, since a shocking split-decision defeat to gatekeeper Damian Bonelli in December 2020.
Tuto Zabala, Jr. believes Cuevas has gotten better since the loss to Bonelli and has become more assertive and aggressive in the win. A win tonight could put Cuevas in a position to fight on more higher-profile cards in 2024.
“Cuevas has three wins in the last year since we signed him,” Zabala told The Ring Wednesday morning. “He is already ranked (in the top 15) by the WBO and WBA and is aspiring for a world title (shot). He has a difficult fight in front of him (tonight), but we’re confident we will fight for a world title belt once they become vacant.”
Aguas (14-1, 9 KOs) knocked out journeyman Jose Agustin Julio in the second round of his last bout on May 6 in his hometown of Quito, Ecuador. The victory over Julio took place almost 15 months after a decision win over Carlos Vera Bones.
The 33-year-old has won his last five bouts since losing by knockout to Ivan Golub in a clash of unbeaten prospects in March 2016. Aguas dropped Golub in a fight that aired live on a ShoBox card.
In the co-feature, Eveling Ortega (6-4, 2 KOs) of Managua, Nicaragua, who recently signed a promotional deal with Zabala’s All Star Boxing, will face Yanissa Castrellon in a six-round junior flyweight bout.
Castrellon (3-1) is originally from Guatemala and now resides in Panama City, Panama.
Hard-hitting junior flyweight Azael Villar (19-2-4, 15 KOs), who also resides in Panama City, will square off against Peru’s Ricardo Astuvilca (23-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Fringe super middleweight contender Uwel Hernandez will defend his regional title belt against Alex Rivera (4-0, 2 KOs) of Malden, Massachusetts in a 10-round bout.
Hernandez is originally from Havana, Cuba and now resides in Munich, Germany.
In a clash of unbeaten light heavyweight prospects, Yunior Menendez (8-0, 6 KOs), who is originally from Havana, Cuba and also resides in Panama City, will face Colmbia’s Heyder Solis (8-0, 6 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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