The middleweight division is wide open. Could unbeaten Raul Lizarraga eventually become a legit contender in the 160-pound division?
A statement win over former prospect Ulises Sierra could go a long way.
Lizarraga and Sierra collide tonight at the Commerce Casino in Commerce, California. The eight-round bout, contracted at 162 pounds, will headline an eight-bout All Star Boxing card.
At Friday’s weigh-in, Lizarraga weighed in at 160.9 pounds. Sierra came in at 161.5 pounds.
The 22-year-old Lizarraga (13-0, 13 knockouts), who resides in Murrieta, California, will be taking a major step-up in opposition against Sierra, who has fought the better opposition between the two fighters.
In his last fight on May 3, his toughest to date on paper, Lizarraga scored a fifth round knockout victory over once-beaten Marcos Osorio-Betancourt. The victory over Osorio-Betancourt took place less than six months after Lizarraga scored a fifth round knockout win over Noe Larios, Jr.
Lizarraga will be fighting for the second time this year after fighting twice in 2023. He fought four times in 2022.
Since his pro debut in January 2021, Lizarraga has fought on club shows in Tijuana and in Southern California. Saturday will mark the third time he has fought at the Commerce Casino.
Sierra (17-3-2, 10 KOs), who resides in San Diego, California, last fought in January super middleweight contender Bektemir Melikuziev, losing by knockout in round three. The loss snapped back-to-back wins for Sierra.
In January 2020, on a ShoBox card, Sierra faced current super middleweight contender Vladimir Shishkin, losing by unanimous decision. Almost 11 months later, Sierra lost by knockout in the opening round to current super middleweight contender Edgar Berlanga.
The 35-year-old has notable wins over Jose Hernandez in 2016 and Fidel Hernandez in 2019.
In the co-feature, light heavyweight Guillermo Alvizures (4-0, 4 KOs) of nearby Downey will square off against Zlato Ledic (2-5-1, 1 KO) in a four-round bout. Ledic is originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina and now resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Thousand Oaks.
Both fighters weighed in at 172.3 pounds.
Middleweight Terrell Adams (9-1, 4 KOs) of Los Angeles will face Jamarcus Warren (3-6-2, 1 KO) of Tyler, Texas in a six-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
The post Weigh-in alert: Raul Lizarraga, Ulises Sierra both make 162-pound catchweight limit appeared first on The Ring.
