Anything goes in a crossroads bout, including the possibility of a lot of action.
Israel Rodriguez Picazo and Ramon Cardenas will square off Friday night at the Whitesands (also known as the ProBox TV) Events Center in Plant City, Florida. The 10-round bout will stream live on the ProBox TV application and YouTube page (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, Picazo weighed in at the junior featherweight limit of 122 pounds. Cardenas came in at 121.4 pounds.
Picazo-Cardenas is a compelling, crossroads bout between fighters who throw a high-volume of punches.
“On paper, this is an excellent main event,” ProBox TV’s Chris Glover told The Ring on Tuesday. “This is a crossroads bout. The winner will likely get a world title opportunity.
“Picazo is a Cinderella man. He’s a highly-rated contender. He can be a world champion. Cardenas is a strong fighter, who has good wins. I don’t think this is going to be much of a boxing match, as I think this could be a brawl. It’s going to be a great fight between a Mexican fighter and a Mexican-American fighter.”
The 25-year-old Picazo (30-5, 20 knockouts), who resides in Mexico City, defeated Wilner Soto by knockout after the end of the fifth round on December 8. Picazo previously fought on October 13, defeating previously-unbeaten Hector Escobar by unanimous decision.
Picazo has not lost since dropping a unanimous decision to Eduardo Baez in April 2019. He has won his last 15 fights.
Cardenas has also been impressive, notching victories in recent fights against solid opposition.
In his last bout on September 15, Cardenas knocked out Rafael Pedroza in the second round in his hometown of San Antonio, Texas. Pedroza entered the bout unbeaten.
The 28-year-old Cardenas (23-1, 12 KOs) also had a notable fight in July 2022, defeating once-beaten Michell Banquez by unanimous decision.
Like Picazo, Cardenas has run a string of consecutive victories, which currently stands at 11. Cardenas’ only blemish on his record is a majority decision defeat to Danny Flores in April 2017.
The co-feature was scheduled to be a 10-round bout between junior welterweights Jesus Saracho of Mexico and Starling Castillo. Saracho had to be pulled from the card, reportedly due to not receiving his visa in time to enter the United States.
The new co-main event bout is an eight-round welterweight bout between 18-year-old Emiliano Moreno (8-0, 5 KOs) of Long Beach, California and Puerto Rico’s Axl Melendez Salgado (7-0, 4 KOs.
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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