Are you the kind of diehard boxing fan who can never get enough of the sweet science—the kind of fan who loves a brawl between two rising prospects as much as a much-hyped clash between two established stars? Then June 25 is for you.
Justin DeLoach connects with a shot against Rick Graham during their fight last July. DeLoach won a unanimous decision, the first of four consecutive victories for the 154-pound prospect. (Lucas Noonan/Premier Boxing Champions)
Already slated to be one of the busiest dates on the boxing calendar—with three world championship fights on two continents—the last Saturday in June just got even busier with a trio of eight-round fights involving some of the top young boxers in the game.
Headlining a Premier Boxing Champions card from the Scottish Rite Auditorium in San Antonio will be a 154-pound scrap between Justin DeLoach (14-1, 8 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia, and Junior Castillo (10-0, 9 KOs) of the Dominican Republic. Also on the docket is a pair of 140-pound clashes, with Ryan “Cowboy” Karl (11-0, 8 KOs) of Houston scheduled to face Mexico's Luis Solis (14-6-4, 12 KOs), and Darwin Price (12-0, 11 KOs) of Houston taking on Chicago native Semajay Thomas (7-0, 4 KOs).
The action begins at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on NBCSN and caps an exciting day of fisticuffs that begins with a heavyweight title showdown in which undefeated British champion Anthony Joshua (16-0, 16 KOs) defends his crown for the first time against unbeaten American challenger Dominic Breazeale (17-0, 15 KOs) from the O2 Arena in London (Showtime, 5 p.m. ET/2 p.m. PT).
Following Joshua-Breazeale, Keith Thurman (26-0, 22 KOs) will put his 147-pound title on the line against former champion Shawn Porter (26-1-1, 16 KOs) in a highly anticipated main event from Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York (CBS, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT). Prior to Thurman-Porter, Jesus Cuellar (28-1, 21 KOs) will defend his 126-pound title against former three-division champion Abner Mares (29-2-1, 15 KOs).
That’s six fights from three venues on two continents across three networks, all spread out over more than eight hard-hitting hours. In other words, stock the cooler and change the batteries in the remote—June 25 is going to be a long, action-packed night.
For a complete look at the NBCSN card, visit our fight night page.
