ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will originate from Phoenix, Ariz. July 8 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, ESPN3D, ESPN Deportes and ESPN3.com when super middleweight’s Jesus “El Martillo” Gonzales (26-1, 14 KOs) and Francisco Sierra (24-3-1, 22 KOs) meet in the 12-round main event. Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside at U.S. Airways Arena describing the action, while studio host Brian Kenny will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. The card is presented by FanBase Promotions.
Friday will be boxing’s fourth telecast on ESPN 3D, with upcoming telecasts July 22 and August 5.
Gonzales, the hometown favorite, has won his last nine fights, including a March 12-round unanimous decision win over Dhafir Smith in his last fight. Gonzalez said of Friday’s fight, “I’ve been getting ready for this fight since the beginning of May. I’ve been training real hard, and I’m really excited for the opportunity.”
Mexico’s Sierra is coming off a May second-round knockout win over Ulises Duarte. Sierra scored one of his career-best wins in July, 2010 – a seventh-round technical decision against previously undefeated Chicago prospect Donovan George. After that fight, ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael wrote, “Sierra landed right-hand bomb after right-hand bomb on George. By the third round, his nose was a bloody mess, and his face was swelling. It’s pretty amazing that George stayed on his feet as long as he did.”
Friday’s card will also feature undefeated junior lightweight Yaundale “Money Shot” Evans (13-0, 9 KOs) pitted against former junior featherweight world title challenger Emmanuel “El Carnicero” Lucero (26-6-1, 14 KOs). Cleveland’s Evans is coming off a fifth round TKO win over Ruslan Berchuk in last fight.
“My coach knows boxing, so I have a good style,” said Evans. “I box a lot. I move around, I use my pivots and my reach. I’m definitely a power puncher. I throw a lot of hard shots. I make my opponent pay.”
