Top Rank on ESPN heads to the Banc of California Stadium, Los Angeles, California for an action packed double-header featuring Emanuel Navarrete vs Francisco De Vaca and Jessie Magdaleno vs Rafael Rivera. The fights will be televised live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes on August 17th.
Emanuel Navarrete will put his WBO junior featherweight world title on the line against Francisco “Panchito” De Vaca in the main event of the night.
Navarrete vs De Vaca became the main event after top welterweight contender Jose Benavidez Jr injured his leg in training and was forced to pull out of his fight against former world champion Luis Collazo.
Magdaleno (26-1, 18 KOs) is on a mission, and he wants to get his hands on a world championship again since losing his belt to underdog Isaac Dogboe in April of 2018.
The loss to Dogboe was a bitter pill to swallow for Madgaleno. Not only was it his first professional defeat, it was by stoppage and he also lost his world title.
He believes a lack of discipline and difficulty to make the weight was a huge factor in his performance. He is eager to prove he still has it with a win over Rivera tonight.
Rivera (27-3-2, 18 KOs) is a tough world title challenger from Tijuana, Mexico. Despite having three losses on his record he has never been stopped in a fight, showing his durability and heart.
He lost against WBA featherweight champion Leo Santa Cruz and brought his all in the fight. Tonight he wants to make a statement against a former world champion and continue his road to a another title shot.
Top Rank on ESPN Fight Card
Super Bantamweight – Emanuel Navarrete vs. Francisco De Vaca
Featherweight – Jessie Magdaleno vs. Rafael Rivera
Super Lightweight – Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Ricky Sismundo
Middleweight – Janibek Alimkhanuly vs. Stuart McLellan
Welterweight – Chris van Heerden vs. Aslanbek Kozaev
Super Lightweight – Javier Molina vs. Manuel Mendez
Lightweight – Dmitry Yun vs. Javier Martinez
Super Lightweight – Elvis Rodriguez vs. Jesus Gonzales
Welterweight – Brian Mendoza vs. Rosemberg Gomez
Emanuel Navarrete vs Francisco De Vaca and Jessie Magdaleno-Rafael Rivera at Banc of California Stadium LIVE on ESPN and ESPN Deportes Saturday, August 17 at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.
