DAZN are continuing to expand boxing coverage, as the streaming service are partnering with newly long-term partners Matchroom Boxing as well as Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso to produce a series of fight nights from Mexico.
The series will kick off on Saturday, June 26, featuring Julio Cesar Martinez defending his WBC flyweight title against Joel Cordova in Guadalajara.
This won’t be a super regular occurrence, mind you, as right now they’re set to do four events over the next year, but it’s something with a chance to prove viable for DAZN and the promoters, as well as the fighters involved.
Martinez (17-1, 13 KO) is one of the sport’s more exciting fighters. He won the vacant WBC belt in Dec. 2019 by stopping Cristofer Rosales, and made two defenses in 2020, one against Jay Harris and another against Moises Calleros.
He’s had scheduled defenses against McWilliams Arroyo canceled repeatedly, and while that fight may still happen at some point this year, it’s not next.
The 26-year-old Cordova (12-4-2, 3 KO) is a marginal contender at best, and that’s being kind. But he has a couple of decent wins, and is 6-0-2 in his last eight, on a five-fight win streak.
The tough news for the June 26 debut of this series is it will be going up against two much bigger cards, at least in the U.S., as Showtime PPV has Gervonta “Tank” Davis vs Mario Barrios that evening, and ESPN have Vasiliy Lomachenko’s return against Masayoshi Nakatani.