3/26 ESPN: Miguel Berchelt vs Jeremiah Nakathila

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Former junior lightweight world champion Miguel “El Alacrán” Berchelt, the fighting pride of Cancun, Mexico, has his sights squarely on the lightweight division’s top names. Berchelt will battle Namibian contender Jeremiah Nakathila in the 10-round main event Saturday, March 26 at the Resorts World Events Center located at Resorts World Las Vegas.

Berchelt-Nakathila marks the debut sporting event at Resorts World Las Vegas, which opened June 2021 as the first integrated resort to be built on The Strip in over a decade.

In the 10-round co-feature, top featherweight contenders Jose Enrique “El Ejecutor” Vivas and Enrique “El Gemelo” Baez will meet in a guaranteed all-action clash with potential world title implications. Berchelt-Nakathila and Vivas-Baez will be televised live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. EST/7 p.m. PST.

“Miguel Berchelt is motivated to become a two-weight world champion, and he has a formidable test in his lightweight debut against Jeremiah Nakathila,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “It is a great honor to promote the first boxing event at Resorts World Las Vegas, a fantastic new property we hope will host many fight nights in the coming years.”

“As we developed Resorts World Las Vegas, entertainment was always an integral piece of our business strategy, and as part of that, we envisioned having major sporting events take place on our property,” said Scott Sibella, President of Resorts World Las Vegas. “We’re thrilled to be partnering with an industry leader like Top Rank to host this event and look forward to welcoming fans to the first-ever Resorts World Las Vegas fight night experience.”

Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) won the WBC world title in January 2017 and defended that belt six times, becoming one of boxing’s longest-reigning world champions. Five of his title defenses came by knockout, including a ninth-round triumph over Miguel Roman and a fourth-round blitzing of former world champion Jason Sosa. Berchelt’s momentum was halted in February 2021, when he lost his world title in a dramatic showdown against Oscar Valdez. Berchelt was knocked out in the 10th round by Valdez and soon looked to regain his championship form in another division.

“I am ready to turn the page and show the fans I have what it takes to become a two-division world champion,” Berchelt said. “The Valdez fight is in the past, and my focus is on Nakathila and a lightweight world title in 2022. ‘El Alacran’ is back, and I can’t wait to come to Resorts World Las Vegas to put on a show.”

Nakathila (22-2, 18 KOs) is a former WBO Africa and WBO Global junior lightweight titlist who is one of Namibia's most decorated fighters. He went undefeated for more than four years, and last June, he made his Las Vegas debut against Shakur Stevenson for the WBO interim junior lightweight world title. Nakathila lost a clear points verdict to the unbeaten phenom, but he returned in fine form last October with a second-round stoppage over Ndodana Ncube. The 32-year-old Nakathila hopes to score the upset and a spot among the lightweight elites.

Nakathila said, “It's an amazing opportunity to fight Berchelt. Given our styles, it will make for a highly entertaining fight. This is my lightweight debut, and I'm looking forward to my first win against a highly rated former champion."

Vivas (21-1, 11 KOs), from Texcoco, Mexico, has won four straight fights and emerged as a contender to watch during the “Bubble” in 2020 with standout performances against Carlos Jackson and John Vincent Moralde. Last May, in one of the year's best toe-to-toe affairs, he recovered from a pair of third-round knockdowns to edge Louie Coria by unanimous decision. Baez (20-2-2, 7 KOs), from Mexicali, Mexico, is a former Mexican junior featherweight champion who is now testing the featherweight waters. Last March, he notched a one-sided decision over the previously undefeated Abimael Ortiz, which came a little more than three months after a near-shutout verdict over Narek Abgaryan. Baez saw his 12-bout unbeaten streak snapped with a razor-thin majority decision loss to Ra'eese Aleem.

 

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LAS VEGAS (March 21, 2022) — Boxing’s rising stars are headed to Resorts World Las Vegas. Welterweight U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson and Puerto Rican junior featherweight contender Carlos “Purin” Caraballo will see action on the Miguel Berchelt-Jeremiah Nakathila undercard Saturday, March 26 at the Resorts World Events Center.

Johnson will face an opponent to be named in a six-rounder, while Caraballo hopes to bounce back from his first career defeat against Luis Fernando Saavedra in an eight-rounder.

Berchelt-Nakathila and a 10-round featherweight battle between Jose Enrique Vivas and Eduardo Baez will be televised live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts, including Johnson and Caraballo-Saavedra, will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT.

“There’s plenty of great young talent on the card, including a young man in Tiger Johnson who I believe can one day become a world champion,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are thrilled to bring world-class boxing to Resorts World Las Vegas.”

Johnson (2-0, 1 KO) had a sterling 188-17 amateur record, culminating in his run to the quarterfinal round at the Tokyo Olympics. He had an eye-opening professional debut last November in Las Vegas, knocking out Antonius Grable in four rounds. Johnson returned in January with a shutout decision over the previously unbeaten Xavier Madrid.

Caraballo (14-1, 14 KOs), from Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, won his first 14 fights by stoppage and was never extended past the sixth round. That changed last October when he went the 10-round distance against Jonas Sultan. He knocked down Sultan once and survived four knockdowns to lose a narrow decision in one of the best fights of 2021. Caraballo now has a stiff challenge in Saavedra (9-6, 3 KOs), a Mexican pressure fighter with a deceiving record. Saavedra has won two straight fights against previously unbeaten fighters, including last June’s six-round domination over Robert “Biggie” Rodriguez (9-0-1 at the time) on a Top Rank card.

In other undercard action streaming live on ESPN+:

• Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (19-2, 9 KOs) will fight an opponent to be named in an eight-round junior welterweight tilt. Vargas was one of the division’s rising contenders until a stunning first-round KO loss to Jose “Chon” Zepeda last October in New York City.
  
• Featherweight Haven Brady Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), the one-time U.S. amateur star, aims to notch his second victory of 2022 against Chilean veteran Jose Argel (8-2, 2 KOs). Argel has never been knocked out as a pro and has gone six or more rounds six times in his career.
  
• Light heavyweight prospect Dante Benjamin Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), fresh off a first-round knockout in his professional debut, will face fellow unbeaten Kevin Johnson (2-0, 1 KO).
  
• Arturo Cardenas (2-0, 2 KOs), a junior featherweight knockout artist who trains out of the world-famous Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, California, will fight Mexican upstart Juan Hernandez Martinez (2-0) in a four-rounder.
  
• Adrian Serrano, a 17-year-old lightweight from Salinas, California, will make his pro debut in a four-rounder against Estevan Partida (0-1).

 

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Nakathila: Berchelt Just Woke Up From Valdez KO; We're Going To Put Him Back To Sleep

BY KEITH IDEC
Published Fri Mar 25, 2022, 09:25 AM EDT


Jeremiah Nakathila knew Oscar Valdez would defeat Miguel Berchelt.

The Namibian junior lightweight contender considered Valdez’s style perfect for beating Berchelt, who was consistently listed as a 4-1 favorite over Valdez. Nogales’ Valdez proved Nakathila correct by battering Berchelt on his way to dropping the former WBC super featherweight champion four times and knocking him out in the 10th round of their February 2021 bout at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

“I was not surprised,” Nakathila, who will battle Berchelt on Saturday night, told BoxingScene.com. “Looking at his wins before, the type of opponents that he faced, it’s not opponents that were the caliber of Valdez. I knew Valdez had an opportunity to beat him because looking at the style of fighting for Berchelt, it’s an easy style to beat.”

The 30-year-old Berchelt was down big on all three scorecards – 89-80, 88-81 and 87-82 – when Valdez viciously knocked him out with a left hook that sent Berchelt to the canvas face first in the 10th round.

Nakathila thinks Berchelt’s style will be easy for him to beat as well, particularly since Berchelt (38-2, 34 KOs) hasn’t fought in the 13 months since Valdez defeated him. He is confident he’ll become the third opponent to knock out Berchelt in a 10-round main event ESPN will televise from Resorts World Las Vegas (10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT).

“It affected him,” Nakathila said of Berchelt’s loss to Valdez. “He just woke up now and we’re going to put him back to sleep.”

The 32-year-old Nakathila (22-2, 18 KOs) also lost to an undefeated 130-pound champion two fights ago. Shakur Stevenson cautiously yet clearly out-boxed the heavy-handed Nakathila in their 12-round fight for the WBO interim junior lightweight title June 12 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs), who will face Valdez (30-0, 23 KOs) in a title unification fight April 30 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, defeated Nakathila by scores of 120-107, 120-107 and 120-107. Nakathila insists he will apply what he has learned from his subpar performance versus Stevenson when he boxes Berchelt, who Caesars Sportsbook has established as almost a 6-1 favorite.

“I cannot really say much about him,” Nakathila said of Berchelt. “I can only say that I’m a better man than him. Looking at his videos, all I can say is I’m a better boxer than Miguel Berchelt.”

 

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Miguel Berchelt-Jeremiah Nakathila, Undercard Weigh-In Results From Las Vegas

BY KEITH IDEC
Published Fri Mar 25, 2022, 05:04 PM EDT


The last time Miguel Berchelt stepped on a scale in Las Vegas, the former WBC super featherweight champion felt drained after making the 130-pound limit.

The Mexican veteran looked much fresher and relaxed Friday, when he came in at the lightweight limit of 135 pounds for his 10-round fight Saturday night against Jeremiah Nakathila. Namibia’s Nakathila, who also moved up from the junior lightweight division for this main event at Resorts World Las Vegas, officially weighed 133.6 pounds.

Berchelt, 30, will fight for the first time in 13 months. He lost his WBC belt in his last fight – a brutal, 10th-round knockout defeat to Oscar Valdez in February 2021 at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

Nakathila, 32, lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Shakur Stevenson two fights ago. Stevenson (17-0, 9 KOs), a southpaw from Newark, New Jersey, fought mostly defensively on his way to winning 120-107 on all three scorecards and the WBO interim junior lightweight title last June 12 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Caesars Sportsbook has made Berchelt almost a 6-1 favorite over Nakathila, who is full-time police officer in Windhoek, Namibia’s capital city.

ESPN will televise Berchelt-Nakathila as the main event of a doubleheader set to start at 10 p.m. ET and 7 p.m. PT.

In the first fight ESPN will air Saturday night, Jose Enrique Vivas (21-1, 11 KOs), of Texcoco, Mexico, will encounter Eduardo Baez (20-2-2, 7 KOs), of Mexicali, Mexico, in a 10-round featherweight fight. Vivas came back to the scale at 125.8 pounds, almost a pound less than Baez, who officially weighed 126.6 pounds.

The Nevada State Athletic Commission’s weights for the six non-televised fights on the Berchelt-Nakathila undercard are listed below.

ESPN+

6:45 p.m. ET; 3:45 p.m. PT

Carlos Caraballo (14-1, 14 KOs), Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, 120 pounds vs. Luis Saavedra (9-6, 3 KOs), San Luis Potosi, Mexico, 120 pounds, 10 rounds, junior featherweights.

Tiger Johnson (2-0, 1 KO), Cleveland, 142 pounds vs. Sebastian Chaves (5-3, 2 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 143.2 pounds, 6 rounds, welterweights.

Josue Vargas (19-2, 9 KOs), Bronx, New York, 142 pounds vs. Nicolas Demario (15-5-3, 9 KOs), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 141.6 pounds, 8 rounds, welterweights.

Haven Brady Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), Albany, Georgia, 127 pounds vs. Jose Argel (8-2, 2 KOs), Iquique, Chile, 126.6 pounds, 6 rounds, junior lightweights.

Dante Benjamin Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), Cleveland, 173.6 pounds vs. Kevin Johnson (2-0, 1 KO), Wichita, Kansas, 174.4 pounds, 4 rounds, light heavyweights.

Arturo Cardenas (2-0, 2 KOs), Sahuayo, Mexico, 122.4 pounds vs. Juan Hernandez Martinez (2-0, 2 KOs), Gomez Palacio, Mexico, 123.6 pounds, 4 rounds, featherweights.

 

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Josue Vargas about to fight next. From the main event to prelims



thats what his bytch ass gets

 

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josue vargas is trash

 

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yo that was a knockdown

 

[Electric Ladyland]

Vargas gets hurt in the 4th

his opponent is very limited though

 

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yo that was a knockdown

definitely

ref trying to make up for the first one

 

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and vargas got dropped again lol

 

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Vargas gets dropped

 

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yo this nikka bit vargas on the shoulder.....are you kidding me? thats a DQ

 

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these Argentinians dirty as fukk

Vargas is trash