Former world title challenger Oscar Negrete and Joshua Franco, each one fight removed from his only loss, will look to hang a second on each other.
They will meet in the 10-round bantamweight main event of the Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN card on Oct. 4 (ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes, 10:30 p.m. ET) at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Thursday.
Negrete (18-1, 7 KOs), 31, a Colombia native fighting out of Rosemead, California, moved up to junior featherweight to challenge world titlist Rey Vargas in December and lost a unanimous decision. Negrete returned to bantamweight after the defeat and won his next fight on July 6.
“Franco is a good fighter. He’s intelligent and strong. We have to be very careful and be very prepared for this fight,” Negrete said. “We hope that this fight puts me at the top of the 118-pound division. I looked for the opportunity at 122 pounds and it didn’t go as planned, but I hope that a victory against Franco gives me another shot in the division where I actually belong, which is bantamweight.”
The Robert Garcia-trained Franco (14-1, 7 KOs), 22, of San Antonio, suffered his only loss by ninth-round knockout to Lucas Fernandez Leone in March but bounced back for a knockout win over Isao Gonzalo Carranza on June 1.
“This is the step-up fight I need to fight for a world title,” Franco said. “Negrete is the perfect fighter for me to demonstrate that I’m a world-class talent. We know he’s very strong and experienced, but I’m positive that I have the skills to put on a great show and to win my first regional title.”
Puerto Rico’s Daniel Zorrilla (8-0, 7 KOs), 24, who is promoted by retired former four-division world champion Miguel Cotto, will fight an opponent to be determined in the eight-round junior welterweight co-feature.