Ardreal Holmes Jr. and Hugo Noriega make weight ahead of their DAZN main event on September 12 from Dort Financial Center in Flint, Michigan. (Photo Credit: Richard Olrich/Salita Promotions)
Ardreal Holmes, Jr. took the opportunity to create a battle map.
He hopes to continue that streak and make a statement to the rest of the 154-pound division.
Holmes will face Hugo Noriega in the Dort Federal Event Center in his hometown of Flint, Michigan. At Wednesday’s weigh-in, Holmes weighed 153.4 pounds. Noriega came in at 153.2 pounds. The 10-round bout will headline a four-fight Salita Promotions card Thursday on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
Promoter Dmitriy Salita believes Holmes has the physical tools to become a legitimate junior middleweight contender. Salita is confident Holmes will make a statement at Noriega’s expense.
“Ardreal is an American-born junior middleweight contender who is poised to break into the elite level of the division,” Salita told The Ring. “The junior middleweight division is one of the hottest and most competitive in boxing. An impressive win against a strong opponent will move him one step closer to the top.”
In his last fight on February 20, Holmes (15-0, 6 KOs) also headlined a Salita Promotions card, which took place at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit, stopping Marlon Harrington in the second round.
Before fighting on DAZN, including a technical victory over Wendy Toussaint on June 3 of last year, the 30-year-old Holmes headlined a handful of ShoBox broadcasts. In March 2022, Holmes defeated Vernon Brown, once beaten, by unanimous decision. Almost a year later, in a clash of undefeated prospects, Holmes defeated Ismael Villarreal by split decision.
Tonight’s fight will be Holmes’ second of 2024. He hasn’t fought twice or more in a calendar year since 2019, when he fought three times.
Noriega (10-2, 5 KOs), who is originally from Cuba and now lives in Miami, Florida, defeated journeyman Saul Corral by unanimous decision in his last fight on March 23rd. The win over Corral came more than four months after he lost to once beat Abass Baraou.
Noriega will also fight for the second time this year after a six-fight campaign in 2023.
In the co-feature, middleweight Joseph Hicks (10-0, 7 KOs) of Grand Rapids, Michigan will take on Detroit’s Ronnie Austion in an eight-round bout.
Both 30-year-old fighters weighed in at 155.8 pounds.
Hicks also fought on the Feb. 20 Salita Promotions card, knocking out gatekeeper Ricardo Villalba in the fourth round. The 30-year-old is managed by David McWater.
Austion (10-2, 7 KOs) has not fought since July 2019, when he lost by majority decision to Denis Okoth. Less than six months before the loss to Okoth, Austion suffered the first loss of his professional career at the hands of Marquis Hawthorne.
Also on the card will be middleweight prospect Da’Velle Smith (8-0, 6 KOs) of Taylor, Michigan, in a six-round bout against Mexico City’s Esau Herrera de la Cruz (21-17-1, 8 KOs ) faced.
Smith weighed 164.8 pounds. Herrera de la Cruz came in at 165.8 pounds.
Salita is proud that the fighters he promotes can showcase their skills on DAZN. He also believes his stable of fighters are at or near the top of boxing.
“Especially in today’s boxing environment, we strive for that,” Salita said. “I believe we are the premier talent development platform in the United States, showcasing top talent in competitive fights.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at (email protected)
