Joshua Pagan. Image courtesy of MLive.com
James Pagan has a new opponent in his sights.
The undefeated lightweight prospect will now face gatekeeper Haskell Rhodes on October 18, promoter Dmitriy Salita has confirmed. The 10-round bout will take place at the Coca-Cola Music Hall in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Salita also announced that middleweight prospect Da’Velle Smith will also be part of the ‘Big Time Boxing USA’ card. Both fights will be streamed live on DAZN (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Pagan (10-0, 4 KOs) was originally scheduled to face Canada’s Trevor Thonson in a compelling clash of undefeated lightweights. Thonson reportedly experienced travel issues that forced him to pull out of the fight.
The DAZN headliner will mark Pagan’s first scheduled 10-round fight of his young professional career. The 24-year-old native of Grand Rapids, Michigan has already thrived against above-average opposition.
Pagan defeated Roger Hilley by unanimous decision in his last fight on May 23rd. Both Pagan and Hilley entered the fight undefeated. Pagan’s return to the ring was delayed after he suffered a deep cut over his left eye from an accidental clash of heads in the opening round.
In his previous fight last October 21, Pagan defeated Braulio Rodriguez over six one-sided rounds. He also has a stoppage win over another undefeated fighter, Ronnell Burnett, last June 3rd.
Rhodes (31-6-1, 16 KOs), originally from Oklahoma City and now living in Las Vegas, last fought on August 31st. The 36-year-old veteran knocked out Jonathan Perez in the opening round for the fourth win in his last six starts.
Among the two defeats over that period was a one-sided decision loss to the undefeated Floyd Schofield on July 8 last year.
Smith (9-0, 7 KOs) is coming off a knockout victory in his last fight on September 12th. The 24-year-old Taylor, Mich. product stopped Esau Herrera de la Cruz in the third round. He has stopped four of his last five opponents.
Both Pagan and Smith are promoted by Salita and managed by Aaron Samson.
In the co-main event, undefeated light heavyweight Juan Carrillo (12-0, 9 KOs) of Barranquilla, Colombia will square off against Gilbert Castillo Rivera (25-5-1, 9 KOs) of the Dominican Republic in a 10-round bout .
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)
