First live fights since COVID-19 outbreak in Nicaragua Saturday

For the first time since boxing shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic beginning in mid-March, live fights will be returning in Nicaragua on Saturday night. That’s when a lightweight rematch between Ramiro Blanco and Robin Zamora will headline an eight fight card in the capital of Managua.

Bufalo Boxing Promotions is putting the card on with the blessing of the Nicaraguan government,

#Deportes6|| Canal 6 y la empresa Búfalo Boxing Promotions S.A, realizarán este próximo 25 de abril, una Cartelera de Boxeo Nicaragüense en el Polideportivo Alexis Argüello.https://t.co/BI9mx3kJLn pic.twitter.com/QvS3qzV6Ap

— Canal 6 Nicaragua (@Canal6Nicaragua) April 23, 2020

As we wrote previously, ESPN Deportes will televise the bouts starting at 11 p.m. Eastern U.S. Time (9 p.m. local in Nicaragua) that will culminate with the rematch between Blanco and Zamora.

Those two previously fought last October, also in Managua, as Zamora (15-7) scored a somewhat controversial early 2nd round TKO. As the video below shows, Zamora caught Blanco (18-7) coming in with a right hand early in round 2 and the referee was slow to recognize the knockdown.

Blanco stood up and Zamora then hit him with another solid left and the referee decided to stop the fight. See it for youself:

The win for Zamora was only his second in his previous five fights.

As for Blanco (18-7-3), he has equally struggled on the “club circuit” in Nicaragua, as the Zamora loss was his fourth consecutive and fifth in his last six fights.

However, at one time, Blanco had a promising start to his career, as he was unbeaten in his first 16 fights. That was up until his loss to Chinese contender, Can Xu, by 12 round decision in China in September of 2016.

The other fight of note on the Nicaraguan slate Saturday night card involves Super Featherweight fighter Freddy Fonseca, who will take on Alain Aguilar.

Fonseca (27-5-1, 18 KOs) had been on the rise in the 130 lb. division with a 26-2-1 start to his career. However, he suffered a seventh-round TKO loss to JoJo Diaz (photo at top) last May in Las Vegas on the undercard of the Canelo Alvarez-Danny Jacobs main event.

Since then, Fonseca has gone on to lose two of his next three fights, including a defeat in Japan to Masanori Rikiishi by decision last September. Next, continuing his worldwide travels, Fonseca lost to unbeaten, up-and-coming Irish Super Featherweight, John Joe Nevin, by unanimous decision last November in England.

Fonseca is clearly more experienced and has been in with better competition than his opponent Aguilar, who is only 8 – 7. However, Aguilar has won all of his last four fights (each by decision) after having previously lost seven fights in a row.

ESPN Deportes reported earlier this week that promoter Rosendo Alvarez said of re-starting live fights in his home country and of the Coronavirus safety measures for Saturday,

“Here in Nicaragua there is no quarantine. The Nicaraguan government and the Ministry of Health have made a great effort so that the pandemic does not wreak havoc in the country.

As an extra measure we are going to ask the fans who do not sit together, we will ask that there be a meter of distance. And the commissioners, doctors, trainers, will obviously have to wear masks, latex gloves. We have been fortunate that the There have been isolated cases and we all have the need to work, so we are making the effort.”