Golden Boy Announces Ortiz-Stanionis Undercard

Thursday afternoon Golden Boy Promotions announced the undercard for their Vergil Ortiz – Eimantas Stanionis welterweight main event in July and some notable prospects and a prominent veteran are part of it.

From the Golden Boy official release:

“The undercard has been finalized for another potential main event candidate for ‘Fight of the Year’ featuring the highly anticipated clash between undefeated knockout sensation Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) of Grand Prairie, Texas and “World Champion Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) of Kaunas, Lithuania for Stanionis’ WBA Regular Welterweight Title.

In the chief supporting role, Golden Boy’s blue-chip prospect Floyd “Kid Austin” Schofield (14-0, 11 KOs) will be looking to dazzle the crowd yet again after a ferocious second-round knockout victory against Jesus Valentin Leon on the Davis vs. Garcia undercard on April 22. Presented in association with Davies Entertainment, Schofield will measure up against Haskell “Hackman” Rhodes (28-4-1, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a 10-round lightweight fight.

On the DAZN broadcast with a spectacular unification bout, the WBA, WBC and Ring Magazine World Champion Marlen Esparza (13-1, 1 KOs) of Houston, Texas will take a step closer to her dream to become the first-ever undisputed female flyweight champion of the world when she faces WBO World Champion of Buenos Aires, Argentina Gabriela Alaniz (14-0, 6 KOs) in a 10-round flyweight fight. Esparza returns to the ring after an impressive showing against Eva Guzman last August 2022 on the Ortiz, Jr. vs. MicKinson undercard.

JoJo Diaz Back With Golden Boy

Opening the broadcast with a redemptive return to the ring after re-signing a multi-fight contract with Golden Boy, Joseph “JoJo” Diaz (32-4-1, 15 KOs) will also be on the DAZN undercard in a 10-round lightweight fight. Diaz’s opponent will also be announced in the coming weeks.”

The Stanionis vs. Ortiz match up has been twice delayed due to Stanionis having an appendicitis early this year and then after re-scheduling, Ortiz had a reoccurrence of a serious blood disorder that has delayed the bout until Saturday, July 8 at AT&T Center in San Antonio, Texas. The welterweight showdown will be streamed live worldwide on DAZN.

The 20 year old Schofield is a rising star, who hopes to get in position for a possible world title shot in 2024. Meanwhile, the 30 year old Diaz previously challenged Devin Haney in December 2021 for the WBC lightweight crown and lost a lopsided decision. He’s lost his two bouts since to William Zepeda and Mercito Gesta.