The Jan. 31 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates presented by Corona Extra will feature undefeated Light Heavyweight contender Blake “Il Capo” Caparello (18-0-1, 6 KOs) and Elvir “The Kosovo Kid” Muriqi (40-5, 24 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s show, from the Richard J. Codey Arena in West Orange N.J., will take place Super Bowl weekend and is less than 20 miles from MetLife Stadium, site of Super Bowl XLVIII.
The show will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will televise the fights Sunday, Feb. 2, at 2 a.m. The card is promoted by Dibella Entertainment.
New Picture (37)
Watch Teddy Atlas and Joe Tessitore preview Friday’s main event
Commentators:
Joe Tessitore will be ringside with Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2, while studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN) will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. Delvin Rodríguez and Pablo Viruega will call the fights for Noche de Combates (Fight Night) on both ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes+, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will anchor the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will present live interviews and reports for both shows.
Atlas Fight Plan:
Former New York Giants running back Brandon Jacobs will be Atlas’ sparring partner in this week’s “Fight Plan” segment during which Atlas will illustrate what Friday’s headliners will need to do to win.
Main Event:
Australia’s Caparello, who will be making his U.S. debut, scored a 12-round unanimous decision win over Allan Green in his last outing, while Muriqi, who hails from N.Y., is looking to continue his winning ways following an eight-round majority decision win over Paul Vasquez.
“I’m a boxer-mover. I like to use angles, long punches and quick hands,” Caparello said. “Elvir (Muriqi) is a strong, solid fighter. We’ve had a good look at him. He’s the type, if we want to make an impression, we have to beat him good. That’s our plan.”
“When you fight a lefty, you can never look great but as long as I win, that’s what matters,” Muriqi said. “I’m pretty good with lefties and think I’m going to surprise a lot of people.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s eight-round co-feature will pit undefeated Featherweight Luis “KO King” Rosa (15-0, 7 KOs) against Jorge Diaz (17-2, 10 KOs). Connecticut’s Rosa is coming off a third-round TKO win over Andre Wilson, while New Jersey’s Diaz is looking to rebound from a fourth-round TKO loss to Yenifel Vicente.
Additional Fight:
Friday’s show will open with an additional eight-round bout between undefeated Welterweight Dusty Hernandez-Harrison (19-0, 11KOs) and Tim Witherspoon Jr. (10-3-1, 2KOs), son of former Heavyweight champion Tim Witherspoon.
Upcoming Schedule:
Date
Time (ET)
Main Event
Location
Networks
Fri, Feb. 7
9 p.m.
Norberto González (20-2, 13 KOs) vs. Roberto García (33-3, 22 KOs)—10-rounds, Middleweights
UIC Pavilion , Chicago
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Feb. 14
9 p.m.
Chris Algieri (18-0, 8 KOs) vs. Emmanuel Taylor (17-1, 12 KOs) —10-rounds, Junior Welterweights
Paramount Theater, Huntington, N.Y.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
*Schedule subject to change
Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook. Follow ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo. Also score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round. For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.