IBF JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT TITLE ELIMINATOR
Resurging Puerto Rican knockout specialist?Subriel?Matías?(21-2, 21 KOs) will face Mexico’s hard-hitting?Gabriel Gollaz Valenzuela?(30-3, 17 KOs) in an IBF Junior Welterweight World Title Eliminator on Saturday, March 1, live on?DAZN. The winner of the bout, featuring the IBF’s two top ranked 140-pound contenders, will be the mandatory challenger to reigning IBF Champ,?Richardson Hitchins. The 32-year-old former IBF Junior Welterweight titleholder Matías has amassed 21 victories, all coming by way of finish. Boasting an impressive highlight reel career, Matías is widely regarded as one of the most prolific finishers in boxing.
Facing Matías will be a skilled, confident 30-year-old Gollaz Valenzuela. On the strength of five straight victories, Valenzuela boasts 17 knockouts in 30 wins and should make an electrifying match opposite Matías. Originally scheduled to face each other in November 2024, Valenzuela will compete for the first time in Matías’ home country of Puerto Rico. Currently ranked No. 4 in the IBF Junior Welterweight division (Matias is No. 3) with the top two spots vacant, Valenzuela is confident that he can win on foreign soil and earn his first world title shot against Hitchins.
Returning to Puerto Rico for the second time in five months, Salita Promotions has continued to showcase the rich boxing talent that resides on the island, much like it has done the past two years in the state of Michigan. With a proven track record of discovering talent throughout the greater Detroit and Flint, Mich., region, Salita Promotions President Dmitriy Salita continues to give up-and-coming talent a global platform to perform.
140-POUND DIVISION ON DISPLAY
The co-main event will see the WBO NABO Super Lightweight Title on the line as Dominican Republic’s Alfredo Santiago (16-2, 7 KOs) meets fellow countryman Javier Fortuna (39-5, 28 KOs). Santiago, 30, returns to the ring on the heels of a statement first-round TKO victory over Mexico’s Pedro Campa in November 2024. Currently on the strength of three straight victories, Santiago captured the WBO NABO Junior Super Lightweight Title last June when he defeated Angel Fierro via unanimous decision, and this Saturday night, Santiago will attempt to defend his title for the third time. Starting his impressive career off with an undefeated record of 12-0, Santiago earned a shot against former Undisputed Lightweight World Champion Devin Haney for the WBC Lightweight World Championship in November 2019. While coming up short, Santiago has proven that he belongs in the upper echelon of the Super Lightweight Division.
Entering his second bout in just over two months, the 35-year-old Fortuna will compete in Puerto Rico for the first time. Like his opponent, Fortuna is coming off an impressive TKO victory defeating Jonatan Mariano in December 2024. Boasting a staggering 28 knockouts to his name, Fortuna made his professional debut in 2009 against Ricardo Johnson. Fortuna held the WBC Continental Americas Lightweight Title in 2019 and challenged former IBF Super Featherweight World Champion Joseph Diaz in 2021 for the WBC Interim Lightweight World Title.
In addition, undefeated Nestor Bravo (23-0, 16 KOs) and South Africa’s Xolisani Ndongeni (32-6, 19 KOs) will collide for the vacant WBA Intercontinental Jr. Welterweight Title. Hailing from Arecibo, P.R., Bravo will return to action after nearly a year away from the ring. Previously holding the WBC Latino Lightweight Title and the WBO NABO Super Lightweight Title, Bravo pursues another belt when he faces his toughest test to date in Ndongeni.
Recently challenging for the vacant WBO Latino Lightweight Title, Ndongeni looks to insert himself back into the win column against Bravo. A tenured competitor, Ndongeni has held the WBF International Featherweight Title, IBO International Lightweight Title, and WBF Lightweight Title. With ample experience against undefeated prospects, Ndongeni aims to give the rising Bravo his first defeat.
HEAVYWEIGHT STANDOUT RETURNS TO THE RING
Brooklyn, N.Y.’s Pryce Taylor (6-0, 4 KOs) returns to action against Arizona’s Trevor Kotara (4-3-1, 1 KO) following his second-round knockout victory over Jerell Nettles on February 2. A promising heavyweight prospect, Taylor signed with Salita Promotions in November 2024, and has since gone 2-0 under the banner, both victories coming by way of knockout. Standing at 6-foot-4, Taylor is a former collegiate basketball player and has won two New York Golden Gloves title.
CATCH ALL THE ACTION ON DAZN
The night of fights will air live globally on DAZN at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT. Corey Erdman will handle the blow-by-blow call, with International Boxing Hall of Famer announcer Al Bernstein joined by former IBF Junior Middleweight world champion Raul Marquez?handling the commentary. Veteran sports reporter Claudia Trejos joins the team as the ringside reporter.
SALITA PROMOTIONS’ ALI IZMAILOV SET FOR HOMECOMING BOUTLight heavyweight prospect and Salita Promotions’ rising star Ali Izmailov (12-0, 8 KOs) will fight in his homeland of Russia for the first time as a professional this Thursday night when he faces veteran Habib Ahmed (30-2-1, 21 KOs) of Ghana in the main event in Moscow.
Izmailov is trained in Detroit by noted trainer John David Jackson. “I’ve had an incredible training camp and can’t wait for February 27th,” Izmailov said. “The light heavyweight division is on fire right now, and I’m ready to make my mark. My goal is to become a world champion, and this is the year I make that dream a reality!”
It’s been a little more than a year since Izmailov last stepped into the ring as he stopped Britton Norwood by fourth-round TKO at Wayne State Fieldhouse in Detroit last February.
“The light heavyweight division is all about the best fighting the best, as we saw in the incredible Beterbiev vs. Bivol showdown just last weekend,” said Dmitriy Salita. “Ali Izmailov is a true blue-chip contender – he’s proven he can compete at the highest level and has what it takes to be the best. It’s only a matter of time before he gets his shot at the world championship.”
