Ernesto Mercado and Deiner Berrio will face each other this Saturday at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston for the World Boxing Association (WBA) Continental North America Gold super lightweight title. 

The bout will be the main event of the evening and will feature two top-level boxers facing each other in search of the regional belt of the pioneer organization. 

Mercado, born in the United States, is 22 years old and has had an impressive start to his professional career in which he is undefeated. “Tito”, as the local fighter is nicknamed, has just defeated Cristian Bielma by knockout on February 24 and now he will face this challenge for a regional title. 

Berrio, a Colombian who recently arrived in the United States, is 33 years old and will be going to his third fight in this country after having made almost his entire career in Colombia and having several fights in Russia. The man from Santiago de Tolu has lost two fights in a row but has looked good and now wants to reverse this situation and take the crown. 

Mercado has a record of 14 wins, no losses and 13 knockouts, while Berrio has 22 wins, 4 losses, 1 draw and 13 knockouts.

Jose Valenzuela won a 10-round unanimous decision over Deiner Berrio in a lightweight bout in Bakersfield, California.

Valenzuela, 136.4 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX won by scores of 100-90, 99-91 and 98-92 and is now 10-0. Berrio, 137.6 lbs of Colombia is 22-4-1.

Chance and De Jesus battle to majority draw

Rajon Chance and Elon De Jesus fought to a six-round majority draw in a super bantamweight fight.

In round four, De Jesus was deducted a point for hitting behind the head. In n round five, De Jesus dropped Chance with an uppercut.

Scores were 57-55 for Chance and 58-56 twice.

Chance, 124.6 lbs of East Orange, NJ is 5-0-1. De Jesus, 123.6 lbs of New Jersey is 3-0-1.

Medina Decisions Abdullah

Ahmed Medina won a four-round unanimous decision over Abdur Abdullah in a super featherweight bout.

Medina, 128 lbs of Los Angeles, CA won by scores of 40-35 on all cards and is now 4-0. Abdullah, 130 lbs of St. Louis, MO is 4-5.

BAKERSFIELD, CA. (September 16, 2021) – Rising lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela will look to impress in his first main event appearance when he faces Colombia’s Deiner Berrio in a 10-round showdown that headlines FS1 PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Saturday, September 18 (7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT) from Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California.

“I’ve dreamt about this moment since I was a little kid,” said Valenzuela. “Now I’m just ready to put on a show Saturday night and make a big statement. I have to let the whole division know that I’m here.”

The 22-year-old impressed in his last outing, stopping Donte Strayhorn in the fourth-round of their bout that aired on FOX prior to the Pacquiao vs. Ugas pay-per-view on August 21. While Valenzuela was pleased he was able to show off his aggressive style, he also saw facets of his game where he can improve on.

“I love putting on a good performance for the fans and getting them up out of their seats,” said Valenzuela. “I’m a very active fighter, because I grew up watching and appreciating fighters like Manny Pacquiao and Julio Cesar Chavez.

“You’re going to see better footwork from me in this fight. I’m a good boxer and I’m good on my toes, but I sometimes get bored of that. I like to fight in the trenches, but I know I have to be smart and use my defense also. I’m going to be using my jab and different angles in this fight. I’m not going to be standing straight up in front of Berrio.”

Berrio represents the most accomplished fighter who Valenzuela has faced so far in his young career. The 30-year-old Berrio has never been stopped and most recently lost a 10-round decision to unbeaten Juan Pablo Romero in April. Despite the gap in experience, Valenzuela believes he has the edge in ring IQ that will help him come out victorious.

“Berrio has a style where he fights off his back foot, gets low and then explodes with wild overhand rights,” said Valenzuela. “It’s a weird style and definitely a little awkward. I don’t think he’s going to be able to adapt and make the adjustments he’ll need against me. I’ll be expecting a lot of wide shots from him.”

A native of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Valenzuela now trains in Seattle, Washington, where he is trained by Jose Benavidez Sr. alongside Jose’s sons, unbeaten two-time world champion David Benavidez and longtime contender Jose Benavidez Jr. Valenzuela has worked with the Benavidez family for the last four years, soaking up the knowledge from an accomplished boxing family.

“It’s a great experience working with the Benavidez family,” said Valenzuela. “They always push me extremely hard and they really believe that we don’t have any limits. David is also a fast-paced fighter and I think that comes from the type of training we do.”

In a stacked lightweight division with numerous big-name champions and contenders, Valenzuela knows that he has to take advantage of every opportunity he receives. That knowledge is motivating him to make sure he looks impressive on September 18.

“I have to show everybody that Berrio is nowhere near my level,” said Valenzuela. “I can’t just win. I have to win in tremendous fashion. A knockout would be great, but the most important thing is to dominate and look-good winning.”

Saturday’s show will be followed on Sunday, September 19 with another night of FS1 PBC Fight Night action also taking place at Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California. Sunday’s telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and is headlined by undefeated super featherweight prospect Maliek Montgomery facing Aleem Jumakhonov in a 10-round bout.

Tickets for the live events, which are promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and available at AXS.com.

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Viewers can live stream the PBC shows on the FOX Sports and FOX NOW apps or at FOXSports.com. In addition, all programs are available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions, and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.

BAKERSFIELD, CA. (September 10, 2021) – Premier Boxing Champions will present back-to-back nights of FS1 PBC Fight Night action, and on FOX Deportes, on Saturday, September 18 and Sunday, September 19 delivering an exciting fight-filled weekend live from Mechanics Bank Arena in Bakersfield, California.

On Saturday, rising lightweight prospect Jose Valenzuela will put his unbeaten record on the line against Colombia’s Deiner Berrio in the 10-round main event. That telecast will begin at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT and feature undefeated super middleweight prospect Suray Mahmutovic stepping into the ring for six rounds of action against unbeaten Pachino Hill, while undefeated featherweights Rajon Chance and Elon de Jesus battle in a six-round attraction.

On Sunday, undefeated super featherweight prospect Maliek Montgomery faces Aleem Jumakhonov in a 10-round headlining bout. That telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT and will see all-action super lightweight Omar “El Relámpago” Juárez in an eight-round attraction against Mexico’s Jairo Lopez, plus exciting prospect Angel Barrientes competes in a four-round super bantamweight showdown taking on Victor Torres.

Tickets for the live events, which are promoted by TGB Promotions, are on sale now and available at AXS.com.

Born in Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, Valenzuela (9-0, 6 KOs) now trains in Seattle as a stablemate of unbeaten two-time champion David Benavidez. The 22-year-old turned pro in 2018 and is currently on a five-bout knockout streak that includes 2021 victories over Nelson Hampton and Clay Burns. In his last outing, Valenzuela stopped Donte Strayhorn in the fourth-round of their August 21 bout. He takes on the 30-year-old Berrio (22-3-1, 13 KOs), who represents his native Columbia while fighting out of Los Angeles. All three of Berrio’s defeats have come against unbeaten fighters and have gone the distance, including his last outing, which saw him drop his U.S. debut to Juan Pablo Romero in April.

Mahmutovic (3-0, 3 KOs) began his pro career with three-straight knockout victories before he makes his U.S. debut as a pro on September 18. The 23-year-old was born in San Francisco and now resides in Daly City, California. Mahmutovic picked up all of his knockout victories in 2021, scoring wins in April, May and July. He squares off against Davenport, Iowa’s Hill (6-0, 5 KOs) in a battle of unbeatens. The 24-year-old Hill debuted in February 2020, with three-straight stoppage victories, having most recently defeated Brandt Cooper in August.

The 21-year-old Chance (5-0, 5 KOs) will look to keep his perfect record intact when he returns to the ring on September 18. A native of East Orange, New Jersey, Chance began his 2021 by knocking out Marco Lara in the first round in July. Chance will be taking on the 27-year-old de Jesus (3-0, 2 KOs) in a rematch of their 2018 amateur clash that Chance won by split-decision. Fighting out of Dunkirk, New York, de Jesus most recently defeated Jetter Soriano by unanimous decision in August.

The 25-year-old Montgomery (10-0, 10 KOs) turned pro in 2017 after an impressive amateur career that included two national Golden Gloves titles and victories over recognizable names such as Edgar Berlanga, Keeshawn Williams and Joseph Adorno, to name a few. The Macon, Georgia born fighter has stopped all 10 of his opponents inside of the distance in his pro career to date. He will face the 28-year-old Jumakhonov (9-3-2, 5 KOs), who most recently knocked out Jorge Ramos in September 2020. Born in Horoh, Tajikistan, Jumakhonov now fights out of Reseda, California.

Juárez (11-1, 5 KOs) will look to bounce back after his first defeat, which came via decision in an exciting showdown against All Rivera in June. Juárez has been lauded as much for his work outside the ring as he has for what he’s accomplished in it. After graduating high school in his native Brownsville, Texas, the 22-year-old dedicated himself to giving back to the state’s youth through motivational speaking and received recognition from the Texas State Senate and the Texas House of Representatives for his efforts. He takes on the 30-year-old Lopez (26-13, 17 KOs), who hails from Nuevo Leon, Mexico and lost by decision to Anthony Peterson in his last outing.

The younger of the Barrientes twins by 13 minutes, Ángel Barrientes (5-1, 4 KOs) had an impressive amateur career, winning 14 national tournaments and three international. The 19-year-old turned pro in November 2019, winning his first three fights before dropping a December 2020 contest to Travon Lawson. Barrientes last fight saw him stop Linus Lambert in the first round in August. He squares off against the 27-year-old Torres (7-8-1, 5 KOs), who fights out of Modesto, California and has won five-straight bouts heading into September 19.

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Viewers can live stream the PBC shows on the FOX Sports and FOX NOW apps or at FOXSports.com. In addition, all programs are available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

For more information: visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com, follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @PBConFOX, @FOXSports, @FOXDeportes, @TGBPromotions, and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxsports & www.facebook.com/foxdeportes.