Oakland will be the site of the Sept. 28 ESPN+ card headlined by a non-title fight, featuring IBF super middleweight champion Jose Uzcátegui and an optional defense from 115-pound titleholder Jerwin Ancajas.
Uzcátegui (27-2, 23 KOs) will be fighting unheralded Argentinian fighter Ezequiel Osvaldo Maderna (26-4, 16 KOs) in a 10-round headline bout. Uzcátegui won the interim IBF super middleweight belt in a rematch with Andre Dirrell in March and was elevated to full champ when James DeGale dropped the strap. Maderna last fought on the world stage in June 2016, when he was taken apart by current IBF light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev. He has since gone 3-1, with the loss coming against journeyman Martin Fidel Rios last February.
“This is my first fight since winning the world title, and I will be representing my country and my beloved Tijuana, Mexico, with pride and guts,” Uzcátegui said. “I will show the world and my opponent why I’m the best super middleweight in the world right now!”
A source within Uzcátegui's team told Sporting News they are hoping to organize his next title defense against Caleb Plant in December or January of next year. Uzcátegui and Plant were supposed to fight in August, but Plant broke his hand in training.
The co-featured ESPN+ card will feature Ancajas (30-1-1, 20 KOs) making an optional defense of his IBF super flyweight title against No. 14 ranked challenger Alejandro Santiago Barrios (16-2-4, 7 KOs). The 26-year-old Filipino southpaw has made five successful defenses of the belt he won against McJoe Arroyo in September 2016. This will be his third straight fight in the U.S. after never previously fighting there.
"I am very excited to defend my title in Oakland in front of the great fans there and I look forward to a great challenge from Santiago,” Ancajas said in a press release statement announcing the fight. “There is a large Filipino community in Northern California, so I expect an incredible atmosphere inside the Oracle Arena."
The card also features an interesting bout between two former 122-pound champions, as Jessie Magdaleno (25-1, 18 KOs) will face Rico Ramos (29-5, 14 KOs) in a 10-round bout. It'll be Magdaleno's first fight since changing his training team to Ismael Salas and Jorge Capetillo. Magdaleno is trying to position himself for a rematch with Isaac Dogboe, the man who dethroned him in April and gave him the only loss of his pro career.
Chicago bantamweight Joshua Greer Jr. (17-1-1, 9 KOs), Filipino featherweight Genesis Servania (31-1, 14 KOs), and 18-year-old prospect Christian Zavala (1-0) will also be featured on the undercard. The main portion of the ESPN+ card will begin live at 10:30 p.m. ET, with the undercard beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET. Tickets go on sale Wednesday, August 29 at 10 a.m. PT and are reasonably priced from $105 down to $26.25.