HBO, Golden Boy Boxing Head To Argentina For March 21 Fight Card

ByBoxing Press

HBO Plus’ Next Boxing Generation series will make its maiden voyage to Argentina on Saturday, March 21 and it’s bringing two of the country’s heaviest hitters to the Estadio Cubierto Newell’s Old Boys in Rosario, as knockout artists Sebastian Lujan and Lucas Matthysse appear in separate co-featured bouts.

In the 12 round main event, former world title challenger Sebastian Lujan returns home to Rosario to square off against Venezuela’s Charlie Navarro in a pivotal welterweight war.

The co-feature will see Trelew’s Lucas Matthysse put his unbeaten record on the line in a 12 round junior welterweight bout against Luis Ernesto Jose of the Dominican Republic for the Interim WBO Latino Championship.

A 29-year old warrior who is just hitting his prime as a fighter, Sebastian “Iron” Lujan, 30-5-2 (20), has been nearly unstoppable since losing his first world title opportunity against Antonio Margarito in 2005, winning eight bouts and is currently sporting a four-fight streak that includes victories over Walter Matthysse and former world champion Jose Luis Castillo.

Monagas, Venezuela’s Charlie Navarro, 17-2 (12), is a battle-tested warrior with wins in 10 of his last 11 fights, a string that includes six knockouts, all in less than five rounds.

Last June, Navarro won his first professional title, as he outpointed Jose Miguel Torres unanimously to win the WBA Fedelatin Welterweight crown. If he can get by Lujan, Navarro will move even closer to a coveted world title shot.

One of Argentina’s top candidates for world championship honors, Lucas Matthysse, 23-0 (21), plans to make some big noise in the boxing world in 2009. A two-fisted banger, Matthysse is coming off a busy 2008 that saw him notch three victories against Jorge Noriega, Gilbert Quiros and Carlos Jerez.

Rugged veteran Luis Ernesto “The Butcher” Jose, 27-4-2 (21), has a well-earned reputation as a dangerous fighter with the potential to take out any opponent in the world on any given night. Winner of eight of his last nine bouts, with the only loss coming to highly touted contender Anthony Peterson, the southpaw who earned a Bronze Medal in the 1995 Pan American Games is coming to Argentina with one goal in mind – victory.

In undercard action, some of Argentina’s finest will take to the ring in search of victory.

A 10 round lightweight bout will see top prospects Albero Santillan, 15-1 (3), of Tucuman and Carlos Rodriguez, 19-2 (9), of Santiago scrap for local bragging rights.

Sparks will definitely be flying when cruiserweights Rogelio Rossi, 9-2 (5), and Orlando Farias, 16-6 (6), collide in a six rounder.

Six lightweights round out the bill: Rosario natives collide when Pablo Barboza, 5-0 (3), takes on Eduardo Monge, 3-4-1 (1), in a four rounder, Rosario’s Leandro Almagro, 9-9-1 (2), squares off against Alejandro Gomez, 9-16-3 (2), of Buenos Aires in a four round bout and Lucas Obregon, 2-0 (0), of Rosario takes on Oscar Mutuverria, 5-4-1 (0), of Buenos Aires in a four round clash.

This night of hard-hitting professional boxing, which is presented by Golden Boy Promotions, in association with Arano Box Producciones, will air live on the HBO Plus service in Latin America beginning at 9pm ET/10pm local time. The first bout begins in the arena at 8:30pm.