Unbeaten Cody Crowley will take on Josh Torres in a 10-round welterweight clash headlining FS1 PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Sunday, September 6 from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The telecast begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT and also features 2016 Olympian Batyr Akhmedov facing the Philippines’ Rey Perez in a 10-round super lightweight attraction.
The FS1 coverage precedes FOX PBC Fight Night, which begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and is headlined by top contender Yordenis Ugas and hard-hitting Abel Ramos squaring off for the vacant WBA Welterweight Championship.
The event will be promoted by TGB Promotions and will take place without fans in attendance at the Microsoft Theater, an AEG venue, in downtown Los Angeles.
Representing his native Ontario, Canada, Crowley (18-0, 9 KOs) comes in after a 2019 that saw him win a Canadian super welterweight title with a 12-round decision over Stuart McLellan in February, before successfully defending that title with a dominant decision over Mian Hussain in October. The 27-year-old returns to fight in the U.S. for the first time since 2016, after seven of his first eight pro fights came in the U.S.
The 30-year-old Torres (22-6-2, 13 KOs) enters this matchup the winner of his last seven bouts, with six of those wins coming inside of the distance. A native of Albuquerque, New Mexico, Torres scored three victories in 2019 and has faced veteran contenders including Mike Alvarado and Dusty Hernandez-Harrison throughout a career dating back to 2008.
Born in Uzbekistan and residing in Russia, Akhmedov (7-1, 6 KOs) represented Turkey at the 2016 Olympics. The 29-year-old returns to action after a grueling title fight against Mario Barrios on the Spence vs. Porter PPV undercard that he lost by a narrow decision. He made his U.S. debut in April 2018, immediately announcing himself with stoppage victories over Ismael Barroso and Oscar Barajas.
Now training in North Hollywood, California, Perez (24-11, 8 KOs) hails from Sindangan, Zamboanga del Norte, Philippines and most recently lost a decision to George Kambosos Jr. in January 2019. The 29-year-old has faced a slew of contenders, with two victories over Christian Gonzalez and a knockout of Roberto Marroquin, in addition to stateside challenges of Lamont Roach, Jessie Magdaleno and Chris Avalos.
Yorgenis vs. Abel Ramos
In the main event #1 WBA welterweight contender Yorgenis Ugas (25-4, 12 KOs) will be looking to win his third consecutive fight in taking on Abel Ramos (26-3-2, 20 KOs) in a 12 round bout.
Ugas wants to challenge for a world title, and he was hoping to get a shot at WBO champ Terence Crawford this year. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen, though.
Ugas may have scared away the belt-holders in the division with his controversial 12 round split decision loss to Shawn Porter in 2019. Yordenis took the fight to Porter, and appeared to get the better of him with his pressure.
Porter, who is accustomed to out-brawling his opponents on the inside, was unable to do that against Ugas. instead, Porter stayed on the outside and tried to box after tasting Ugas early on.
Since that defeat, Ugas has won his last two matches in defeating Mike Dallas and Omar Figueroa Jr.
Ugas is the type of fighter that only way he’s going to get a title shot against one of the champions is for him to become mandatory. He’s that good.
What we saw from Ugas in his fight against Porter may have put him in a position where he’s going to have problems getting fights. Porter has shown no interest in fighting Ugas again, and that’s not surprising. After Porter’s controversial win over Ugas last year, he doesn’t need a second helping of that.
IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr would be the ideal opponent for Ugas to take on in 2021. Even Spence might not want to mix it up with him unless he’s forced to.