Live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes Saturday at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT
Vasiliy Lomachenko 134.4 lbs vs. Richard Commey 134.2 lbs
(Vacant WBO Intercontinental Lightweight Title — 12 Rounds)
• Jared Anderson 240 lbs vs. Oleksandr Teslenko 213.8 lbs
(Anderson’s Jr. NABF Heavyweight Title — 8 Rounds)
• Keyshawn Davis 137.8 lbs vs. Jose Zaragoza 136.2 lbs
(Lightweight — 6 Rounds)
• Nico Ali Walsh 159.2 lbs vs. Reyes Sanchez 161.8 lbs
(Middleweight — 4 Rounds)
(ESPN+, 5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT)
• Xander Zayas 152.6 lbs vs. Alessio Mastronunzio 152.2 lbs
(Junior Middleweight — 6 Rounds)
• Pablo Valdez 146 lbs vs. Julio Cesar Sanchez 149.6 lbs
(Welterweight — 6 Rounds)
• James Wilkins 127.2 lbs vs. Juan Tapia 129.4 lbs
(Junior Lightweight — 8 Rounds)
• Joe Ward 175.2 lbs vs. Britton Norwood 176.4 lbs
(Light Heavyweight — 6 Rounds)
• Kelvin Davis 144 lbs vs. Ryan Schwartzberg 144.8 lbs
(Welterweight — 4 Rounds)
• John Bauza 140.2 lbs vs. Michael Williams Jr. 138.6 lbs
(Junior Welterweight — 8 Rounds)
The former pound-for-pound king, Vasiliy “Loma” Lomachenko, has saved some of his best performances for the New York City spotlight. He hopes to do it again Saturday evening at Madison Square Garden in the 12-round lightweight main event against former world champion Richard “RC” Commey (ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT).
Lomachenko vs. Commey headlines a stacked quadruple-header airing after the Heisman Trophy Ceremony. Heavyweight knockout artist Jared “The Real Big Baby” Anderson (10-0, 10 KOs) returns in an eight-rounder against Ukraine’s Oleksandr Teslenko (17-1, 13 KOs), recent U.S. Olympic silver medalist Keyshawn Davis (3-0, 2 KOs) takes on Mexican veteran Jose Zaragoza (8-3-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round lightweight tilt, and middleweight Nico Ali Walsh (2-0, 2 KOs), grandson of “The Greatest,” opens the telecast in a four-rounder versus Reyes Sanchez (6-0, 2 KOs).
The ESPN+-streamed undercard (5:30 p.m. ET/2:30 p.m. PT) features Puerto Rican junior middleweight phenom Xander Zayas (11-0, 8 KOs) in a six-rounder, and Kelvin Davis (2-0, 1 KO) in a four-rounder at welterweight.
At Thursday’s press conference, this is what the fighters had to say.
Vasiliy Lomachenko
“Madison Square Garden is a special place for me because during my professional career I had a lot of memorable fights here. It is the Mecca of Boxing. Thank you, Commey, you are a strong fighter. I think we are giving a very interesting fight to the fans. As I said before, he has big power and reach and has experience and a big heart.”
“I’m very excited because this is the next step of my boxing career, and it will be very interesting for the fans.”
Richard Commey
“I’m feeling good. I’m very excited. This is my second time coming here. The last time didn’t work out well for me {against Teofimo Lopez}, so I have the opportunity to right the wrong.”
“I’ve got all of my country {Ghana} behind me. I’ve got all of the little children back home who want to be where I am, and I know it’s not an easy fight, but I’m coming. Losing is part of boxing, so regardless of how you lose, it’s all about coming back. So whatever happened with the Teofimo Lopez fight, it is what it is and I took it as a man. I knew I needed to come back and I came back very strong, and that is the reason why Loma chose me, and Saturday we are going to see what happens.”
Jared Anderson
“I’ll be honest, he let a cruiserweight stop him, so that says it all. I had a pretty tough camp emotionally, but we came physically. We’re now mentally prepared, thanks to my team. They mean a lot to me. They’re behind me.”
Oleksandr Teslenko
“I know I’m the underdog, but I don’t care what people say.”
Nico Ali Walsh
“This is such a humbling experience and it’s been an honor. It’s been a whirlwind these last couple of months, and to be among these great fighters… all these fighters I’ve watched before in the past. Being on the undercard of Lomachenko is amazing.”
Xander Zayas
“I have to close out the year strong and put on a show here at Madison Square Garden.”
“I’ve been having a lot of fun here in New York. It means a lot to me. it means a lot to the Puerto Rican fans. My team came off a great victory two weeks ago {with George Kambosos Jr.} here at Madison Square Garden, so I want to keep that momentum going, I’m ready to put on a show Saturday night, and now it’s laser focus.”
Keyshawn Davis
“I’m signed with Top Rank, the {Olympics} are over, and I feel like there is really no more pressure. It’s all business at this point. I believe in myself. I know I can fight. I’m going to go in there like I’ve been doing this entire year. We’re just going to keep this train going.”
Kelvin Davis
“This means a lot to me. It’s like a dream come true with me and my brother on the same card.”
