Maureen Shea, Joel Diaz top Mosley-Mayorga undercard

Aug

While the antics of Shane Mosley and Ricardo Mayorga are under a constant microscope leading up to their pay-per-view rematch on Saturday, very little has been mentioned about the televised undercard.

Maureen Shea and Joel Diaz hope to win a world title and remain unbeaten, respectively.

Shea will fight for the IBF female junior featherweight title against Yulihan Alejandra Luna Avila and Diaz will square off against Luis Arceo at The Forum in Inglewood, California.

Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds and will be broadcast live on Integrated Sports Pay Per View, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT.

Shea (24-2, 12 KOs) has won her last 11 bouts in a row since being stopped in back-to-back fights in 2009. In her last bout on Jul 11 of last year, Shea stopped Angel Gladney in the fourth round.

The 34-year-old lives in Oxnard, Calif. and trains in nearby Ventura.

Shea was scheduled to fight Avila on Sept. 15 in Astoria, Queens, N.Y., but quickly accepted the opportunity to fight in a larger venue and for a pay per view audience.

“It is a gift that the fight is taking place in L.A.,” Shea told RingTV.com in a recent interview. “The opportunity presented itself over two weeks before the fight, and we accepted immediately.”

“It was frustrating not fighting. I would get asked by people about my next fight when I didn’t know myself. I’m blessed to have people in and out of the ring who got me through this. Life is a constant challenge. My experience and my strength will be what gets me the win on Saturday.”

Avila (12-2, 1 KO), who hails from Gomez Palacio, Durango, Mexico, won the world title in her last bout on Nov. 15, defeating Carolina Marcela Gutierrez by unanimous decision over 10 rounds.

Diaz (19-0, 15 KOs) has become a prospect to watch since making his pro debut over five years ago. The junior lightweight from Palmdale, Calif. has impressed with his power and an improving skill-set.

In his last bout on Jul 25, the Jean Pascal-promoted fighter stopped Alejandro Rodriguez in the fourth round.

Arceo (28-13-4, 18 KOs) should provide somewhat of a test for Diaz, but has lost his last two bouts in a row, both by knockout.

Opening the telecast will be a six round bout between super middleweights Ronald Ellis (11-0, 9 KOs) and Jas Phipps (5-5-2, 2 KOs).

Francisco A. Salazar has written for RingTV since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing