The city of Detroit has produced many great fighters. Joe Louis and Thomas Hearns are just a few of the great fighters that made their mark in the “Motor City.”

Junior middleweight contender Tony Harrison has had modest success thus far. Another young fighter is eager to add his name to the list of great Detroit fighters and carry on the spirit of a former mentor.

Unbeaten junior lightweight Erick De Leon squares off against Aldimar Silva  tonight  at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.

The eight-round bout will air on UniMas, beginning at  11 p.m. ET/  PT.

De Leon (13-0, 7 knockouts) stopped Carlos Valcarcel in six rounds in his most recent  bout on  June 25.

Originally from the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon, De Leon’s family migrated to the Detroit area when he was six years old. De Leon would go on to win three National Golden Gloves titles before turning pro in December of 2012.

De Leon was trained by the late Emanuel Steward and has had trainer Robert Garcia work in his corner in recent years.

De Leon has shown more aggression and power in recent fight, stopping three of his last four opponents.

Silva (19-10, 12 KOs), who resides in Sao Paulo, Brazil, has lost his last two bouts.

Also fighting on the Top Rank Promotions card, unbeaten middleweight Esquiva Falcao (14-0, 11 KOs) squares off against late-sub Josue Obando in an eight round bout.

The 2012 Olympic silver medalist has stopped his last six opponents.

Obando (14-11-1, 11 KOs) has lost his last four in a row and six of his last seven bouts.

The Falcao-Obando fight will air live on Brazilian networks and may air on UniMas, if time permits.

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 (California) Star newspaper, BoxingScene.com and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing.