Hugo Ruiz-Julio Ceja added to Leo Santa Cruz-Abner Mares undercard
04
Aug
With Leo Santa Cruz moving up in weight (from 122 to 126 pounds) to fight Abner Mares on Aug. 29, some wonder when he will defend his WBC junior featherweight title.
Ironically, the title will be in play on the same night.
Hugo Ruiz and Julio Ceja will vie for the interim WBC junior featherweight title at Staples Center in Los Angeles, Calif. The 12 round bout will open the ‘PBC on ESPN’ telecast and will precede the Mares-Santa Cruz bout.
Santa Cruz has not defended the title since stopping Jesus Ruiz on Jan. 17. There have been rumors Santa Cruz was likely moving up in weight, considering he weighed 124.5 pounds in his last bout against Jose Cayetano on May 2.
Ruiz is the mandatory challenger to the WBC title. Ceja is ranked number three by the WBC.
In his last bout on Nov. 22, Ruiz (35-2, 31 KOs), THE RING’s No. 10-rated junior featherweight, stopped Carlos Medellin in the first round of a stay-busy fight in Toluca, Mexico.
He has won his last four bouts in a row since losing to Koki Kameda by split decision over 12 rounds in December of 2012.
Ceja (29-1, 26 KOs) has been more active in the ring than Ruiz. He fought on Mar. 14, winning a 10 round unanimous decision over Oscar Blanquet in Naucalpan, Mexico.
He has won his last five bouts in a row since losing a 12 round majority decision to Jamie McDonnel in May of 2013.
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
