Photo credit: Naoki Fukuda

Junior middleweights Ishe Smith and Frank Galarza cannot afford a loss at this stage of their careers, which could make their upcoming bout that much more intriguing.

Smith and Galarza will square off in a crossroads bout on Sept. 16 at The Cosmopolitan in Las Vegas. The 10-round bout will air live on Bounce TV.

RingTV’s Mitch Abramson was the first to make the announcement of this fight on social media.

Smith (28-8, 12 knockouts), who is 3-3 in his last six fights, is a former IBF titleholder who is now regarded as a gatekeeper. Those three losses were against Carlos Molina, Erislandy Lara and Vanes Martirosyan.

In his last bout on Dec. 18, the Las Vegas resident won a landslide decision over Tommy Rainone.

Galarza (17-1-2, 11 KOs), who resides in Brooklyn, New York, has not fought since Nov. 14, when he was stopped in the sixth round by Jarrett Hurd.

In another 10-round junior middleweight bout, Christopher Pearson (14-1, 10 KOs) will face Justin DeLoach (15-1, 8 KOs), who has won his last five bouts straight.