Unbeaten WBO lightweight titleholder Terry Flanagan will make his fourth defense against Puerto Rico’s Orlando Cruz on Nov. 26 at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

Flanagan, who is rated No. 2 by THE RING at 135 pounds, is coming off a one-sided unanimous decision victory over former junior lightweight titleholder Mzonke Fana. That bout was also held in Cardiff, in July, and the quick-fisted Englishman is eager to make up for what he felt was a luckluster showing.

“I’m excited to get out there again and put in a big performance before getting the blockbuster fights that (promoter) Frank (Warren) has promised me next year,” said Flanagan (31-0 12 KOs). “Last time I fought in Cardiff I wasn’t happy with how I boxed, so it will be good to show the Welsh fans that I’m a lot better than I showed against Fana.

“Frank’s delivered everything he promised. He got me a British title and a WBO world title. I got the opportunity to defend in my own town (Manchester) and then defend it in someone else’s back yard (UD12 Derry Mathews in Liverpool, England). I know I’m the best lightweight in the division and I’m looking to get these big fights to prove it.”

Cruz (25-4-1 13 KOs) was stopped in seven rounds by Orlando Salido when the pair contested the vacant WBO featherweight title in October 2013. He has, for the most part, been campaigning at junior lightweight since that time but the Flanagan assignment will be his debut at 135 pounds.

Also on the card, Billy Joe Saunders makes the first defense of his WBO middleweight title against Artur Akavov, while Liam Williams defends his British junior middleweight title against Ahmet Patterson. Tommy Langford meets Sam Sheedy for the vacant British middleweight championship and Tom Stalker takes on Craig Evans at lightweight.

Remaining tickets for ‘A Little Less Conversation’ priced at £40, £70, £100 and £150 are available from the Motorpoint Arena Cardiff Tel: 029 2022 4488, Eventim, Tel: 0844 249 1000 and Ticketmaster; 0844 8440 444.

BoxNation, the Channel of Champions, will televise this show on Sky (SD Ch.437 and HD Ch.490), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (iOS, Android, Amazon).

Go to www.boxnation.com to see how you can watch this fight and more live.

Quotes courtesy of a press release issued by Queensberry Promotions

Tom Gray is a UK Correspondent/ Editor for RingTV.com and a member of THE RING ratings panel. Follow him on Twitter: @Tom_Gray_Boxing

Struggling to locate a copy of RING magazine? Try here or…

SUBSCRIBE

You can subscribe to the print and digital editions of RING magazine by clicking the banner or here. You can also order the current issue, which is on newsstands, or back issues from our subscribe page. On the cover this month: Double Olympic gold medalist Claressa Shields. The U.K. Issue featuring cover star Carl Frampton will be available soon.