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Junior Fa-Devin Vargas set for November 15 in Salt Lake City

Junior Fa. Photo by Stephanie Trapp/ Showtime
Fighters Network
30
Oct

Unbeaten heavyweight Junior Fa will return to the ring against Devin Vargas on Nov. 15, promoter Lou DiBella announced on Wednesday.

The 10-round bout will take place at the Salt Palace Convention Center in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hemi Ahio, yet another unbeaten heavyweight, will square off against Joshua Tofte in the co-feature.

Both 10-round fights will stream live on UFC Fight Pass (10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT).

Fa and Ahio, who are of Tongan descent, were born and raised in New Zealand. Both fighters have fought at least once in the U.S. and hope to fight there more regularly. The ‘Broadway Boxing’ fight card was originally scheduled to take place in Foxwoods, Connecticut but was moved to Salt Lake City.



“I’m thrilled to bring Broadway Boxing to Salt Lake City, where New Zealand heavyweights Junior Fa and Hemi Ahio have a large and passionate following in the Tongan community,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “On November 15, live on UFC Fight Pass, boxing fans will see the world-ranked Fa take another step toward a world title shot as well as the power-punching brawler Ahio, who is always in exciting fights.”

Fa (18-0, 10 knockouts) last fought on June 28 in Temecula, California, where he had to overcome a fourth-round knockdown to defeat gatekeeper Dominick Guinn by unanimous decision. In his previous fight on Mar. 2, Fa stopped Newfel Ouatah in the opening round in Columbus, Ohio. The 30-year-old, who has already fought twice on ’ShoBox’ telecasts, is already ranked No. 7 by the WBO.

Vargas (21-5, 9 KOs) is coming off a fifth-round knockout victory over previously unbeaten Niall Kennedy on Aug. 17. The 37-year-old has won three of his last four bouts, with the only loss coming at the hands of Andy Ruiz on Mar. 10 of last year. The Toledo, Ohio native represented the U.S. at the 2004 Olympic Games.

Ahio (15-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Ali Kiydin in the opening round of his last bout on July 13. The 29-year-old also fought on the Mar. 2 card in Columbus, stopping Ed Fountain in the seventh round.

Tufte (19-3, 9 KOs), who resides in Kernersville, North Carolina, last fought on Apr. 13, losing by unanimous decision to Jerry Forrest. It was his first fight since losing by knockout to unbeaten heavyweight Adam Kownacki in January 2017.

Also fighting on the DiBella Entertainment card will be hard-hitting welterweight Ivan Golub (17-1, 13 KOs), who is originally from the Ukraine and now resides in Brooklyn, New York. The 30-year-old Golub has won his last four bouts since suffering a disputed decision loss to Jamontay Clark.

 

Francisco A. Salazar can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing

 

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