The junior welterweight bout between Jose Pedraza and Mikkel LesPierre that was originally scheduled for June 18 will now take place on July 2, Top Rank announced Wednesday afternoon.

Top Rank also announced Wednesday another junior welterweight clash between former world title challenger Alex Saucedo and Sonny Fredrickson, which will take place on Tuesday, June 30. 

Both 10-round bouts will take place at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas, Nevada and will air live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

The bout between Pedraza and LesPierre was postponed the morning of the fight after it as announced that LesPierre’s manager, Josie Tavares, had tested positive for COVID-19. The bout was scheduled to headline an ESPN telecast. 

Tavares has since tested negative. 

Pedraza-LesPierre will replace the clash between WBO junior lightweight titleholder and Ring Magazine No. 3-ranked Jamel Herring and Jonathan Oquendo. The fight was postponed after Herring announced Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19 late last week. 

Pedraza (26-3, 13 knockouts), who resides in Cidra, Puerto Rico, has not fought since losing by unanimous decision to Mexico’s Jose Zepeda on September 14 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 31-year-old, who has won world title belts in two different weight classes, has lost two of his last three bouts with the other loss coming at the hands of Ring Magazine lightweight champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in December 2018.

LesPierre (22-1-1, 10 KOs) last fought on December 5 in New York City, defeating Roody Pierre Paul by unanimous decision. Originally from Trinidad and Tobago and now residing in Brooklyn, N.Y., LesPierre challenged then-WBO junior welterweight titleholder Maurice Hooker on March 9 of last year, losing by unanimous decision. 

The 35-year-old has received attention away from the ring as he has been working on the front lines of a medical center in the New York City during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

Saucedo (29-1, 19 KOs), who is originally from Meoqui, Mexico and now resides in Oklahoma City, challenged Hooker for the WBO title in November 2018. The 26-year-old dropped Hooker early in the fight, but was stopped in round 7. 

In his last bout on November 2, Saucedo stopped Rod Salka in the opening round of a stay-busy fight.

Fredrickson (21-2, 14 KOs), who resides in Toledo, Ohio, lost by majority-decision to Samuel Teah in his last bout on November 14. He has won his previous three bouts since losing by knockout to hard-hitting Shohjahon Ergashev in January 2018. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October of 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, Boxingscene.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing