Coming off an impressive outing in his last bout, Saul Sanchez is ready to end 2021 with another victory.

Sanchez will square off against gatekeeper Jose Estrella on December 17, Thompson Boxing Promotions announced late Wednesday. The 10-round bout will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California and will stream live on Thompson Boxing’s Facebook and YouTube pages (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT).

The 24-year-old Sanchez (17-1, 10 knockouts), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Pacoima, scored an impressive win in his last bout on September 24, dropping previously-unbeaten Ja’Rico O’Quinn three times en route to a knockout win in the opening round. The victory headlined a ShoBox telecast.

Sanchez has also recently fought on two ‘Boxeo Telemundo’ telecasts, stopping both opponents, Frank Gonzalez and Daniel Lozano, in the opening round. He has won his last five bouts since suffering the only loss of his career against Edwin Rodriguez in August 2019.

“I feel like I am going to the next level as my training with Manny Robles has now gotten me back-to-back first-round knockouts on national TV, with my last one on ShoBox, which was a huge statement,” said Sanchez, who is promoted by Thompson Boxing. “I am excited to fight back in the L.A. area and put on an entertaining show, as my march towards a world title is in full effect.”

Estrella (23-17-1, 16 KOs), who resides in Tijuana, Mexico, has won his last three bouts, all against pedestrian opposition, after losing his previous four.

In a clash of unbeaten junior welterweight prospects, Ruben Torres will square off against Francisco Armenta.

Torres (16-0, 13 KOs), who resides in the South Central neighborhood of Los Angeles, is one of boxing’s top prospects at 140 pounds. He is also promoted by Thompson Boxing.

In his last bout on August 14, the 23-year-old knocked out former prospect Richard Zamora in round 5. Torres also has victories over Oscar Bravo and Diego Contreras.

Armenta (12-0, 4 KOs), who is originally from Salvador Alvarado, Mexico, and now resides in Orange, California, defeated Jesus Lopez Perez by decision over eight one-sided rounds on February 22 of last year. He made his pro debut on a Thompson Boxing card in February 2017, defeating Cody Peterson by decision.

Junior lightweight Brandon Benitez (17-2, 7 KOs) of Queretaro, Mexico will square off against Anthony Chavez (9-1, 4 KOs) of Redlands, California in an eight-round bout.

Beto Duran will call the action from ringside along with Ring Magazine editor Dougie Fischer and Rich Marotta providing color commentary. Jessica Rosales will serve as onsite ringside reporter.

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