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Tiger Johnson and Carlos Caraballo to be featured in Berchelt-Nakathila undercard

Carlos Caraballo flexes on the scale ahead of his fight with Jonas Sultan prior to their fight at The Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on October 29, 2021 in New York City.(Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank Inc via Getty Images)
Fighters Network
21
Mar

Welterweight U.S. Olympian Tiger Johnson and Puerto Rican junior featherweight contender Carlos “Purin” Caraballo will see action on the Miguel Berchelt-Jeremiah Nakathila undercard Saturday, March 26 at the Resorts World Events Center.

Johnson will face an opponent to be named in a six-rounder, while Caraballo hopes to bounce back from his first career defeat against Luis Fernando Saavedra in an eight-rounder.

Berchelt-Nakathila and a 10-round featherweight battle between Jose Enrique Vivas and Eduardo Baez will be televised live on ESPN & ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts, including Johnson and Caraballo-Saavedra, will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 6:45 p.m. ET/3:45 p.m. PT.

Johnson (2-0, 1 KO) had a sterling 188-17 amateur record, culminating in his run to the quarterfinal round at the Tokyo Olympics. He had an eye-opening professional debut last November in Las Vegas, knocking out Antonius Grable in four rounds. Johnson returned in January with a shutout decision over the previously unbeaten Xavier Madrid.



Caraballo (14-1, 14 KOs), from Guayanilla, Puerto Rico, won his first 14 fights by stoppage and was never extended past the sixth round. That changed last October when he went the 10-round distance against Jonas Sultan. He knocked down Sultan once and survived four knockdowns to lose a narrow decision. Caraballo now has a stiff challenge in Saavedra (9-6, 3 KOs), who has won two straight fights against previously unbeaten fighters, including last June’s six-round win over Robert “Biggie” Rodriguez (9-0-1 at the time) on a Top Rank card.

Also appearing in the undercard will be Josue “The Prodigy” Vargas (19-2, 9 KOs), who will fight an opponent to be named in an eight-round junior welterweight tilt. Vargas was one of the division’s rising contenders until a stunning first-round KO loss to Jose “Chon” Zepeda last October in New York City.

Featherweight Haven Brady Jr. (5-0, 3 KOs), the one-time U.S. amateur star, aims to notch his second victory of 2022 against Chilean veteran Jose Argel (8-2, 2 KOs). Argel has never been knocked out as a pro and has gone six or more rounds six times in his career.

Earlier, light heavyweight prospect Dante Benjamin Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), fresh off a first-round knockout in his professional debut, will face fellow unbeaten Kevin Johnson (2-0, 1 KO). Arturo Cardenas (2-0, 2 KOs), a junior featherweight knockout artist who trains out of the world-famous Robert Garcia Boxing Academy in Riverside, California, will fight Mexican upstart Juan Hernandez Martinez (2-0) in a four-rounder. And finally, Adrian Serrano, a 17-year-old lightweight from Salinas, California, will make his pro debut in a four-rounder against Estevan Partida (0-1).

“There’s plenty of great young talent on the card, including a young man in Tiger Johnson who I believe can one day become a world champion,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “We are thrilled to bring world-class boxing to Resorts World Las Vegas.”

A press release by Top Rank was used in this article.

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