Junior lightweight prospect George Acosta has come a long way since suffering the only loss of his pro career.

Not only has he proven that one loss does not define a career, but he is on his way to becoming a main event fighter and is on the road to contender status.

Acosta will face Marlin Sims tonight at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California. The eight-round bout will headline a six-bout New Blood card that will stream live at ThompsonBoxing.com and the Thompson Boxing Facebook and YouTube pages (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Acosta weighed in at 131.2 pounds. Sims weighed 131.5 pounds.

Acosta (13-1, 1 knockout), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of Whittier, defeated Isaac Avelar by unanimous decision in his last bout on July 22. Acosta was scheduled to face Sims this past fall, but the fight was postponed to tonight due to an unknown reason from the Sims’ camp.

The 26-year-old has won his last six bouts since suffering a decision loss to Ruben Torres in May 2019 in a clash of unbeaten junior lightweights. Despite the setback and the delay from the Sims fight to tonight, Acosta has been eager to show his worth as a pro and prove he can make noise in a talent-rich division.

“I won’t lie, I felt some type of way when he was unable to fight me last year, and it cost me a fight,” said Acosta, who also has a win over once-beaten Gadwin Rosa in a fight that aired on Telemundo in May 2021, “So, I am eager to hand him an ‘L’ for the time I lost. You can make more money, but you can’t get back time. I know he’s coming as well, so fans are going to see a great fight. I just feel I have more in my arsenal than him.

“A win here continues my upward trajectory as being one of the featured fighters that Thompson Boxing pushes to the top of the sport. A win here is one step closer to my dream of becoming a world champion. Despite having a loss on my record, I have rebuilt from the ashes only to become stronger. (Being the) main event (of) Thompson Boxing cards provides justification for why I am still working so hard, day in and day out, (and) to try to be great in this sport.”

Sims (8-1, 4 KOs), who resides in Minneapolis, Minnesota, has not fought since January 2021, when he suffered his first defeat as a pro to Dominique Crowder in a clash of unbeaten featherweights. Sims has yet to defeat a fighter with a winning record.

In the co-feature, Elias Diaz (11-1, 6 KOs) will square off against David Thomas (6-4-1, 2 KOs) of Orange, Texas in an eight-round welterweight bout. The 29-year-old Diaz, a resident of the San Diego suburb of National City, lost a close decision to Luis Lopez in his last bout on August 20.

Hard-hitting welterweight Juan Sanchez (5-0, 5 KOs) of nearby Buena Park will face Albuquerque’s Xavier Madrid (4-1, 2 KOs) in a six-round bout.

In a clash of unbeaten junior middleweights, Nelson Oliva (5-0, 5 KOs) of Los Angeles will square off against Wayne Boudreaux (2-0, 1 KO) of Marrero, Louisiana in a six-round bout.

Heavyweight Oscar Torrez (8-0, 4 KOs) of nearby Rialto will face Los Angeles’ Arnulfo Cazares (2-2, 2 KOs) in a six-round bout.

In the opening bout of the Thompson Boxing Promotions card, Ontario’s Anthony Saldivar (2-0, 1 KO) squares off against Corey Cook (2-0-1, 1 KO) in a four-round super middleweight bout.

Beto Duran will call the play-by-play while Ring Magazine Editor-in-Chief Dougie Fischer provides color commentary. Cynthia Conte will serve as the 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 at [email protected]

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