Reshat Mati takes on Dakota Linger on June 24 in Berlanga-Quigley undercard
Unbeaten junior welterweight prospect Reshat Mati has a new opponent for his clash on June 24.
Mati will now face gatekeeper Dakota Linger in a 10-round bout, Matchroom Boxing announced on their social media page. The Mati-Linger fight will precede the main event bout between unbeaten super middleweight Edgar Berlanga and Jason Quigley.
Both fights will take place inside the Hulu Theatre at Madison Square Garden in New York City and will stream live on DAZN (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).
Mati (13-0, 7 knockouts), who resides in nearby Staten Island, was originally scheduled to fight once-beaten Wesley Ferrer in a compelling clash of prospects. No reason was given as to why Ferrer backed out of the fight.
In his last bout on October 22, Mati defeated Mexico’s Eduardo Leonel Rodriguez by unanimous decision. In his previous fight on April 30 of last year, which also took place at Madison Square Garden, Mati defeated Joe Hernandez by decision over eight one-sided rounds at a catchweight fight of 144 pounds.
The 24-year-old prospect of Albanian descent has won his last four bouts by decision after stopping his previous five opponents, the most notable being Marcos Mojica in November 2020.
Linger (13-5-3, 9 KOs), who resides in Buckhannon, West Virginia, scored a huge upset win in his last bout on June 11 of last year, stopping former top prospect Josue Vargas in the second round. In his previous fight in October 2021, Linger fought to a majority decision draw against Mathew Gonzalez.
The 28-year-old’s most notable defeats came at the hands of Brandun Lee in December 2020 and three months prior to Omar Juarez. Linger suffered his first loss as a pro to Danielito Zorrilla in October 2018.
Also on the June 24 card will be a 10-round heavyweight bout between Adam Kownacki (20-3, 15 KOs) of nearby Brooklyn and Joe Cusumano (21-4, 19 KOs) of Danville, Virginia.
In a clash of unbeaten light heavyweights, Khalil Coe (5-0-1, 3 KOs) will square off against British Columbia’s Buneet Bisla (7-0, 3 KOs) in an eight-round bout.
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]
