Featherweight Edward Vazquez believes he is more a contender than a prospect. So does promoter Lou DiBella.

Vazquez will face Brayan De Gracia, on July 29, at Riders Field, in Frisco, Texas, not far from his hometown of Fort Worth. The 10-round bout will headline a card promoted by DiBella.

The outdoor venue, home of the RoughRiders, a minor league affiliate of Major League Baseball’s Texas Rangers, will also air the welterweight showdown between The Ring Magazine welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr., of nearby DeSoto, and WBO beltholder Terence Crawford.

“Spence-Crawford is the biggest fight in many years,” said DiBella, president of DiBella Entertainment. “The two top welterweights in the world, both undefeated and in their prime, will collide to determine who is the best in their era. I am thrilled to bring this tremendous fight to the fans in attendance at Frisco’s Riders Field via the closed-circuit telecast.

“As a special treat, DiBella Entertainment will also deliver a night of live world-class boxing, featuring Fort Worth’s Edward Vazquez facing Brayan De Gracia in the main event. Boxing at the ballpark, both live and via closed-circuit, was once a longstanding tradition in the sport. On July 29, we will bring that back.”

Vazquez (14-1, 3 knockouts) defeated Misael Lopez by split decision, in his most recent bout, on February 17. The win took place on a “ShoBox” card and led to Vazquez signing a promotional deal with DiBella.

In his previous fight, on October 8, Vazquez defeated Viktor Slavinskyi, also by split decision. The 27-year-old has won his last three fights since losing a controversial split decision to unbeaten Raymond Ford, on February 5 of last year, a fight in which several media and boxing insiders thought Ford did enough to win.

De Gracia (29-2-1, 25 KOs), who resides in David, Panama, stopped Manuel Felipe Gonzalez after the fifth round of his most recent fight on December 17.

The 29-year-old has won his last five bouts, all by stoppage, since a technical knockout loss to fringe contender Eduardo Ramirez in March 2019.

Also on the card, junior featherweight Shurretta Metcalf (11-4-1, 2 KOs), of nearby Dallas, will square off against Melissa Oddessa Parker (6-0, 2 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Metcalf defeated Leanne Calderon by unanimous decision, in her most recent bout, on November 26.

Parker, who resides in Spring, Texas, has not fought since a decision win over Mikenna Tansley, in her most recent bout, on June 17 of last year, in a clash of unbeaten fighters. The 36-year-old notched a unanimous decision win over Calista Silgado in June 2021.

In welterweight action, Aram Amirkhanyan (14-0-1, 4 KOs), who is originally from Yerevan, Armenia, and now resides in Glendale, California, will face gatekeeper Cameron Krael (20-27-3, 7 KOs), of Las Vegas, 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]. You can also follow Francisco on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.