Austin Brooks felt a sense of relief that an opponent was finalized for Saturday night.

Brooks will now face late-sub Jose Manuel Izaguirre in a clash of unbeaten junior lightweights at the Thunder (also known as the Infinite Reality) Studios in Long Beach, California. The eight-round bout will headline a five-bout CBN Promotions card that will stream live on FuboTV ( p.m. ET/ p.m. PT).

The southpaw Brooks was originally scheduled to face gatekeeper Jose Luis Rodriguez, and then moved on to clash with the unbeaten Julio Carrera, but both fighters had to withdraw from the fight.

Fighters dropping out due to medical or personal reasons are just a fact of life in the sport, according to promoter Alex Camponovo, the longtime general manager and matchmaker for Thompson Boxing Promotions, which ended their great run last July.

“Jose Luis Rodriguez suffered an injury during training camp, and Carrera had to tend to a personal issue,” Camponovo told The Ring Tuesday afternoon. “We’re happy with the new main event. It’s shaping up to be a solid and competitve fight. Brooks is on the way up and Izaguirre has all accolades from his amateur days in Cuba. Now, he’s coming to make name for himself in the United States.”

Brooks (11-0, 4 knockouts) stopped Anthony Chavez in the sixth round of his last bout on August 26. The victory over Chavez took place almost four months after Brooks defeated Diuhl Olguin by unanimous decision. The victory over Olguin took place in San Diego, California, not far from his home in La Mesa.

The 28-year-old defeated unbeaten fighters Jesus Torres Beltran and Ricardo Urias Garatachia in 2021.

Saturday’s fight against Izaguirre will mark Brook’s first scheduled eight-round bout of his young career.

Izaguirre (7-0, 3 KOs), who is originally from Pinar del Rio, Cuba, last fought on May 13, defeating former lightweight and junior lightweight prospect Alejandro Guerrero by majority decision. The victory over Guerrero took place in his adopted hometown of Odessa, Texas.

The 27-year-old has fought sporadically over the last several months. His previous fight was a knockout win over Edgar Tovar Guerrero in April 2022. Izaguirre did fight four times in 2021.

In the co-main event, junior lightweight Tayden Beltran (7-0-1, 4 KOs) of nearby Huntington Beach will square off against Venezuela’s Willmank Canonico Brito (12-3-2, 10 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Lightweight Leonardo Rubalcava (4-0, 1 KO) of Jurupa Valley, California will face Lyle McFarlane (2-3, 1 KO) in a six-round bout. Rubalcava is trained by Robert Garcia.

Hector Lopez (3-0, 2 KOs) of nearby Compton will square off against Rod Sarguilla (2-4, 1 KO) of the Philippines in a four-round bantamweight fight.

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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