A lot is on the line for tonight’s clash between Azael Villar and Jairo Noriega.

Villar and Noriega will square off at Casino Pharaohs in Managua, Nicaragua. The 12-round bout will headline an All Star Boxing card that will stream live on ESPN+ in the United States and on ESPN Knockout throughout Latin America (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Villar weighed in at 107 pounds. Noriega came in at 107.2 pounds.

The Villar-Noriega fight is a compelling clash between junior flyweight contenders. Promoter Tuto Zabala, Jr. believes the winner could be in line to face one of the world titleholders in the division at a later date.

“The main event is a good fight,” Zabala told The Ring Thursday morning. “Both fighters are rated by the WBC, WBO and WBA. The winner, without a doubt, at the doorstep of a world title fight.”

Villar (20-2-4, 15 knockouts) defeated Ricardo Astuvilca by unanimous decision in his last bout on December 1. In his previous fight on August 4, Villar fought to a split-decision draw against Gerado Zapata.

Both fights took place in his hometown of Panama City, Panama.

Prior to the Zapata fight, the 29-year-old Villar was stopped in the seventh round by Ayumu Hanada of Japan.

Noriega (13-0, 3 KOs), who resides in Villarreal, Spain, last fought on June 16, defeating journeyman Gerardo Larios by decision over eight one-sided rounds. In his previous fight in May 2022, Noriega dropped Angel Moreno twice en route to a unanimous decision victory in an European title bout.

The 31-year-old will be fighting outside Spain for the first time in his pro career.

In the co-feature, female junior flyweights Eveling Ortega (6-5, 2 KOs) of Managua will face Guatemala’s Yanissa Castrellon (4-1) in an eight-round bout.

Tonight’s fight between Ortega and Castrellon was a rematch of their December 1 clash, which Castrellon won by unanimous decision.

In strawweight action, Gerardo Sanchez (9-1, 5 KOs) of Honduras will square off against Mexico’s Edwin Cano Hernandez (11-2-1, 2 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

Unbeaten welterweight prospect Harvin Aguirre (9-0, 6 KOs), who is originally from Nicaragua and now resides in Panama, will face Josue Alvarado (4-1, 1 KO) of Panama 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]

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