Press Release:
The 12-round co-main event will see Mario “El Azteca” Barrios make the first defense of his Interim WBC Welterweight Title against Argentina’s Fabian “TNT” Maidana, the younger brother of legendary action fighter Marcos who will look to add to his family legacy in his first world title opportunity.
A former world champion at 140-pounds, Barrios (28-2, 18 KOs) earned a career-best victory in his last outing and stamped his place as a top 147-pounder by dropping Yordenis Ugas twice last September on his way to a unanimous decision. The 28-year-old hails from San Antonio, Texas and now trains in Las Vegas under the guidance of top trainer Bob Santos. He won a 140-pound world championship in September 2019, using his aggressive style to edge out Batyr Akhmedov and earn a unanimous decision. Barrios lost the super lightweight title in another action packed, highly competitive bout, as he was defeated by three-division and five-time world champion Gervonta Davis in June 2021.
The 31-year-old Maidana (22-2, 16 KOs) enters this fight on a four-bout winning streak, including three 2023 triumphs highlighted by a unanimous decision victory over Israel Lopez in November. A native of Margarita, Santa Fe, Argentina, Maidana hopes to follow in the footsteps of his older brother and former two-division champion Marcos. He’s fought professionally since 2014, following up a strong amateur career by winning his first 16 pro fights. He will return to fight stateside for the first time since 2019, after spending much of his early career fighting in the U.S., including a 2018 knockout of former title challenger Andrey Klimov.
The 27-year-old Figueroa (24-1-1, 18 KOs) most recently picked up his interim title in his last bout, beating former world champion Mark Magsayo via unanimous decision in a Fight of the Year candidate in March 2023. It was his second fight since a 2021 Fight of the Year against Stephen Fulton Jr., which some observers thought ended in controversy after the majority decision loss for Figueroa. A native of Weslaco, Texas, Figueroa’s relentless pressure and youthful enthusiasm helped him become the first person to defeat former division champion Luis Nery in their championship clash prior to the Fulton fight. Figueroa added to his family’s legacy by capturing the WBC 122-pound world title against Nery, joining his brother Omar Figueroa Jr., who previously held the WBC Lightweight World Championship.
A Las Vegas-native, Magdaleno (29-2, 18 KOs) will look to rebound from a decision defeat in his last fight against current featherweight titlist Raymond Ford. Prior to the defeat, Magdaleno had put together four-straight victories since moving up to featherweight in 2019. The 32-year-old became a world champion in 2016 with a dominant unanimous decision victory over future Hall of Famer Nonito Donaire, and successfully defended the title with a 2017 knockout of Adeilson Dos Santos. Magdaleno also comes from a boxing family, as his older brother Diego was a longtime contender, while his younger brother Marco also fought professionally.
Representing his native Kaunas, Lithuania, Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs) has made the most of the promise he showed when turning pro after fighting for his country at the 2016 Olympic games. The 29-year-old captured his interim belt in his most recent outing, defeating the previously unbeaten Radzhab Butaev via a hard-fought decision in April 2022. Stanionis blasted through a slew of veteran welterweights on his way up the ladder, including a knockout of Justin DeLoach and a 12-round unanimous decision over Thomas Dulorme.
A two-time Olympian for his home country of Venezuela, Maestre (6-0-1, 5 KOs) delivered a dominant display last August as he blasted out the then-unbeaten rising prospect Travon Marshall in round two. His pro career has followed an extensive amateur run that included victories over Brian Castano, Carlos Adames, Alexander Besputin, Oscar Molina and Brian Ceballo. He made his U.S. debut with a controversial decision victory over Mykal Fox in August 2021 before fighting fellow unbeaten Taras Shelestyuk to a draw in March 2022 and defeating former two-division champion Devon Alexander in April 2023.
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