Due to weight issues, Alexis Rocha is off the Golden Boy Promotions main event Friday night and his opponent Raul Curiel now has a new opponent in New York's Jordan Panthen.
Welterweight contender Alexis Rocha’s planned Friday night rematch with Raul Curiel in the Golden Boy Promotions main event in California was thrown into disarray Thursday afternoon. This after Rocha ran into difficulties during his weight cut to 147 lb. and it eventually lead to his removal from the fight.
So, the promotion quickly moved on to have journeyman Jordan Panthen step in to fight Curiel, 16-0-1, 14 KOs, in a bout that will be at the middleweight limit of 160 lb.
The Rocha-Curiel II was to have been to decide their December 2024 bout, which ended in a tightly contested draw in Ontario, California. That fight was widely viewed as a career-defining moment for both men, with Curiel’s pressure and volume matched against Rocha’s sharper, more powerful shots.
Curiel had vowed to remove all doubt after out-landing Rocha in their first fight, believing a more decisive—possibly stoppage—victory was attainable. Alas, that won't happen. The Mexican had won his last fight with little known Victor Rodriguez by fourth round KO in June.
As for Panthen, 11-1, 9 KOs, he is 29 years old from Poughkeepsie, NY and has primarily been fighting as a junior middleweight. Golden Boy had him on "stand by" in the event of a problem with the main event and that turned out to be fortunate. His last fight was his first career loss in July by decision to Farid Ngoga.
Panthen talked Thursday afternoon to Boxingscene.com about the sudden insertion into the main event fight,
“Very excited…I’ve got the jitters, nervous, but it’s good,” Panthen said to Lance Pugmire. “It’s what I’ve trained for. They asked me about it, I thought for one or two seconds and said yes. He is a great fighter. I know he’s going to come forward and look to fight. He has a lot of experience, trained by a great coach in Robert Garcia.”
"I’m expecting a good, hard fight and I’m looking to throw hands. Coming to win, coming to do my best.”
Panthen weighed 157 lb. Thursday afternoon and Curiel was then allowed by the California commission to re-hydrate from making 147 lb. earlier in the afternoon and then weigh again, as long as he was under 158 lb. He was and a new main event was on for Friday.
Curiel's manager Frank Espinoza Jr. spoke to Boxingscene Thursday late afternoon about taking the fight t on short notice,
“Raul has trained hard for an opportunity. We had to weigh the options with Alexis Rocha missing weight. It was either fight or not fight. This is the best option for him to be impressive fighting in front of this crowd,” Espinoza said. “At the end of the day, he’s a fighter.
“It doesn’t mean it’s easier. The opponent is heavier. But it’s going to be a good fight. [Panthen] is durable and strong and comes to fight. That’s what Raul and the fans want.
The event will originate from Acrisure Arena in Palm Desert, Calif., and will be broadcast worldwide on DAZN. with the broadcast beginning at 5:00 p.m. PT.