Jr. Welterweight Contenders Mayfield, Taylor Headline ESPN Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates
WBO Jr. Welterweight Titlist Chris Algieri Interviewed Ringside
The July 18 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates presentado por Corona Extra will feature Jr. Welterweight contenders Karim “Hard Hitta” Mayfield (18-1-1, 11 KOs) and Emanuel “Tranzforma” Taylor (17-2, 12 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s show from the Paramount Theater in Huntington, N.Y, will air live at 8 p.m. ET on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will televise the fights on Sunday, July 20, at 4 p.m. The card is promoted by Star Boxing.
Commentators: 
Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn), filling in for Joe Tessitore, will be ringside with analyst Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2, while studio host Todd Grisham will provide the latest boxing news and highlights. Commentators Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodríguez will call the fights for Noche de Combates on ESPN Deportes, while Claudia Trejos and Leopoldo González will anchor the studio.
WBO Jr. Welterweight Titlist Chris Algieri Interview:
Undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) Jr. Welterweight titlist Chris Algieri will be interviewed ringside by Atlas and Osuna this week on Friday Night Fights. According to news reports, Algieri, who fought on Friday Night Fights in February, agreed to terms on Tuesday to fight Manny Pacquiao for Pacquiao’s Welterweight belt in November. Algieri defeated former titlist Ruslan Provodnikov in June to become the new Jr. Welterweight titleholder.
Main Event:
Both fighters are looking to get back to their winning ways — California’s Mayfield is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Thomas Dulorme. Taylor, who hails from Maryland, is looking to rebound from a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Algieri.
“We feel like Emanuel Taylor is a pretty good fighter, but I just feel like he’s not going to be able to mess with Karim,” said LaRon Mayfield, Mayfield’s brother and manager. “I feel like Karim’s not going to be at a disadvantage in height. He should be able to touch him with that jab and put all his punches where they need to be….This fight, I see Karim coming out victorious.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s eight-round co-feature will pit undefeated Welterweight Cletus “The Hebrew Hammer” Seldin (13-0, 10 KOs) of New York against Virginia’s “The Mongolian Mongoose” Bayan Jargal (17-5-3, 10 KOs). Seldin is coming off a seventh-round TKO win over Wilfredo Acuna, while Jargal is looking to score a victory following a 10-round unanimous decision loss to 1996 U.S. Olympian Zahir Raheem.
Upcoming Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Main Event | Location | Networks |
| Fri, Jul 18 | 8 p.m. | Karim Mayfield (18-1-1, 11 KOs) vs. Emanuel Taylor (17-2, 12 KOs) — 10 rounds, Jr. Welterweight | Paramount Theater, Huntington, N.Y. |
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Jul 25 | 9 p.m. | Roberto Garcia (35-3, 23 KOs) vs. Breidis Prescott (27-5, 20 KOs) — 10 rounds Welterweight | UIC Convention Center, Chicago | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN |
| Fri, Aug 1 | 9 p.m. | Thomas Williams Jr. (17-0, 12 KOs) vs. Gabriel Campillo (23-6-1, 10 KOs) — 12 rounds, Light Heavyweights | Little Creek Casino, Shelton, Wash. | ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN |
*Schedule subject to change
Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates Social Media:
- Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook.
- Score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.
- Follow ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo.
- For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.
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