Omar Salcido Gamez steps in to face Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz on the Pacquiao vs Barrios PPV undercard on July 19 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. The bout is scheduled for 10 rounds at super lightweight. The WBC interim title is on the line.
Cruz (27-3-1, 18 KOs) was set to meet Angel Fierro (23-3-2, 18 KOs) in an all-Mexican rematch. However, Fierro was forced to withdraw due to a “medical emergency,” Premier Boxing Champions announced on Friday, the day of the weigh-in.
Salcido (20-2, 14 KOs) was also scheduled to battle it out on the night, taking on fellow-Mexican Brian Gallegos (8-1, 6 KOs) in an eight-round bout on the non-televised undercard. With Salcido moving up to the PPV card, Gallegos is no longer expected to make his ring appearance at the event.
Mexico City’s 27-year-old former champion Cruz defeated Angel Fierro by unanimous decision in their first fight in February. 25-year-old Omar Salcido Gamez of Hermosillo, Sonora last fought in January, dropping a unanimous decision to Andy Cruz, which snapped his two-fight winning streak.
Atop the fight card, making his ring return, Manny Pacquiao (62-8-2, 39 KOs) of the Philippines challenges San Antonio’s WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 18 KOs). In the co-feature, Sebastian Fundora (22-1-1, 14 KOs) of West Palm Beach, FL defends his WBC super welterweight title against former champion Tim Tszyu (23-2, 18 KOs) of Australia.
Also on the Pacquiao vs Barrios undercard is a featherweight matchup between two-division champion Brandon Figueroa (25-2-1, 19 KOs) of Weslaco, TX and Joet Gonzalez (27-4, 15 KOs) of Glendora, CA.
The current Pacquiao vs Barrios lineup is as follows:
Main card
- Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao
- Sebastian Fundora vs. Tim Tszyu
- Isaac Cruz vs. Angel Fierro
- Brandon Figueroa vs. Joet Gonzalez
Prelims
- Gary Russell Jr. vs. Hugo Alberto Castaneda Marroquin
- Alan Picasso Romero vs. Kyonosuke Kameda
- Mark Magsayo vs. Jorge Mata Cuellar
Non-televised
- Eumir Marcial vs. Bernard Joseph
- Jursly Vargas vs. Sergio Aldana
- Joseph Brown vs. Aaron Watson