Zuffa Boxing finally announced Friday night the two fights the fledgling company will stream on Paramount+ as part of the Callum Walsh-Carlos Ocampo undercard January 23 from the newly renamed Meta Apex in Las Vegas.
Mexican middleweight Misael Rodriguez (15-0, 7 KOs) is set to square off against Austin Deanda (17-0, 11 KOs), of Amherst, Virginia, in the 10-round co-feature. Julian Rodriguez (24-1, 15 KOs), a welterweight from Hasbrouck Heights, New Jersey, will take on Cain Sandoval (17-0, 15 KOs), of Sacramento, California, in the 10-round opener of Zuffa Boxing’s inaugural show.
Coverage on Paramount+ is scheduled to start at 9 p.m. ET (6 p.m. PT).
Misael Rodriguez, 31, will end a one-year layoff when he meets an unbeaten, but untested 22-year-old foe in Deanda.
Julian Rodriguez, 31, knocked out previously undefeated Avious Griffin (17-1, 15 KOs) in the 10th round of his most recent bout. Rodriguez rejuvenated his career when he overcame an eighth-round knockdown to stop Griffin, of Chattanooga, Tennessee, with only five seconds to go in a competitive fight on the Jake Paul-Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. undercard June 28 at Honda Center in Anaheim, California.
Dana White, UFC’s president/CEO and Zuffa Boxing’s front man, announced the 10-round main event between Walsh (15-0, 11 KOs), a junior middleweight contender from Ireland, and Mexico’s Ocampo (38-3, 26 KOs) last week.
Keith Idec is a senior writer and columnist for The Ring. He can be reached on X @idecboxing.