A junior welterweight debut fight is set for former world lightweight champion Richard Commey who aims to become a two-division champion.
The Streetwise Global Ambassador will lock horns with his Puerto Rican counterpart Jose ‘Sniper’ Pedraza who has already fought about four fights in the jr welterweight division. With both pugilists having same vision to get to the forefront of the rankings and becoming a multiple division champions, there’s a lot at stake in this Jr Welterweight contest come August 27.
Top Rank boss, Bob Arum on this important clash to glory, said
“The junior welterweight division is talenom-rich, and the winner of Pedraza-Commey is in line for a massive fight,”
Jose Pedraza (29-4, 14 KOs) lost his last fight via a unanimous decision to American Jose Carlos Ramirez in March this year after a 12 round Super lightweight contest. Pedraza won the International Boxing Federation (IBF) super featherweight title back in 2015 against Andrey Klimov and defended it twice successfully but lost on his 3rd defence to Gervonta Davis in 2017.
The ‘Sniper’ after the lost moved up to the lightweight division and later won the WBO world lightweight strap a year later from Raymundo Beltran. He then fought Ukrainian Vasiliy Lomachenko in a lightweight unification bout and lost to the Ukrainian warrior.
Pedraza is therefore poised to become a three-weight champion hence sees his fight against the Ghanaian KO artist an all important battle to reach his goal
“August 27 will definitely be a high-stakes battle between two world-class fighters. We are both coming to get back on the winning path. That’s the perfect recipe for a great fight. I know that a convincing victory against an opponent of Commey’s caliber will put me back in contention to capture that coveted world title opportunity.”
Pedraza continued, “Despite what happened in my last fight, I still have my sights set on being crowned world champion at 140 pounds. I’m still chasing my goal of becoming a three-division world champion.”
Commey (30-4, 27 KOs), one of Ghana’s most accomplished fighters, captured the IBF lightweight world title in February 2019 with a second-round stoppage over Isa Chaniev. He is therefore in a must-achieve mission of becoming a two-division champion after he lost his title to Teofimo Lopez via a KO, winning against Jackson Marinez in a come back fight. The eager to win back his title was dampened after he lost to Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Richard Oblitey Commey after his defeat to Lomachenko has therefore decided to begin a new adventure in the junior welterweight division with his debut set against Pedraza come August 27.
Knowing the calibre of his opponent come fight night, he revealed he must be at his best to overcome the Puerto Rican after acknowledging the support from his promoters
“I am grateful to DiBella Entertainment and Top Rank to be fighting on ESPN as I begin my quest to become a two-weight world champion,” Commey said. “Pedraza is a gentleman and a great champion, and I will have to be at my best to earn the victory.”
Like the Top Rank boss said, this is a massive fight for both former world champions and fans around the world can’t wait to see an interesting fight from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.