Indian prospect Mandeep Jangra faces Nilo Guerrero on Roy Jones card this Thursday

Two unbeaten prospects will battle it out with the winner asserting himself in a deep 130-pound division. 

Mandeep Jangra and Nilo Guerrero will square off Thursday night at Legends Casino Hotel in Toppenish, Washington, it was announced Monday. The 10-round bout will headline a card promoted by Roy Jones, Jr. that will stream live on globalsportsstreaming.com ($9.99, 10 p.m. ET/ 7 p.m. PT). 

“It’s going to be a great card on Thursday at Legends Casino Hotel,” said Jones, Jr., who trains Jangra. “I have these three great guys on the card. I love having them on this card. Jangra always brings the action and he’ll be fighting for (the National Boxing Association) junior lightweight) world title, which is very exciting to me.”

Jangra (10-0, 7 knockouts), who is originally from Kharian, India and trains at Jones’ gym in Pensacola, Florida, last fought May 24, knocking out Jose Sanchez in the opening round. In his previous fight 10 days prior to the win over Sanchez, Jangra forced journeyman Argel Berrio to remain on his stool after round five. 

Coupled with the fourth round knockout win over Reynaldo Esquivia on May 5, Jangra fought and won three fights in less than a three-week period. All three fights took place in Colombia. 

The 31-year-old, who had a successful amateur career, including winning silver medals at the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games, is eager to measure himself against Guerrero, but is confident he has the tools to be victorious Thursday night. 

“This is a great opportunity for me and I am blessed to be here,” said Jangra. “I have always dreamed of (this). All thanks to God that I am feeling so proud that I am representing my country of India for a world title. I want to be an inspiration for the next generation of Indian boxers. They can learn from my hard work and dedication. India is an upcoming powerhouse for professional boxing.”

“Roy is a great mentor. I am so blessed that he gave me a chance to work with him. Learning from the champ is the best way to succeed. One of the best things I have learned from Roy is fishing in boxing, meaning how to make way for the counter punch, and I love that.”

Guerrero (9-0, 7 KOs), who is originally from Managua, Nicaragua and now lives and trains in Coachella, California, defeated Diuhl Olguin by unanimous decision in his last fight on June 15. The win over Olguin took place four months after Guerrero knocked out Dan Hernandez in the opening round. 

Despite the lack of pedigree and being younger, the 24-year-old Guerrero believes he can be victorious over Jangra. 

“I’m happy to have this opportunity and I’m motivated for this fight,” said Guerrero. “My opponent is an excellent fighter and I know this will be a war. We are both fighting to stay undefeated, but I will do my job and get that victory, no matter what. I know it will be the best fight of the night. In my mind, the objective is to come out on top, either by decision, TKO, or knockout.”

Guerrero is promoted by Azat Torosyan.

Two more unbeaten fighters who are trained by Jones will also see action Thursday night.

In the co-feature, featherweight Dominique Roundtree (9-0, 6 KOs) of Augusta, Georgia will face Roberto Cantu Pena in a six-round bout. 

Cantu (4-3, 3 KOs), who is originally from McAllen, Texas and now resides in Rio Bravo, Mexico, defeated Bryan Lagunas by split-decision on July 24, snapping a two-bout losing streak.

Fighting at a catchweight of 151 pounds, unbeaten Keon Papillon (9-0-1, 6 KOs) will square off against journeyman Rondale Hubbert (16-32-3, 10 KOs) of Duluth, Minnesota in a six-round bout.

Papillon is trained by and is the son of former world title challenger Jason Papillon, who was a sparring partner of Jones.

Calling the action on the stream will be Claudia Trejos. 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at [email protected]

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