ProBoxTV’s Friday Night Fights returns to the War Memorial Auditorium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, on Friday, November 21, to turn up the heat with another explosive instalment of their all-action Contender Series, known for 50/50 matchups between rising stars ready to prove they belong at the next level.
Presented by Garry Jonas of Pro Box Promotions and Sampson Lewkowicz of Sampson Boxing, the event will be broadcast on ProBox TV live beginning at 7:00 pm ET and headlined by a 10-round “do or die” super welterweight matchup between former Olympian Francisco Daniel “Bebu” Veron (15-1-1, 10 KOs) of Fort Lauderdale, Florida and iron-fisted South American slugger Roiman “Flaco de Oro” Villa (27-3, 25 KOs) of Rosario, Venezuela.
And in the 10-round welterweight co-featured bout undefeated, but unproven, Ruben Eduardo “El Pollito” Aguilar (23-0-1, 20 KOs) of Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico, will face a critical test for his career against Corona, California’s veteran gatekeeper Luis Lopez (16-2-4, 5 KOs).
Tickets to attend ProBoxTV’s The Contender Series in person at the War Memorial Auditorium start at $105 and are available from the ProBoxTV website or directly from Seat Geek.
How to Watch from Home: ProBoxTV is available in 100% of U.S. and Canadian households with broadband access, on a wide range of platforms and media partners, including ProBoxTV’s YouTube and YouTube Espanol Channels, Swerve TV Combat, Swerve Sports, Fubo TV, Fubo Sports YouTube Channel, Amazon, Google TV, LG Channels, Plex, Roku, SLING TV, Samsung, Tubi, Vizio, Xumo Play, DIRECTV, Free Live Sports, Lights Out Sports, Zeam, Pluto TV and TCL TVs.
“We are bringing Francisco Veron back to ProBoxTV based on how phenomenal he looked dominating Vladimir Hernandez last July,” said ProBoxTV’s founder and CEO, Garry Jonas. “Veron is a former Olympian seemingly on his way to becoming a threat to anyone in the 154-lb. division, but Villa is a very dangerous puncher who was highly regarded before he ran into some weight-based setbacks a couple years ago.”
A 27-year-old from Buenos Aires, Argentina, and now residing in Fort Lauderdale, Veron competed in the 2020 Olympics for his native Argentina before turning professional later that same year. In 2023, Veron took the undefeated 0 from former Russian amateur standout Timur Kerefov and then fought to a draw with the highly regarded Jahi Tucker. In Veron’s impressive 10-round unanimous decision victory over Hernandez on ProBoxTV, Hernandez won no more than two rounds on any judge’s card.
A victory over Villa would further solidify Veron as a viable and worthy world championship challenger.
“It was a training camp filled with hard work and a lot of studying of my opponent, because we know it’s going to be a tough fight, but winning will be a huge step forward for me,” said Veron. “We know he has a powerful punch and tends to be aggressive, but I know I’m going to win because I can adapt to any type of opponent, and on top of that, I’m coming in very well prepared for this fight. Having the main event in a promotion as big as ProBoxTV makes me even more eager to get in the ring. I don’t feel any pressure at all because I’m a warrior and I’m going to put on a good show.”
All-action 32-year-old slugger Roiman Villa started boxing at age six and went on to compile an amateur record of 138-9 as a five-time national champion. Villa looked to be on his way to the title when he delivered one of 2023’s biggest upsets by scoring a majority decision victory over the previously undefeated Rashidi Ellis, but then went on to suffer two consecutive knockout losses, including a 10-round knockout to superstar Jaron “Boots” Ennis, in which Villa arguably pushed Ennis harder than any other opponent to date and then a very disappointing three-round setback to Ricardo Adan Salas Rodriguez in his very next fight.
In his most recent bout, Villa rebounded by stopping Alexander Duran (then 21-2) in four rounds last January.
“Training went very well for me. I am feeling much stronger and more comfortable at this new weight and I’m eager to show what I can do when I’m not so drained,” said Villa. “Veron is an Olympian, and he likes to stay busy, but he can’t handle the pressure or the power I will be bringing. As soon as he slows down, he will be all mine.”
“Aguilar is coming here to prove himself,” said Garry Jonas about the high-stakes co-featured bout. “He’s comes in with a big record, but now he’s getting a real test against Lopez and that will be a measuring stick of his true potential. A win for Aguilar will be a declaration he is for real. But Lopez is super tough, and things could definitely go the wrong way for him. We are going to find out if Aguilar is another Sampson Boxing find or if his 23-0-1 record was just built up against weaker opponents.”
24-year-old Ruben Eduardo Aguilar hails from Ensenada, Baja California, Mexico. The fight against Lopez will be Aguilar’s first bout scheduled for 10 rounds. The only blemish on his record was a draw was against Ricardo Adan Salas Rodriguez, who knocked out Roiman Villa.
Known as “The Fighting Pride of Corona California,” 29-year-old Louie Lopez will be fighting outside his home state for the first time in his seven-year career. An all-action fighter who always produces a thrilling performance, Lopez has three wins and three draws in his past six fights against solid opposition.
The night’s televised undercard will consist of two exciting fights for ProBoxTV’s Future Stars Series, which features emerging boxing talents and serves as a platform for up-and-coming fighters to showcase their skills, gain exposure, and potentially earn opportunities for higher-profile bouts.
In an eight-round light heavyweight bout, Cleveland’s Dante Benjamin (12-0-1, 9 KOs) will face Alabama’s Money Powell IV (13-2, 8 KOs) and in an eight-round super featherweight battle, Maryland’s Francois Scarboro Jr (11-0, 8 KOs) will take on Puerto Rican slugger Onyx Sanchez-Medina (8-0-1, 8 KOs).
On fight night, doors Open at 6:00 pm. The War Memorial Auditorium is located at 800 NE 8th St in Fort Lauderdale. Ph: (954) 828-5380.
