A Matchroom-promoted card takes place at Caribe Royale in Orlando this Saturday, and in the main event, Cuban heavyweight Lenier Pero takes a scheduled ten-round assignment against London-based Jordan Thompson, who moves up to the weight for the first time.
DAZN screen Pero vs Thompson live.
A two-time Pan American Games gold medallist, Pero (12-0, KO8) started his professional career in Germany, and has also taken in Argentina, Columbia and the USA in his fledgling career to date.
The 32-year-old has passed every test put in front of his so far, and 2023 saw him bank an eighth-round stoppage win against the unbeaten Viktor Vykhryst, before halting Guillermo Andino in a round.
Pero fought only once in 2024, a one-round blowout of Donnie Palmer, and would take over a year out before returning in April, where he completed ten rounds for the first time in a clear points win against Detrailous Webster in Orlando.
Thompson (15-1, KO12) is the next stop for Pero, and the Englishman campaigned at cruiserweight, where he won the IBF European bauble against Vasil Ducar in August 2022, getting off the deck in the final round to take a points win.
After defending once, his ranking with the IBF enabled him to fight IBF world champion Jai Opetaia for the title, but it was way too soon for ‘Troublesome’ as he was dominated and pummelled to defeat in four rounds.
That was in September 2023, and the last time Thompson was seen.
Prediction: Inactivity and a move to a new weight could really hinder Thompson here, and I think Pero will be the winner in the first half of the contest.
Pat Brown vs Felix Valera
Team GB’s Pat Brown (4-0, KO4) moves up to ten-round level for the first time on the card, and the Manchester cruiserweight can score another early win, this time against Felix Valera (24-8, KO21).
Remaining Undercard
Yoelvis Gomez (9-1, KO7) is another Cuban in action, and the super welterweight prospect can take a points success against the unbeaten Antraveous Ingram (12-0, KO6), also over ten rounds.
In six-round action, Amateur starlet Omari Jones (3-0, KO3) continues his education, and he can be the first to stop Tanzania’s Yusuph Metu (12-2, KO9) in their super welterweight encounter, and Nishant Dev (3-0, KO2) can be an early winner in his super welterweight meeting with Juan Carlos Campos Medina (4-2, KO3).
Unbeaten featherweight Carlos Jamil De Leon Castro (5-0, KO4) should also win inside schedule against Columbia’s Wilner Soto (24-21, KO13).
The only four-rounder is at bantamweight, where debutant Ryan Santiago can halt Mario Hernandez Betancourt (0-2), who has been stopped on both of his previous outings.
