Multiple title fights have been officially added to pay-per-card headlined by Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner in Las Vegas on January 19.
The biggest fight outside of the main event is a light heavyweight matchup between former world champion Badou Jack and unbeaten top contender Marcus Browne. The two will not only do battle on pay-per-view, but the WBA has created an interim light heavyweight title that will be given to the winner of the fight.
The current WBA world champion at 175 pounds is Dmitry Bivol, who had just defended his title on an HBO-televised bout in Atlantic City, New Jersey back in November. Bivol defeated Jean Pascal by unanimous decision to retain his title.
Jack, a former WBA "regular" light heavyweight champion, is coming off a fight against Adonis Stevenson for the WBC 175-pound title in May. The fight ended in a draw, meaning Stevenson got to keep his title. Browne, whose record stands at 22-0, is one of the division's top contenders and is coming off a unanimous decision win over Lenin Castillo back in August.
Other fights that were announced on the pay-per-view card include a vacant WBC bantamweight title bout between Rau'Shee Warren and Nordine Oubaali. The fight was originally scheduled to take place on December 22, but was postponed for January 19.
The last fight made official features interim WBA featherweight champion Jhack Tepora fighting former titleholder Hugo Ruiz. This will be Tepora's first fight since winning the interim belt this past summer with a ninth-round TKO win over Edivaldo Ortega.
Ruiz will be competing for a title for the first time since losing his WBC super bantamweight world title to Hozumi Hasegawa in 2016. Ruiz has also held the interim WBA bantamweight title from 2011 to 2012.
Below is the full pay-per-view card for the event taking place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas:
- Manny Pacquiao vs. Adrien Broner: WBA "Regular" welterweight title
- Badou Jack vs. Marcus Browne: Vacant Interim WBA light heavyweight title
- Rau'Shee Warren vs. Nordine Oubaali: Vacant WBC bantamweight title
- Jhack Tepora vs. Hugo Ruiz: Interim WBA featherweight title
The event will be Pacquiao's first fight in his current promotional deal with Premier Boxing Champions. Pacquiao won the WBA title in July when he knocked out Lucas Matthysse, sending the Argentine champion into retirement.
