DAZN will not only have the return of Matchroom Boxing USA but also the return of Golden Boy Promotions.
Golden Boy Promotions announced two DAZN cards taking place in Indio, California in July and in August, signaling the company's return to boxing in months. The first show, taking place on July 24, will feature rising contender Vergil Ortiz Jr. facing off against Samuel Vargas. The second show will take place on August 28 and be headlined by a lightweight matchup between Javier Fortuna and Jorge Linares.
The fight between Ortiz and Vargas was originally scheduled to headline a DAZN card back in March, but that was scrapped as a result of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Ortiz, an unbeaten fighter who has won all 15 of his fights inside the distance, has not fought since he defeated Brad Solomon last December.
Linares and Fortuna have been looking to get back into the lightweight world title picture. Fortuna was originally supposed to fight WBC lightweight champion Devin Haney, but Haney suffered an injury which forced the fight to be postponed. That's when there were plans to have Fortuna fight Luke Campbell for the vacant title after Haney was named "Champion In Recess." After the pandemic shutdown the sport, the Fortuna-Campbell fight was called off and Haney was reinstated as champion. Linares, a former WBA and WBC lightweight champion, was originally set to fight Ryan Garcia, but that fight fell through, leading Linares to look for a new opponent.
Earlier in the day, it was announced that Matchroom Boxing will hold a card in Tulsa, Oklahoma in August and will be streamed on DAZN. The main event of that card is Julio Cesar Martinez vs. McWilliams Arroyo for the WBC flyweight title.
