After going the distance against future Hall of Famer Miguel Cotto back in August, former world title challenger Yoshihiro Kamegai will make his return to the ring on January 27.
Kamegai, who lost to Cotto in a WBO junior middleweight title fight, will fight on the untelevised portion of HBO's first boxing card of the new year against once-beaten Daquan Pauldo in a 10-round fight, according to Golden Boy Promotions. Kamegai vs. Pauldo will lead the untelevised undercard, which will be streamed on RingTV.com. The card will take place at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Despite his last fight ending in a loss, Kamegai is still ranked in the top 15 in the WBA and WBC rankings in boxing's 154-pound division.
Pauldo has won his last five matches since suffering his lone pro defeat against Angel Hernandez back in 2014. Pauldo has a 16-1 pro career record with nine knockouts.
Other fights on the undercard include Marcelino Lopez facing an opponent to be named later in a 10-round fight in the junior welterweight division. Undefeated prospects Ferdinand Kerobyan, Tenochtitlan Nava, Francisco Esparza and Javier Martinez will see action on the card as well as a lightweight bout between Romero Duno and Yardley Armenta.
The HBO card will be a world title doubleheader with Lucas Matthysse vs. Tewa Kiram for the vacant WBA "regular" welterweight title serving as the main event. The co-main event of the card sees Jorge Linares defending his WBA lightweight and WBC Diamond titles against Mercito Gesta.
