#3 Subriel Matias (21-2, 21 KOs) faces #4 Gabriel Valenzuela (30-3, 17 KOs) in a 12-round IBF light welterweight title eliminator next month on March 1st in Fajardo, Puerto Rico. The fight will decide the next mandatory for IBF 140-lb champion Richardson Hitchins. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Gabriel Valenzuela, 30, isn’t well known to fans, as he’s fought most of his 10-year professional career in his native Mexico. In recent years, he’s traveled for fights, losing to Montana Love by a 12-round unanimous on May 7th, 2022, in Las Vegas, defeating Steve Spark and Yves Ulysse Jr.
Valenzuela’s loss to Love is a signal of how limited he is as a fighter because this guy is not a top 10-level fighter. If Gabriel hasn’t made improvements since that defeat, he’s not going to last long against Matias.
The former IBF champion Matias lost his belt a year ago to Liam Paro by a 12-round unanimous decision in a fight that resembled a street brawl due to the Aussie’s roughhouse tactics.
Matias could have easily won that fight if the referee had been on his job, policing Paro’s shoving and rabbit punching. However, Paro was a bad style match-up, and Matias needed to adapt when it became clear that the referee was taking a laissez-faire, hands-off approach to controlling the fouling.
“Fighting in my hometown, in front of my people, is an honor and an extra motivation,” said Subriel Matias. “I know Valenzuela will come prepared, but I’m ready to prove why I deserve another shot at the title. On March 1st, Fajardo will witness a great battle.”
“This fight is going to be a classic,” said Gabriel Valenzuela. “I’m proud to represent my country as I fight to bring another world title back home to Mexico.”
Matias was recently in negotiations with WBO light welterweight champion Teofimo Lopez, but the fight failed to happen after the Top Rank-promoted Teo decided the money wasn’t good enough and he didn’t want to fight on the West Coast.
Boxing fans saw it as an example of Lopez being afraid of losing to Matias, so he cooked up a couple of excuses to tell the fans.
Last Updated on 02/05/2025
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