Tonight at 9:00 pm EDT on ESPN2 from the Chumash Casino in Santa Ynez, California, ESPN Friday Night Fights presents a really solid main event fight between lightweight contenders Rustam Nugaev and Denis Shafikov in a 12-round bout. BLH will be here with live coverage.
Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KO) has been on a hot streak, winning six straight since a 2011 loss to Alisher Rahimov. The 31-year-old Russian knocked off unbeaten prospect Jonathan Maicelo in 2013, and beat Marvin Quintero in his last fight, which came in March of this year.
Shafikov (33-1-1, 18 KO) is a former European champion at 140 pounds who moved down in weight to chase a world title. He's got wins over Rahimov (DQ-11) and Albert Mensah (UD-12), but failed in his bid to dethrone IBF titleholder Miguel Vazquez in February, losing in Macau.
In tonight's co-feature, 25-year-old Puerto Rican prospect Jose "Sniper" Pedraza (17-0, 11 KO) will face Rugged Veteran Juan Carlos Martinez (20-14-1, 7 KO) in a fight set for 10 rounds. Martinez upset Alejandro Perez on March 29, but hadn't fought since 2012, when he lost a majority decision to Edner Cherry. He was stopped in four by Mikey Garcia back in 2011, two fights ago.