Vargas vs Salido: Julian Ramirez-Abraham Lopez set as HBO co-feature

Featherweight prospects Julian Ramirez and Abraham Lopez will get a step-up fight against one another on June 4, when the two young fighters make their HBO debuts in the co-feature slot beneath the super featherweight title fight between Francisco Vargas and Orlando Salido.

Ramirez (16-0, 8 KO) is a 23-year-old fighter from Los Angeles, who is coming off of solid wins over veterans Hugo Partida and Christopher Martin, last fighting on January 29. He won both of those fights by wide 10-round decision. Lopez (20-0-1, 15 KO) is a 28-year-old from La Puente, California, older and with a similar résumé. His best wins have come over guys like Jorge Diaz, Alfred Tetteh, and Gabriel Tolmajyan. He also fought on that January 29 card at Belasco Theater, stopping Carlos Valcarcel after seven rounds.

Vargas-Salido is, on paper, about as close to a surefire Fight of the Year candidate as you can get, especially considering it will take place at Carson's magical StubHub Center, home of several great fights in recent years. Vargas is coming off of a Fight of the Year win last November against Takashi Miura, where he took the WBC 130-pound title in a true thriller, while Salido had a pair of FotY candidates last year with Rocky Martinez, a loss in Puerto Rico and a draw in Las Vegas.