Ward-Miranda undercard update!

May 16th brings a big night of boxing to the Bay Area as native son and 2004 Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward will take on the heavy-handed former world title challenger Edison Miranda at the Oracle Arena in Oakland, California. The card, promoted by Goossen-Tutor Promotions, will mark the first time that Ward will be fighting in Oakland in his professional career.

The undercard has been shaken up a bit since the card was first announced back in March. Originally it was reported that Goossen-Tutor prospects John Molina, Shawn Estrada, and Javier Molina would be participating in action but only the first two will make it into the ring on the 16th. Javier Molina is expected to be on the next Goossen-Tutor undercard while John Molina and Estrada will fight in Oakland, possibly in televised co-features to Ward-Miranda.Ward-Miranda undercard update!

John Molina [16-0, 12 KOs] will be fighting in an eight-round super featherweight contest against an opponent to be determined. That bout has been confirmed as a televised co-feature on the Showtime broadcast.

2008 U.S. Olympian Shawn Estrada [5-0, 5 KOs] will meet his toughest foe to date when he takes on Oakland’s very own Tony Hirsch [8-1-1, 4 KOs] in a four-round super middleweight bout. Estrada has received some criticism since turning professional for fighting very limited opposition, but in Hirsch he will meet a very determined opponent who has knocked off an undefeated prospect before. Hirsch’s lone loss, a second-round TKO to unheralded Cromwell Gordon, was vastly considered a bad stoppage by those who were ringside. When focused, Hirsch is a very tough customer and isn’t expected to fall over at the first sign of adversity, which is more than can be said for any of Estrada’s five previous knockout victims.

In an intriguing off-television fight, 2000 U.S. Olympic silver medalist Ricardo Williams, Jr. [15-2, 8 KOs] will take on San Francisco’s Karim Mayfield [8-0-1, 5 KOs] in a six-round welterweight bout. It will be Williams’ sixth bout since returning to the ring following a three-year prison sentence he received for the sale of cocaine. Williams was once regarded as one of boxing’s brightest prospects before losing his work ethic and suffering two defeats to Juan Valenzuela and Manning Galloway.

Mayfield returns to the ring for the first time since beating previously undefeated Mario Lozano on the untelevised undercard of the March 7th HBO Boxing After Dark card headlined by James Kirkland against Joel Julio, which took place in nearby San Jose. Six of Mayfield’s nine professional bouts have taken place in the Bay Area. Mayfield won’t be new to the Oracle Arena, either, as his professional debut took place there.

Promising super bantamweight prospect Rico Ramos [9-0, 5 KOs] of Pico Rivera, California will take on trial-horse Trinidad Mendoza [24-20-2, 19 KOs] in a six-round contest. Ramos began his professional career rapidly, fighting seven times in eight months before suffering an injury that kept him out of the ring for almost six months. In his return, he earned a six-round unanimous decision over Gino Escamilla on the Williams-Wright undercard on April 11th.

Mendoza’s record is a “who’s who” of 118 and 122 pounders having fought the likes of Israel Vazquez [TKO7 by], Jhonny Gonzalez [TKO3 by], Danny Romero [L12], and Daniel Ponce de Leon [TKO2 by]. More recently, Mendoza is a loser of five straight, although in those five losses he fought opponents who collectively had a single loss between them. At the very least Mendoza is a step in the right direction for the fast-rising Ramos.

In a four-round super featherweight bout, Mel Crossty [3-0, KO] of Cincinnati, Ohio will take on Jaime Rodriguez [4-4-2, 2 KOs] of Reno, Nevada.