Boxlab Promotions rolls into the Caribe Royale resort on Friday, July 18, serving up a night built for heavyweight intrigue under the watchful eye of the Florida Athletic Commission. Headlining the bill, world No. 53 Gurgen Hovhannisyan (8-0, 7 KOs) looks to preserve his perfect slate in a 10-round test against rangy Chris Thomas (15-1-2, 10 KOs). For the unbeaten Armenian, victory in Orlando could catapult him from fringe contender into the division’s fast-moving conversation.
Watch Hovhannisyan vs. Madison highlights: Watch
Quality runs deep on the undercard. At super-bantamweight, slick Las Vegan Angel Barrientes (13-1, 8 KOs) meets Mexico’s seasoned Jorge De Jesús Romero (23-1-1, 14 KOs) over 10 rounds - an ideal litmus test for a 21-year-old prospect eyeing a first world ranking inside the top 50.
The heavyweights take a second bow when Russian southpaw Aleksei Dronov (7-0, 5 KOs) collides with battle-hardened Joe Jones (15-13-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Dronov has scarcely lost a round as a pro, but Jones’s spoiler résumé makes this a genuine step-up assignment.
Also, unbeaten Floridian Drake Banks (9-0, 7 KOs) shares the ropes with durable Colby Madison (11-7-3, 7 KOs) in another eight-round heavyweight scrap.
Fight card:
▪️Gurgen Hovhannisyan vs. Chris Thomas, 10 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Angel Barrientes vs. Jorge De Jesus Romero, 10 rounds, super bantamweight
▪️Drake Banks vs. Colby Madison, 8 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Alex Bray vs. Lesther Espino, 8 rounds, super welterweight
▪️Aleksei Dronov vs. Joel Caudle, 8 rounds, heavyweight
▪️Carlos Lebron vs. Anel Dudo, 4 rounds, bantamweight
