The continued rise of unbeaten prospect Mario Barrios will once again take place in front of a live audience.
The 21-year old San Antonio native will headline the April 25 edition of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on FS1 after having fought his last two bouts off-TV. His forthcoming main event will come versus the battle-tested Nelson Lara live from Fitzgerald's Casino & Hotel in Tunica, Mississippi.
Barrios will compete for the second straight time in the super lightweight division, a weight class much more befitting his 6'0" frame.
"I'm excited to be back on FS1 and FOX Deportes for this fight," said Barrios, whose last appearance on the series came in a Nov. '15 points win over Enrique Tinoco in Austin, Texas. "This is a great platform for young fighters to show their talents and that's what I plan on doing April 25."
The past year was a transitional period for Barrios (18-0, 10KOs), who was positioned in a title eliminator - albeit in a painfully dull decision win over a disinterested Deivis Boschiero in their ESPN-televised main event last summer. The bout was Barrios' last as a super featherweight, moving up to lightweight for his next bout before adding four more pounds on top of that to the super lightweight division where he currently resides.
The string-bean boxer-puncher enjoyed a successful debut at the new weight, scoring a 6th round knockout over an awkward and usually durable Yardley Suarez this past March at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
As has been the case throughout his young career which began in Nov. '13, Barrios enters the ring against yet another opponent with vastly more experience. Lara (17-7-4, 9KOs) is coming up on 13 years as a pro, having faced world class opposition along the way and has never proven to be anyone's easy out even in defeat.
The evening's co-feature pits a pair of boxers both facing must-win status. Oscar Molina, a 2012 Olympian for Mexico, faces Levan "The Wolf" Ghvamichava in a scheduled 10-round welterweight clash.
Molina (13-1-1, 10KOs) has been out of the ring since a 10th round stoppage loss to Jarrett Hurd last June, which aired live in primetime on CBS. He has since decided to drop down from super welterweight to the 147-pound division with his first test coming against FS1 series regular Ghvamichava (17-3-1, 13KOs), who returns to Tunica and network for the second time in less than three months, having dropped a heartbreaking decision to Yordenis Ugas this past February.
"We've watched Mario Barrios grow up in the ring. His fight against tough veteran Nelson Lara represents another big step in his progression," notes Tom Brown, whose TGB Promotions serves as lead promoter for the show. "Oscar Molina is shifting from 154 pounds to 147 pounds and will face one of the toughest challenges of his career when he takes on rugged Levan Ghvamichava. This is a fan-friendly card that promises plenty of excitement.''
Also on the show is rising bantamweight prospect Brandon Figueroa (