What to Know
- Super lightweight Jhon Orobio is on the brink of crossing over from prospect to contender, appearing in his first main event from Montreal on Thursday.
- Orobio will put his undefeated record up against another undefeated contender, Hendri Cedeno of the Dominican Republic.
- The full Eye of the Tiger card airs in the U.S. on DAZN Boxing starting at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
If you aren’t familiar with fast-rising super lightweight contender Jhon “El Tigre” Orobio of Colombia (19-0, 17 KOs), there’s no better time than on Thursday night, November 12. The WBA and WBC Continental Americas title holder appears in his first main event for promoter Eye of the Tiger against undefeated Hendri “La Bazuca” Cedeno of the Dominican Republic (16-0, 12 KOs).
Orobio and Cedeno headline a sold-out card at the Casino de Montréal. All fighters on the card made weight on Wednesday. It airs in the U.S. on DAZN Boxing starting at 6:30 p.m. ET/3:30 p.m. PT.
Jhon Orobio: Boxing’s Best Kept Secret?
Let us call your attention to the knockout rate for these two men. While the bout is scheduled for ten rounds, no one thinks either Orobio or Cedeno intends to leave the result in the hands of the judges.
Orobio is one of boxing’s best-kept secrets. It’s time for fans in the know to get to know the 22-year-old native of Colombia. He has been nominated twice as the Ring Magazine Prospect of the Year in 2024 and 2025. With an impressive performance on Thursday, he might finally nail down the honor.
Eye of the Tiger Management president Camille Estephen says he vowed to put Orobio in his first main event after wiping out Jonathan Montiel with a vicious series of body punches. He believes Orobio can beat anyone in the super lightweight division.
Trained by Canada’s highly respected Marc Ramsay, Orobio is already ranked seventh in the world by both the WBC and WBA, and 12th in the IBF rankings.
Get to know Orobio by watching his last fight against Jonathan Montiel.
The Colombian has been warmly embraced by Canadian fans, learning French quickly after arriving in Montreal in 2023 as an 18-year-old away from home. He doesn’t take it for granted.
“The trust my team has in me is worth its weight in gold in my eyes, so I don’t intend to disappoint them, nor the Montréal public that welcomed me so warmly when I arrived here in 2023. I will continue to train hard to put on a performance that will allow me to thank them on November 12, and at the same time, prove that I am the best,” said Orobio.
But Orobio will need to give his best against Cedeno, who is equally determined to avoid his first loss. Estephan said EOTTM intends to prove Orobio is the real deal by giving him a challenger like Cedeno.
“Thank you so much to everyone who supports me. A huge thank you to the Eye of the Tiger team for giving me this opportunity to fight. Please excuse my French, as I’ve been practicing, though I’m not quite fluent yet,” said Orobio. Greeting his family back in Colombia, he said he feels well prepared.
Cedeno has proven himself with excellent performances on Most Valuable Promotions and Matchroom Boxing cards. He is also in the top 15 like Orobio, with extensive amateur experience.
At the final pre-fight news conference, Cedeno was confident about Thursday’s outcome, though he will need to overcome being out of the ring for 19 months.
“We’ve done a great job and have a solid fight plan to secure the victory,” said Cedeno, who has experience sparring with Devin Haney and Andy Cruz. “First and foremost, with God’s help, we have everything under control. I want to come out victorious. We have a great game plan, we’ve trained well, and with the team we have, we’re going to win.”
Cruiserweights Clash in Co-Main Event
In the co-main event, EOTTM prospect Lenar Perez of Cuba (17-0, 15 KO) faces an opponent familiar to Québec boxing fans, former EOTTM prospect Artur Ziyatdinov of Uzbekistan (17-3, 14 KO).
Ziyatdinov made his professional debut with EOTTM, fighting 12 bouts at light heavyweight with the organization between 2017 and 2020. He played a key role as a sparring partner for Artur Beterbiev prior to his first fight and victory over Dmitriy Bivol. Now Ziyatdinov has moved up to the cruiserweight division, with two wins.
Ziyatdinov is known as an excellent technician, and he should give Perez a solid test to see where the Cuban stands against the rest of a thriving cruiserweight division.
Butler and Bazinyan: Final Showdown, Finally?
In a fight with extremely high stakes for both men, Montreal’s Steven “Bang Bang” Butler (38-6-1, 32 KO) and Erik “Bzo” Bazinyan of Laval, Quebec (32-1-1, 23 KO) will finally meet after several stops and starts to put on this fight over the last two years.
This is a win-or-go-home fight, though it wasn’t originally conceived this way two years ago when the fight was first scheduled for March 2025, then pushed back to June, and delayed again until November due to repeated training injuries to Bazinyan, which led to his suspension by EOTTM.
Bazinyan finally returns after 26 months out of the ring, following a loss to current super middleweight champion Jaime Munguia and 34 months since his last win. But a win over Butler would breathe new life into his career.
Butler strung together three wins before his sixth career loss in a seventh-round TKO to Edgar Berlanga last July at Madison Square Garden in New York. At the time, promoter Camille Estephan said “Bang Bang” had nothing left to prove and suggested he retire. But Butler pushed for one more fight, and out of respect for his long career with EOTTM, he steps into the ring on Thursday.
“It’s always a pleasure for me to step into the ring,” said Butler this week. “Like everyone else, I’ve had my share of battles, ups and downs, moments where things didn’t go as planned.
“I wanted to continue my career. With all due respect, (Bazinyan) gave me the chance to return to the ring,” said Butler, who engaged Jhon Orobio as a sparring partner.
“We’re ready to give it our all. We have our families and plenty of personal motivation driving us to keep going. We’ll show you what we’re made of on fight night.”
Bazinyan admitted it had been a long time. “I’m ready for the game, more ready than ever. I’m in a great place right now. I don’t need anything else. Everything is perfect. We’ve put in the hard work, and I’m here to show a new side of myself. I have a lot of respect for Steven, and I wish us both luck.”
Bazinyan was considered the favorite through the multiple cancellations. But with such a long absence and the specter of serious ring rust, Butler is now the favorite in the eyes of observers. Call it a 50-50 fight – and since both men have draws on their record, don’t be shocked if it sets up a rematch.
Also featured on the card, Canadian Olympic medalist Wyatt Sanford (8-0, 4 KO) will face Mexico City native Gabriel Jimenez (14-1-1, 9 KO).
Gayle Falkenthal is an award-winning boxing journalist with more than four dozen awards for both written and video coverage from the Boxing Writers Association of America, Society of Professional Journalists, and San Diego Press Club, where she is the past president. She is the only woman journalist who is a full voting member of the BWAA. She is the Boxing Editor for NY Fights based in San Diego, California.
