What to Know
- ProBox TV brings its championship series to Oceanside, California, on Friday, September 11, featuring top talents looking for second chances.
- In the main event, San Diego-based Giovani Santillan takes on former champion Abass Baraou of Germany in a junior middleweight bout.
- Fans can watch through the ProBox TV YouTube channel for a monthly subscription of $4.99 starting at 7:30 p.m. ET/4:30 p.m. PT.
Who doesn’t love a redemption story? Friday’s ProBox TV card features fighters looking to rebound from difficult losses at the Frontwave Arena in Oceanside, California.
Santillan and Baraou Rise Above Losses
Junior middleweight Giovani Santillan of San Diego (35-1, 18 KOs) returns to his hometown, where he is sure to have the crowd on his side as he faces former WBA junior-middleweight champion Abass Baraou of Berlin, Germany (17-2, 9 KOs) in the ten-round main event.
Both men know a win will go a long way in advancing their cause and erasing the lingering memory of difficult losses in their last fights. The WBO Intercontinental title is at stake along with a boost up the rankings as a mandatory challenger.
In 2024, in front of his family and friends on a national broadcast at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena, the heavily favored Santillan, who is signed with Top Rank, was crushed by Brian Norman Jr. in a bloody battle. Norman Jr. walked away with the WBO championship belt at welterweight.
Baraou gets it. He handed highly regarded Yoenis Tellez his first loss a year ago, but wasn’t able to prevail in his first title challenge in January against Xander Zayas.
Now both Santillan and Baraou will try to regain the momentum they once enjoyed and capitalize on the multiple opportunities among the top talents in a competitive 154-pound division. Both men made weight on Friday at 153.8 pounds.
OFFICIAL from Oceanside 🔥@ProBox_TV | #SantillanBaraou l @FrontwaveArena pic.twitter.com/GpxkhFgyrE
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) September 10, 2026
Santillan discussed the upcoming fight for ProBox TV with Boxing Scene’s Lance Pugmire. He said he’s prepared all summer long for this second chance after the loss to Norman Jr. Santillan admitted it was rough to take a loss in front of his hometown fans but is determined to shake it off and keep going.
Santillan has been working at the Robert Garcia Boxing Academy, sparring with top talents like Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jose Ramirez Jr. It should serve him well against Baraou, who is still ranked in the top ten by three of the four sanctioning organizations.
Santillan sits third with the WBO and tenth with the IBF. The winner of this fight is potentially teed up as an opponent for Jaron Ennis in 2027 with a solid win.
Venado Lopez Returns To Ring
In the co-main event, it’s a similar story. Former IBF World Featherweight champion Luis Alberto Lopez of Mexicali (32-3, 19 KOs) makes his ProBox Promotions debut against countryman Daniel Lugo of Sonora (28-4-1, 19 KOs).
“Venado” Lopez was one of those “mystery Mexicans” brought to the UK as a B-side, and started mowing down the talent, including Josh Warrington, followed by a stunning upset knockout win over Michael Conlan to win the IBF World Featherweight title. Lopez had two successful title defenses before running into Angelo Leo, who stopped him in the 10th round in a razor-close fight on the cards in August 2024.
Lopez scored two early-round knockout wins last year fighting at home in Mexicali. Now he returns to elite-level competition, still ranked in the top 20, and is hoping to return to his world championship form to get back in the mix.
Leading the undercard lineup, undefeated middleweight Hebert Conceicao Sousa of Salvador, Bahia, Brazil (11-0, 5 KOs) faces undefeated Jose de Jesus Adame Chio of Mexicali (15-0-1, 7 KOs). Sousa won a gold medal at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
San Diego fan favorite and former world title contender Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta of Menifee, California (34-4-3, 17 KOs) returns to the ring three years after his knockout loss to William Zepeda. The 38-year-old native of the Philippines takes on Jorge de Jesus of Puerto Rico (14-2, 10 KOs) scheduled for ten rounds at super lightweight.
Undefeated junior-lightweights Dominic Valle of Lutz, Florida (13-0, 7 KOs) and Francois Scarboro Jr. of Cheverly, Maryland (14-0, 9 KOs) will get the chance to shine and advance on big stage where prospects need to impress.
The broadcast opener features undefeated Top Rank super featherweight signee Julian Montalvo of Las Vegas (7-0, 5 KOs) against Anthony Cruz Herrera of Oregon (3-2) in a six-round bout, and super lightweight Daniel Morales of Las Vegas (9-0, 5 KOs) faces Lorenzo Vazquez Avalos of Fontana, California (4-1, 3 KOs), also over six rounds.
Tickets to attend live at Frontwave Arena are on sale now and available through axs.com.
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.
