Phillips to Defend Title at Forum

Champion Verno Phillips and No. 1 contender Jaime Llanes will meet tonight at the Forum in a World Boxing Organization junior-middleweight title bout.

Organizers decided to return to holding fights on Monday nights, abandoning a short-lived experiment with Fridays.

It is the second consecutive Los Angeles-based championship fight for the lightly regarded WBO, which sanctioned a junior-welterweight match at the Grand Olympic Auditorium on Sunday.

The New York-based Phillips (22-4-1, 12 knockouts) won the WBO championship, which is not considered a major title, in Phoenix on Oct. 30 over local favorite Lupe Aquino, and is undefeated (14-0-1) in his last 15 bouts. This is Phillips’ first official defense.

Llanes is 27-2, with 26 KOs, and has won 24 consecutive bouts.

Also on the card is a scheduled 10-rounder between the World Boxing Assn.’s No. 2-ranked lightweight, Fabian Tejada (37-3-2, 29 KOs), and Mauricio Aceves, who has lost his last six fights.