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.
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.