John Bauza to face Michael Williams Jr. on Lomachenko-Commey undercard

John Bauza (right) lands a jab on Larry Fryers. Photo by Mikey Williams/Top Rank

Nov

A clash between unbeaten junior welterweight prospects has been added to the undercard of the Vasiliy Lomachenko-Richard Commey fight on December 11.

John Bauza will face Michael Williams Jr. in an eight-round bout at Madison Square Garden, in New York City, and will likely stream live on ESPN+. Williams’ manager and co-trainer Michael Williams Sr., told The Ring Sunday.

Bauza (15-0, 6 knockouts), who is originally from Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico and now resides in North Bergen, New Jersey, most recently fought on June 12, dropping Criston Edwards three times en route to a stoppage win in Round 2. The win over Edwards came almost a year after Bauza defeated Larry Fryers over eight one-sided rounds.

December 11 will mark the fifth time Bauza has fought on a Top Rank card. Bauza made his pro debut in April 2016.

The 23-year-old is managed by David McWater, who also manages The Ring Magazine lightweight champion Teofimo Lopez, unbeaten junior middleweight Charles Conwell and undefeated welterweight Giovani Santillan.

Williams (19-0, 12 KOs), who resides in Fayetteville, North Carolina, knocked out journeyman Gustavo Molina of Mexico in Round 2 of his most recent bout on October 16. The Molina win came almost five months after Williams defeated Anthony Curtiss by split decision.

Only two of Wiliams’ victories have come against fighters with winning records. He is co-trained by former four-division world titleholder Roy Jones Jr.

The 22-year-old’s clash against Bauza will mark his sixth fight in 2021.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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