Austin Brooks has found a promoter to guide his pro career.

Brooks, an unbeaten junior lightweight prospect, has signed a deal with Toro Promotions, it was announced Thursday afternoon. Toro Promotions also announced Brooks will return to action on June 15, squaring off against once-beaten Aram Avagyan at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington.

The 10-round bout will headline a EQC Fight Night card.

“Both Toro Promotions and Sheer Sports Management see Austin Brooks as the embodiment of the American Dream,” said Azat Torosyan, President of Toro Promotions. “We are in agreement that he has been overlooked and is capable of accomplishing tremendous things in the sport and we will stop at nothing to help him in his quest.”

Brooks (12-0, 5 knockouts), who is originally from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and now resides in the San Diego, California suburb of La Mesa, last fought on February 10, knockout out Cuban-born Jose Manuel Izaguirre in the seventh round. The fight was a clash of unbeaten junior lightweight prospects.

In his previous fight on August 26, which also took place at the Emerald Queen Casino, the southpaw Brooks stopped Anthony Chavez in the sixth round.

The 28-year-old expects a tough challenge from Avagyan, but will count on his skill-set and mental toughness from a difficult upbringing to come out victorious.

“(Avagyan) will be my best opponent so far,” said Brooks. “He’s tough and experienced. I treat every fight just like my next fight and treat all my opponents the same. Right now, I’m focused 100 percent on doing what I should to be great.

“I was raised by a single parent, and she did her best, but we had a lot of ups and downs. It made me tougher, moving from school to school. I had my share of fights. I lived out of my car and in foster homes, but I wouldn’t change anything. Looking back, it made me who I am, and the love of this sport pulled me through because I felt it could help me be somebody.”

Brooks is trained by Basheer Abdullah.

Avagyan (11-1-2, 5 KOs), who is originally from Yerevan, Armenia and now resides in Burbank, California, suffered his first defeat as a pro in July 2021, losing by unanimous decision to Martino Jules. Avagyan would not fight again until April 12, stopping journeyman Juan Santiago after the third round.

The 33-year-old faced four unbeaten fighters (Evgeny Smirnov, Francisco Esparza, Dagoberto Aguero and Jose Nuñez) in a row between 2018 and January 2021, accumulating a 2-0-2 record.

In the co-feature of the Toro Promotions card, heavyweight prospect Tsonte Rogava (8-0, 7 KOs), a Ukraine national who now resides in Marina Del Rey, California, will face Seattle’s Joe Bolden (10-13-1, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bout.

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 at [email protected]

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