Saul Sanchez is still moving forward despite a setback in his last fight.

Sanchez returns to action tonight, as he squares off against Arthur Villanueva at the OTE Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. The eight-round bout will precede the main event bout between unbeaten junior lightweight Haven Brady and Jesus Vasquez, Jr.

Both fights will stream live on DAZN (7:30 p.m. ET/ 4:30 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Sanchez weighed in at 118 pounds. Villanueva came in at 119 pounds.

Sanchez (20-3, 15 knockouts), who resides in the Los Angeles suburb of North Hollywood, faced then-WBO world bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney in his last fight on January 13, losing a close decision in one of the better action fights of the year.

In his previous fight on October 12, Sanchez defeated unbeaten prospect RV Deniega by unanimous decision. Prior to the loss to Moloney, Sanchez had won his previous two fights after losing by split decision to Eros Correa in June 2022.

Oshae Jones – Photo courtesy of OTX

The 27-year-old appeared in a handful of ShoBox telecasts, including in September 2021, when he scored a vicious one-punch knockout win over Ja’Rico O’Quinn.

Sanchez, who also fought on a few Boxeo Telemundo telecasts, fought a majority of his pro career under the Thompson Boxing Promotions banner. He is trained by Manny Robles.

Villanueva (35-5-1, 20 KOs), who resides in Bacolod City in the Philippines, last fought on March 29, losing by knockout in round four to junior featherweight contender Elijah Pierce. The loss to Pierce snapped a three-fight winning streak.

The 35-year-old has lost to the likes of Luis Nery and Zolani Tete. In July 2015, Villanueva fought for the vacant IBF world junior bantamweight title, losing a technical decision to McJoe Arroyo.

Brady (12-0, 5 KOs), who resides in nearby Albany, also fought on March 29 card, stopping Waldemar Carril Areizaga in the sixth round in a clash of unbeaten prospects. In his previous fight on November 10, the 22-year-old defeated Deivi Julio by decision.

Vasquez (11-2, 3 KOs), who resides in Englewood, Colorado, stopped Jaime Garzon after the third round of his last bout on March 22.

The 33-year-old faced unbeaten Charlie Sheehy on November 4, losing by unanimous decision.

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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