Gor Yeritsyan will face a new opponent Saturday night.

The once-beaten welterweight will now square off against former world titleholder Jonathan Romero, promoter Tom Loeffler confirmed to The Ring Thursday night. The eight-round bout will precede the main event bout between unbeaten featherweight Omar Trinidad and fringe contender Hector Sosa.

Both fights will stream live on UFC Fight Pass (9 p.m. ET/ 6 p.m. PT).

“It will be great to see Gor back in the ring for the first time after his very controversial loss,” Loeffler told The Ring. “He’s fighting a former world champion. After watching him train with Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, I think we will see an even stronger and more-focused Gor in the ring.

“We will all see on Saturday night.”

Yeritsyan (18-1, 14 KOs), who is originally from Yerevan, Armenia and now resides in Los Angeles, was originally scheduled to face Mylik Birdsong in a compelling clash of once-beaten welterweights, but Birdsong was shot and killed on September 29 in a drive-by shooting in the Watts neighborhood of Los Angeles.

Oliver Quintana of Mexico was brought in as an opponent for Yeritsyan, but Quintana pulled out for undisclosed reasons about a week ago. 

Yeritsyan last fought on July 26, losing a close split decision to Aram Amirkhanyan in a clash of unbeaten welterweights. In his previous fight on February 23, Yeritsyan outboxed once-beaten Quinton Randall, winning a one-sided decision over 10 rounds. 

The 29-year-old Yeritsyan has fought under the 360 Boxing Promotions banner since June 9 of last year. He has notched victories over Gustavo Vittori and Rogelio Jun Doliguez. 

Romero (35-5, 19 KOs) was stopped by junior welterweight contender Kenneth Sims, Jr. after round five of his last fight on August 10. Romero was a last-minute replacement and reportedly took the fight on a day’s notice. 

The 37-year-old returned from a 14-month absence on July 28 of last year, losing by knockout to junior lightweight contender Abraham Nova. Less than six months later, Romero would lose by knockout to unbeaten contender Albert Bell.

Romero, who is originally from Cali, Colombia and now resides in Henderson, Nevada, won the vacant IBF world junior featherweight title in February 2013, defeating Alejandro Lopez by split decision. He would lose the world title in his defense six months later, losing by knockout to Kiko Martinez.  

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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