Boxing: Karlos Balderas has his opponent for Aug. 14 fight in Tulsa

Aug. 6—Karlos Balderas has had the date circled for awhile. Now he has his opponent.

Balderas, a Santa Maria native and 2016 U.S. Olympian, will make his return to the ring on Saturday, Aug. 14 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Balderas hasn't fought since suffering his only professional loss in December of 2019. He will take on 30-year-old Fidel Cervantes, a native of Kansas, in a lightweight bout. Cervantes is 9-1-1 in his career.

Balderas dropped to 9-1 as a pro on Dec. 21, 2019 with a knockout loss to Juan Rene Tellez Giron in Ontario, Calif.

The 25-year-old Balderas hasn't fought since. Following that loss, Balderas has switched up his entire career. He had been training under his uncle David and father Zenon in Santa Maria.

He has since transitioned to training under the renowned Buddy McGirt, a former professional boxer, in Los Angeles. Balderas has also switched promoters, moving from Richard Shaefer and Ringstar to Bob Arum and Top Rank.

Balderas is now fighting at lightweight. He made the quarterfinals at the 2016 Olympics in Rio De Janeiro, fighting in the lightweight division. He then turned pro and made his debut in April of 2017. He won his first nine fights before losing in December of 2019.

The Santa Maria High graduate went 175-9 as an amateur.

"Karlos Balderas was one of the most talented fighters coming out of the 2016 Rio Olympics, and I strongly believe he still has what it takes to become a world champion," Top Rank chairman Bob Arum said in July. "Buddy McGirt is a fantastic trainer who I'm confident will tap into Karlos' boundless potential."

Balderas' bout set for Aug. 14 is slated to be televised on ESPN+.

Cervantes started his pro career 9-0-1 until suffering a majority decision to Jose Zaragoza in April.

The fight is on the undercard of the three-fight main event at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Tulsa.

Genesis Servania taking on Andres Cortes bolsters the Tulsa tripleheader featuring the third fight between WBA super flyweight world champion Joshua "El Profesor" Franco and Australia's former world champion Andrew "The Monster" Moloney, unbeaten junior welterweight Arnold Barboza Jr. against Antonio Moran, and the pro debut of middleweight Nico Ali Walsh, grandson of Muhammad Ali.

In other undercard action, Toledo's unbeaten junior lightweight contender Albert Bell will fight Ecuadorian veteran Julio Cortez in an eight-rounder, while Abraham Nova returns from an injury to fight an opponent to be named in an eight-round featherweight tilt.

The ESPN+ undercard stream starts at 3 p.m. PT, preceding the tripleheader on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (simulcast on ESPN+) at 7 p.m.

Servania (34-2, 16 KOs) is 5-1 with four knockouts since falling short in a 2017 Fight of the Year contender to Oscar Valdez for the WBO featherweight world title.

Bell (18-0, 5 KOs), the WBO No. 8 junior lightweight contender, is 6-0 since signing with Top Rank in 2018. He authored his signature victory in June 2019 when he outboxed Andy Vences over 10 rounds. Bell fought in April in Tulsa and turned back the stiff challenge of Manuel Rey Rojas. Cortez (15-2, 11 KOs) is unbeaten as a junior lightweight and has won two straight bouts since a split decision defeat in February 2020.

Nova (19-0, 14 KOs) has been out of action since June 2020, when he figured out the tricky Avery Sparrow en route to a 10-round decision win.