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European champion Kerman Lejarraga, Spain’s best boxer, looks to continue his ascent up the welterweight division on Saturday when he takes on England’s Frankie Gavin inside the BEC Bizkaia Arena in Bilbao.
Though Lejarraga, who has only one professional fight outside of Spain, still isn’t a household name around the world, he’ll have an opportunity to showcase himself to viewers in the United States for this one:
How to Watch Lejarraga vs Gavin in the United States
For those in the United States looking to watch, the main card is scheduled to start at 3 p.m. ET, with Lejarraga vs Gavin expected to get underway around 5:30 p.m. While it won’t be broadcast on television anywhere in the US, you can still watch a live stream of the fight on your computer, phone or streaming device via ESPN+, the new digital streaming service from ESPN that broadcasts all 2018-19 UEFA Nations matches
You can sign up for a free 7-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the fight on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone, tablet or streaming device via the ESPN app.
If you can’t watch live, all events that are streamed on ESPN+ are also available to be watched on-demand via ESPN.com or the ESPN app.
Preview
Lejarraga’s only professional fight outside of Spain came in June of 2017 when he fought against Jose Antonio Abreau on the undercard of Regis Prograis vs. Joel Diaz Jr. in New York. His 25 other bouts have all come inside his home country.
Still, despite few opportunities of being able to showcase himself to the majority of the boxing world, “Revolver” is doing a fine job of climbing the welterweight rankings. He’s 26-0-0 with 21 knockouts, he’s ended 11 of his last 12 opponents early, and only two of those 11 have made it to at least the sixth round.
Lejarraga’s most impressive victory to date came in April when he clashed with British welterweight champion Bradley Skeete. It was supposed to be Lejarraga’s most difficult opponent to date, but he knocked Skeete down three times, earning the second-round TKO and handing Skeete just the second professional loss of his career.
Interestingly enough, Skeete’s other loss came in 2014 against none other than Frankie Gavin, who opposes Lejarraga on Saturday. Since that victory, Gavin has gone just 5-2, but it’s worth noting that the two defeats came against high-level opponents in Kell Brook (6th-round TKO) and Sam Eggington (8th-round TKO).
Unfortunately for Gavin, he missed weight on Friday. The two will still clash, but Lejarraga’s European title will no longer be on the line.
“I’m gutted, to say the least,” Gavin said. “It’s been a nightmare week for me.
“I’ll need to think where I go from here. I have a job to do tomorrow night still though. But I apologise to Kerman, MGZ Promotions, BCB Promotions and all the fans who have made the trip. I will try to make amends with a performance in the ring tomorrow.”
Other fights on the card include a Spanish featherweight title bout between Ibon Larrinaga and Carlos Ramos, and a super welterweight clash between Jorge Fortea and Rafael Chiruta. Roberto Ramirez also looks to follow up his win over former world champion Dejan Zlaticanin when he takes on Oscar Amador.