The streaming portion of the Mario Barrios vs. Manny Pacquiao undercard will feature the return of former WBC featherweight champion Gary Russell Jnr in his first fight in three years when he faces Hugo Castañeda in a ten-round lightweight bout.
The card will take place on July 19 at MGM Grand in Las Vegas, with the final three fights of the card to be broadcasted live on Amazon Prime pay-per-view, with the three fights before that streaming on Amazon Prime.
Russell Jnr, 31-2 (18 KOs), hasn’t fought since losing his title to Mark Magsayo in January of 2022 by majority decision. He will face the 23-year-old Hugo Castañeda, 15-2-1 (11 KOs), of Reynosa, Mexico. Castañeda last fought in April, losing by fourth round stoppage to prospect Demler Zamora.
I’m ready to shake off the dust and entertain by doing what I love. Make sure you tune in to see me do my thing,” said the 37-year-old Russell of Capitol Heights, Maryland.
"This is a huge opportunity for me and I'm coming to take full advantage of it," said Castañeda. "I know that I'm facing a great fighter who's accomplished a lot, but I have everything it takes to get the victory. I'm training hard to be at my best and show everyone what I can do on July 19."
David Picasso 31-0-1 (17 KOs), of Mexico City will face Kyonosuke Kameda, 15-4-2 (9 KOs), of Osaka, Japan in a ten-round junior featherweight fight.
“Facing Kameda will be a tremendous challenge, but I’m preparing diligently so that I walk out of the ring with my hands raised on July 19. I’m ready to show the world what we’re made of and move closer to a year-end title opportunity,” said Picasso.
"I've gained great experience from my last fight and I'm going to bring it into the ring against Picasso. I come from a family of world champions and I know that I have to do whatever it takes to get my hand raised,” added Kameda.
Magsayo, who is co-promoted by Pacquiao and TGB Promotions, will face Mexico’s Jorge Mata in a ten-round junior lightweight fight. The 30-year-old Magsayo, 27-2 (18 KOs), of Tagbilaran City, Philippines has won three straight fights since moving up to 130lbs after losing his WBC featherweight title, while the 24-year-old Mata, 21-2-2 (13 KOs), of Guadalajara, Mexico has won five straight.
“I’m extremely grateful to my whole team for the opportunity. It’s surreal to be training and fighting alongside Manny every day. It brings back memories of being eight-years-old and watching him fight for the first time. Even with all of this, I’m locked in on my goal of becoming a two division world champion. I can’t wait to step into the ring and give the fans an exciting fight. I feel great at this weight and I know that I’m facing a tough Mexican fighter. We’re both going to be ready to give the fans fireworks on July 19,” said Magsayo.
"This is going to be another great toe-to-toe Mexico vs. Philippines battle," said Mata. "I'm extremely motivated to be facing a former champion like Magsayo on a huge event headlined by Manny Pacquiao. On July 19, I'll leave it all in the ring and give the fans a fight that they're going to love."
