Undercard expected to pack punch

The hype machine that usually is reserved for main event fights was cranked up by Golden Boy Promotions for the undercard of the July 31 junior welterweight rematch between Juan Manuel Marquez and Juan Diaz at Mandalay Bay.

Calling it the best undercard in the company’s history, GBP chief executive officer Richard Schaefer announced three fights in support of Marquez-Diaz II.

Daniel Jacobs (20-0, 17 knockouts), one of Golden Boy’s rising stars, will meet Dmitry Pirong (16-0, 13 KOs) in a 12-round bout for the vacant WBO middleweight belt.

Robert Guerrero, a three-time world champion who returned to the ring this spring after taking time off to be with wife Casey in her battle with leukemia, will face former world champion Joel Casamayor in a 10-round junior welterweight fight. In the other main undercard fight, veteran lightweight Rocky Juarez will meet Jorge Linares in a 10-round bout.

“When we made the announcement for Marquez-Diaz, I said we were committed to putting a great undercard together,” Schaefer said. “I wanted to keep my word. I also want to set a trend — a top-to-bottom card that fans can be proud of.”

The card can use a boost, as ticket sales have been slow. As of Thursday, 2,000 tickets had been sold despite prices ranging from $50 to $350. Mandalay Bay’s Events Center, which normally holds 12,000, probably will be scaled back to 7,000 to hide the empty seats. Also, HBO Pay-Per-View is televising the fight, and Schaefer hopes the undercard will entice fans to spend the $49.95 for the telecast.

“We’re hoping we can do between 300,000 and 500,000 buys,” he said.

Golden Boy has invested $4 million in the card, and unless things pick up at the box office and the PPV numbers hit their projected mark, Marquez-Diaz II could be a financial nightmare.

“This is key to us,” Golden Boy president Oscar De La Hoya said. “Not just to keep our existing boxing fans but also to bring new fans to the sport.

“We didn’t care how much money we spent. We want the fans to be happy.”

■ MAGDALENO RETURNS — Las Vegas 119-pound amateur champion Jesse Magdaleno will return to the ring July 12 as he competes in the USA Boxing National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Magdaleno, the 2009 national Golden Gloves champ who fights out of Barry’s Boxing Gym, broke a bone in his left foot in February while on a training run in Mount Charleston with older brother Diego, sidelining him for four months. He missed this year’s Golden Gloves but has recovered to fight at the nationals, which will be at the U.S. Olympic Training Center.

■ MARGARITO ON AGENDA — In the event the Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. fight doesn’t materialize, Plan B is for Pacquiao to possibly fight Antonio Margarito on Nov. 13.

To that end, Margarito is expected to ask to be licensed by the Nevada Athletic Commission when it meets Friday. California’s commission suspended Margarito for a year after an illegal substance was found in his hand wraps before his Jan. 24, 2009, fight with Shane Mosley, which Mosley won in a ninth-round technical knockout.

Margarito returned to the ring May 8, defeating Roberto Garcia. But that fight was in Mexico. He last fought in Nevada on July 26, 2008, when he stopped Miguel Cotto in the 11th round at the MGM Grand Garden.

Contact reporter Steve Carp at scarp@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2913.