Adrian Curiel was one-half pound lighter for his first title defense than when he won the IBF belt just three months ago.  

The defending titlist and its previously claimant, Sivenathi Nontshinga, were both boxers were within the junior flyweight limit for their IBF title fight rematch on DAZN (Friday, 8:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. local time) from Oaxaca, Mexico. Curiel was 107.4 pounds for his first title defense, while Nontshinga was 107.9 pounds in a bid to regain the belt he lost three months ago.

Curiel was the author of one of the biggest upsets of 2023 when he scored a stunning first-round knockout of the previously unbeaten Nontshinga (12-1, 9KOs) last November 4 in Monte Carlo, Monaco. He entered the fight—his first outside of Mexico—as the slightly heavier challenger at 107.9 pounds. Nontshinga weighed 107.7 pounds ahead of his second attempted title defense.

Mexico City’s Curiel (24-4-1, 5KOs) returns to his home country for Friday’s scheduled twelve-round main event.

Nontshinga last traveled to Mexico in his title-winning effort over then-unbeaten Hector Flores. Their September 2022 scorcher from Hermosillo saw Nontshinga score an early knockdown and ultimately prevail via split decision.

His lone successful defense came in a twelve-round unanimous decision victory over unbeaten mandatory challenger Regie Suganob last July 2 in his hometown of East London, South Africa.

The evening’s co-feature will see Mauricio ‘Bronco’ Lara begin his journey as a junior lightweight contender. The former WBA featherweight titlist was 130.1 pounds for his scheduled ten-round bout versus countryman Daniel Lugo (27-2, 18KOs), who weighed 129.7 pounds.

Mexico City’s Lara (26-3-1, 19KOs) fights for the first time since his lopsided defeat to Leigh Wood in their rematch last May 27 in Manchester, England.

The setback came just three months after his come-from-behind, seventh-round knockout of Wood to win the WBA title last February 18 in Nottingham. Lara entered fight week for the rematch at a weight deemed by the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) as too heavy to safely cut weight and thus lost the title well before the weigh-in.

Below are the weights for the full undercard.

Arturo Popoca (12-0-1, 8KOs), Sahuayo de Morelos, Mexico, 121 pounds vs. Ernesto Garcia (11-3, 10KOs), Zapopan, Mexico, 122 pounds—10 rounds, junior featherweight

Sergio Chirino (21-1, 12KOs), Oaxaca, 128 pounds vs. Dennis Contreras (24-13-1, 22KOs), Guadalajara, 128.7 pounds—10 rounds, featherweight

Criztec Bazaldua (3-0, 1KO), Los Angeles, 135.9 pounds vs. Alejandro Castillo (1-0-1, 0KOs), Cozumel, 135.3 pounds—6 rounds, lightweight  

Federico Pachecho Jr. (5-0, 4KOs), Los Angeles, 255.9 pounds vs. Jose Mario Tamez (4-2, 1KO), Monterrey, Mexico, 230.8 pounds—4 rounds, heavyweight

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. X (formerly Twitter): @JakeNDaBox