By Francisco Salazar

Light heavyweight Justin Thomas will face veteran Kevin Engel Saturday night at the Belle of Baton Rouge in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

The eight round bout will headline a World Fighting Championship card.

Thomas (18-3, 7 KOs), who resides in Baton Rouge, was stopped in his last bout on Sept. 9 by unbeaten Ali Akhmedov. Earlier this year on Feb. 16, Thomas lost a majority decision to contender Mike Lee.

Saturday night will mark the 15th time Thomas will fight at the Belle of Baton Rouge, where he has only lost once.

Engel (20-15, 16 KOs), who resides in Saint Louis, Missouri, has lost his last nine bouts, a span of almost five years.

In an intriguing junior welterweight bout, Chris Singleton will square off against Bill Hutchinson in an eight round bout.

Singleton (18-4-2, 8 KOs), who also resides in Baton Rouge, defeated veteran Gary Bergeron by decision in his last bout on July 22. Six months prior to the Bergeron fight, Singleton lost by unanimous decision to Herbert Acevedo, snapping a four-bout unbeaten streak.

Hutchinson (14-2-4, 7 KOs) knocked out Victor Abreu on Aug. 12 in his hometown of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The 28-year-old Hutchinson has won his last four bouts.

In middleweight action, Ravshan Hudaynazarov will face David Thomas in an eight round bout.

Hudaynazarov (17-0, 13 KOs), who is from Uzbekistan and now resides in Las Vegas, will be returning to the ring for the second time in almost four years. Hudaynazarov's most notable win was against Euri Gonzalez in June of 2012.

Thomas (10-9-2, 8 KOs), who resides in Evansville, Indiana, has lost his last eight bouts.

Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing