Junior lightweight Thomas Mattice returns to action tonight against Jessie Cris Rosales at the Civic Center in his hometown of Cleveland Heights, Ohio. The eight-round bout will headline a five-bout card that will stream live on Facebook Pay-Per-View by way of the Pulse Boxing page (8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

Mattice (17-3-1, 13 knockouts) last fought on November 5, losing a close unanimous decision to Luis Melendez in Las Vegas. Some boxing insiders thought Mattice did enough to win the fight.

The 31-year-old, who is promoted by Vic Green, fought in Cleveland Heights in his previous fight on June 19, stopping gatekeeper Deivi Julio in the fourth round.  

Some of Mattice’s most notable fights as a pro took place on the ShoBox series. He lost a close majority decision to lightweight contender Isaac Cruz in February 2020 and won by technical knockout over previously-unbeaten Michael Dutchover in September 2019.

Rosales (23-4-1, 10 KOs) who resides in Cebu City in The Philippines, defeated journeyman Junny Salogoal in his last bout on December 17. The 30-year-old has lost his previous three fights, all of them to then-unbeaten prospects, including Shakur Stevenson, Tyler McCreary, and Xavier Martinez. 

In the co-feature, Antonio Nieves, who also resides in Cleveland, will square off against unbeaten Judy Flores of The Philippines.

Nieves (19-3-2, 11 KOs) has not fought since losing a close decision to Joshua Greer in October 2019. He challenged then-WBO junior bantamweight titleholder Naoya Inoue in September 2017, losing by knockout after the sixth round.

He has won twice in his last five bouts.

Flores (10-0, 6 KOs) will take a significant step-up in opposition. In his last bout on July 16, the 23-year-old stopped Isagani Saludar in the third round. He has stopped six of his last seven opponents.

Welterweight Steven Galeano (9-0, 6 KOs) of The Bronx, New York will face Brazil’s Vitor Jones (16-7, 10 KOs) in a six-round bout.

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