(March 28th) Eduardo ‘Rocky’ Hernandez makes his return to the ring against Daniel Lugo at Palenque de la Féria National de San Marcos in Aguascalientes, Mexico on Saturday May 11, live worldwide on DAZN, with Erika Cruz defending her WBA World Super-Bantamweight title against Nazarena Romero.

Hernandez (34-2 31 KOs) was part of one of the fights of the year in October when he took on O’Shaquie Foster for the WBC World Super-Featherweight title, falling agonizingly short in Cancun after an incredible 11thround led to a final round stoppage win for defending champion Foster, with Hernandez ahead on the cards.

The 26 year old will be determined to return to winning ways as he plots a path towards another shot at World honors, but Lugo (27-2-1 18 KOs) has his own plans to gatecrash the party at 130lbs, and facing Rocky in an all-Mexican battle over 12 rounds live on DAZN represents the biggest night of the 29 year old’s career.

“People have been counting me out since my loss,” said Hernandez. “On May 11, I will make a statement – ‘Rocky Never Left’.”

“First and foremost, I would like to thank God, Matchroom, Paco Damián and my team for another amazing opportunity,” said Lugo. “We are back in the gym working hard and preparing for war. Rocky Hernandez is one of the best fighters in my division, however, I am up for the challenge.

“I know the importance of this fight, a win over Rocky Hernandez will open up many great opportunities. For all the boxing fans that will be watching on DAZN, we will give you a Mexican war.”

The co-feature of the night sees Cruz defend her WBA strap for the first time against mandatory challenger Romero.

Cruz (17-2 3 KOs) became a two-weight World ruler by taking the title from Mayerlin Rivas in November, outworking the champion in Los Angeles to claim the crown via majority decision. Cruz previously held the WBA belt at Featherweight before taking on Puerto Rican star Amanda Serrano in an epic undisputed battle in New York in February 2023, with Serrano coming out on top in a memorable clash.

‘Dinamita’ is excited to be getting back into action and putting her belt on the line, and intends to put the rest of the champions at Super-Bantamweight on notice.

“I'm stepping into the ring not just to defend my title, but to conquer,” said Cruz. “Romero may be the mandatory opponent, but my sights are set on bigger dreams. Yamileth Mercado, Ellie Scotney, Segolene Lefebvre - I'm coming for all the belts. Romero won't be the one to stand in the way of my destiny. Viva Mexico!”

Romero (13-0-1 7 KOs) gets a second crack at a title that looked well within her grasp at the halfway stage of her clash with former champion Rivas in June. The Argentine welcomed Rivas to Buenos Aires and floored the champion in the third round before an accidental headclash led to a nasty cut above Romero’s left eye, and the fight was ruled a technical draw.

The 29 year old gets the chance to get her hands on the title once again, and travels to Mexico to spoil Cruz’s plans.

“I think my time has come,” said Romero. “In my life nothing was, is, or will be easy. I was born for this, and I feel like the best of all. I prepare like a champion; I think like a champion, and I need to live like a champion.”

“Our Mexico shows have been a revelation and this promises to be no exception,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “The championship rounds that Rocky and O’Shaquie served up in October were sensational. Rocky has not gone away to feel sorry for himself, he’s redoubled his efforts and is more determined than ever to reach the very top, starting with an all-Mexican war against Lugo on May 11.

“I can’t wait for the clash between Erika and Nazarena, which promises to be so explosive. Erika guarantees excitement every time she steps through the ropes and Nazarena will be desperate to get her hands on the title at the second attempt; all the ingredients are there for a classic.”

An announcement on ticket on-sale dates will be made soon.

About DAZN Group
DAZN Group is one of the fastest growing sports media companies in the world. Headquartered in the UK and with employees in over 25 countries, our businesses touch every aspect of the way fans engage with sports; from production, through to content distribution and commercialization. DAZN Group is home to DAZN, the leading global sport destination, as well as the popular sport portal, DAZN News. DAZN is leading the charge to give sports fans around the world access to sport anytime, anywhere. DAZN guarantees affordable access on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles. DAZN is now live in more than 200 countries and territories after first launching in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and Japan in 2016.

DAZN is a leading digital sports platform in Italy, Spain, Germany, Belgium, Portugal, Japan, Canada, US and the UK.  Its wide range of exclusive content includes top-flight football from the world’s most popular competitions – Bundesliga, English Premier League, J.League, LaLiga, Serie A, and the UEFA Champions League, in addition to the biggest sports from around the world - Formula 1, NFL, NBA, MotoGP and the UFC.  

DAZN is the NFL’s global partner and, from the 2023 season, will be the only place for fans around the world to watch every NFL match. DAZN is a global home for boxing and combat sports through its partnerships with Matchroom Boxing the Professional Fighters League. With the most authentic voice in the sport, DAZN is the only brand that can reach across all markets and audiences cohesively in boxing, unlike any other broadcaster. DAZN is also a global home for Women’s Football with UEFA Women’s Champions League and Finetwork Liga F.  DAZN is adding more and more sport to its platform to create a destination for sports fans.  

DAZN is reimagining the way people enjoy sport. With a single, frictionless platform, sports fans can watch, bet, play, share, socialise, and buy tickets, NFTs and merchandise. Live and on-demand sports content, anywhere, in any language, on any device – only on DAZN.  

DAZN is a global, privately-owned company with employees in over 25 countries.

DAZN is available on most connected devices including smart TVs, set-top boxes, streaming sticks, smartphones, tablets, PCs and game consoles, ensuring that fans have access to ground-breaking rights catalogue and slate of incredible content. In the UK and globally, DAZN can be accessed on Samsung, LG, Sony and Panasonic Smart TVs and on Games Consoles including Playstation and Xbox. Subscribers also have access to DAZN on their Amazon Fire TV, Amazon Fire TV Stick, Google Chromecast and Apple TV and find the app on their iPhone, iPad, android and mobile.  

About Matchroom Boxing

After the success of snooker in the 1980s, Matchroom Sport moved into boxing with two small hall shows followed by Frank Bruno v Joe Bugner at Tottenham Hotspur’s ground – the biggest boxing event of 1987. That launched the company into the boxing big-time, a position it has maintained ever since.

Through the 1990s Matchroom Sport’s boxing roster featured many of the biggest names in the sport including Lennox Lewis, Nigel Benn, Chris Eubank, Steve Collins and Naseem Hamed, all in world title fights and it continues to work with some of the biggest names in UK boxing including Audley Harrison, the 2000 Olympic Super-Heavyweight gold medalist.

Over the years, Matchroom Sport has built up long-standing relationships with broadcasters around the world and with the advent of the Prizefighter phenomenon, the company’s boxing division has never been in a stronger position.

From fantastic six round scraps between the sport’s journeymen, up to multi-million-dollar World Championship contests featuring the above fighters, the Pro Box series has it all. Each show is packed with the very best in boxing action in a series that encompasses almost 25 years of Matchroom Sport’s commitment to bringing the highest quality to the global television market.