Saucedo gets November title fight in hometown

It’s official — Oklahoma City’s Alex Saucedo will fight for a world title in his hometown.

Top Rank Boxing announced final details of the championship bout Thursday. World Boxing Organization junior welterweight champion Maurice Hooker will make his first title defense against Saucedo on Nov. 16 at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

The bout will begin at 11 p.m. and be featured in a live one-fight broadcast on ESPN and ESPN Deportes.

Tickets start at $35 and will go on sale Oct. 5.

The undercard, which will start at 5:30 p.m., has yet to be announced in its entirety, but Top Rank tells The Oklahoman that Oklahoma natives Aaron Morales and Trey LippeMorrison are scheduled to be on the card.

The main event, though, will be the title fight.

“I am very excited for this huge opportunity at home,” Saucedo said in a statement. “It doesn’t get better than fighting for the title in front of

the home crowd. It’s a blessing.”

Saucedo paved his way to the title bout with a TKO win over Lenny Zappavigna earlier this year at The Peake. It was a bloody, exciting sevenround battle. Some boxing observers quickly dubbed it the fight of the year.

Saucedo talked then about how it had long been his dream to fight at the arena, a place not far from his home on the south side of Oklahoma City and yet a venue that never had a boxing event.

Now, it will host a second one this year — and a title bout at that.

“Only one world champion has come from my city,” Saucedo said, referencing former world lightweight boxing champ Sean O’Grady. “I am going to be the second.”

Saucedo is 28-0 with 18 knockouts during his seven-year pro career.

Hooker, 24-0-3 with 16 knockouts, claimed the vacant WBO title in June with a split decision over Terry Flanagan. The champ will be defending his title for the first time in the fight against Saucedo.

“He will find out why I am world champion,” said Hooker, a native of Dallas. “I don’t care where I fight. The ring is my home.”