Zuffa Boxing
Fight By Fight Preview | Zuffa Boxing 05
The Sweet Science Returns To Las Vegas As Another Stacked Card Arrives At The Meta APEX
Event: Zuffa Boxing 05
Date: Sunday, April 5, 2026
Location: Meta APEX – Las Vegas, NV
Where to Watch: Paramount+
Main Event: Andres Cortes vs Eridson Garcia
Co-Main Event: Mark Magsayo vs Feargal McCrory
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Other Main Card Bout:
Azat Hovhannisyan vs Eduardo Baez
Preliminary Card Bouts:
Alexis De La Cerda vs Ervin Fuller III
Robert Meriwether III vs Tony Hirsch Jr
Jorge Maravillo vs Elias Diaz
Troy Nash vs Bryan Rodriguez
Main Event: Andres Cortes vs Eridson Garcia
Headlining the card is a battle between two fighters with eyes on the prize at 135 pounds.
RELATED: Cortes Ready For The Next Level
Las Vegas native Andres Cortes has built an impressive 24-0 record as he has worked his way up the super-featherweight ladder. But now he’s starting a new chapter with Zuffa Boxing as he moves up to 135 to campaign for a shot at the Zuffa Boxing lightweight title.
Standing in his way is the Dominican Republic’s Eridson Garcia, who arrives in Las Vegas with a 23-1 record having impressed on his last outing in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Garcia was drafted in on short notice to face undefeated Taiga Imanaga on the Night of the Samurai card in Saudi Arabia, where, despite rating his fitness at around 65 percent, he managed knocked down his man in the eighth round to secure a split-decision victory.
Now Garcia is ready to make his Zuffa Boxing bow, and plans to take the 0 from Cortes in Sunday night’s 10-round lightweight main event.
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Co-Main Event: Mark Magsayo vs Feargal McCrory
Lightweights also feature in the co-main event of the evening, as Filipino fan-favorite Mark Magsayo returns to action against Ireland’s Feargal McCrory in a 10-round matchup at 135 pounds.
Former featherweight world champion Magsayo heads into Sunday night with a 28-2 resumé that includes 18 knockouts, plus a 100 percent record in 10-round fights.
The 30-year-old has been away from the ring for more than eight months, but the Las Vegas-based lightweight returns looking to build on a four-fight win streak following back-to-back losses in world title fights.
He’ll face off against McCrory, who is ending a one-year hiatus as he makes his Zuffa Boxing debut. The 33-year-old, who fights out of New York, arrives in Vegas with a 17-1 record, and a reputation for getting into the trenches with his opponents.
McCrory’s lone defeat came in a super featherweight title challenge against Lamont Roach in 2024, but since then, the Irishman has bounced back since, getting off the canvas to stop Keenan Carbajal in the eighth round on St Patrick’s Day 2025.
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With the 33-year-old back in the win column, he heads to the Meta APEX looking to kick off a new chapter in his career.
Main Card Bout: Azat Hovhannisyan vs Eduardo Baez
Opening up the main card is a featherweight matchup btween two seasoned 126-pounders, as Armenia’s Azat Hovhannisyan takes on Mexico’s Eduardo Baez.
It’s a matchup between two divisional gatekeepers who have both unsuccessfully challenged for world titles, and have consistently been given tough matchups. But, despite their punishing schedules, neither fighter has lost to a fighter with more than two losses on their record. Now the pair will go head to head with the winner likely to move one step closer to contendership at 126 pounds.
Hovhannisyan will be boosted by the presence of Hall of Fame trainer Freddie Roach, who is back training him for the second time. The Armenian is 5-1 under Roach’s tutelage, so hopes are high that the partnership can continue that good form. But in Baez they’ll be facing a fighter who cut his teeth as a former sparring parter of former pound-for-pound star Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez.
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Preliminary Card Bouts
Alexis De La Cerda vs Ervin Fuller III
Unbeaten featherweights go head to head in the featured preliminary card bout as Alexis De La Cerda takes on Ervin Fuller III.
Both men are making swift turnarounds to make their Zuffa Boxing debuts, and with both putting their undefeated records on the line, an exciting matchup is expected between two promising young guns at 126 pounds.
Twenty-two-year-old De La Cerda (8-0, 4 KOs) only found out about the fight on March 20 after getting a message from his teammate and Zuffa Boxing 02 main eventer Jose Valenzuela about the opportunity. But despite the short notice, the Federal Way, Washington native is good to go, and ready to make a big impression on his promotional debut.
The same applies to 23-year-old Fuller, who has cruised to a 12-0 (6 KOs) record so far in his career. But against fellow undefeated prospect De La Cerda, he’ll face someone on a similar upward trajectory in a fight that should prove a good test for both men.
Robert Meriwether III vs Tony Hirsch Jr.
After impressing on his Zuffa Boxing debut, undefeated lightweight Robert Meriwether III’s reward was another test against unbeaten opposition.
Meriwether outpointed the previously undefeated Cesar Correa over six rounds at Zuffa Boxing 01. And now the 10-0 21-year-old returns to the Meta APEX to welcome Tony Hirsch Jr to Zuffa Boxing.
These two aren’t playing around‼️@BigKingRobert & @RealTroyNash brought their best to Play Playground!
— Zuffa_Boxing (@Zuffa_Boxing) March 27, 2026
Who do you think took first on the leaderboard? 👇 pic.twitter.com/C07h3PCBeD
Oakland native Hirsch is trained by his father, Tony Hirsch Sr, who was previously a sparring partner for Zuffa Boxing color commentator and pound-for-pound great Andre Ward. Hirsch Jr will look to impress Ward, and the rest of the watching crowd at Meta APEX, when he takes on Meriwether on Sunday night.
Jorge Maravillo vs Elias Diaz
Mexico’s unbeaten Jorge Maravillo gets his shot on the big stage with Zuffa Boxing when he faces Elias Diaz in a battle of California-based welterweight prospects.
Maravillo will step through the ropes with an undefeated 11-0-1 record, with eight knockouts to his name, while Diaz comes in with a slightly more seasoned resumé of 15-3 (8 KOs), though he arrives in Las Vegas looking to bounce back after defeat on the scorecards last time out.
Both men cut their teeth on the Mexican regional scene, and now have the chance to transform their fortunes with a big win in the fight capital of the world.
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Troy Nash vs Bryan Rodriguez
Troy Nash wrote his name into the record books when he became the first fighter to register a win under the Zuffa Boxing banner, and now he returns to the Meta APEX looking to make it two wins from two appearances.
Nash will look to follow up his Zuffa Boxing 01 victory over Jaycob Ramos when he takes on 8-1 prospect Bryan Rodriguez in an eight-round featherweight matchup.
At 20 and 19 years of age, respectively, Nash and Rodriguez represent the next generation of the featherweight division, and they’ll face off in a bid to elevate their Zuffa Boxing stock heading into the summer.