Noakes and Ursu added to Itauma vs Hrgovic undercard in London

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Sam Noakes and Constantin Ursu have been officially announced for fights on the Moses Itauma vs Filip Hrgovic undercard on August 29 in London. Noakes (18-1, 16 KO) will face former titleholder Denys Berinchyk in a lightweight bout. It’s more of a proper return for the 28-year-old Noakes, who lost a competitive, entertaining fight with Abdullah Mason for the vacant WBO title last November, and had an easy tune-up bout and win on May 3 against a journeyman. Berinchyk (19-1, 9 KO) hasn’t fought since being blown away by Keyshawn Davis, where he lost the WBO belt that wound up vacant for the Mason-Noakes fight. That was in February 2025, and Berinchyk is 38 years old now, so you have to take all of that into account. Moldovan-born, 26-year-old southpaw Ursu (15-0, 6 KO) will defend the British and Commonwealth lightweight titles against 27-year-old Ben Vaughan (12-2, 4 KO), who frankly doesn’t have the most impressive record or best case for a shot at even those domestic belts, but it is worth saying both of his losses have been majority decisions, and sometimes guys like that can be sneaky dangerous. Cruiserweights Aloys Junior and Mike Perez will also square off. Junior, 23, is 11-1 (9 KO) and has won 11 straight after losing his pro debut in late 2021. He’s starting to make a bit of noise, and has already won the Commonwealth title. The 40-year-old Perez (32-3-1, 22 KO) remains a decent fringe contender, having been on the scene for quite a long time now after defecting from Cuba and winding up based in Ireland. The ex-heavyweight hasn’t lost since 2017, when Mairis Briedis beat him, but he also hasn’t exactly been facing the best of the best. Could be an interesting matchup. Even at 40, Perez looks like the trickiest test Aloys has faced to date.