Joe Murphy’s loss will be Jared “The Jackhammer” Papazian’s gain.
After Murphy suffered a rib injury in training and was forced to withdraw from his scheduled World Series of Fighting 4 bout with John Robles (7-1), Papazian (15-10) answered the call and has agreed to serve as a replacement opponent on just two weeks’ notice.
Joe Murphy injured, Jared Papazian steps in at World Series of Fighting 4
Papazian and Robles now meet in a bantamweight contest at “World Series of Fighting 4: Spong vs. DeAnda” on Aug. 10 at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario, Calif. Adding intrigue to the contest, both men consider the other a friend, and the two have remained in contact through text and social media since the fight was booked.
The bout takes place on the evening’s preliminary card, which streams on World Series of Fighting’s official website, WSOF.com, ahead of the NBC Sports Network-televised main card.
Fighting as a professional since 2008, Papazian is best-known for past clashes with world-class talent such as Abel Cullum, Mike Easton, Tim Elliott and Dustin Pague. A California native, Papazian is a former King of the Cage 135-pound champion and now makes his first World Series of Fighting appearance. Meanwhile, Robles also makes his World Series of Fighting debut. The 30-year-old Californian, who owns six knockouts in his seven career wins, has been training at New Mexico’s famed Jackson-Winkeljohn MMA ahead of the matchup.
Murphy, who suffered the first loss of his professional career in a controversial World Series of Fighting 3 contest, will fight again for the promotion in the near future. However, an immediate schedule for his return has not yet been established.
The NBC Sports Network-televised World Series of Fighting 4 card features a light heavyweight showdown between world kickboxing champion turned unbeaten MMA upstart Tyrone “King of the Ring” Spong and fellow hard-hitting knockout artist Angel “The Dream” DeAnda.
Tickets for the huge, 10-fight event start at just $29 and are on sale at AXS.com, the Citizens Business Bank Arena box office and charge-by-phone at (888) 929-7849.
