It's fight week in Las Vegas with Roy Jones Jr.'s Knockout Night at the D coming Friday, Nov. 18.

The event features an incredibly intriguing matchup between two former national amateur champions who are both 2-0 as professionals, as Marina "Rocky" Ramirez of Palma, Idaho, meets Natalie Gonzalez of Bronx, New York, in a four-round fight in the junior flyweight division.  The fight will headline the undercard of the "Knockout Night at the D" card and will be shown exclusively worldwide on FloBoxing.tv, starting at 8:30 pm CST.       



In boxing, it's rare to see two decorated amateurs meet in only their third bouts, but with the number of women's professional fighters in the United States, Roy Jones Jr's matchmaker Guy Taylor seized the opportunity to make such a compelling matchup.  

"Marina Ramirez vs. Natalie Gonzalez is one of the most even match ups of the evening," he said. "Both women have almost identical amateur wins (over 80 wins combined), experience and accolades. It's rare you find such skilled fighters fighting each other at this early stage of their career. Marina Ramirez is a proud Mexican-American and Natalie Gonzalez is a proud Puerto Rican, [so] adding that to the equation of an already intriguing matchup, fight fans are going to see a real great battle in every sense of the word. This matchup isn't just good for 'women's boxing,' this even type of matchup is good for boxing in general."

Ramirez echoed Taylor's sentiments. 

"I'm really excited to be boxing again in my hometown on another exciting Roy Jones Jr Promotions showcase," she said. "I will be taking on a very tough undefeated opponent out of New York, and we are both looking to derail one another's undefeated records. But my team and I have had a great training camp and are extremely confident that we will be victorious come Friday night!"

Natalie Gonzalez's trainer Ryan O'Leary is excited for the matchup and knows the risk both fighters are taking.  

"We've been training hard," he said. "She's strong as hell.  These girls are virtually identical as far as amateur accolades.  Same size and everything.  They almost look the same.  It's a great fight.  We would have liked to have it later on in her career, but win or lose for either girl they're going to get respect for stepping up so soon.  We're expecting a real strong battle."  

Natalie Gonzalez, who is already in Las Vegas for the fight, feels Friday night can't come soon enough. 

"I came from New York, and I'm excited for this fight," she said. "I'm here to bring the pressure and throw power punches.  My coach has told me a few things about my opponent.  She throws some 1-2s and I'm ready to step in and counter with combos.  I'm just really excited for the fight to get here."  

Also featured on the undercard will be the second pro fight of Juan Sanchez out of Allentown, Penn.  Sanchez is the son of the late fighter Agapito Sanchez, who boxing fans will remember for his fights in the 1990s and 2000s against Juan Manuel Marquez, Marcos Antonio Barrera and a technical draw with boxing legend Manny Pacquaio.  Many boxing insiders are high on the potential of Juan Sanchez.  Look for an explosive performance on Friday night.

Watch Roy Jones Jr's Knockout Night at the D live Friday, Nov. 18, right here.