Ra’eese Aleem Returns to Keyshawn Davis-Gustavo Lemos Undercard; He will now campaign at Featherweight
A new beginning awaits Ra’eese Aleem.
The longtime junior featherweight contender will move up in weight and in a new area. Aleem will face Derlyn Hernandez-Gerardo on Friday at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. Their scheduled ten-round featherweight fight will be part of ESPN+’s undercard broadcast, Carl Moretti, Top Rank’s Vice President of Boxing Operations, confirmed to The Ring.
“This is his fight that will be broadcast live on ESPN+ on the undercard of the Davis-Lemos fight,” Moretti told The Ring. “We’ll check on him and go from there.”
The main event of the Top Rank card will be a lightweight clash between Keyshawn Davis and Gustavo Lemos (ESPN+, 6:20 pm ET/ 3:20 pm PT).
Aleem, 34, is determined to get back into the ring and make a name for himself.
“Winning (on Friday night) would mean everything to me after being out of work for a year and a half,” Aleem told The Ring on Monday morning. “I have to overcome this (for me). And 126 pounds is a new division (I’ll be fighting there).
Aleem (20-1, 12 knockouts), who now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada, has not fought since losing by split decision to Sam Goodman on June 18 last year. The Goodman-Aleem fight was a clash of junior featherweights ranked in the top 10 by The Ring.
In his last fight in September 2022, Aleem defeated veteran Mike Plana by unanimous decision. Aleem also has wins over Eduardo Baez, Vic Pasillas, and Marcus Bates. All three opponents had a combined record of 47-2-3, before facing Aleem.
Aleem fought under Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) for several months, also fighting on Showtime and FOX.
Friday is the interview.
“I am still a free agency for promotion. I don’t sign with anyone.”
Hernandez-Gerarldo (12-2-1, 10 KOs) stopped former world champion Christopher Diaz in the second round of his last fight on July 13. The 31-year-old Dominican—based in San Juan, Puerto Rico—has won his last five since losing to Miguel Vasquez in August 2021.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has handled boxing in Southern California and internationally since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. They can be reached at [email protected]
