Ex-UFC champion Jose Aldo books third pro boxing match for July
Jose Aldo met Jeremy Stephens in his most recent boxing match | Photo via Phil Lambert, Gamebred Boxing
Former UFC and WEC champion Jose Aldo will return to the boxing ring on July 2 to face Esteban Gabriel as the main event attraction of Shooto Boxing, company president Andre Pederneiras announced Thursday.
Aldo expected to book a mid-year exhibition match with Floyd Mayweather in Saudi Arabia, but he changed plans after fighting to a draw with fellow UFC vet Jeremy Stephens at the Gamebred Boxing show in April.
Aldo, who hung up his MMA gloves in 2022 with a record of 31-8, currently holds a record of 1-0-1 in boxing with a decision victory over Emmanuel Zambrano this past February.
According to record-keeping website BoxRec, Argentina's Gabriel has yet to win a boxing match, going 0-1-1 in professional bouts in 2022 after losing his sole amateur contest in 2019.
Aldo told MMA Fighting after his most recent match they planned on competing against lighter opponents. Shooto Boxing did not announce the weight limit for Aldo vs. Gabriel.
"I wanted to build a career in boxing like everybody does, to start against easier opponents and earn experience until you get there," Aldo said at the time. "But given the name I have, it's hard to take the same path everybody else does. We're trying to choose the right fight. Jeremy was way heavier than me now. I was at 157 pounds when I went to the arena on fight night, and he was over 177. There was a huge difference."
The card will also feature a boxing match between Hernani Perpetuo and Leonardo Guimaraes.
Perpetuo, a veteran of UFC and ONE appearances, knocked out Ildemar Alcantara in the undercard of Aldo's boxing debut in Rio de Janeiro. Guimarães, an ex-UFC middleweight, dropped a decision to Antonio Rogerio Nogueira in a boxing exhibition in 2022.
Ex-UFC champion Jose Aldo books third pro boxing match for July originally appeared on NBC Sports
