Oct. 12--Featherweight champion Gary Russell Jr. was originally aimed at defending his belt a week before Halloween in Southern California.
Conflicts prevented that, and officials confirmed to The Times on Monday that Russell (26-1, 15 knockouts) will fight Colombia's Oscar Escandon (24-2, 16 KOs) in a World Boxing Council title bout Nov. 14 at Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas.
Showtime will televise the Premier Boxing Champions card.
Russell, who lost his shot at a vacant World Boxing Organization featherweight belt by unanimous decision to Vasyl Lomachenko in June 2014, rebounded to gain the WBC belt in March with a fourth-round technical knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez at StubHub Center in Carson.
The late-October scheduling void in the Southland was filled by Golden Boy Promotions' Oct. 23 card at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, where the bouts will include unbeaten super-bantamweight Joseph Diaz (17-0, 10 knockouts) and unbeaten super-lightweight Frankie Gomez (18-0, 13 knockouts).
Diaz, a 2012 U.S. Olympian from South El Monte, will meet Ruben Tamayo (25-6-4) and East Los Angeles' Gomez will fight Jorge Silva (21-9-2).
