Welterweight contender Joel Julio returns to the ring on May 16 when he battles veteran Mauro Lucero in an eight round bout from the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Ft. Lauderdale, FL, it was announced today by Main Events CEO Kathy Duva.

Julio (30-1, 28 KO’s) is ranked in the top-5 by all three major world sanctioning organizations: WBC, WBA, and IBF. The 22-year-old Monteria, Colombia native has stopped 20 opponents within the first three rounds. In his last bout on March 30, 2007, Julio punished Thomas Davis on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights� to earn a seventh-round stoppage (KO 7).

Mauro Lucero (42-11-1, 28 KO’s) has won eight of his last nine bouts. The 35-year-old Cuidad Juarez, Mexico native knocked out Martin Avila in five rounds in his last bout on May 19, 2006 (TKO 5).

–from release