Lauren Blake Previews Cejudo vs. Walton

Lauren Blake has set the stage for a crossover boxing card built around uncertainty, contrasting backgrounds and late changes. Speaking ahead of Misfits Boxing: Cejudo vs. Walton, Blake focused on the central question surrounding Henry Cejudo’s professional boxing debut: how a decorated combat-sports athlete will match up with Javon “Wanna” Walton, a 20-year-old southpaw with a longer boxing background. The event is scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 26, at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, with DAZN set to stream it live beginning at 7 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. PT.

Blake, who has been covering Misfits, did not reduce the main event to a simple UFC-versus-boxing storyline. She called the matchup unusual and emphasized that both men bring a meaningful but different form of experience into the welterweight bout. Cejudo arrives after an Olympic gold medal in wrestling and a run as a two-division UFC champion, yet Saturday marks his first professional boxing appearance. Walton, meanwhile, is known by many viewers for playing Ashtray on Euphoria, but Blake pointed to his boxing development from childhood and his undefeated 3-0-1 professional record. That distinction gives the fight a clearer frame than celebrity appeal alone: it is a debut for one athlete and a high-profile test for another.

Blake sees more than a novelty main event

Blake described Cejudo as a combat-sports legend and said the appeal of the fight comes partly from how unusual it is. Her view centers on Cejudo’s ability to compete at a high level, read opponents and adjust under pressure. She identified his competitive edge as an intangible shaped by years of intense training, Olympic success and his UFC accomplishments. Those qualities, in Blake’s assessment, are advantages worth watching as Cejudo enters a boxing setting for the first time. At the same time, Blake stressed that Walton should not be treated as an actor stepping into the ring merely for attention. She said he is “grossly underestimated” and noted that he has been developed as a boxer since he was young. Walton’s 3-0-1 record provides the confirmed professional boxing context behind that point. Blake’s preview therefore places the intrigue in the clash of credentials: Cejudo brings broad elite combat-sports experience, while Walton brings youth, southpaw positioning and a more established background in the sport governing this contest.

The route to the main event also matters to Blake’s framing of Saturday night. Walton was not originally scheduled to compete on the card. He became Cejudo’s opponent after Deen The Great withdrew because of injury. That change gives Walton an immediate opportunity on a major stage opposite an athlete with Cejudo’s resume, while Cejudo must prepare for a different opponent in his professional boxing debut. Blake’s point is not that either side has a guaranteed advantage. Rather, the late replacement adds another layer to a matchup already defined by contrasting experience. It also explains why she repeatedly characterized the bout as difficult to simplify and said its outcome will be interesting to watch.

Lauren Blake also flags Ferguson’s change

Blake’s look at the card extends beyond the main event to Tony Ferguson’s Misfits middleweight title defense. Ferguson is now scheduled to face Mahmoud Sebie after another opponent change. The confirmed adjustment leaves Ferguson preparing for a new opponent on short notice, while Sebie enters a major opportunity with limited preparation time. Sebie brings his own combat-sports background to the matchup as a former Olympic Greco-Roman wrestler with professional MMA experience. Ferguson, according to the event context, has already competed twice under the Misfits Boxing banner and is making his first defense of the middleweight title. Blake’s overview presents that contest as another crossover bout that cannot be neatly categorized by one participant’s prior discipline. The opponent change is central because it alters the immediate preparation challenge without changing the fact that Ferguson is defending the title. For Blake, the wider card reflects the model Misfits has established: fighters, creators and personalities gathered around unconventional matchups intended to create discussion. Her preview keeps the focus on what can actually be measured before the opening bell—who changed opponents, who is making a debut, and what each fighter’s documented background brings into the ring.

• Main-event context: Cejudo is making his professional boxing debut, while Walton enters with a 3-0-1 professional boxing record and training dating to childhood.
• Card-change context: Walton replaced injured original opponent Deen The Great, and Ferguson is set to defend his Misfits middleweight title against Mahmoud Sebie after a separate opponent change.

Lauren Blake’s preview gives the Miami card its essential context without pretending the answers are already known. She sees Cejudo’s combat IQ and elite competitive background as important, but she also places real weight on Walton’s professional boxing preparation and undefeated record. With Walton elevated after Deen The Great’s injury withdrawal and Ferguson facing Sebie after another late alteration, the card carries more than one question shaped by change. Misfits Boxing: Cejudo vs. Walton is set for Saturday at the James L. Knight Center in Miami, streaming on DAZN from 7 p.m. ET and 4 p.m. PT.