Mark Breland vs. Marlon Starling was a professional boxing match contested on August 22, 1987, for the WBA welterweight title.

[3] After his victory, Breland disclosed that he had broken his left hand in the first round which would require surgery and delay his first title defense for the time being.

[4] Breland would return to the ring July winning a non-title tune-up fight before it was announced that he would face the WBA's number-one ranked contender Marlon Starling in August.

Starling's manager Donnie Bowers tried to nullify Breland's hometown advantage by attempting to have the fight moved elsewhere, though he was unsuccessful.

[8] Breland used his height and reach advantage over built up a commanding lead on all three scorecards as he landed frequent jabs on the smaller Sterling.