LOS ANGELES, February 16 – Unbeaten junior featherweight Randy Caballero is the hottest thing to hit the Southern California fight scene in years and Texas’ Omar Figueroa Jr. is coming off of the defining fight of his undefeated career. Together they will co-headline an exciting night of world class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, Calif. on Friday, March 16 that is a must-see for all boxing fans..
In the 10 round main event, Coachella’s local hero Caballero, who is 8-0 at his home away from home at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, will face an opponent to be determined as he defends his WBC Youth Intercontinental super bantamweight title.
In the co-main event, Weslaco’s Figueroa, who is fresh off of a January 6 fight at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in which he handed rising star Michael Perez his first loss, will take on Mexico’s Ramon Ayala in a 10 round battle for Figueroa’s WBO Intercontinental Youth lightweight title.
Tickets, priced at $25, $35 and $45, are on sale now and available for purchase at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, by calling (800) 827-2946 or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com. Doors at Fantasy Springs will open at 6:00 p.m. PT on fight night and the first bell rings at 6:30 p.m. PT.
The favorite boxing son of Fantasy Springs Resort Casino, where he has won his last seven consecutive bouts (and eight overall), 21-year-old Randy Caballero (13-0, 7 KO’s) has built a sizable local following that gives him an extra jolt of energy every time he fights. In July of 2011, the two-year professional won the vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental super bantamweight title with a near-shutout of then 8-0-1 Alexis Santiago and has defended his title once, shutting down Arturo Santiago over eight rounds last December.
When you’ve ended eight of your wins in two rounds or less, it’s clear that you have the kind of power to draw attention from boxing experts and fans alike. Yet while Omar Figueroa Jr. (14-0-1, 11 KO’s) has been on the boxing world’s radar for a couple of years, it wasn’t until January 6 that everyone got a true dose of the potential that the 22-year-old “Panterita” possesses. It was on that night earlier this year that Figueroa stopped unbeaten and highly regarded fellow prospect Michael “The Artist” Perez in six rounds in the same building in which he will fight on March 16 and the Texan expects the same result against Ramon Ayala.
A respected amateur who is now soaring towards the top of the lightweight division, Ramon “Nino De Oro” Ayala (23-2-1, 11 KO’s) has done a lot of fighting for someone just 23-years-old, but it’s that experience which he expects to lead him to victory when he battles Omar Figueroa in March. Winner of five in a row, including three by knockout, the former WBC Youth junior welterweight champion has the style, desire and skill to give anyone problems in the ring and that’s just what he’s planning on doing to Figueroa on March 16.
Caballero’s opponent and a full lineup of undercard fights will be announced shortly. For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.fantasyspringsresort.com, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/fantasysprings or visit us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing or www.facebook.com/fantasyspringsresort.
Patrick Nielsen named 2011 Danish Boxer of the Year
Up-and-coming middleweight sensation Patrick Nielsen (12-0, 6 KOs) has been named “2011 Boxer of the Year” by the Danish Professional Boxing Federation (DPBF). President Michael Seemann-Hansen honoured the 20-year-old on Wednesday night during the “Før VM-braget – Markussen-Magee” live show on TV3+. “Patrick had a great year,” Seemann-Hansen said. “His performances in the ring have been very successful as he moved up the rankings and even won the junior world title. He is learning very quickly and he is making great progress. We are delighted to honour him with our annual award. He is a great representative for the sport of boxing.”
On Saturday, Nielsen takes on Jozsef “Shatter-Machine” Matolcsi (30-20, 17 KOs) at the first Nordic Fight Night. “I feel honoured to be the Danish Boxer of the Year,” Nielsen said. “2011 was a great year but 2012 will be even better. I will keep climbing up the rankings and I will start on Saturday with a victory over Matolcsi.”
Tickets for the event at Broendby Hall are available at billetnet.dk. The TV3+ broadcast starts at 20h on Saturday night.
JUNIOR WRIGHT HITS WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 21 FOR THIRD PRO FIGHT
CHICAGO, IL (February 15, 2012) Former amateur standout Junior Wright continues his rise as a light heavyweight prospect to watch on Friday, February 24th as he returns to action at Windy City Fight Night 21 at Chicago’s UIC Pavilion.
Windy City Fight Night 21 is presented by Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions, celebrating 14 years as the home of THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING.
The 25-year-old Wright, 2-0-0 (2KO’s) was a three-time Chicago Golden Gloves Champion prior to turning professional last year.
The Evanston, Illinois native burst onto the paid ranks as a light heavyweight on October 7, 2011, with a brutal first round knockout of Darrion Fletcher in Burbank, Illinois. He stayed perfect with another first round knockout of Brandon Bennett on January 13th at the Horseshoe Casino in Elizabeth, Indiana.
“I’m much more comfortable as a pro without the headgear. Everything in the pros is faster and I have much better vision,” said Wright. “In the first two fights I didn’t go looking for the early knockout, but if I see an opportunity to finish the fight early I’ll do it.”
“I’ve studied a lot of pro boxers, my personal favorites are Bernard Hopkins and Andre Ward. They’re both very intelligent fighters and someone that I can learn from.”
Said Pesoli, “I’ve known Junior for many years following him as a amateur. I always thought his style was much better suited to the professional ranks and I’m very excited to see him fight on our upcoming card on February 24th.”
“Our fans always want to know who the next rising star is and Junior truly fits the bill. He’s got sensational knockout power but also has terrific boxing skills that he’s garnered having had so much success as an amateur.”
About his upcoming plans, Wright is highly motivated for 2012, “I want to keep learning and stay busy. Ideally I’d like to fight eight or nine times this year. I’ve done a lot of sparring with Carlos Molina in the last few weeks. He’s possesses terrific movement and is very hard to hit cleanly which has really taught me a great deal.”
Further details on Wright’s bout on February 24th will be announced shortly.
Also featured at Windy City Fight Night 21 are two outstanding clashes, a junior lightweight battle between former world title challenger Edner “Cherry Bomb” Cherry and hard punching Puerto Rican native Guillermo “The Vampire” Sanchez along with a Chicago cross-town showdown with welterweights Adrian ‘EL Tigre” Granados of Cicero, Illinois clashing with Franklin Parks’ Jaime “The Truth” Herrera.
Advance tickets, priced at $31, $51, $76 and $101 are available through Ticketmaster, (www.Ticketmaster.com), the UIC Pavilion Box Office (Phone 312-413-5740) and the 8 Count Productions Office (312-226-5800).
Doors on the night of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, at the corner of Harrison and Racine, just one block south of the Eisenhower Expressway in the West Loop area of Chicago.
8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland.
Fighters currently under the 8 Count Productions banner include; former world title challenger Edner Cherry, super middleweight contender Donovan George, world ranked light heavyweight Andrzej Fonfara, middleweight prospect Viktor Polyakov, junior welterweight prospects Ivan Popoca and Adrian Granados along with welterweights Achour Esho and Jaime Herrera.
For more information on 8 Count Productions please visit their new website, www.8countproductions.com. Follow them on Twitter at 8_Count and Facebook at “8 Count Productions”.
For further information about the UIC Pavilion please visit their website at www.uicpavilion.com. The UIC Pavilion is now serving alcohol at all boxing events.