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Gonzalez vs. Pastrana Headlines
"Solo Boxeo" card in May 16
May 10, 2008 |
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LOS ANGELES, May 10 – The super bantamweight
division may be in for a shakeup on Friday, May 16, as four of the
division’s most exciting battlers will be in action in pivotal bouts on
TeleFutura’s ‘Solo Boxeo’ from the Morongo Casino Resort & Spa in Cabazon,
California.
Headlining the card, which is presented by Golden Boy Promotions, is a
ten-round clash between former World Champions Jhonny Gonzalez and Mauricio
Pastrana. In the ten-round co-feature, hot prospect Antonio Escalante
squares off against David Martinez.
Tickets, priced at $125, $75 and $35, can be purchased at the Morongo Casino
Resort & Spa Box Office at (951) 755-5391 or online at www.ticketmaster.com.
Doors open at 4pm and the first bell rings at 4:30pm.
The TeleFutura ‘Solo Boxeo’ broadcast begins at 8pm ET / PT (delayed on the
west coast).
Perhaps the hardest punching lower weight fighters in the world today is
Mexico City’s Jhonny Gonzalez (37-6, 31 KOs), who has specialized in the art
of the knockout for years. A former WBO Bantamweight World Champion who owns
wins over former World Champions Mark ‘Too Sharp’ Johnson and Ratanachai Sor
Vorapin as well as current World Champion Fernando Montiel, the 26-year-old
Gonzalez is currently on a three-fight winning streak that he hopes to
extend on May 16. Standing in his way is former World Champion Mauricio
Pastrana (34-8-2, 22 KOs), a warrior who is battle-tested at the highest
levels of the game. Two fights removed from a huge 8th round TKO win over
Antonio Escalante, Pastrana knows that a win over Gonzalez will put him
right back in the super bantamweight title picture.
Twenty-two-year-old super bantamweight Antonio Escalante (17-2, 10 KOs) has
earned a well-deserved reputation as a fighter that will one day wear a
championship belt around his waist. Winner of three in a row since an upset
loss to former two-division world champion Mauricio Pastrana in January of
2007, Escalante is closing in on his first world title shot which he hopes
will come later in 2008. Before that happens, he has to get by Albuquerque’s
always tough David Martinez (18-3-1, 3 KOs), a former WBC Youth and WBC
Intercontinental Mundo Hispano titleholder.
In undercard action, Mexico City’s Eduardo Escobedo (20-3, 14 KOs) will see
action in an eight round featherweight bout; knockout artist Javier Castro
(15-2, 13 KOs) takes on an opponent to be determined in a six round junior
welterweight fight; undefeated heavyweights Ashanti Jordan (3-0, 3 KOs) and
Hildo Silva (4-0, 1 KO) clash in what promises to be a six-round war;
unbeaten lightweight prospect and local favorite Michael Franco risks his
clean record (10-0, 7 KOs) in a six round bout against Jaime Gutierrez (3-1)
of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico; and Riverside flyweight Anthony Villareal
(7-2, 4 KOs) will face Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico native Cesar Grajeda (4-0)
in a four rounder. |
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