Carlos Alcocer to bring first of at least 5 cards a year to Gateway City on June 17th

Laredo is quietly becoming one of the premier fight cities. It has an impassioned and knowledgeable fan base that supports its local fighters. At the same time the "Gateway City" is producing several elite-level fighters such as Jorge Castaneda, Josh Juarez, and Nick Molina, in the amateur ranks, Jennifer Lozano has become a national and international champion and is currently representing Team USA in Turkey. There's a ton of talent for a city of around 250,000 people and now there's a promoter, a former fighter, who knows the industry inside and out, who wants to big that talent to the world championship stage. Former fighter and Laredo resident Carlos Alcocer founded Alcocer Entertainment and plans on bringing at least five fights a year to the Gateway City. Alcocer stated "that's what I am trying to do with my promotions give them at least five fights a year and get their records up. I know I can help the guys get their record up, I can protect my own from Laredo and give them a pathway to a championship and not just throw them to the lions"

The loyal fan base will certainly support more boxing shows and consistently show up for their Laredo fighters. There is something about Laredo fighters that is unique in boxing today. They simply aren't afraid to take the toughest fights. They aren't trying to take easy fights and build their record, they'll fight anyone, anytime. as Alcocer described "Everyone wants to watch a video on the opponent, check him out see some flaws but these Laredo fighters are ready to fight...They're not scared of anyone, it's a pretty tough city"

As for the night's main event, it's an intriguing and competitive fight between local fan favorite Jorge Ramos (7-3-1) vs Alec Magee (7-2) of El Paso. A huge fight and a must-win for both men and one that neither hesitated to accept as the promoter shared "they both said yes, they didn't hesitate at all! it's going to be a really good fight"

In the evening's co-main event is the highly touted undefeated prospect Nick Molina, a fighter everyone agrees has the talent and ability to reach the highest of highs will battle in a light heavyweight attraction against an opponent who has not yet been confirmed.

In other bouts of note Daniel “The Disciple” Villarreal who has a huge, loyal, following from Zapata will be in action and Robert Ocampo who is currently in camp with WBC super featherweight International silver champ Jorge Castaneda will be making his pro debut as well. 

It's an absolutely talent-loaded card and the first in a series that will help these young upstarts stay bust improve their craft and move on to bigger fights in the future. Fights that Alcocer thinks they can still do here in Laredo at the Arena "Sames Auto Arena" saying "there's a big arena, I feel that we can bring belts here and pack the arena"

Charles Hatley Returns on Massive Dallas Card

Michael Montoya and Kingdom Boxing Promotions announced they are bringing a sequel to their premier boxing event in the Dallas-Ft. Worth Metroplex. Royal Roundz II is back in Dallas on May 14th at the Bomb Factory. The card is a talent-loaded, action-packed card that will showcase some of the best fighting talent in Metroplex. In the main event, Charles Hatley, now 36, looks to get back in the world title picture as he takes on Uzbeki knockout artist Jamshidbek Najmitdinov. Hatley, a Dallas native sports an impressive 30-2-1 (21).  Hatley's best win came back in November of 2015 when he stopped former world champ, Anthony Mundine, in 11 rounds. Hatley next fought for a world title in April of 2017 and came up short, falling to fellow Texan Jermall Charlo. He captured the WBC (USNBC) Welterweight strap in his last outing when he stopped Frederick Lawson back in September of 2021. 

In the co-main event is fan-favorite, woman's fighter, "Chiccn" Shurretta Metcalf, who puts her 9-fight unbeaten streak on the line against Danielle Bennett for the NABF Female Super Bantamweight belt. The lone blemish on Metcalf's record in her last nine fights is a draw with Jamie Mitchell back in 2018, at the Frontiers of Flight Museum in Dallas. Mitchell has since gone on to win a world title traveling over to Liverpool, England, outpointing Shannon Courtenay, and then defended that title successfully over Carly Skelly. Chiccn last fought back in February as well and outpointed Karen Dulin over six one-sided rounds taking a 60-54 decision on all three cards.

Also on the card is resurgent featherweight contender, Ray Ximenez, who is fresh off his dominant victory over Houston-based tough guy, Darryl Hayes back in February. He will battle another Houston-based tough guy in Eric Manriquez. Manriquez has been in the ring with elite-level prospects like Otha Jones III, who he arguably beat, as well as fellow Dallas-based prospect Angel Alejandro. Plus other elite fighters like Ray Ford and Malik Warren.  He should offer a good test for the lightning-quick, highly-skilled, Ximenez in his second comeback fight. 

Laredo's Jorge Castaneda set to return in Mexico City

25-year-old Jorge Castaneda of Laredo was one of 2021's breakthrough prospects after a two-year layoff due to an illness then a pandemic Castaneda was used as an opponent for Matchroom's hotshot prospect Otha Jones III on the Andrade vs Williams card in Miami, Florida. After that massive upset, Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn took the south Texan over to enemy territory to battle undefeated prospect  Youssef Khoumari, at the 02 Arena in the UK and again Castaneda upset the promoter's unbeaten prospect.  Making it 2-for-2 against Matchrooms house prospects. Now the Gateway City native gets to cross the border and take on a high-caliber veteran opponent in Mexico City on June 10th on another Matchroom Boxing card that will air live on DAZN. Castaneda 15-1 (11) will battle Eduardo Hernandez Perez, 31-1 (28) in what promises to be an all-action throwdown for Castaneda's WBC International Silver title. Perez is a hard-hitting upstart prospect who has taken one major stepped-up fight back in 2019 and was destroyed by Roger Gutierrez on a Golden Bowl card at the Punch Bowl on the Rey Vargas vs Tomoki Kameda card. It did not go well for Perez, who goes by the alias, Rocky Nino Artillero, and was destroyed in the first round. Gutierrez would go on to win the WBA super featherweight title. 

Castaneda was originally scheduled to fight former world champ Kid Galahad on March 12th on the undercard of Mick Conlan vs Leigh Wood card at the Nottingham Arena. Galahad pulled out of the fight on late notice due to suffering a self-described setback in training camp. Eddie Hearn did a great job of getting the hard-hitting Castaneda back in the ring relatively quickly and against a quality opponent. Another win for Castaneda into a big money fight later in the year potentially against Galahad or even Leigh Wood who holds the WBA 130-Pound world title.

Bam Returns to San Antonio to make Inaugural Title Defense

Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez will return home and defend his WBC Super Flyweight world title against the legendary Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, of Thailand, on June 25th at the Tech Port Arena in San Antonio. It's Rodriguez's first time fighting near his hometown of San Antonio since he headlined a TMB card in the Summer of 2019, on a nearby Floresville card. He destroyed Cesar Garcia Torrijos, of Laredo, on that card in just three rounds. Rodriguez also outpointed Robert Ledesma in San Antonio in 2017 and blew out an overmatched Santiago Sanchez Bayardoin one back in 2018.

The 22-year-old Rodriguez became boxing's youngest world champion and the first-ever born in the 2000s when he outclassed the legendary Carlos Cuadras at the Foot Print Center in Phoenix, Arizona, back in February. A world title fight that he filled in for on less than a weeks notice when Sor Rungvisai had to drop out of the fight due to a non-covid illness. Rungvisai, held the WBC super flyweight title from 2017 to 2019 A title he won when he shocked Choclatito Gonzlaez in 2017 via majority decision. He followed that up by destroying the legendary little man in four rounds. Sor Rungvisai lost his belt to Estrada in 2019. Estrada is currently in line to fight Bam's older brother Joshua Franco in the summer as well.

Rodriguez gave a career-defining performance in jumping up two weight classes on a week's notice to outclass Cuadras. He went from being somewhat of a hidden gem to a superstar and being considered the best young fighter in the world overnight. He initially said that he would vacate the belt and go back down to his more natural weight of 108, but after giving the unforgettable performance to win the WBC strap, the 15-0 (10) Rodriguez said he wanted to stay and defend his title. The 115-pound division is perhaps the best in the sport. It is the money division of the smaller weight classes, so Rodriguez appears, at least for the time being, to be remaining at 115 to defend his strap.

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

World Championship Boxing Returns to Alamo city

Big-time boxing returns to Alamo City! After the massive audience that packed the Alamodome back on April 9th. PBC will try their hand at the Alamodome without a San Antonian in the headline. San Antonio, is quickly becoming boxing's next great hotbed and has routinely produced packed houses. Including the roughly 15,000 that attended Garcia-Tagoe earlier this month. The July 7th PBC card at the Alamodome will feature WBC featherweight champ Mark Magsayo against former WBC super bantamweight champ Rey Vargas.

Magsayo won the belt from long-reigning champ Gary Russell Jr back in January, and this marks his inaugural defense. Vargas held the WBC strap in the division below from 2017 till 2019. He won the belt via majority decision while traveling to the UK to fight Gavin McDonnell, in McDonnell's backyard. He defended the belt successfully five times before vacating it. He was out of the ring for nearly two and a half years, and returned in the fourth quarter of 2021, when he outclassed Leonardo Baez on the Canelo-Caleb Plant undercard.

So far no undercard has been confirmed. However, the many Texas-based PBC stars may potentially be included on the card. Omar Juarez hails from Brownsville and trains in the Alamo city, has been rumored to potentially appear on the July, 7th card. Juarez last fought in a thrilling fight with fellow Texan Ryan Karl on the undercard of Thurman-Barrios back in February and scored a decision victory and picked up the WBC international welterweight title. Barrios, a San Antonio icon and former world champion, has also been rumored to potentially make his return appearance on the card, possibly in the co-main. As has former world champ and Rio Grande Valley Brandon Figueroa has not been in the ring since his highly controversial loss to Stephen Fulton last November. The timing would make sense for each of these world-class fighters to be featured on the card.

Golden Boy wins Estrada-Franco Purse Bid, Opens Many Possibilities

After WBA Bantamweight World Champion Joshua Franco and WBA Super Champ Juan Francisco Estrada were granted a 24-hour period to come to an agreement for the mandated match and avoid purse bids, an agreement was not reached and the bout went to purse bids and was won by Golden Boy early on Tuesday. It appears the fight will take place in either June or July with a few locations being discussed including Nevada, California, or Franco's hometown of San Antonio. 

The situation begins to get cloudy as the lower than anticipated purse bids may cause Estrada to walk away from the fight and vacate the "super" version of the belt. That would likely leave a fight between Franco and legendary four-division world champ Chocloatito Gonzalez who is ranked number one in the division by the WBA. As confusing as this all sounds it could actually end up being a home run for San Antonio fight fans and a dream come true for the brothers. Matchroom Boxing, which promotes Bam Rodriguez, is headed by Eddie Hearn, who has openly discussed the possibility of staging a massive doubleheader with Franco plus WBC junior bantamweight titlist Rodriguez. Rodriguez is scheduled to take on former world champ Srisaket sor Rungvisai. A doubleheader featuring the two brothers would be a massive draw and could realistically dwarf the roughly 15,000 seats that the Ryan Garica sold for his April 9th, fight in the Alamodome.  

The brothers have not fought in San Antonio on the same card yet. With each brother holding a major world title, the timing does seem perfect. Especially when a massive card that could feature Franco vs Chocolatito and Rodriguez vs Sor Rungvisai would be a ticket sale and ratings bonanza. Franco sports a record of 18-1-2 (8), and has fought in the Alamo city just once he destroyed and stopped Jose Alejandro Burgos in January of 2020 on the undercard of Mungia-O'Sullivan. Rodriguez, 15-0 (10)  scored a sensational knockout of Cesar Garcia Torrijos, on a TMB card in nearby Floresville in 2019 and a year early on a Mikey Garcia promoted card Rodriguez scored a first-round knockout of Santiago Sanchez Bayardo of Corpus Christi, at the Mi Mercado Event Center, on the west-side of San Antonio. 

Rodriguez confirmed that he was being scheduled to fight around the same time “I haven’t heard anything yet but I know I’m going to be fighting sometime around June,” Rodriguez said and went on to confirm "They’re working on a doubleheader with me and my brother. Franco, confirmed his little brother's sentiment adding “There have been talks of the fight coming here [San Antonio] and my brother being on the show. That would be amazing. We’re confident it will come here.” There are still plenty of details to work out and some things that have to fall in place but it seems like a realistic possibility at the moment.

Spence Shines in Unification Bout

Errol "The Truth" Spence Jr seems to save his best performances for his homecoming fights at AT&T Stadium, back in March of 2019 he threw a virtuosos performance against Mikey Garcia, shouting out the four-division world champion, then in his last fight came back and defeat Danny "Swift" Garcia in December of 2020, coming off of the horrific car accident. He pulled off the trifecta and stopped Yordenis Ugas via 10th round TKO when referee Laurence Cole waived the fight off due to Ugas having his right eye swollen completely shut and later admitted he could not see out of the eye. 

After an epic ring walk accompanied by Southside Da Realist the night got off to a less than spectacular start for the South Dallas native he seemed hurt by a body shot and likely lost the first round to the fired-up Cuban world champion. However, the momentum quickly shifted, as a motivated and courageous Ugas took a stylistic risk by standing in with the hard-hitting and freakishly strong Spence Jr. Ugas battled valiantly and had plenty of moments but it was the southpaw from Texas who was clearly getting the best of it as he opened up a lead on the scorecards going into the sixth round. The round in which Ugas did his best work Errol Spence Jr. Stunning the Texan multiple times a right hand from Ugas knocked Spence's mouthpiece, Spence after having his bell rung by the shot looked for his mouthpiece as Ugas guy in landing left hand followed by a right that sent the Spence reeling into the ropes and perhaps could have ruled a knockdown as it did appear that the ropes helped keep Spence on his feet. The sequence of events appeared to wake Spence up who rallied late in the round and then regained control of the fight the next round and put together a dominant round in the eighth banging away on the inside and rocking Ugas with uppercuts and left hands a round so one-sided two of the judges scored it 10-8 in favor of Spence without a knockdown. The now brutal one-sided beatdown came to an end at 1:44. Cole sent Ugas to the corner to be examined by the doctor for a second time and this time the doc instructed Cole to waive the bout off. 

It was the first fight back for "The Truth"  after a 16-month layoff due to an eye injury that forced him out of a mega-fight with Manny Pacquiao last summer. Ugas's trainer Ismael Salas claimed Spence wasn't the same fighter following the car wreck and the injury. Salas was correct it wasn't the same Spence, it was actually a much better Spence and Spence is going to have to be this version if he is going to fight WBO champ Terence Crawford next who he directly called out following the Ugas victory. A victorious Crawford explained  “I want Terence Crawford next. That’s the fight I want, that’s the fight everybody else wants. I’ve got these straps, I’m gonna go take his s**t, too.”

No Sweat Spence and Ugas on Weight

No Sweat Spence-Ugas are on Weight

We've got ourselves a fight WBC/IBF Welterweight kingpin Errol "The Truth" Spence of Desoto, and WBA crown holder Yordenis Ugas from Miami, Florida by way of Santiago de Cuba, Cuba, both easily made weight ahead of Saturday's unification fight that takes place at World AT&T stadium. The fight will unify three-quarters of the welterweight gold with just the WBO belt outstanding which is held by Terence Crawford and has been since 2018.

The weight went smoothly no major outbursts, no major trash talking, no pushing or shoving just two, toned and calmed professionals who take care of business made weight and faced off, and appear in outstanding shape. The fight will be aired on Showtime PPV and PPV.com for the price of $74.99 and starts at 8PM CST.

The South Dallas native will enter the fight a massive betting favorite. Errol Spence Jr he will be a -450 favorite while Ugas will enter the ring roughly at +350. Meaning a $100 bet on Ugas to win will make you $350 and it will take a $450 bet to make $100. The oddsmakers are extremely confident that Spence will unify the belts and pick up the victory in front of his home crowd tomorrow night. Spence repeated that confidence saying “I’m the best in the division. I’m making a statement come Saturday night. I want the knockout. I’m gonna get the knockout. I’m gonna get his belt and after that, it’s time to be undisputed champion of the world and I’m going after (WBO titleholder) Terence Crawford after I get through Ugas.”

Suggesting that a long-awaited Spence-Crawford showdown could be realistic for later in 2022. It has long been one of if not the most demanded fight on boxing since 2018. A fight Spence appears to want. saying “It’s something that I’m definitely looking forward to and it’s something that I’m willing to work towards,” Spence said. “After I get past Ugas, it could be an easy fight to make. It just depends on stipulations between me and him. I’ll bend but I’m not going to break. I’ll take off my coat but I’m not going to give it to you. So, I think it could happen and I’m looking forward to that fight. I think it’s a legacy fight for him and myself.”

Tristian Kalkreuth scores vicious KO in heavyweight debut

Credit: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy

Hard-hitting 20-year old sensation "Sweet T" Tristian Kalkreuth bounced back from a shoulder injury. An injured shoulder back in June of 2021 he suffered during his fight with Demetrius Banks, that left his left arm inoperable. The injury caused him to do one of the most courageous things we've ever seen in a boxing ring and fight truly one-armed. He fought through the pain and said "It was painful but I had to show the doctor I could lift it" he ultimately dropped a competitive decision despite fighting with just one arm. He rehabbed the injury and stepped back into the ring and did so as a heavyweight for the first time he also battled the biggest test of his young and promising a career

Santander Silgado of Colombia, Silgado had battled with undefeated prospect Raphael Akpejiori as well as former cruiserweight world champion Krzysztof Glowacki and hard-hitting former cruiserweight world title challenger Dmitry Kudryashov.

"Sweet T" was unimpressed and with a single right hand in the second round sent his much bigger and more experienced opponent to the canvas and kept him there. Making his comeback from a shoulder injury and his heavyweight debut a successful one. The official stoppage came at 46 seconds into the second round. During a relatively quiet first round, Kalkreuth scored with a right hand towards the end of the round that dazed his opponent. The Duncanville native got the timing down and landed it again in the second and this time it ended the fight. Kalkreuth ended the show with his now-famous backflip and moved his record to 9-1 (7)

George Rincon scores lopsided UD moves to 13-0

George Rincon of Carrollton, Texas, picked up where his brother left off just a few weeks ago with yet another dominant performance. Taking a step up in class Rincon and battling rugged veteran Alejandro Frias of Nayarit, Mexico. The older Rincon brother was in control from the very beginning after a dominating first-round Rincon, a southpaw landed a blistering left hand that put Frias on the canvas just before the bell sounded to end the second stanza. Rincon stayed on the aggressive and again hurt his opponent with a double right hook with about 20 seconds remaining in the third. Throughout the middle rounds, the North Texan stayed in control, showing off a picture-perfect straight left and swiftly moving out of range, making Frias miss wildly over and over again. By the mid-rounds, the difference in skill sets became apparent and Frias attempted to change the boxing match into a street fight. Rincon didn't oblige and continued to spray his opponent with laser-like lefts from his southpaw stance. The two got tangled up and it appeared Frias tackled Rincon less than a minute into the round six. A determined Rincon stretched it out, walked off, and continued the one-sided beatdown. Moments later he backed up his opponent with a pair of quick right hooks that sent him into the ropes. After another dominant round by the Carrollton native, Rincon caught a nasty head butt from Frias in round seven that seemed to affect him. However, after being cleared by the doctor and Frias being warned by the referee for the repeated dirty tactics, the bout continued. Rincon put together a sensational round in the eighth. Driving his opponent into the ropes and then unleashed a barrage of power shots while his man was backed against the ropes. After a ninth-round that saw both fighters land heavy artillery and momentarily stunned. Rincon closed out the show like a professional. Fighting through an extremely nasty gash in his forehead that appeared to be bleeding into his eye, Rincon focused through and again hurt his opponent with a sharp left hand. Picking up the hard-earned and clear-cut unanimous decision by scores of 96-91x2 and 98-89. Rincon moves his perfect record to 13-0 (7) it is Rincon's 4 consecutive points victory, his last stoppage came in the Alamodome just over two years ago when he scored a posterizing knockout of Diego Vicente Perez in January of 2021.

Hector Valdez dominates at Alamodome, scores UD victory

Credit: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy

Hector "el Travieso" Valdez, of Dallas, boxed beautifully showing no ring rust in the early going. He worked behind a patient jab to track down his opponent Daniel Moncada of Mexico City, Mexico, who looked to use the entire ring. The Texan stayed composed, cut the ring off on his opponent, and ripped vicious body shots with both hands that began to slow Moncada down. El Travieso stayed committed to the body and by round four the Mexico City native was much more stationary as Valdez continued to rip thudding body shots on his now stationary opponent. Things escalated in the fifth round as Valdez scored with a wide left hook that sent his man stumbling to the canvas, just past the 60-second mark of the round. Moncada valiantly fought back but the writing was on the wall. Valdez had seized complete control of the fight and used the left hook again in the sixth to stagger his overmatched opponent and followed up with a right hand that opened a nasty gash above the eye of his opponent. Valdez, recognizing his opponent was in serious trouble, stalked patiently and scored with a right hand right before the end of the sixth, staggering his opponent once more. The pace slowed a bit in the seventh as Moncada tried to simply stay away from his surging opponent and Valdez was happy to continue the boxing lesson he was administering. The Dallasite picked up the pace again in the final round, to try and seal the deal for all of his Texas-based fans who were vocal for him throughout the fight and less than a minute into the round had him hurt again. This time with the right hand, Moncada continued fighting hard till the end but it was not nearly enough as Valdez cruised to the wide and well-earned points victory by scores of 80-71,79-72, and a much, much too close 78-73. For Valdez, it was his third consecutive decision victory and it ended a nearly 13-month layoff. For Moncada, the one-sided losses ended a streak of two consecutive TKO victories. moving his record to 15-0 (8) It was the first fight in just over a year and Moncada dropped to 15-6-2 (5).

Two Texans Score International Gold in Ecuador

Two Texans take home international championship gold at The American Boxing Confederation (AMBC) elite Championships in Guayaquil, Ecuador. The tournament ran from March 22 to April 2. Jennifer Lozano from Laredo captured a finals victory and dominated the tournament from start to finish. The Gateway City native took a 5-0 decision over Argentine fighter Tatiana Flores Milagros of Argentina to capture the 50 KG (110-pound) championship. On the men's side, in the 51 KG division (112 pounds), championship Roscoe Hill, from Spring, Texas, takes home the Gold after also taking a 5-0 decision over Argentine Ramon Quiroga dominated Romero Reyes Erislan of Cuba in the Gold Medal round.

19-year-old Hill, came out of some level of obscurity to capture the silver medal in the 2021 World Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, back in November. In his first international tournament, Hill scored staggering upsets over seasoned vets like Federico Serra of Italy on his way to coming up just short to Kazakhstan fighter Saken Bibossinov and capturing Silver. If 2021 was his coming out party he certainly made a bold statement to start 2022 in Ecuador to show 2021 was no fluke. He received a bye in the first round due to his high seeding and then beat Martin Perez of Panama by 5-0 decision, also shout our Quiroga to advance to the finals and then handed in the Gold Medal performance by outclassing Reyes Erislan of Cuba.

Lozano captured the national championship title at Shreveport back in December when she outpointed Kayla Gomez of El Paso in the finals. She came out and put together an absolutely dominated week of boxing. She blanked Liliana Murillo Deicy of Columbia (5-0) in the first round. Stopped Ecuador's Genesis Gomez in front of her home crowd in the second round and then dominated Flores Milagros to capture the Gold medal. 

Texas was well represented in addition to Hill and Lozano. There were many other Texans  representing the US in the Contential Championships including Emilio Garcia,  of Laredo, Kayla Gomez of El Paso, and Josh Edwards of Houston who won his first-round contest over Mexican boxer Luis Gomez Meneses, by a score of 5-0.

Errol Spence Media Day Workout

Desoto native and undefeated WBC/IBF Welterweight champ  Errol “The Truth” Spence Jr worked out in his home gym for the boxing media, World Class Boxing Gym which is owned by Spencer trainer Derrick James of Dallas. The media workout was to promote his April 16th fight at AT&T Stadium against WBA welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas . The fight is just over two weeks out and Spence said “I’m feeling good. I’m ready to go. This layoff was easier for me after the injury than after the accident because it was a lot less stress on my body. The fight will be shown live on Showtime PPV and will unify three-quarters of the welterweight brass. The one belt outstanding is the WBO belt that's owned by Terence Crawford. A fight between the long-reigning champ has long been demanded by the boxing world and is long overdue. With Crawford now a promotional free agent a fight seems very makeable.  A fight that Spence said "I am trying to get that fight done, but that only way could be done is if I beat Ugas, and that's why I am 100%  focused. 

This is the first fight back for the Desoto native since he had surgery to repair a retinal detachment/break. He was scheduled to fight Pacquiao at the time of the injury and was forced to pull out of the fight. Ugas was plugged in as the replacement and he upset the legendary former eight-division world champion. So eight months later Spence gets to fight for the same belt but against a different champ. Spence's trainer, Derrick James suggested Ugas may bring an even bigger challenge than Pacquiao citing his intelligence. "His athleticism,  but he's really intellectual  he's a very smart fighter: and saying "he's a mixture of old school boxing, which is counter punching and slickness and also has skills and athleticism" 

This will be the second consecutive time that Spence will be fighting in AT&T Stadium and the third time in four fights. He fought Danny Garcia at the Stadium back in December of 2020 and fought Mikey Garcia there in March of 2019. He has fought in Texas a total of seven times and this will be his sixth time-fighting in the DFW. For Ugas it will be the second time fighting in the Lone Star State. His only other time fighting in Texas was back in 2018 when he fought at The Star in Frisco. He scored a second-round TKO over an overmatched Jonathan Batista in what amounted to a tune-up fight on the undercard of Spence-Ocampo.

Xavier Bocanegra Makes Pro Debut April 9th in Las Vegas

If you have not heard of Donna, Texas, you're about to. Just like a pair of fighting brothers out of Weslaco, Omar, and Brandon Figueroa, put their hometown on the boxing map over the past decade. There's a pair of brothers from nearby Donna who are poised to do the same for their south Texas city. Xavier and Ranulfo have both been outstanding amateurs, winning countless tournaments. It's now time for the elder Bocanegra brother, Xavier, to turn pro and he will do so on April 9th at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on a nationally televised Showtime card that will be headlined by Erickson Lubin vs Sebastian Fundora. 

Its been quite a journey for the young man from Donna. From training in his parent's garage to training in Ronnie Shields's famed Plex Gym. A gym that is home to the likes of world champs like Jermall Charlo, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Erislandy Lara, and touted prospects like David Morrell. One of the most prestigious boxing gyms in the country is now home to another touted prospect Xavier Bocanegra. On a visit to Plex Gym to spar, Bocanegra performed well and caught the attention of the famed trainer. Bocanegra recalls the sparring session "we came for sparring and he [Ronnie Shields] saw me spar and stop a guy, he was impressed and from there he started calling us." 

Bocanegra, an 8X national champion, had over 130+ amateur fights and got into boxing because he was a trouble maker in school as a youngster "I started when I was 8, I was a trouble maker always in school, I had ADHD. that [Boxing] is what I had to do to calm down I had to get into boxing. I tried every sport football, basketball, everything but I wanted boxing." Bocanegra said. Despite his incredible accolades, it didn't get off to a smooth start for the Rio Grande Valley native "I started off kinda rough. As I got older I started putting in that work and it really paid off" It didn't come easy but he credits his hard work. That incredible and relentless work ethic is a common trend amongst the fighters in the Rio Grande Valley. Fighters like Brandon Figueroa and Omar, and Sebastian Juarez are always credited for their tireless work ethic. 

The work ethic among fighters from the 956 has certainly been well documented as the Valley has become one of the premier hotbeds for boxing. Bocanegra stated where that passion comes from  "you gotta have that drive you gotta want it you gotta want to be the best. Everyone putting in that work Everyones trying to get our everyone's trying to find their own path." 

The work ethic  Bocanegra learned in the amateurs will certainly bode well for the youngster as he moves to the professional ranks "you gotta work twice as hard" he said.  The hard work has brought great confidence for the south Texan who said of moving to the professional ranks from the amateurs "It's going to be better because I am a puncher" losing the headgear and lacing up smaller gloves certainly does benefit a puncher like Bocanegra who says the power is "God-given"

Bocanegra is well prepared and has gotten world-class training ahead of his pro debut at Plex Gym, he has sparred mainly with Brandon Figueroa, a former 122-pound world champ and one of the premier young fighters in the world period. "it's one of the best experiences you can get a former world champion, it helps your mentality cause no one can throw like him he keeps coming and he doesn't stop. I am sparring with the best so I gotta push it" 

The pro debut takes place on April 9th at the Virgin Hotels in Las Vegas on the undercard of Lubin -Fundora that airs on Showtime. An incredible showcase for the 18-year old that he describes as "a dream come true"

Bocangra Talks Pro Debut

Alex Rincon Scores Second Round KO

Mandatory Credit: Tom Hogan/Golden Boy

Despite Grand Prairie’s favorite son, Vergil Ortiz having to pull out of Saturday’s main event after being diagnosed with Rhabdomyolysis, a rare condition in which muscle cells break down and release a substance into the blood that can lead to kidney failure. North Texas was still well represented on Golden Boy’s card in California. Highly touted 154-pound prospect Alex Rincon moved his record to 10-0 (7). The hard-hitting 26-year old from Carrollton looked sharp as always in taking apart Luis Sanchez of San Juan, Puerto Rico. Rincon, A southpaw, worked behind a quick and laser-sharp right jab in the first round and landed his first shots of consequence with about 30 ticks left in the opening stanza. a left hand upstairs caught the attention of Sanchez he followed that up with a thudding body shot that backed Sanchez up. Things got better from there for the north Texan. Rincon scored with an absolutely picture-perfect left hand, that dropped his opponent just over a minute into the second stanza. Sanchez courageously made it to his feet but his legs were very unstable. Rincon, like a dog on fear, attacked. Scoring with another massive left hand that put the Puerto Rican back on the canvas for a second time. This time his legs would not cooperate with him. Trying to get back to his feet Sanchez was flailing around the ring unable to make it to his feet, causing the referee to wave off the bout at the 1:44 mark of the second round. It was the first stoppage victory for Rincon since 2019 when he scored a second-round knockout of Joel Guevara on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz vs Antonio Orozco in Grand Prairie.  His last two victories came via unanimous decision including his most recent eight-round points victory over the very durable Sanny Duversonne back in August. Alex's big brother, undefeated junior welterweight prospect, George Rincon (11-0), returns to the ring on April 9th on the undercard of Ryan Garcia vs Emmanuel Tagoe at the Alamodome. Which was the site of George's memorable first-round knockout of Diego Vicente Perez back in January of 2020. He will battle with Alejandro Frias who last fought Brock Jarvis on the undercard of Mikey Garcia-Sandor Martin in Fresno California, back in October

Alex Rincon talks about his upcoming fight at Weigh in

Vergil Ortiz Withdraws from McKinson Fight; Recovering in Hospital

Golden Boy publicists released shattering news today. All-world welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz of Grand Prairie is hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis and had to withdraw from Saturday's fight with Michael McKinson at the Galen Center at the grounds of USC  in Los Angeles. The 12-round bout was due to headline Golden Boy’s card on DAZN. It is unclear at the moment if the card will be canceled, rescheduled or will proceed with a different main event. 

Golden Boy said in an announcement that after Ortiz was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis he was “recovering well in hospital and is expected to make a full recovery.”  It was later reported that Ortiz was sent home and is going well Rhabdomyolysis, is sometimes shortened to rhabdo and can be a serious condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. causing serious heart and kidney damage that can lead all the way to death in its most severe cases.

 Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya wished the undefeated Texan well saying “We wish Vergil a very quick and speedy recovery,” “As fighters, our first instinct is to fight whatever we have and tough it out. It takes a lot of courage to admit that something is wrong and get the care that you need. We are confident that we will be seeing Vergil in the ring again very soon.”

Ortiz has not fought since August when he stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in eight rounds at The Star in Frisco. This was the same night that Joshua Franco, of San Antonio, successfully defended his WBA Super Flyweight belt against Andrew Moloney in Oklahoma, which in part led to Ortiz splitting with hall of fame trainer Robert Garcia. Ortiz was training with Manny Robles for this camp. 

Golden Boy is looking to find a last-minute replacement for McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs), 27, who has been in Los Angeles for over a week and is already nearly on weight.

Big Charlo Returns to Houston

WBC Middleweight champion and Houston Native Jermall Charlo is set to return to the ring. Stephen Espinoza, of Showtime Sports, made a major announcement concerning the elder Charlo twin. He will defend his WBC title against long-time Polish contender Maciej Sulecki on June 18th in Houston. A venue has not been selected yet. However, the Toyota center seems most likely as the Houston Rockets will be long over. It will be one day short of a full year since Jermall Charlo steppedinto the ring. He last fought on June 19th, 2021, and dominated Juan Macias Montiel, also in Houston, at the Toyota Center. Charlo scored a wide unanimous decision over a game and rugged Montiel. 

Charlo won the WBC  middleweight interim belt in 2018 and was awaiting a showdown with Canelo Alvarez. That fight never came to fruition. Canelo was tagged "Franchise Champion" and Charlo was promoted to WBC world champion. He defended the initial defense of his strap against Brandon Adams in Houston and has defended three more times since. Once in Brooklyn, once in Connecticut, and then in Houston. He will return to H-Town to battle Sulecki who sports a 30-2 (11) record and has been a top 10 middleweight for several years. He has had one other major world title shot, back in June of 2019 he dropped a lopsided decision to Demetrius Andrade for the WBO strap in Andrade's hometown of Providence, Rhode Island. It was the second loss of the Polish contender's career. He has scored two tune-up victories in his two-fight since the Andrade loss. Most recently he outpointed in an eight-round affair in Poland back in December.

Charlo was long rumored to be in advanced talks with Golden Boy's middleweight and fan-favorite Jaime Munguia. In what was a highly anticipated fight, talks fell apart at the last minute. Munguia has a large following throughout the Lone Star State, having fought not only in Houston but having sold well in San Antonio and El Paso as well. Fans almost unanimously wanted the Munguia fight and the initial reaction to the Sulecki fight was not positive at all.

War Machine Christian Romero Shines in San Antonio

San Antonio has long been one of if not the best boxing hot beads in the country. It is now putting out not just elite-level little men but extraordinary, special, talent. Bam Rodriguez jumped up two weight classes to capture the WBC Super Flyweight title on a week's notice, Dacisd Cardenas didn't just win the USA Boxing nationals in the 106-pound division but he dominated and cleaned out the weight class barely breaking a sweat in the amateur ranks. Now, this Christian "War Machine" Romero. He may be the brightest of all. The 17-year-old phenom packed the house at The Azafar Shrine Auditorium and delivered in sensational fashion.

Romero came out of the opening bell working patiently behind a jab. Firing it off and keeping his opponent Frank Boston on the back foot. He unleashed his first violent combinations late in the first round and battered Boston against the ropes. Boston seemed not to like the thudding power and choose not to engage with the hard-hitting teenage. Romero stayed calm stayed patient and unleashed a vicious right hand to the body that again backed his opponent up in the second round. Just moments later he scored with a picture-perfect left hook the against shook the bigger another left hook sent him into the corner and unleashed a barrage of power shots. The action continued into the third as Romero scored with a right  hand with about 20 seconds left that pinned Boston in the corner yet again and the " War Machine" Let bombs go for the final few seconds of the round 

In the final round, the youngster mixed head and body shots to perfection and closed out the scheduled five-rounder, yes you read that correct five-rounder, throwing a shut out on all three cards 50-45. It was a sensational performance against a worthy opponent. A sensational display of hand speed, angels, and thudding punching power. That led trainer Rick Nunez to say "I have the next Manny Pacquiao... he can go from 108 up to 118 or 122" 

In the co-main event Javi Fernandez, who trains alongside Romero at South Park Boxing Academy, showed no ring rust or side effects from should surgery that has kept him out of the ring since last October. He scored a knockdown of Michael Haynes, a very rough and rugged opponent, Haynes fought through the excruciating pain and actually put together a couple of good moments in the second. However, any limited success Haynes had in the second came to an end as Fernandez stayed downstairs and unleashed a barrage of body shots that ended the night in the third. Fernandez moved his record to 9-0 (6).

The undercard also featured two fairly touted contenders, in the opening bout Eridson Garcia scored a one-punch body shot knockout of a usually game and skilled opponent in Rafael Reyes to move his unbeaten record to 16-0 (10). In the second bout Eddie "The Hunter" Ortiz duplicated the feat scoring a first-round knockout of his own also via body shot bouncing back from his first career defeat in outstanding fashion moving his record to 12-1-2 (5). 

In the lone woman bout hard luck, but fan-favorite, Brittany Ordonez suffered yet another hard-luck draw, in which it appeared she did more than enough to win. Seemingly dominating the fight with a sharp right hand that found its mark throughout. Ordonez seemed to do enough to win every round in the eyes of the fans however the judges disagreed and scored it a majority draw by scores of 38-38x2 and an egregious 39-37 in favor of Leanne Calderon.

Hector Tanajara Looks To Bounce Back in Fresno

San Antonio has quickly become the hottest city in the US for up-and-coming boxing stars. No star was shining brighter than the immensely skilled lightweight Hector "El Finito" Tanajara. He had compiled 19 straight wins had barely lost a single round and was on a fast track to becoming a world champion in the sports hottest division. He had captured, the WBC USNBC lightweight strap had scored a career-best win in the Alamodome against Juan Carlos Burgos and looked as sharp as any prospect in the sport. Covid hit, Tanjara was out of the ring, then a fight with Ryan Garcia, when King Ry seemingly ducked the fight. He instead opted to not fight at all. Leaving The San Antonio Native was left without a fight. A year and a half layoff for El Finito when it was all said and done. However, when he did get back into the ring he got a huge opportunity. The young, unbeaten upstart was scheduled to fight for the WBA Continental Americas title. That's when things went sideways for the Alamo City prospect. Tanajara squared off with an unbeaten but somewhat unknown prospect named William Zepeda of  San Mateo Atenco, México. After an impressive opening stanza, Tanjara was unable to stay off the ropes and keep the fight in the center of the ring. Despite his finely tuned skills on the inside, Zepeda was just too much for the Texan. Zepeda broke his opponent down and trainer Robert Garcia informed the ref Tanajara could no longer continue handing El Finito his first career loss. 

 It's been nearly was eight months since that defeat and Tanjara looks to bounce back this Friday night on a Top Rank card in Fresno, California, that will air on ESPN. He will do battle with Miguel Contreras 11-1 (6), of Bakersfield, California. Contreras took his first career defeat on the same card. He was stopped in two rounds by hard-hitting Dominican Prospect Starling Castillo.  

It's a big challenge for the Texan as both fighters absolutely need a win to stay relevant in the talent-loaded 135-pound division. Whoever captures the win likely goes back into title contention, while the loser takes a major step backward and becomes somewhat irrelevant in the lightweight division at least for the time being. Knowing exactly what on the line and how big the fight is Tanajara, didn't need or want a tune-up and is willing to travel to Contreas's backyard to prove that would happen in July to Zepeda was a fluke and that the skills and speed that shot him up the rankings are still all there. He wants to prove it was not hype it was an off night and he is as good as advertised. Prior to the Zepeda loss, there were conversations about fights with both Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney, who now holds the WBC lightweight title. A win puts him right back into those conversations