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Lopez Puts IBA Middleweight
Title
On The Line In Tucson On Jan. 6
December 27 Some fighters are late bloomers, plugging away
on undercards, learning their trade, just waiting for the
right opportunity to shine. In the last two years, the prime
example of this phenomenon was middleweight David Lopez, who
rose from obscurity to become one of the most feared
fighters in the 160-pound division.
On Thursday, January 6, at the Desert Diamond Casino in
Tucson, Arizona, Golden Boy Promotions is pleased to present
Lopez’s first defense of the IBA middleweight title when he
squares off against knockout machine Fulgencio Zuniga in
the 2005 premiere of HBO Latino’s “Oscar De La
Hoya Presents Boxeo De Oro”, now in its third year of
bringing boxing’s best to a nationwide television audience.
In the televised co-feature! , super bantamweight Abner
Mares, a 2004 Mexican Olympian, will be making his highly
anticipated professional debut when he battles Puerto Rico’s
Luis Malave in a six round contest.
The HBO Latino telecast, will be the first ever from the
Desert Diamond Casino, begins at 10pm ET / PT.
Nogales, Mexico’s David Lopez (23-12, 14 KOs) came up the
hard way, battling anyone and everyone in the fight game
since turning pro at the age of 17 in 1995. But even though
he had his ups and downs career wise, once he settled in at
160 pounds in 2003, boxing insiders started to take a long
look at Lopez, and he responded in kind, stopping Fernando
Zuniga in six rounds to take the IBA Americas title, and
following that up by handing former world champion Lonnie
Bradley and rising prospect Jerson Ravelo ! ; their first
losses, both by knockout. ! In his l ast bout, Lopez
added another belt to his trophy case when he decisioned
rugged veteran Kirino Garcia over 12 rounds to win the IBA
middleweight crown – this despite fighting with only one
hand for seven rounds due to injury.
Lopez’s opponent, Fulgencio Zuniga (16-1, 15 KOs) is the
type of fighter no one wants to face, mainly because of his
knockout ratio. A native of Padilla, Colombia, Zuniga is
best remembered for his loss in a close decision to world
champion Daniel Santos in 2003.
Born in Jalisco, Mexico, Abner Mares began boxing at the age
of seven, and soon made his mark on the amateur ranks, where
he compiled an mazing record of 112-8 with 84 KOs. Among
his amateur accomplishments were PAL, Silver Gloves, Junior
Olympics, Olympi! c Festival, Central American, European
Games and Under-17 World Championship titles. In the 2004
Athens Games, Mares, who now makes his home in California,
lost a highly controversial decision to Hungary’s Zsolt
Bedak, a decision that provoked outrage in boxing circles.
Nevertheless, Mares persevered and now he’s ready to make
his mark on the professional
game.
“In the amateurs my goal was just to go to the Olympics, I
wasn’t thinking of the medal until I got there,” said Mares.
“But now that I’m going to the pros, I want to go into a
world championship fight.”
His first step is his January 6 battle against Santa Isabel,
Puerto Rico’s
heavy handed Luis Maleve (8-5, 6 KO).
The hard-hitting four-bout undercard will feature the best
of the local Arizona prospects, including five unbeaten
fighters and veteran Norberto Bravo (20-8 12 KOs)
In a four round junior middleweight battle, Phoenix’ Th!
omas Padron (1-0-1,1 KO) will take on Tijuana's 2004 Mexican
Olympian, Alfredo Angulo, a highly regarded amateur making
his pro debut. Olympian
Another debuting fighter, Israel Alonzo, will throw hands
with 1-0 Juan Garcia in a four round clash between Phoenix
featherweights. Also battling for local bragging rights will
be junior welterweights Jose Montoya (4-0) and Arturo
Brambila (6-3), who will fight in a bout scheduled for six
rounds.
Rounding out the Phoenix contingent on the card is
heavyweight Jermaine Woods (8-1-1, 5 KOs), a fighter who has
been described by some in the media as “the next Mike
Tyson” and who will try to dismantle power
punching Augustine Trujillo (4-1, 3 KOs) of Las Vegas in a
four rounder.
The doors for this spectacular event open at 5:0! 0pm
Location: Diamond Entertainm! ent Cent er - Desert Diamond
Casino I-19 location.
Tickets Information:
Reserved table seating is $25.00, $50.00, $60.00, $75.00 and
$100.00 in advance and $30.00, $55.00, $65.00, and $105.00
on the day of the show.
Tickets on sale now at the Desert Diamond Casino Box Office
at the I-19 location, or call the Box Office at: (520)
393-2799
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