San Antonio's Next Great One, Daniel Cortez Returns on November 18th at Tech Port Arena

No other place in the boxing world has produced more elite talent in recent years than San Antonio. SATX is putting out elite-level fighters and world champions at an alarming rate. Josh Franco, Bam Rodriguez, Hector Tanajara, Mario Barrios, and the list goes on. The great fighting city has perhaps found its next great one, 19-year-old, super bantamweight, Daniel Cortez is off to a sensational start. The 2-0 (1) prospect returns to the ring on November 18th on the Garcia Promotions card at the Tech Port Arena, a card headlined by RGBA stablemate and fellow Alamo City native Hector Tanajara.

The undefeated teenager already has a massive fan base in his home city and it's not something Cortez takes for granted, " it feels amazing that I have so much support in San Antonio, and it feels amazing that I have all these people cheering me on" Cortez explained. That crowd will be on hand when he looks to push his record to 3-0 on the 18th.

Cortez had a good but not sensational amateur career. It was good enough to capture the attention of one of boxing's premier trainers, Robert Garcia, "They've known about me since I was an amateur, they followed my amateur career, and they've always liked my style. I've had a pro-style since I was little." the undefeated San Antonian explained who has been a part of what is possibly the best boxing camp in the country since deciding to turn pro.

Cortez has been working with some of the best fighters in the world, including world champions Josh Franco and Bam Rodriguez, who helped him transition to living in southern California. "It's definitely a culture shock. It's a lot different than San Antonio, but I like it out here. It's good [having Bam and Josh in California with him] it's easier to transition having all the San Antonio people out here. It helped with the transition because they've been through it."

Franco and Bam have helped in multiple ways, in addition to helping the Texan acclimate to live in California they've helped him in his professional development. "Working with Josh and Bam it's great to have them right here beside me... I am doing the things they are doing and they're world champions." Cortez has worked as one of Franco's main sparring partners for his super flyweight unification fight with Kaz Ioka in Japan on 12/31. Cortez talked about sparring with the super flyweight champ "he's going to do great! He's looking like a beast! He's strong, he's sharp."

It was Cortez's pro-style that has him on the fast track and It was a style Cortez knew was more fitted for the professionals, as he explained. "I've always known my style was more fitted for the pros. I knew that early on, I knew that since I was little. I just had to fight that way [as an amature] now that I'm a pro, I feel good. The results have certainly reflected that. Cortez took on a rugged challenger Daniel Duenez, from Gonzalez, Texas, in his pro debut at the Freeman Coliseum on a Team Morones Boxing card. Cortez ripped violent shots on the inside, working left hooks and uppercuts straight up the middle that staggered an overmatched Duenez multiple times. Cortez described it " I hit him with two flush left hooks and he buckled, but he was still there. He was still standing. That's when I knew I was going to be in with a tough guy." Cortez carried the action and did a solid job of beating up on the game but overmatched opponent, but he got good work and took a lot from the experience." I really saw my power kick in my second fight at my actual weight class. That's when I really showed my power... The 8oz gloves was the big change for me hitting someone and getting hit with 8-oz gloves is different."

Next up for the undefeated super bantamweight was Edward Richardson at the Tech Port Arena. The experience and growth were noticeable as Cortez settled in and destroyed Richardson. Stopping him in three very one-sided rounds. "I was able to take more chances. I was more loose. I wanted to take a little bit more chances and was able to get him out in the third round."

Next up is November 18th, on a major card in front of his hometown, but there's no rush for the blue-chip prospect who is just focused on the process and getting better and learning his trade. He isn't yet thinking about fighting for world titles or too far down the road. "We just take one fight at a time. When it comes, it comes, we just want to focus on getting one guy out of there at a time. When my coaches know I'm on that level to fight bigger fights they'll let me know." That time will certainly come for Cortez, who is viewed as the future. There are a lot of expectations on the 19-year-old. Despite those lofty expectations he remains humbled and grounded "we're the new guys [along with "Panterita" Jesus Martinez] we're just training hard to get there, where Bam is at." Cortez explained.

Kendo Castaneda: One Tremendous Win Away

Three Years ago Kendo "Tremendo "Castaneda of San Antonio, held the WBA-NABA 140-pound title. He had just run his record to 17-0 (8) and appeared to be on the verge of a world title fight. He scored a career-best win, via sixth-round TKO over rugged contender Stan Martyniouk. Since that day it has been a rollercoaster ride for the Alamo City native. Castaneda lost five fights in a row, moved up to 147, and then back down to 140, to enter the PROBOX last chance tournament. A tournament made up of eight contenders who have championship skills and pedigree but had suffered career setbacks.

It was a career-changing decision for Castaneda, who has completely rejuvenated his career in the past six months. Castaneda's trainer Ronnie Cantu explained his fighters mindset after five straight losses and going into the Last Chance tournament "If you know Kendo, Kendo will always stay the same... He's always the same after every win and every loss he's exactly the same." Back in May, in the first round, Castaneda scored a tremendous first-round knockout that is still the leader in the clubhouse for KO of the year over Sonny Fredrickson. He then followed that up with a fight-of-the-year type war with Joseph Fernandez. In a fight, Castaneda turned the tide during that very dramatic ninth round and scored a unanimous decision victory. A fight that's on a short list for "Fight of the Year" motivated and directed by his longtime friend and now trainer Ronnie Cantu, who should be in the running for "Trainer of the Year", The San Antonian finds himself in the finals of the ProBox Last Chance tournament with Antonio Moran standing in his way. A win against Moran, who has scored consecutive victories over Jeffrey Torres and Michael Dutvhover of Midland, puts Castaneda right back where he was when he was that hotshot 17-0 prospect back in 2019! On the verge of a world title shot. A dream Castaneda and his trainer and long time best friend are achieving together. Cantu explained "we grew up together, we grew up in the amateur ranks together, we believe in each other and push each other."

Spence Vs Thurman Possible for December 17th

DeSoto's favorite son Errol Spence Jr will reportedly defend his WBC/WBA/IBF Welterweight titles against Keith "One Time " Thurman.  Errol Spence tweeted on Sunday, "announcement coming soon" that news appears to be a Thurman fight. The possibility of a battle for undisputed welterweight supremacy with WBO champ Terence Crawford hit a snag, when allegedly PBC, would not open the books and disclose the expenses for the fight.

Crawford had agreed to a 35% split with no guaranteed purse. The percentage was to come off the net, not the gross revenue, so every dollar spent would be a direct hit to the fighter's end check. With that fight now off, Crawford went on to agree to terms to a fight with David Avanesyan on December 10th. That left Spence without a fight, and the rumors began circulating. 

It appears, and the fight should be formalized, and announced later this week, that the north Texan will fight Keith Thurman on December 17th with a location to be confirmed, possibly AT&T Stadium! The two have been linked for years. Going all the way back to 2017 when Spence won the IBF title, and Thurman held the WBA/WBC belts, which now are all held by Spence. Thurman has fought just three times since the end of 2017. Going 2-1 with a split decision loss to Manny Pacquiao and a win in his most recent fight with San Antonio's former 140-pound world champ Mario Barrios back in February. Thurman won a wide but competitive decision of the Alamo City native. It's long been rumored and talked about in boxing circles that Thurman ducked the DeSoto native.

Spence last fought in April and scored a 10th-round TKO of Yordenis Ugas to pick up the WBA belt, his third belt in the weight class.

Sean Brewer II: Boxing's Emerging Prospect Who Wasn't Supposed to be Here

"Gusto" Sean Brewer II, of Austin, was never supposed to be here. He had a late start in boxing, it wasn't until he was 16 that he laced up the boxing gloves. He did so after seeing some kids sparring " I saw them sparring, and they were looking better than me fighting. So I was like I gotta learn how to do that. It went from learning to sparring to competing." The late start didn't keep him back. The Austinite put in the hours, put in the work, and said "I caught on pretty fast... learning the basics and the techniques. As I started to get that down more and more with my straight punches people could really start to see it [my power] and feel it, and hear it." The work ethic, the natural, power, and athleticism yielded results quickly for "Gusto". Within two years of becoming an amateur, he was ranked in the top 10 by USA Boxing!

As an amateur that Brewer met trainer and former world champ Clarence "Bones" Adams at the Nevada Boxing Hall of Fame event. Adams invited the skilled amateur to his home and took him to the gym. Over the next few years, Brewer traveled back and forth to Nevada for training and was always at Adams's Gym. When the time came to take the next step and pursue a professional career, Adams told Brewer, "It would be a good idea for you to move out here." Brewer obliged moved out to Vegas and embarked on his professional career. Due to the pandemic, the start of his professional career was delayed. It wasn't until 2021 that Brewer could step into the ring as a professional. He took on Shaileik Paisley and won a one-sided unanimous decision. Winning every round on every card. A good start to his career. In his next fight, he got on a major but was used as a B-side for an undefeated prospect named Ivan Zarate. Brewer was supposed to be a sacrificial lamb. It was supposed to be Zarate's night fighting in his own backyard. The Texan recalls the night "...being the B-side being in the locker room with other b-side fighters, who already accepted the fate of losing, I was like no! This is not me. The whole build-up to the fight, the whole camp, I pushed myself, I pushed myself so hard I was sparring with Angelo Leo. I was getting work pushing myself." Brewer was fighting to win and dealt with a hostile pro-Zaratge crowd "I was fighting in his backyard. I came out and there were little kids 5-year-olds, 6-year-olds booing." The KO artist stayed patient and calm and scored a vicious first-round KO of Thompson's touted prospect. Something shocking not only to Zarate but to everyone watching and to Thompson Promotions. Brewer wasn't supposed to win. He was sent to lose just like the rest of the B-side fighters.

Gusto came back two months later and scored a 3rd round knockout over Dominique Williams in Detroit to move his record to 3-0. Setting up last week's return to the DoubleTree in Ontario, California. He was supposed to fight in the opening bout of the Thompson Promotion telecast. However after fights got canceled and moved around, Brewer found himself in the evening's main event. A drastic change, going from the opening bout to the main event. It was something that didn't phase the unbeaten prospect. When asked if it changed his approach or mindset Brewer explained, "...a little bit. The objective is the same. When they told me I was the main event, it triggered that moment, oh shoot! I am about to headline." He was put in the position because Thompson Promotions knew he had the ability to whoa the crowd and has headline talent and ability. The undefeated knockout artist did not disappoint in his first televised main event in taking on a formidable opponent, Christian Renteria. Renteria had been in with Stephen Fulton, Joshua Greer Jr, and Gary Antonio Russel, some of the best guys in and around the weight class. He was supposed to push Brewer, test him and take him out to deeper waters, waters he had never been to before. Once the fight started it was clear that the rugged veteran who stood in with some of the best fighters in the world had no chance with Brewer. A right hand to the body landed with a thud and put Renteria to the canvas, a shot that landed with so much pop it seemed like the fight was over at that moment. Brewer described the moment "I thought he was not getting up from the first body shot. I felt my punch literally go through him." A courageous Renteria got back to his feet and somehow fought on. Brewer stayed calm and relaxed, something he said he has worked on with trainer Bones Adams in the gym, and he stayed calm and composed. He patiently stalked his opponent and waited for his opportunity. When it opened up he landed two more clean body shots that put Renteria down for good this time, giving Brewer the 1st round KO and moving his record to 4-0 (3). A performance that led the promotional outfit and countless other commentators and expert pundits to all comment the same thing "there's something special about this kid."

Friday's first-round KO was an eye-opening performance that put the 122 & 126-pound divisions on notice. A star-making performance on a big main event that he wasn't supposed to be in. Opportunities come at the most unexpected times, and time and time again, Brewer has seized on the moment. In doing so has made himself, with the assistance of Bones Adams, one of the boxing's must-watch prospects, despite only stepping into the ring about 6 or 7 seven years ago. Brewer wasn't supposed to be here, but here he is, and he isn't done yet. The undefeated Texan wants to fight again before 2022, and in the not-so-distant future be fighting for world titles and world-class fighters. When asked when he thought that could happen, a confident Brewer replied: "...by the end of 2023 or 2024, I'll be there."

Rodriguez Likely to Vacate, Fight Nakatani at 112

WBC Super Flyweight world champion and front-runner for 2022 fighter of the year Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez, of San Antonio, is likely to vacate his current title and move to his more natural weight class, Flyweight (112-pounds). It has long been rumored and discussed that Rodriguez would go back down to 112 since he won the WBC Super Flyweight title back in February when he dismantled Carlos Cuadras. The initial plan was to win the strap at 115-pounds, vacate and go back down to 112. However there were big money fights and the Texan looked so impressive in taking apart Cuadras, that he stayed at Super Flyweight to defend his belt. He did that twice, first in a homecoming fight against Srisaket Sor Rungvisai in June and then on the Canelo vs GGG 3 undercard in a tougher than expected-defense against Israel Gonzalez last month.

Rodriguez got through the fights at the super flyweight limit with flying colors. However, the size difference is noticeable. In addition, Bam's older brother, Joshua Franco, holds the WBA belt in the weight class and is in line to unify with WBO champ Kaz Ioka in Japan on New Year's Eve. With Franco holding those two belts and Choclatito scheduled to fight Juan Francisco Estrada in December, Bam would have limited options at the weight class.

The move down to 112 doesn't just make sense physically for Rodriguez, it also opens up a huge fight in the weight class and one of the biggest fights the weight class has ever seen. The reports are that a Rodriguez scrap with undefeated WBO Junto Nakatani of Japan is already in the works, possibly for February. “Early next year, two-division world champion for sure. ” the confident San Antonian assured. Bam then plans on unifying the other belts in the division. He mentioned unification fights with IBF Flyweight Champ "Showtime" Sunny Edwards of London, England, and WBC champ Julio Cesar Martinez.

Spence may be Looking at Multiple Mandatory Defenses with Crawford Fight Off

With the undisputed welterweight showdown between WBO champ Terence Crawford and WBA/IBF/WBC Champ, Errol Spence Jr of DeSoto seems to have been scrapped, at least for the foreseeable future. Spence and Crawford agreed to a 65/35 split in favor of the North Texan. However, there was no guaranteed purse. The entire split was based on the net revenue of the PPV's back end. A unique contract for a fight of that magnitude. Crawford asked PBC to open the books. After some dispute and controversy, the mega-unification fight fell out. Crawford has agreed to fight David Avanesyan in December. That leaves Spence, who has been inactive since April, without a fight. He is now under pressure to face two of his mandatory challengers.

The first up appears to be a 28-year-old Lithuanian Eimantas Stanionis, who holds the WBA ‘regular’ title. Stanionis is in line for Spence's super belt in the WBA's consolidation effort. Stanionis is 14-0 (9) and won the 'regular' by outpointing Radzhab Butaev at AT&T Stadium on the undercard of Spence-Ugas.

Spence could take that fight or vacate the belt and potentially fight his IBF mandatory challenger Jarron "Boots" Ennis of Philadelphia. Ennis won a final eliminator in May to put him in a position to fight Spence and is now petitioning the sanctioning body to make the fight ASAP. The Ennis defense is much more intriguing and competitive and would likely be a bigger money fight for Spence.

Spence will have a couple of options with the Crawford fight shelved for now. He could fight Stanionis and then Ennis, and should he win both, then look to make Crawford fight after that. However, that fight would likely be more than a year out. Anything could happen in such a long-time span, including one of, if not both fighters, moving up to the junior middleweight division. The next option Spence could explore is to vacate one of the two belts and then fight either Stanionis or Ennis. Should he win then he could look to make the Crawford again, should each man win. However, that would only be for three of the four welterweight straps. So, the winner of that fight would not be undisputed. The likelihood of the DeSoto native unifying all four belts has taken a major hit. Look for Spence to potentially move from 147 to the 154-pound weight class in 2023.

Sean Brewer Scores 1st round KO in Main Event; Taylor Impresses

For the second consecutive day, an Austin fighter scores a first-round knockout in the main event of a major card. This time it was Sean Brewer on the Thompson Boxing card in Ontario, California. This time it was Brewer scoring the first-round knockout via a body shot at 2:48 of the opening round when referee Jerry Cantu stopped the bout after observing Christian Renteria, who was unable to stand up straight upon making it to his feet for the second time. Brewer opened up the featherweight bout using his reach and firing off his jab, setting up Renteria with the jab and backing his man up. With just under a minute into the ring, Brewer scored with a vicious right hand to the body, square to the sternum putting Renteria down but not out. Renteria somehow found the courage to make it back to his feet. Brewer stayed calm and patiently waited for his next opening. He scored two more body shots including another right to the body of Renteria that put him down for the second and final time. It was a great opportunity for Brewer, who was supposed to fight in the opening of the televised portion, but after bouts got canceled and moved around, the 23-year-old found himself in the main event. When asked about his perfectly times power shots the victorious Austinite said, "Power and speed are goodx, but Timing is everything. "

Nearly 3,000 miles away from Ontario, California, where Brewers scored with a vicious body shot stoppage, it was Houston-based "Marvelous" Marquis Taylor, who was putting on a boxing clinic in Atlantic City at the Bally's Hotel and Casino. Taylor moved his record to 13-1-2 (1), with the wide 8-round unanimous decision victory over Marlon Harington. Taylor is propelling himself into contender status and is moving closer and closer to the world picture. He was featured in the co-main event of Showtime's SHOBOX series on Friday night and did not disappoint. He broke open a rather slow opening round with a thudding right hand that backed up Harrington with about 40 seconds to go in the first round. By the second round, the Texan was well in control and began backing up his opponent. Firing off the jab and landing accurate right hands, Harington already looked out of his league. A slick Taylor was able to avoid the vast majority of Harrington's return fire. By round six, the accumulation of the Houstonian's power shots was breaking his opponent down. The only question was could Taylor get the stoppage? A stiff two-piece combination early in the stanza rocked Harrington. Another right-hand stunned Harrington and wobbled him with about 30 seconds to go in the seventh, and with just about a minute to go in the fight, Taylor landed a right and then a left inside and backed up Harrington. The scorecards were academic as Taylor rolled to the wide points decsion, taking the fight wide on all three cards.

Kid Austin Shines in Indio in Golden Boy Main Event

The Future of Texas Boxing is in great hands as another unbeaten prospect surges up the rankings. "Kid Austin" Floyd Schofield, fighting out of Austin, made his main event debut Thursday in Indio, California. He officially signed with Golden Boy Promotions this summer after his spectacular performance on the Ortiz-McKinson card in Fort Worth. He also has a co-promotional deal with San Antonio-based promoter Davies Entertainment. Kid Austin made a spectacular debut and did not disappoint the new company in his fight as an official part of the team. The 20-year lightweight predicted a first-round knockout and did just that. Completely overwhelming the outmatched Daniel Rosas in just 97 seconds.

Just a minute into the bout Kid Austin backed his man into the ropes and dropped Rosas momentarily, but was ruled a slip and not a knockdown. However, it was obvious at that point that Rosas had nowhere to go and it was just a matter of time. Schofield picked up the onslaught once Rosas got u, and continued the assault. Attacking with head and body shots, driving Rosas back into the ropes again. Schofield set him up whim with the jab, then landed a thudding right hand, and followed it up with a well-placed left hook that knocked Rosas down and out. Giving the Austinite the 12th consecutive win and 10th stoppage to start his young and emerging career.

The youth movement in Texas boxing is on a whole another level. In addition to WBC Super Flyweight Champ 22-Year-Old Bam Rodriguez who has taken the world by storm and should win Fighter of the Year for 2022, there's a 17-year-old phenom, 2-0 bantamweight prospect Jesus "Panterita'' Martinez of Del Rio. Now Schofield is taking the boxing world by storm! The future of boxing is Texas!

Schofield also has an excellent chance to become the first world champion from Austin. The Capital City has produced plenty of good fighters James Kirkland, Casey Ramos, Kurtiss Colvin, and others but none ahve gotten all the way to the top of the mountain. Schofield certainly seems to be headed to the top of that mountain and likely in the very near future and in multiple divisions.

Tanajara Returns to San Antonio on November 18th

It's been well over two years since "El Finito" fought in front of his hometown crowd in San Antonio. That performance he gave back in 2020 at the Alamodome was perhaps the best of his young career at that point. A dominating 10-round UD victory over former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos. A fight that was supposed to set up bigger things. Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney's fights were discussed. A contract was actually signed for a Ryan Garcia fight. Signed by only one party, however, that was Tanajara. "We signed the contract a few times and nothing ever happened. I was getting ready for the fight and the fight switched on me." Tanajara explained.

Since then, things have hit a bit of a speed bump for " El Finto" he was out of the ring for a year and a half waiting on a big fight mix in the pandemic, and it wasn't until last July that Tanajara was back in the ring. A night he just wasn't himself and suffered his first professional loss. Eight months later, Tanajara had to settle for a draw with Miguel Contreras. That was the last time the San Antonian was in the ring.

He looks to bounce back and return to the place where he was the last time he fought in San Antonio, a rising young prospect on the verge of mega-fights in a loaded division. He will enter the ring on November 18 as a 140-pounder. "I just want to see how I feel at 140. If I feel great, I'll stay. If not I'll go back down to 135." Tanajara explained and added, "I feel stronger and more powerful (at 140)." He will battle with the largely unknown Antonio Mieja of Nuevo León, Mexico. Meija has a record of 10-4 (8). "I don't know too much about my opponent, my trainer and my team takes care of that." Tanajara explained, " I know everyone who comes to fight gets my respect. It's a fight just to get into the ring."

The talent and skills that made Tanjara not only an amateur stand out but one of the premier prospects in the sport not long ago are still all there. The Alamo City native was signed by Golden Boy at the age of 18 and he ran off 19 consecutive wins to start his career. Including dismantling Roger Gutierrez over eight one-sided rounds in 2018. Gutierrez would go on to win a world title just two and a half years later. Tanajara's name was mentioned among the premier 135-pound prospects at the time. That included Haney and Garcia. Tanajara was at least at their level. The skills and the talent are still all there. The path back to the world's elite level is clear. That path back starts where it all began San Antonio, Texas.

Haltom City Prospect Not Deterred by Bogus Decisions

23-year-old featherweight prospect Brandon "Bring The Pain" Despain was raised in Michigan and has been fighting out of the Fort Worth Suburb of Haltom City since 2018. He became an amateur stand-out and highly touted prospect. He has been a victim of not one but two bogues decisions three fights into his career, including in his last outing back in January. Despain looks to bounce back after the second egregious decision. Back in January of this year, the Haltom City resident dropped a completely bogus four-round decision to Moses Sixto at the Southern Junction Night Club in Irving. In a fight, Despain dominated with his jab and movement and boxed circles around and outclassed his opponent. Despain was handed one of the hardest luck, bogus, decisions in recent memory. With two of the three judges favoring Sixto. It was the second bad decision in four months. In his pro debut in Austin last September, he had to settle for a draw with Luis Fernandez. A brutal low blow in the opening round, a round that DeSpain was in complete control of, was ruled a knockdown giving the round to Fernandez. Despite the knockdown, DeSpain rolled through the final three rounds of the fight and seemed to have done enough, despite the low blow ruled knockdown. Everyone in the venue thought DeSpain had won! Instead, the north Texas resident had to settle for a draw. DeSpain explained the reaction from his team. "I dont ever hear my coach swear and to see him react the way he did you know something was wrong. If you go back and watch the fight you hear me yelling at Hector [Vazquez], the promoter, I want the rematch!"

He has not been deterred and is back in camp and has two fights on the docket. After being close to calling it quick following the second bad decision in three fights. DeSpain explained, "it was close for me, calling it there after two hard decisions ... but my coaches they kept checking on me, telling me I got talent, dont let anything happen. My coaches were checking on me daily. Checking my health, seeing when I was coming back, making sure my mind was right and anything I needed, they were there for me. I did have some thoughts [of quitting] my gym, my coaches, they made sure I stayed in."

DeSpain is back in camp and working hard, making adjustments. "Camp has been way more intense. I don't want to risk getting any more losses or draws on my record...I've been working on countering a little more and throwing a little more so we don't have that [bad decisions] again."

It's all about adjustments for the 23-year-old featherweight, who learned the fight game up north training in Michigan. He put together an outstanding amateur career that includes wins over Keyshawn Davis in the National Silver Gloves and PBC's former prospect of the year Joey Spencer also of Michigan. He had to adjust and learn a new style when relocating to Texas. Despain explained the process "it's different up north it's all boxing. I came down here and slugged, which helped me out big time. Now I can get to where I can hit hard and sit down. We accomplished a lot as an amateur. I came up here real tense. Boxing up there, it's hit and move, hit and move. Down here you need to be more relaxed so you can stay in the pocket. I feel like I adjusted pretty quickly. I came here in October of 2018 and didn't fight till the Gloves. I accommodated and got decent with everything. I wanna say I got decent with everything. I had to get a whole new style."

The touted prospect has put the bad decisions behind him and has a positive outlook on it all "1-1-1 it's not great but it's a start I can build from it I'd rather take em now than later in my carer" DeSpain looks to bounce back on October 22nd in his home state of Michigan an opportunity he is looking forward to "its an amazing feeling this is my first pro fight in Michigan I got a lot of people contacting me, asking me am I on this card if I am going to show out. It's a big thing for me to go back a lot of those people in Michigan still stick with me and I got a lot of people in Texas I got a lot of people who will travel to see me and that's a 19-hour drive" he explained. After the homecoming fight, it's back to the Southern Junction in Irving to fight unbeaten Fort Worthian Gary Hampton.

The plan is to stay active and fight every two to three months "I would love to fight every other month but it depends on what the promoter is offering... I would love to be able to fight every other month, if not every third month. We were working with the promoter who is doing the December card, he is trying to work out a little contract, and a couple of fights, and we will see how that goes. If it goes well we'll fight hopefully every other month" The talent and skill are still all there despite the blemishes on his record DeSpain will still be a problem for anyone at 126-pounds. He was good enough to beat Davis, who was regarded as USA's best prospect, and Joey Spencer. That's the level of skills DeSpain possesses. He is confident he can get to the level that those two are operating an optimistic DeSpain said Everyone has their time to shine. I'm young, I'm in the game for a long time."

Franco Gets Mega Fight, Will Battle Ioka in Japan

The long-running rumors are now officially true and we have a super fight in the super flyweight division. Future first-ballot hall of Famer, four-division world champion, and current WBO champ Kaz Ioka, 29-2(15) will unify with WBA "Super" Champ "El Profesor" Joshua Franco 18-1-2 (8) of San Antonio. The fight will headline the traditional New Years Eve card in Tokyo, no venue has been confirmed however Ota-City General Gymnasium in Tokyo is the likely landing spot. Ioka has fought there the last three New Years Eves and has fought there in his last five fights overall.

Ioka won the WBO strap in June of 2019 when he blasted out hard-hitting Filipino Aston Palicte in 10 rounds. He has gone on to defend the belt five times including most recently by out-classing Donnie Nietes in a rematch of their 2018 New Years Eve scrap, a narrow decision loss, this marked the second and last defeat of Ioka's historic career.

Franco won his WBA belt back in the ESPN/Top Rank bubble at the height of the Pandemic when he outpointed Andrew Moloney in June of 2020. In his last outing last August he again outpointed Moloney this time in the Hard Rock Tulsa.

Franco has been out of the ring after dealing with a promotional issue and playing the waiting game, he was mandated by the WBA to fight Juan Francisco Estrada. Estrada decided to not fight Franco and vacated his version of the belt and fought unknown Argi Cortes. Franco was upgraded to "Super" Champ and now gets his chance at a mega fight and the opportunity to do what his brother, Bam Rodriguez, has done twice this year and defeat a legend of the smaller weight classes.

Two Unbeaten Prospects Shine in San Antonio

Photo credited Clarissa Noyola Martinez

Two undefeated prospects continued their winning ways in San Antonio this past weekend. Javier Fernandez, of San Antonio, moved his perfect record to 11-0 (7), scoring a third-round TKO of tough veteran Rafael Reyes of New Mexico. Fernandez patiently stalked forward from his traditional wide base. He successfully forced Reyes backward and was able to find the distance, and began attacking the body. The Alamo City native stayed downstairs to the body, breaking Reyes down. By round two the body shots were taking their toll and the New Mexican began to slow. Fernandez started unleashing heavy shots on Reyes to the head and body. One particular uppercut caught his attention, and it became obvious that the veteran was breaking down. The San Antonian kept pressuring and digging body shots. One after another landed on the body of Reyes who was badly hurt and later deducted a point for holding. Fernadez put together another extended rally moments later that left Reyes unable to answer. Referee Gregorio Alvarez finally came in and waved off the bout giving Fernandez a 3rd TKO victory and extending his winning streak to 11.

On the undercard was 17-year-old featherweight phenome "Gatito" Felix Garcia of Laredo boxed beautifully in shutting out an overmatch Alexis Cardona. The Laredoan worked behind a quick and accurate jab. He was able to force Cardona backward and work on the inside. Scoring power shots that affected Cardona. Garcia mixed up head and body shots to perfection. He seamlessly cut off the ring, keeping his man backed up against the ropes. When he had his man's back to the ropes, he unleashed right hands and left hooks to the body of Cardona. "Gatito" gave his opponent no time to breathe or relax as stayed on the attack throughout the four-round affair. Garcia continued unleashing heavy artillery that had his opponents backed into the ropes and slowing down from the collection of body shots. One left hook in particular, in the third round, staggered Cardona. Leaving him defenseless as Garcia teed off with a whirlwind of power shots and gunned for a stoppage. Cardona survived the moment, but the writing was on the wall. Cardona, however, refused to go quietly and had his best moment just as the fourth round began. A left hook caught Garcia flush on the chain. However, the success was short-lived, as Garcia walked right through the shot and was unphased. The Laredo native stayed aggressive and continued coming forward. Closing the show like a seasoned veteran, the teenage sensation stayed on top of Cardona and buckled him with an uppercut in the corner. That led to another prolonged rally, as Garcia rolled to the UD victory, winning every round on every card, 40-36 x3. Moving his record to 4-0 (1).

Vazquez Picks Up Decision Victory; Inches Closer to World Title Shot.

Fort Worth's Edward "Kid" Vazquez continues to make the most of every opportunity given to him. Vazquez picked up an impressive split-decision victory, at the world-famous "Punch Bowl". The Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, outlasted Viktor Slavinskyi, of Ukraine to move his record to 13-1 (3). Picking up his second consecutive victory, since the egregious, bogus decision, he dropped to Raymond Ford, in Phoenix, Arizona, back in February on the undercard of Carlos Cuadras-Bam Rodriguez.

Vazquez delivered a highly impressive performance showing off precision punching, smooth defense and head movement, and solid power on the undercard of Fundora-Ocampo. A card that was televised by Showtime. Getting off to a quick start, the Texan built up an early lead on the cards. The Texan worked behind a stiff jab and was able to work his way onto the inside and take a close but competitive opening stanza. After a competitive first round, the Fort Worthian got cooking in the second. Two right hands dazed the Ukrainian. A short left hook landed on an off-balanced Slavinskiyi and should have been ruled a knockdown but was ruled a slip. Slavinskiyi kept up his high work rate and tried to fight his way back into the fight. However, Vazquez had an answer for everything, and that answer was typically a picture-perfect left hook that was landing with precision over the low lead hand of Slavinskiyi.

The Ukrainian kept up the high work rate and was able to sneak in a few clean shots. However, Vazquez was able to duck and dodge the Ukrainian's artillery and land perfectly timed counter shots with precision. By the sixth round, Vazquez was beginning to wear his opponent down. A thudding left Slavinskyi badly hurt early in the round. Vazquez kept coming forward and again hurt his man. This time with a right hand. With the fight clearly lost on the cards, Slavinskiy picked up the pace and valiantly tried in the last two to get something going but it was clearly not enough, as "Kid" rolled to a points victory by scores of 78-75 and 79-73 with the third judge again doing something absolutely egregious and scoring the bout 77-75 for Slavinskiyi whose record dropped to 13-2-1 (6).

Lopez and Arredondo settle for Draw on Hall Of Fame Night for Texas Boxing.

In what was a very special "Night To Fight" that celebrated the founding of the Texas Boxing Hall of Fame and honored the inaugural class. A class that included former world champs such, as Donald Curry, Paulie Ayala, and countless others delivered an incredibly exciting night of fights. In the main event at the Comerica Center in Frisco, hard-hitting 26-year-old prospect "World Star" Henry Arredondo of San Antonio and the savvy "Fort Worth Wolf" Tony Lopez battled to a very entertaining draw in a six-round super featherweight affair.

Lopez, who took the fight on five days' notice, came out incredibly sharp. Jabbing from his southpaw stance he was scoring at will and mixing in left hands. He was able to keep Arredondo at bay and was able to outland him when the San Antonian did get onto the inside. After a bit of a slow start, Arredondo got going in the third picking up the pace and scoring on the inside. Jabbing his way in he began outworking and out landing Lopez. Firing off sharp combinations that backed his man up. The momentum seemed to shift and Arredondo kept his foot on the gas. However, the Fort Worthian was not done and landed a left hand in the fourth that wobbled the surging Arredondo toward the end of the round. Not wanting to give the round away, Worldstar answered right back with a clean two-piece that landed cleanly on the jaw of Lopez. Arrendondo got back to in the fifth and was again outworking and out-landing Lopez in the fifth, a good round for the Alamo City native. With the fight possibly slipping away The Fort Worthian rallied back in the sixth and final stanza, he stunned Arredondo with a left hand that backed him into the ropes and the Fort Worthian unleashed a ferocious combination of shots to close the fight in style. At the end of six, it appeared to be close to call, and the judges agreed. With two of the three scorings it 57-57 even and the third scored for the San Antonian 58-56. Both parties expressed an interest in a rematch. Arredondo's record moves to 8-1-1 (4) and Lopez is now 17-11-1 (7).

A star was born in the co-main event as Roberto Cruz originally of Cayey, Puerto Rico, but now fighting out of Killeen, Texas, put on the performance of the night in stopping a tough, bad badly outmatched Felipe Reyes from Houston. Working calmly behind a snappy jab and circling around the ring Cruz seized control of the fight from the opening moments. He could not miss with a laser-like right that found its mark early and often. One particular right hand wobbled and nearly dropped Reyes late in the second. Reyes stayed on his feet and survived the round. However, The writing was on the wall and Cruz stayed on the attack. Stalking his man down he hurt Reyes with every right hand. Reyes, who has deducted two points for hitting Cruz to the back was clearly on his last legs. The Puerto Rican was unphased by the constant fouls and kept scoring with and laser-like right hands and mixing in left hooks and uppercuts for good measure. One particular right-hand in the third put Reyes down and in the fourth, the Puerto Rican closed the deal in style closing the show with a barrage of power shots that left Reyes unable to continue. The bout was waived off at 1:19 of round number 4.

In an all-Texas shootout primarily bout, between Cesar Torres of Tyler and Randy Rivera, originally of Cuba, but now fighting out of the famous Maple ave Gym in Dallas. exchanged heavy artillery throughout the scheduled four-round affair. Rivera landed a thudding right-hand left hook combination just before the bell rang to end the opening stanza. Then picked up where he left off with another left hook moments into the second round. Rivera stepped on the gas to start the fourth and final round, scoring with a thudding right hand. Rivera used the ring scoring with stinging rights. Torres pressed the action and landed shots in close range trying to slow down his man and cut the ring off. Torres stayed determined however Rivera stopped the momentum with one of his patented right hands. A mouthpiece fell from Rivera's mouth and then Rivera was deducted for holding but he rallied late with sharp right hands that likely saved a 9-9 round for him and then fight as he rolled to a split decision by the narrowest of margins scores 38-37 for Rivera 38-37 for Torres 38-37 randy Rivera.

A Loaded Three Nights Of Boxing in the Lone Star State

An absolutely loaded weekend of boxing is headed to Texas. In all, the Lone Star State will play host to four different cards. San Antonio has a Friday Card Promoted by Boxing's Finest Promotions. Then Saturday, there is a Davies Entertainment card. The week's action kicks off in Houston on a Thursday night card, with the fourth and final being a DFW area card in Frisco.

The action kicks off Thursday night in Houston on a UCF Streamed card co-promoted by Roy Jones Jr Promotions and ForceTrain/Next Fight Up. The card is headlined, by highly tortured Greek prospect Andreas Katzourakis, who now fights out of Los Angeles, California. He puts his 7-0 (5) record on the line against savvy veteran Cameron Krael 19-22-3 (6) in an 8-round affair. Katzourakis scored a six-round unanimous decision victory over Isiah Jones back in June. In the co-main event, native Houstonian Eduardo Garcia will put his 9-0 record on the line against hard-hitting Mexican knockout artist Abdel Sauceda in an 8-round affair. Garcia is fresh off his summer victory, a career-best win over Dewayne Bonds. The card also features Sugar Land native Bui Ephraim as well as, 8-1-1 Rio Grande Valley native Isaac Torres.

The action moves to San Antonio with two major cards. In Friday night's affair at the Shrine Auditorium, hard-hitting San Antonio native Javy Fernandez puts his undefeated 10-0 record on the line against rugged veteran and former ABF champion Rafael Reyes in the main event. Fernandez is coming off a close and perhaps controversial decision of Weslaco native Cesar Cantu back in August. The card also features all-world blue chip prospect Felix Garcia of Laredo. Garcia, a 17-year-old sensation, sports a perfect 3-0 record and picked up his last victory in the Gateway City by taking a points victory over 18-fight veteran Hector Gutierrez.

The action stays in San Antonio but moves to the Tech Port Arena on Saturday night. The main event is for a vacant ABF welterweight title, as Kevin Johnson 11-2 takes on Alejandro Frias Rodriguez. In the Co-main event Reshard "Too Quick" Hicks returns from a three-year layoff to battle Marquis Hawthorne. The card also features other high-level fighters like undefeated lightweight from Corpus Christi Xavier Nunez and Jason Limon, 4-0-1 of San Antonio, as well as female standouts Iranda Paola Torres and Melissa Holguin, both of San Antonio.

The action concludes at COMERICA Arena in Frisco. The night's main event features the comebacking Henry "World Star" Arredondo. World Star looks to score his second consecutive victory following his lone career defeat against the Fort Worth Wolf Tony Lopez a veteran of 28 professional fights and has been in with premier names like Floyd Schofield, Max Ornelas, Rico Ramos and has a win over Fernando Garcia. The card also features the return of Fort Worth native Jordan Najar 1-0 (0). as well as the professional debut of Juan Gomez.

O'Shaquie Foster to Fight Rey Vargas for Vacant WBC Belt

Orange, Texas, is a small town of about 20,000 on the Sabine River near the Louisiana border. An hour and a half or so from Houston. It was best known for being home to all-pro Free Safety and Super Bowl champ Earl Thomas who also played for the Texas Longhorns from 2007-2009. The little town may now become the city of champions as fellow Orange native O'shaquie "Ice Water" Foster is on the verge of a world title. Foster is 29 years old and currently sports a 19-2 (11) record. It's been a wild ride for Foster, who was once one of the sport's top young prospects. His momentum was derailed after suffering two losses in eight months in 2015-16. He has bounced back in championship form winning nine consecutive fights, including picking up wins over Muhammadkhuja Yaqubov, Miguel Roman, and Jon Fernandez of Spain. He is now just one small step away from becoming a world champion.

Today WBC's Board of Governors unanimously approved the petition from current WBC featherweight champion, Rey Vargas, to fight for the vacant super featherweight title against Foster, the mandatory contender and silver champion. The world title became vacant last month when Shakur Stevenson vacated it on the scale when he missed weight before his title defense against Robson Conceição.

Vargas currently holds the WBC featherweight title and has a record of 36-0 (22). He has held world titles at both 122 and 126. He last fought in July and outpointed Mark Magsayo to capture the WBC 126-pound world title.

Edward "Kid" Vazquez Returns on Fundora-Ocampo Undercard

Edward "Kid" Vazquez of Fort Worth returns to the ring on October 8th to take on Viktor Slavinskyi 13-1-1 (6). Slavinskyi originally hails from Ukraine and is now fighting out of Los Angeles, California. Vazquez sports a 12-1 (3) record and last fought in July and outpointed Jose Argel in the famous 2300 Arena in Philadelphia. Vazquez dominated the fight, winning every round on every card, on his way to picking up the unanimous decision victory. Before that, the Fort Worthian fought Raymond Ford at the Footprint Arena in Phoenix, Arizona. A fight with everyone on press row, everyone in the arena, and even Ford's promoter Eddie Hearn had Vazquez winning. Two of the three judges did the unthinkable and handed in wide scorecards favoring Ford!! In a fight, everyone in attendance had either 98-92 or 97-93 in favor of Vazquez. The bogus verdict looks like the robbery of the year for 2022 but didn't keep the Texan down for long "Once the call was made and they said that I lost, I was mad, for about an hour or so, and that was it. Other than that, I put it behind me." Vazquez said.

He will now battle Slavinskiy in an eight-round affair at the Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California, which is colloquially known as the Punch Bowl. The scrap will be a part of the Sebastian Fundora VS Carlos Ocampo undercard. Ocampo has previously fought for a world title. He was stopped in one round by Errol Spence of Desoto in June of 2018. Slavinski last fought in February and was narrowly and perhaps controversially outpointed by Claudio Marrero. Prior to the Marrero fight, he narrowly outpointed Leduan Barthelemy and has a win over Vazquez's stablemate Clay "3RD Degree" Burns, also of Fort Worth. The card will air on Showtime.

Spence-Crawford fight in Jeopardy Again

DeSoto native and Unified welterweight champion Errol "The Truth" Spence's unification and mega-fight with WBO Welterweight Champ Terence Bud Crawford is again in jeopardy. Small details which were not ironed out are currently holding the fight up. The major tipping point for Crawford seems to be transparency. The WBO champ wants access to event expenses since the contract contains no guaranteed purse. Both fighters will earn a percentage of the total revenue. Crawford wants the ability to approve expenses. The fight was agreed upon but never finalized for November 19th in Las Vegas. If the fight does not come off on the 19th it is unlikely the fight will happen at all in 2022. If that is the case the two world champions would have combined for just one title fight in 2022. Spence fought back in April and stopped WBA champ Yordenis Ugas in 10 rounds to collect the Cubans WBA belt that Spence added to his WBC and IBF straps. Crawford has not fought since November of 2021 when he stopped "Showtime" Shawn Porter in the 11th round of their classic scrap. Crawford and Spence are both undefeated. Crawford sports a 38-0 (29) and has won every fight at 147 via stoppage, the north Texan's perfect record stands at 28-0 (22).

Listo Gaitan Takes Undefeated Record South of the Border

Undefeated Cruiserweight Rafael "Listo" Gaitan of Grand Prairie returns from his 15-month layoff and takes his 7-0-1 (5) record south of the border. He heads to Auditorio Municipal Fausto Gutiérrez Moreno, in Tijuana, Mexico. Where he will battle with fellow unbeaten Cruiserweight Francisco Soto Of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico. Gaitan last fought in July of 2021 and stopped Joel Guzman, who was making his professional debut. It was the second straight win for Listo since the draw he suffered against savvy veteran Neller Obergon, of Baytown, in July of 2019. Gaitan then took nearly two years off and returned to the ring in May 2021. His Opponent, Soto, turned pro in April of 2021 and has fought five times since and has won all five fights by way of stoppage. He last fought in May when he stopped Gonzalo Lopez Rodriguez, in the first round. It will be the first time the Texan is fighting out of the friendly confines of the DFW. The packed card is headlined by former two-division world champion Luis Nery. Nery lost his WBC 122-pound world title to Brandon Figueroa of Weslaco in May of 2021.

Gurment & Ysasi Score Impressive KO's Stay Undefeated in Mesquite

Undefeated 140-pounder and Fort Worth native Benjamin Gurment remained undefeated, scoring his third consecutive KO and moving his record to 7-0-2 (4). The rapidly improving Gourmet has won five fights in a row since his controversial draw to Jordan Jones, a fight most observers thought Gurment earned the nod. Over the past five fights, the Fort Worth native has figured out to keep on winning. Either by close decision, or stunning come from behind, get off the canvas KO fashion. Or by vicious one-punch KO. Like he did in his last outing back in January against Yainiel Alvarez Telemaco. Saturday night at the Indoor Soccer World in Mesquite, the Fort Worth native decided to make it easier on himself. Taking apart an outmarched opponent by the name of John Ross. Dominating the first and then scoring a brutal knockout in the second, to extend his KO streak. Gurment a southpaw worked behind a sharp jab in the early moments of the first round. A left hand to the body hurt Ross badly moments later. Gurment seized the moment and jumped on his opponent, unloading left hands on his wounded opponent to close out a dominant opening round. The second picked up where the first left off. The Fort Worthian pounded away with thudding body shots that dropped Ross. Gurment stayed on the assault and unloaded with a series of pinpoint accurate lefts that finally beat Ross down and into the arms of the red Robert Champa,who waived off the bout 44 seconds into round two.

In the Co-main event, Arlington-based 154-pounder, Jake Ysasi also remained undefeated. Moving his record to 6-0 (1), picking up the first knockout of his impressive career. Ysasi started aggressive landing left hooks and sharp right hands. One right hand in particular just moments into the first round landed perfectly on the side of an overmatched Simon Alejandro Heredia's head and dropped him. The loud thud from the perfectly placed shot left the packed arena thinking the fight was over. but a determined Heredia made it to his feet. However, the beating continued as Ysasi stayed patient and in control until another opportunity presented itself, and it did. The Arlington native landed a perfect left hook to the liver that put his outmatched opponent back on the canvas and this time for good. With the ref reaching the count at 2:59 of the opening round

Also on the card was Gary Hampton of Fort Worth, who moved his record to 2-0 with a unanimous points victory over Luis Fernandez, by scores of 39-37X3. Hampton landed cleaner shots through the scheduled four-round affair and closed the deal nicely in the fourth round scoring with a massive right hand to start the stanza. A collision of heads followed shortly after, which saved Fernendez from what looked like the beginning of the end. Hampton stayed aggressive and rolled to victory but could not pick up the stoppage.

In heavyweight action, Rashard Coulter survived an early scare after being rocked in the first round by an aggressive Luis Pascual. Pascual would eventually fatigue and Coulter would seize on the opportunity and dominate the final four rounds. Rolling to the unanimous decision victory by scores of 58-54x2 and 58-55. In other action, James Vick of Mineral Wells seemed to be the victim of a bad decision to Rodrigo Gonzalez. Vicks likely lost the first round but rallied and dominated the middle rounds of the scheduled four-rounder. In the fourth round, he seemed to be in control firing his jab and maintaining the distance keeping Gonzalez at bay and nullifying his aggression. The judges however disagreed, narrowly scoring in favor of Gonzalez by scores of 39-37x2 and 38-38.