The boxing scene in Laredo and throughout the 956 is hotter than a pistol, and one of the region's brightest and most exciting stars is set to return to the ring and on a major card. 27-year-old Jorge Castaneda will return to the squared circle next Wednesday at the Whitesands Event Center in Plant City, Florida, as part of the PROBOX TV series. Castaneda, a Laredoan, scored two big-time wins in 2021, upsetting not one but two of Eddie Hearn's prized prospects. He upset Otha Jones in April of that year and came back in October, and upset Youssef Khoumari. The Texan then suffered his first career loss to Eduardo Hernandez in June 2022. The South Texan was then out of the ring for 14 months with a new trainer, the trainer of legendary little man Chocolatio, Marcos Caballero, and Castaneda looked spectacular in his return. In his first fight in his native city in over four years, Castaneda scored a vicious 8th-round KO of the undefeated Nestor Medellin at the Sames Auto Arena. Now, the 27-year-old will return with a major challenge! A win could propel him into the world title picture. On the 29th of November, Castaneda will take on 28-year-old Puerto Rican prospect Orlando Gonzalez. Gonzalez sports a 21-2 (12) record and has won three fights in a row since his loss at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey, on an ESPN Televised Top Rank card to Misael Lopez. Gonzlaez's last fight was in July, and the Puerto Rican outboxed Ramiro Cesena over ten rounds to pick up a unanimous decision victory.
Castaneda and Juarez Score KO's on Night of Mixed Results for Laredo Fighters
Photo Credit: Cristian Rios Photography
It's been four years since Jorge Castaneda last fought in his home city of Laredo, and the now 26-year-old was eager to put a show on for his hometown fans, and he did exactly that. After somewhat of a slow start, Castaneda got cooking and sealed the deal with a thudding one-punch knockout that put Rio Grande Valley native Nestor Medellin out cold. In what was a highly competitive fight early, it ended abruptly. The early rounds saw Castaneda jabbing and boxing beautifully but may have given some rounds away by letting Medellin back him against the ropes and unleash power shots and outwork him on the inside. Castaneda got going in the third Castaneda began circling and firing off his jab. The pin-point jab set up a left hook that scored on Medellin's body and took some steam out. Medellin answered back immediately with a hook to the Gateway City native's head that slowed Castaneda down. When the Laredo native jabbed and circled, he had success the RGV native found his success on the inside, where he could score his hooks and uppercuts. However, the body attack from Castaneda was persistent. The scrap was very competitive but saw Castaneda start to pull ahead in the second half of the scheduled eight-rounder. In the eighth perhaps Medellin saw the fight slipping away on the cards, and he valiantly slammed on the gas, bringing the fight to Castaneda. He scored with a left hook early sending the hometown fighter reeling into the ropes. However, Castaneda slid off the ropes and got back behind his jab. Medellin worked his way back on the inside, and the two exchanged power shots in the close range. However, his punches no longer had the same steam, and with just under a minute to go in the fight, Castaneda unleashed the right hand from hell! A perfectly placed uppercut that about took his opponets to head off and put him on the canvas and out as the referee immediately waved the bout off without a count. Castaneda moved his record to 15-2 (11).
It was the first fight for Castaneda with his new trainer Marcos Caballero who is the trainer of legendary four-division future hall of famer Roman "Chocolatito" Gonzalez. Caballero was highly impressed with Castaneda, who he has worked with for just over a month "We made a lot of improvements, and he listens well." Caballero said.
"El Mago" Josh Juarez started his career and had the bulk of his success in the light heavyweight division. He tried his hand last year as a smaller heavyweight and scored a first-round knockout. Juarez Saturday night as a 241-pound heavyweight and gave forth a dominating performance. He possessed the same hand speed and skills that he sported as a light heavy. He rocked Leopoldo Reyna with a right hand around the midway point of the first round showing his power carried up through the division. He got back behind his jab and was landing it with accuracy. He was able to consistently make Reyna miss and tag him with a counter shot when he did. Another left hook came in and rocked Reyna again just moments later. He scoffed with another right hand just before the bell to end the opening round. The second picked up exactly where the first left off, with Juarez in complete control. The Laredo native walked his man down with his jab and landed clean right hands. A barrage of right hands put the overwhelmed opponent down a minute into the second. Juarez stayed patient, and another right hand rocked Reyna as the two exchanged some words. Clearly, on wobbled legs, Reyna was eating one big shot after another, and his corner came in and called a halt to the bout. The stoppage gave Juarez his 11th win and 6th stoppage in 11 pro bouts. The goal for Juarez is to stay busy and be back in the ring before the end of 2023. The 26-year-old showed the speed, power, and skill set that can take him far in the heavyweight division.
Other Laredo fan favorites had their comebacks stalled out. Hector "Baby Hurricane" Ferreyro Jr suffered the first loss of his young and promising career. The son of the former heavyweight belt holder was caught with a right hand early from Jesus Gomez, and he never fully recovered from it. He found himself on the canvas and was able to beat the count, but Gomez slammed on the gas and landed a barrage of power shots that put the Laredo native out cold. Ferreyro dropped to 6-1 (3), and Ferreryo was 2-0 with two first-round knockouts after a three-year layoff from March 2020 to March 2023.
Leopoldo Martinez returned to the ring for the first time since back-to-back losses to Kingsville native Oscar Cantu and fellow Gateway City native Jaime Jasso in 2020. The three-and-a-half-year layoff proved to be too much for Martinez as he was knocked out in the first round by Jose Casiano of Nuevo Laredo, Mexico
Also on the card was Laredo native Mario Ramirez, who made his pro debut a successful one scoring a dominant one-sided point victory over Alex Ramirez, also of Laredo, who was also making his pro debut. Mario dominated the fight with a pin-point accurate jab and a thudding left hook and won the four-round jr middleweight affair by scores of 40-36 x2 and 39-37 to move his record to 1-0 (0).
Jorge Castaneda & Josh Juarez Return to Laredo August 19th
Laredo, the 10th largest city in the Lone Star State, is quickly becoming a major boxing hotbed. Two of their biggest and brightest stars will return home on August 19th at the Sames Auto Arena on a Triple A Promotions card. In the main event, Jorge Castaneda, 15-2 (11) will battle undefeated Nestor Medellin, 9-0 (4), in an eight-round featherweight affair and battle of the 956. Castaneda has been around the world and has upset victories over Otha Jones III and Youssef Khoumari in the UK and last fought in Mexico and was stopped by Eduardo Hernandez on the undercard of Hiroto Kyoguchi vs Esteban Bermudez that aired live on DAZN. He now looks to bounce back in his hometown against Medellin who has a hotly debated split decision victory over fellow Laredo native Jorge Ramos in his last outing back in 2020. Its been three years out of the ring for Medelian who fights out of Harligen. Castaneda has acquired a number of straps including ABF belts as well as the WBC Youth intercontinental super featherweightr belt as well as the WBC International silver belt at ther same weight weight calss.
In the co-main event fan favorite undefeated boxer-puncher Josh Juarez, 10-0 (5), will also retrun to the ring. Juarez scored an impressive unamioud decision victory over Neller Obergon in a battle of unbeaten prospects then outpointed Emmanuel Sanchez on a Golden Boy card in Grand Prairie. He then had a nearly three year lay off before returning to the ring last July and destroying Randy McCarty in less than one-round. Now he looks to continue his come back against Leopoldo Reyna 11-3-1 (4), of Brownsville in a six-round heavyweight contest. Reyna last fought in March and was stopped by Raphael Murphy in one round. Juarez has competed at both heavyweight and Light Heavyweight in the past and has talked about settling in at cruiserweight in the future.
The undercard portion will also feature Hector "Tito" Ferreyro Jr, 6-0 (3), who has scored two consecutive first-round KO's in his comeback including earlier this month when he destroyed Rafael Munoz. He will battle Mexican Jesus Gomez Rodriguez, 5-3 (4), who alst fought San Antoni native Eddie Ortiz in his last fight in 2019. The card also features Jose Cardenas who looks to keep the momentum going after his upset victory over "Tigre" Hugo Castaneda on July 1.
Josh Juarez, looks Sharp in Return, Eyes Cruiserweight Division
"El Mago '' Joshua Juarez of Laredo returned to the ring in his hometown after a more than two-year layoff in sensational fashion. Moving up to heavyweight for the first time in his career, Juarez scored a sensational first-round knockout out of veteran Randy McCarty. It was exactly what you would want from a prospect returning from a prolonged layoff. Juarez described the scene "It felt great after being away from the ring... I didn't feel any ring rust. We had a good crowd in Laredo."
It was the first time since 2018 that the Gateway City native fought in front of his hometown fans. He was more than excited to be back in front of his native Laredoans. An opportunity he jumped at " Perfect! Let's get it." Juarez exclaimed when informed of the opportunity by his manager, Lamont Roach Sr. He admitted he did have some nerves " I thank God, He blessed me with fighting in Laredo. I had a little Jitters to see how it was fighting at heavyweight."
If the 25-year-old had jitters, they didn't last long as McCarty didn't make it out of the first round. " I wanted to impress in my first fight back. I wanted a knockout. I expected him to go all six rounds. This guy had 11 professional fights... He had 50-something or 60-something MMA fights. You know those guys are built tough. They take kicks. knees, elbows to the face." A victorious El Mago said about his comeback fight.
It was everything you would want in a comeback fight and Juarez gives a large share of the credit to longtime friend and new trainer Alex Rincon. Rincon, a 27-year-old undefeated junior middleweight prospect, who hails from the Dallas area, worked the corner of Juarez. A first for Rincon, but something the young Dallasite excelled at, and it appears to be a match made in heaven. The two were roommates at the National Golden Gloves when they both represented Texas. Juarez said he plans on keeping Rincon in his corner in future fights " Alex gives me the work with strength and conditioning. It was good having him with me mentally and physically. He's not only a boxing trainer, but he does strength and conditioning as well, and those were tough."
In addition to Rincon, Juarez had Light heavyweight/super middleweight contender Eddie Ortiz in his corner. Ortiz's dad served as the cutman. Additionally, fellow Laredo native and 2021 breakthrough prospect Jorge Castaneda accompanied Juarez ringside. It was a who's who of young upcoming Texas fighters in El Mago's corner that got Juarez through a bit of nerves about fighting at heavyweight. Juarez got over the nerves pretty quickly saying "Once you know you can take the pop you're good." Juarez had previously campaigned at the light heavyweight limit of 175-pounds. He weighed 228 for his heavyweight debut, and McCarty tipped the scales at 240. Juarez plans on moving down to cruiserweight shortly saying " I always said I could drop back down to light heavyweight... When this year started, I looked back at it, I looked really skinny. The pop didn't feel the same in the amateurs and fighting at 178. I felt ok, but when I fought at 201, I was actually stopping people. I was walking around at one-ninety-something. I was stopping people and winning more at that weight. Maybe cruiserweight is the weight for me and I will stick at that weight."
Cruiserweight seems to be a perfect fit for the south Texan. He will sport amazing hand speed in the division and will still carry pop at the weight class. At 25 years old he has also filled out to full-blown cruiserweight. He won't look overweight or underweight he explained. Juarez plans on fighting once more in 2022, hopefully in late October or early November, before the holidays, but has to get with Roach, his manager, and iron out all those details. He said he plans on fighting at maybe "210 or 215 pounds" and that the layoff weight is "coming off slowly but surely."
Despite the layoff, Juarez remained sharp and said he is walking around at 229-pounds just a pound over where he fought on July 30th. He is staying in shape and on weight for a hopeful quick turnaround as he looks to get back to where he was before the pandemic layoff. That's an emerging prospect. Juarez aptly described his journey so far " Its a long road but looking back at its short road. I've been to camps in California, DC, Mexico, Dallas, Austin." he said and added he's still young and learning " It's true what they say, in boxing, you never stop learning. I am still learning. I am still young in the sport, very young actually."
Juarez, among others like Castaneda and top-ranked women's amateur standout Jennifer Lozano, has led the surge of boxing in the Gateway City. The Gateway City is quickly becoming not just one of the top hot spots for boxing in Texas. It is becoming one of the premier boxing hotspots anywhere in the country. Something Juarez is excited to be a part of "I am a hometown kid! ... I love Laredo. All I do is support Laredo things, businesses, boxers, fighters, etc. Laredo is getting up there, and to be a part of it makes me happy." It certainly is, and a healthy, sharp, and active Juarez could realistically become the first cruiserweight champion from Laredo in the not so distance future.
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.
Jorge Castaneda heads back to UK; Battles former World Champ
Jorge Castaneda, of Laredo, looks to pull off the trifecta. He has beaten two of Eddie Hearn's top 130-pound prospects and now he looks to beat former world champion Kid Galahad. Castaneda, 15-1 (11) will defend his WBC International Silver Super Featherweight Title that he won back on October 30th.
2021 was a breakthrough year for the Gateway City native, after being out of the ring for all of 2020, Castaneda came back with a vengeance. He was used as an opponent for one of Matchroom Boxing's elite prospects, Otha Jones III, and was supposed to lose. Castaneda had far, far, different plans and outclassed the unbeaten OJ3 on the undercard of Andrade-Williams back in April of last year. Six months later Hearn took the Laredo native over to the UK to challenge a more experienced fighter in Youssef Khoumari but the result was the same. Castaneda rallied and pulled out a decision victory over Khoumari to capture the WBC international silver title in October on the undercard of Chantelle Cameron vs Mary McGee at the 02 Arena in London
This time Hearn brings the tough Texan back to the UK but at the Motorpoint Arena, in Nottingham as part of the Leigh Wood VS Mick Conlocard. Castaneda will look to move to 3-0 against Matchroom Fighters in just a 12-month span. Galahad certainly represents the biggest challenge of the three. Galahad, who is moving up from featherweight to super featherweight, briefly held the IBF 126-pound world title. He stopped Jazza Dickens in August of last year before losing the belt to Kiko Martinez in what was a shocking upset in his inaugural defense this past November.
Laredo is best known in the boxing world for producing the Canizalez brothers Orlando and Gaby both held world titles. Orlando held the IBF bantamweight title from 1988 to 1995 and was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame. Gaby won the WBA bantamweight title by knocking out Richard Sandoval in the seventh round of the scheduled 15 rounder in 1986. He also captured the WBO version of the title in 1991 when he stopped Miguel Lora. Should Castaneda defeat Galahad, he will find himself in an excellent position to challenge for a world title later in 2022. The current champion in the 130-pound division is Oscar Valdez, Shakur Stevenson, Roger Gutierrez, and Kenichi Ogawa.
Jorge Castaneda Scores Another Upset Victory, Closes In On World Title Fight
It was a long two-year layoff for Jorge Castaneda who suffered through medical injuries that canceled one fight and then a global pandemic that kept him out of the ring for another year. He finally returned to the ring back in April and scored an upset decision victory over Otha Jones III in Miami, Florida on the undercard of Andrade-Williams. That set up what happened on Saturday night in London, England. A fight that Castaneda announced to his hometown fans in Laredo at Fight Fest 9/11.
Castaneda was matched with unbeaten British prospect Youseff Khamari in a 10 round affair at the 02 Arena for the WBC Super featherweight silver title. A win would propel the Laredo native to the world-class level and put his name in world title discussions, and a win is what the Texan delivered. After a fairly even first half of the fight, Castaneda jammed on the gas and went full steam ahead. Moving only forward he started to break his British foe down. Scoring with right hands and left hooks Khamari clearly started to slow down. The eighth round swung the momentum in the favor of the Gateway City native for good as a left hook staggered Khamari and sent him reeling backwards. Castaneda followed up and unleashed a barrage of power shots and nearly got his man out. A game Khamari survived the round and fought valiantly over the last six minutes. However, it wasn't enough as Castaneda had worn him down and continued the onslaught to capture the decision by scores of 96-94, 97-94 with the third judge somehow scoring it even at 95-95
Castaneda came back to Laredo as a hometown hero, he's come 180 degrees. From being stopped in his home city to a hero's welcome at Laredo, Laredo International Airport. The stakes are about to get higher for the Laredo, Native. The home of former world champion Gabriel and Orlando Canizales is now on the brink of being the home of yet another world champion. Jorge Castaneda is now the leader in the clubhouse to be the next Gateway City native to capture a world title, a young stable of talented Laredo based fighters is capturing the attention of the boxing world, in addition to Castaneda, Josh Juarez, Jaime Jasso, Nick Molina and a litany of other young upstarts are putting Laredo on the boxing map and have bright careers ahead of them. However, it's Castaneda who is on the face track to a world title. A fight between him and another one of Eddie Hearn’s young British prospects, Joe Cordina, is already being called for on both sides of the Atlantic. If that fight can't get made and Castaneda has lots of young 130-pound prospects in the US he would match up interestingly with including Gabe Flores Jr, Xavier Martinez, Albert Bell, and Lamont Roach are all out similar positions of their career and would make high level, fascinating scraps that could propel the inner into a world title fight.