Northern California Notebook

By Mario Ortega Jr.

Julaton Wins in Vegas; Targets Nava in ‘08

Last Thursday, Ana Julaton (3-0) of Daly City, California, nearly shutout Clara De La Torre (1-4, 1 KO) of Santa Fe, New Mexico in a four-round bout at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. Julaton outworked the much taller De La Torre for the duration of the four rounds, winning every round except for one on the scorecard of Judge Chuck Giampa. “She was tall, in good shape and a little unortodox,” Julaton said of her opponent. The bout aired live on the Versus network’s Fight Night program. Julaton, who landed the #13 ranking with WBC after scoring a victory over tough Carly Batey in February, hopes to appear on the undercard of Gerry Penalosa’s title defense against Ratanachai Sor Vorapin at Araneta Coliseum in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines on April 6th. Fighting on that card would be a thrill since Penalosa is one her heroes. It would also be Julaton’s first professional bout on Philippine soil. According to advisor Angelo Reyes, the plan is to keep Julaton as busy as possible and meet up with current Interim WBC Super Bantamweight Champion Jackie Nava (16-2-2, 9 KOs) of Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico for the title before the end of the year. Alejandra Oliveras (10-0-2, 3 KOs) is currently listed as the WBC champion, but Reyes expects Nava to be elevated to full champion status due to Oliveras’ inactivity. Since Julaton was barely hit with a solid punch on Thursday, her team was holding out hope she could be back in the ring as soon as March 28th. “We are going to go as fast as possible,” says Reyes of plans to keep Julaton climbing in the world rankings. To steal a line from 15rounds.com’s own Michael Swann, if there were a belt for best smile, she would already have one.

Updated Fight Night at the Tank Card

There have been a few changes announced for Thursday’s card at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California. Eloy Perez (10-0-2, ) of Salinas, California is off the card because his team did not want to drop him back to a four-round bout, which was the slot that was available for him on Thursday. Other fighters previously announced but off the card for undisclosed reasons are Adrian Gallon Jr. (pro debut) of Oakland, California and Joaquin Marquez (3-0-1, 3 KOs) of Madera, California.

An intriguing addition to the card is Watsonville, California’s Carina Moreno, the WBC Minimumweight Champion. Moreno (16-1, 5 KOs) will be fighting in a non-title, four-round bout against Mayela Perez (7-5-1, 6 KOs) of Saltillo, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico. Perez is coming off an unsuccessful attempt at the vacant Interim WBC Super Flyweight title, suffering a sixth-round knockout at the hands of Ana Maria Torres in October of 2006. Also added to the card, 2006 National PAL Champion Rico Ramos, of Los Angeles, California, makes his pro debut against tough Sammy Yniguez (2-1-1) of Oak Hills, California in a four-round super bantamweight fight. Eric Garcia, who fights out of the famed Salinas, California Garcia Boxing stable, will make his pro debut against relatively experienced Marlo Cortez (2-4-1, 1 KO) of Van Nuys, California in a four-round junior middleweight contest. U.S. Olympic Trials qualifier Michael Dallas Jr. of Bakersfield, California makes his professional debut against Alejandro Balladares, who will also be making his professional debut, in a bout scheduled for four rounds.

Adding incentive to the four-round bouts on the card, is the contest “You Be The Judge,” the brainchild of promoter Dan Goossen. After the four-round bouts are completed the crowd will name one of the winning fighters the fighter of the night. The fighter who gets the loudest crowd reaction will win a trophy, the “AMI Cup”, a cash bonus and a slot at the next Fight Night at the Tank card. Going in, the odds on favorite to win would have to be Carina Moreno, given her immense popularity in the Bay Area. It was recently announced that all of the four-round bouts will air at a later date on Fox Sports Net.

The main bouts remain as scheduled. In the ten-round super middleweight main event, local hero Andre Ward (14-0, 9 KOs) meets his toughest test to date in former title challenger Rubin Williams (29-3-1, 16 KOs) of Detroit, Michigan. Ward, the sole 2004 U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist, out of Oakland, California, looks to crack the top ten with an impressive victory. In the co-main, former San Francisco Golden Gloves Champion Karim Mayfield (5-0-1, 5 KOs) takes on Francisco Santana (8-0, 4 KOs) of Santa Barbara in a six-round light middleweight bout. Both Mayfield, of nearby Daly City, California, and Santana have fought at the HP Pavilion previously, displaying their crowd pleasing styles. It seems unlikely that this crossroads battle of prospects could be anything other than an exciting fight. Both main events will air on Fox Sports Net’s Best Damn Sports Show on March 27th. Tickets for card, promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, are available by calling 408-998-TIXS or online at Ticketmaster.com.

More Moreno News

As mentioned above, Carina Moreno was a late addition to Thursday’s card at the HP Pavilion in San Jose, California where she meets Mayela Perez in a four-round bout (a rarity for a reigning champion). Earlier in the week, it was reported by WBAN (Women’s Boxing Archive Network), that Moreno has been added to the June 13th female pay-per-view event that takes place at the Isleta Resort & Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Moreno will reportedly take on Eileen Olszewski (5-0-1) for the vacant IFBA Light Flyweight title. Olszewski, who has only been fighting as a professional since 2006, scored a victory over talented Elena Reid (19-4-5, 5 KOs) to win the WIBA Flyweight title last month. Moreno, who was named WBC Female Fighter of the Year, may also still compete on the April 17th card at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California.

Salinas’ Perez Headlines in Porterville

Eloy Perez (10-0-2, 2 KOs) of Salinas, California is slated to headline at the Eagle Mountain Casino in Porterville, California on April 26th. The bout, to be scheduled for ten rounds, will come against an opponent to be named. It will be the third time in his last four bouts that Perez headlines a fight card, but the first time he has been scheduled for ten. He is coming off a third-round knockout of Ron Boyd at the Monterey Conference Center in Monterey, California on October 26th. As mentioned above, Perez was originally slated for Thursday’s card in San Jose, but was moved to the April card where he could fight in a ten-rounder, which was a happy tradeoff for manager Kathy Garcia of Garcia Boxing.

Talmadge Scores Second Straight Win

San Francisco, California’s Cynthia Talmadge improved to (2-1, 2 KOs) with a third-round knockout of Catalina De La Cruz (0-1) of Los Angeles, California at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California this past Saturday. Referee Jose Cobian was forced to stop the bout when De La Cruz failed to answer back a barrage of punches in the third round. The bout was part of a private show promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions where proceeds went to aid former world champion Jose Victor Burgos, who suffered a brain injury in a failed title try against Vic Darchinyan, and the Santa Fe Springs Boxing Club. Talmadge, a former San Francisco Golden Gloves Champion, suffered her lone pro loss when she was matched tough against naturally larger Jennifer Barber in her pro debut last July. Barber has gone on to post an impressive (5-0, 3 KOs) record.

Chuy Back in Action

Jesus “Chuy” Rodriguez of Salinas, California looks to get back into the title hunt by staying busy, following a disappointing performance against prospect Mike Alvarado (20-0, 13 KOs) last month. Rodriguez (17-3, 5 KOs) will first fight in an eight-round bout April 17th at the San Manuel Casino in Highland, California. Rodriguez, who plans to eventually campaign down at lightweight, will meet an opponent to be named at 137 pounds. Tickets for the card, promoted by Patrick Ortiz’ Ringside Ticket, are available online at Ticketmaster.com. On May 31st, Rodriguez will meet southpaw Jose Reynoso (9-2, 1 KO) of Riverside, California in a ten-round light welterweight bout at the Harrah’s Rincon Casino & Resort in Valley Center, California. The card will also be promoted by Patrick Ortiz’ Ringside Ticket.

Perez Returns Next Week

Top Rank-promoted prospect Alejandro Perez (11-0-1, 6 KOs) returns to action March 28th in West Covina, California against Carlos Valcarcel (9-1-4, 4 KOs) of Miami, Florida in a scheduled eight-round super featherweight bout. Perez, of Salinas, California, was forced to withdraw from a bout against Jorge Cardenas (9-4-4, 6 KOs) last month with the flu. The bout with Valcarcel will be the co-feature on Telefutura’s Solo Boxeo program.

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com