RENO, NEVADA — In a rematch of former 108-pound titlists, Ulises Solis will take on Eric Ortiz in the ten-round main attraction at the Grand Sierra Resort & Casino tonight. The event will be televised live by Fox Sports en Espanol and air on tape delay on Fox Sports Net affiliates nationwide. Saturday’s fight card is part of a centennial celebration weekend honoring the Jack Johnson-James J. Jeffries World Heavyweight Championship fight, which took place in Reno on July 4th exactly 100 years ago. Fighters from tonight’s card weighed in Friday afternoon at the casino’s Xtreme Sports Bar & Lounge.
Solis (30-2-2, 21 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico will fight Ortiz (32-10-3, 21 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a bout held just about the 112-pound light flyweight limit. Their first meeting took place in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico in 2006. Solis, making the first defense of the IBF title at the time, outboxed Ortiz and bloodied him in the middle rounds. With a little over a minute left in the ninth, Solis landed a sweeping left hook that dropped Ortiz flat on his back. Ortiz gamely rose to his feet, but was downed again by right hand, which was followed by a grazing left hook. Ortiz watched the count and got to his feet again, but referee Jesus Salcedo wisely stopped the fight.
Ortiz peaked with a surprising upset of Jose Antonio Aguirre by seventh-round stoppage to claim the WBC Light Flyweight title in March 2005. However, just six months later Ortiz would drop the belt to Brian Viloria via devastating first-round kayo. Six months after that came the loss to Solis for the IBF strap. Outside of a couple upsets over largely unproven prospects, Ortiz has lost when he has fought against quality opposition in the years since.
Solis, currently the IBF #1/WBO #3 ranked 108-pounder, is taking a calculated risk by even stepping into the ring tonight. In his last time out, Solis gained mandatory contender status for the IBF title currently held by Argentinean Luis Lazarate. However, Lazarate has a September title defense against Carlos Tamara already scheduled, so it was important for Solis to land an interim fight. Appearing quite friendly at the scales, Solis weighed in at 113 ½, while Ortiz scaled 114-pounds on Friday afternoon.
In the televised co-feature, welterweight Mark Jason Melligen (18-2, 13 KOs) of Cebu City, Cebu, Philippines will look to continue to rehabilitate his prospect status against IBF #9 ranked lightweight contender Anges Adjaho (25-2, 14 KOs) of Geneva, New York by way of Cotonou, Benin in a ten-round bout.
Melligen originally was tabbed to fight the last man to defeat him, Mexican Michel Rosales. The fight was scrapped when Rosales opted to take a bout in Mexico for a minor title on June 26th in lieu of the rematch with Melligen. “He is plain scared to face me again,” said Melligen in reference to Rosales’ late pull out. While Adjaho has never before fought a legitimate welterweight, he also has only lost to two high caliber opponents. With a clear cut win over Adjaho, Melligen would undoubtedly improve his standing in regards to world rankings with the major sanctioning bodies. Melligen weighed in at 147-pounds, while Adjaho 146 ½ on Friday.
Drawing interest from local fight aficionados, former world ranked contender Joey Gilbert (19-2, 15 KOs) of Reno will look to take another step back towards contention against the always tough Billy Bailey (10-8, 4 KOs) of Bakersfield, California in an eight-round light heavyweight bout. Gilbert is coming in off of two consecutive stoppage victories since his February 2009 decision defeat to local rival Jesse Brinkley. Prior to a suspension in 2007, Gilbert had been ranked in the top ten by both the WBC and WBO at 160-pounds.
While Gilbert has been campaigning at super middleweight, in Bailey he will meet a more natural 175-pounder. Bailey fought just two weeks ago, losing a disputed eight-round decision to hyped prospect Mark Tucker on the Andre Ward-Allan Green undercard in Oakland, California. Bailey has had an up-and-down career, fighting mostly in his opponents’ backyards. However, Bailey has been stopped just once, and more than a few of his losses have been questionable decisions. Their fight, scheduled to be the second of the night, could be the show-stealer. Gilbert weighed in at 172-pounds, while Bailey came in at the contract limit of 173.
In the opening fight of the night, 2008 Mexican Olympian Francisco Vargas (1-0, 1 KO) of East Los Angeles, California by way of Mexico City will take on Juan Sandoval (1-3, 1 KO) of San Bernardino, California in a four-round super featherweight fight. Vargas, who turned pro with a fourth-round knockout in March, weighed in at 130-pounds. Sandoval, who took the fight on short notice, replacing the originally scheduled Andrew Rempp, weighed in two pounds over at 132. Originally Vargas’ trainer had asked Sandoval to lose a pound, but he was later convinced to allow the additional weight.
Carlos Gaytan (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Reno will take on the heavily tattooed Alex Rivera (2-1, 2 KOs) of Las Vegas, Nevada in a four-round super middleweight bout. Gaytan, who scored a brutal knockout over Jack Montgomery in his debut at the Grand Sierra earlier this year, weighed in at 169-pounds. Rivera, coming off of his first-career defeat in February, scaled 168-pounds.
In a pairing of journeyman light welterweights, Khadaphi Proctor (4-5-1) of Hesperia, California will take on John Figueroa (7-5-3, 3 KOs) of Salinas, Puerto Rico in a bout that may be six or four-rounds depending on the length of the televised fights. Proctor, who scaled 138-pounds, has dropped three straight, albeit to touted prospects. Figueroa, who weighed in at 137-pounds, ended a three-fight skid with a decision victory in April.
The weekend celebration of Johnson-Jeffries began Friday night with a gala held at the casino’s Grand Theatre where the fight card will be held tonight. Johnson’s great niece, Linda Haywood, stole the show with an emotional story about how the 1910 fight has affected her family. Author Wayne Rozen recounted the lead-up, aftermath and actual fight with a detailed multimedia presentation. Several events will take place this morning as well as Sunday, for more information visit JohnsonJeffries2010.com. Tickets for the tonight’s live boxing event, promoted by Let’s Get It On Promotions and Top Rank, are available online at GrandSierraResort.com.
Quick Weigh-in Results:
Flyweights, 10 Rounds
Solis 113 ½
Ortiz 114
Welterweights, 10 Rounds
Melligen 147
Adjaho 146 ½
Light Heavyweights, 8 Rounds
Gilbert 172
Bailey 173
Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Vargas 130
Sandoval 132
Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Gaytan 169
Rivera 168
Light Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Proctor 138
Figueroa 137
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.
