Thursday at Imbibe Cigar Bar on Nob Hill, Chavez Promotions held a press conference to announce details of their upcoming boxing card. The main event will be an eight round contest between home town hero Josh “Pitbull” Torres and veteran Daniel Gonzales of Montana. The undercard will also feature “Duke City” boxers Alex Holguin, Michael Gallegos and debuting Ronnie Baca. Joe and Isabel Chavez hosted the event and informed the media there will also be an amateur card held in the afternoon. The first Chavez promotion I attended was four years ago at the Wool Warehouse featuring seven four round contest. That was a great night of boxing and set the expectation meter high for all future Chavez promotions.

Josh Torres it will be a comeback of sorts, as he’s coming off a lost to Cameron Krael by decision in Grants, NM. Since 2013 Torres has stepped up the level of competition in an attempt to gain recognition at the top level of the sport. Standing in the opposite corner, in addition to Krael, were Ranee Ganoy, Jose Marrufo and Dusty Hernandez Harrison. A KO win in a fifth bout rounded out the competition. When you step up in competition, understandably the wins and KO’s don’t come as easily. Torres never thought they would and knows the road to the top will be difficult. Over that time period he’s proven he can go ten hard rounds and possesses a cement chin.

In facing Gonzales he will be facing a durable opponent, who should enjoy a size advantage over “Pitbull.” Gonzales’ record might not be as pretty as the above mentioned opponents but he comes to fight. I saw him go the distance with hard punching middleweight Abie Han last year in El Paso, Texas. If Torres stops Gonzales inside the distance, he’ll have to show some firepower he’s never displayed before. Torres and his trainer Danny Perez know that to reach the next level it will take more than just conditioning. They’ll need to add some new tricks to Josh’s arsenal.

One thing I’ve always liked about Torres, he never makes excuses. In his lost to Krael he credited his rival with hurting his left eye with a clean punch. “I’ve never been in a fight where I couldn’t see out of one eye like that. Krael was the better man that night, but I do believe I had a lot more fight in me than I was able to show to the fans.”

In the six round semifinal bout, junior lightweight Alex Holguin will face Serrano Farley of Farmington, NM. Holguin is a former two time state golden gloves champion who throws a nice combination. Tall and rangy, he works well behind a nice left jab and knows how to exploit mistakes. The knock on Holguin is his lack of fights since turning pro two years ago.

Ronnie Baca will be debuting at welterweight. Like Holguin he’s tall and rangy and trains with Fidel Maldonado Sr. I’ve seen him work out in the gym, but never seen him in an actual bout. Training with Maldonado’s stable of boxers, he figures to be solid.

In the opening four round junior middleweight bout, Michael Gallegos will face Jose Pena of Tucson, Arizona. Technically Gallegos lives in Nevada, but most of his extended family resides in Albuquerque. He puts on an exciting show every time he enters the ring, and the crowd will be solidly behind him in this contest.

There will be an amateur card in the afternoon preceding the pro card. People with ticket stubs from the afternoon show with get a special deal if they attend the Torres/Gonzalez card. This should be an entertaining show with fans having a chance to cheer their “Duke City” favorites.