By Austin Killeen

The eight bout card scheduled for the Lujan Center might be the best pro card scheduled in the “Land of Enchantment” since I started covering boxing in 2011. On many cards around the world, bet the left side of the poster and you might have all winners. Do that tomorrow night and you could have a lot of losers. As for “Duke City” fighters more could lose than win, the result of some tough matchups. Although I favor Josh Torres in the main event, watching Francisco Castro’s fights on youtube shows a fighter who comes to win. Willy Villanueva vs Matthew Esquibel do the math, they both live in Albuquerque. Jose Luis Sanchez has to be the underdog in his fight with Joe Gomez, based on past experience. Lorenzo Benavidez has a very difficult task in trying to defeat Rico Urquizo. There is only one place to be on Saturday night and that would be a seat located at the Manuel Lujan Center.

In the main event of the evening, scheduled for 10 rounds, welterweight Josh “Pitbull” Torres (19-6-1, 11 KO) 144.8 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM faces Francisco “El Zorro” Castro (28-9-0, 23 KO’s) 149.6 lbs., of Cd Juarez, Mexico. Torres is working on a four bout win streak, all by stoppage. He might be the most popular boxer in the state at this moment, due to his exciting style. Look at Castro’s record and he has had the opportunity to face some of the best welterweights in the country. The twenty three KO’s on his record shows a boxer who likes to go home early. With nearly 2 dozen knockouts in his win column, I’d say he knows how to minimize the rounds he has to work on any given night. Rumors around the local gyms have Torres finally getting a big fight with a solid showing. You don’t want to miss this contest.

The following bouts are scheduled for 6 rounds.

In the semi-final, welterweight Willy Villanueva (11-5-1, 2 KO’s) 145.2 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM faces Matthew “Papitas” Esquibel (11-0-1, 5 KO’s) 145.2 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM. Both these boxers turned pro in 2006 and have never been matched up until this Saturday. I might give the edge in power to Esquibel as he has shown the ability to end a fight with one punch. Villanueva might have faced the better competition and his chin has served him well.  Give both boxers credit for not turning their contest into a fake grudge match. They actually like each other and regardless of the outcome will still like each other on Sunday morning.

In the sixth bout, junior middleweight Jose Luis “El Guero” Sanchez (8-1-0, 3 KO’s) 151.8 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM faces Joe Gomez Martinez (22-7-0, 10 KO’s) 151.2 lbs., of Aztec, NM. You have to give Sanchez credit for facing Gomez as he had safer options. He could have collided with an opponent whose level of competition was far below that of Gomez. Both boxers have one goal and that’s to face the New Mexico State welterweight champion who happens to be fighting in the main event. The winner of this contest would have some solid credentials to offer as a compelling argument for a meeting with Torres.

 

 

In the fifth bout, featherweight Aaron “Angel Baby” Perez (6-0-0, 4 KO’s) 128.2 lbs., will face Isaias Martin Cardona (25-17-0, 17 KO’s) 123.8 lbs., of Guadalajara Jalisco, Mexico. A highly decorated amateur, Perez seemed to have been feed a list of fragile opponents early in his career. That changed in his last two fights as both his adversaries arrived with solid experience; with the last contest taking place out of state. Tonight Cardona brings a winning record with eighteen wins by KO. If you have skills you have to be able to handle a veteran like Cardona, otherwise you should take up tournament Chess. This is Perez’s seventh bout in one year; if he keeps winning he should start attracting the attention of some big time promoters.

 

The remaining bouts are scheduled for 4 rounds

In the forth bout, flyweight Amy “La Picosita” Salinas (1-0-0) 114.2 lbs., of Las Cruces, NM faces Danielle Saldanha (2-1-0, 1 KO) 108.4 lbs., of Fort Collins, CO. If you think woman don’t belong in a boxing ring, you haven’t seen Salinas or Saldanha in action. Salinas looked outstanding in her pro debut, scoring a UD over an undefeated foe. She fires a two punch combination, left hook to the body followed by a right hand to the head with amazing accuracy. She is the product of a rich amateur background against some of the best fighters in the country. Although Saldanha only had nine amateur bouts, she looked solid when I saw her. She’s a good boxer, who stays calm in the heat of the battle. The problem for both girls is the lack of numbers in female competition. You don’t want to miss this contest.

 

In the third bout, welterweight Cristian Castillo (2-0-0, 2 KO’s) 148 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM faces debuting Albert Jones, 143.4 lbs., of Midland, TX.. I’ve seen both of Castillo’s pro bouts and he’s a cool customer who knows how to capitalize on opponent’s mistakes. It would be premature to proclaim him the next Sugar Ray Leonard after only two fights, but he appears to be a good counter puncher so far in his young career. I know nothing about Jones but did have the opportunity to speak with him at yesterday’s weigh-ins and he’s a well spoken young man.

 

In the second bout, cruiserweight Lorenzo Benavidez (1-1-0) 175.4 lbs., of Albuquerque, NM faces Rico Urquizo (5-6-2, 3 KO’s) 181.2 lbs., of Clovis, NM. This could be the fight of the night, don’t be fooled by their records. The diminutive Benavidez might be vertically challenged, but his amazing head movement slips a lot of left jabs. Although his record doesn’t show it yet, he has power and surprising endurance. You don’t want to lay on the ropes and let him throw punches at your body. But that might be the very strategy that Urquizo plans to employ. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing the Clovis import in action many times since he turned pro in 2011. He’s a good counter puncher who likes to fight off the ropes with surprising success. This is a difficult fight to select the winner.

 

In the opening bout of the evening, debuting middleweight Adam Ramirez 159.6 lbs. of Albuquerque, NM faces Larry Sanchez 154.4 lbs., of Midland, TX. I have no knowledge of either competitor but hope it lives up to what the rest of the card appears to have; A-C-T-I-O-N.