Former Welterweight World Champion Carlos “Tata” Baldomir will be back in action in his home country of Argentina on Friday, November 19, as he hopes to impress fans by defeating hard-hitting fellow Argentinean Amilcar Funes in the main event of HBO Plus’ “Next Boxing Generation” from Estadio Aldo Cantoni in San Juan, Argentina. In the co-feature, unbeaten Buenos Aires native Marcelino Lopez puts his perfect record on the line in a WBC Latino lightweight title bout against Colombia’s Jailer Berrio.
Baldomir vs. Funes, a 10 round junior middleweight bout which is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Arano Box Producciones, will air live on the HBO Plus service in Latin America beginning at 11:00pm local time (9:00pm ET). In the United States, the TeleFutura broadcast, will begin at 11:30pm ET / PT (10:30pm CT). The doors open at 8:15pm and the first bell rings at 9:15pm local time. Fans at home can also be part of the action by voting for the fighter in the main event who displayed the most character during the telecast by sending a text message to 55333.
A boxer who needs no introduction to fight fans, former WBC Welterweight World Champion Carlos Baldomir (45-13-6, 14 KO’s), took the hard road to glory and when he finally hit the top with a win over Zab “Super” Judah in 2006, he became an inspiration to people not only in Argentina, but around the world. Since then, Santa Fe’s “Tata” has been in the ring with the likes of Arturo Gatti, Floyd “Money” Mayweather, Vernon Forrest and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and on November 19, he returns home to fight in Argentina for only the second time in eight years.
During his six-year professional career, San Juan, Argentina’s Amilcar Funes (22-9, 17 KO’s) has fought in different weight classes ranging from junior welterweight to middleweight, but he appears to have found a home at 154 pounds. A scrappy battler who has competed for the WBC Continental Americas, WBC FECARBOX, WBC Youth and WBO Latino titles, the 28-year-old power puncher feels he is on the verge of a breakthrough. Funes knows that a win over Baldomir in November could be the spark he needs to get to the next level.
A familiar face to “Next Boxing Generation” viewers after his May victory over Alberto Santillan in Santa Fe, Argentina, Marcelino Nicolas Lopez (19-0, 8 KO’s) is making a name for himself in the ultra-competitive lightweight division. Fresh off of a sixth round knockout of Jeremias Castillo in September, the 24-year-old from Buenos Aires is looking forward to the first defense of his WBC Latino title on November 19.
Eager to hand Lopez his first professional defeat, 23-year-old Jailer Berrio (19-7, 11 KOs) has won two of his last three bouts and the talented native of Monteria, Colombia expects to be better than ever in his return to the lightweight division.
“Next Boxing Generation,” which was launched in August of 2008 by Golden Boy Promotions in association with HBO Latin America Group, features the top up and coming Latin American fighters in boxing today in exciting bouts that will appeal to fans across all demographics. The series has seen fights take place throughout Mexico as well as in Argentina, Colombia, Panama, Puerto Rico, the United States and Uruguay.
