Promoter Pepe Gomez has partnered with Neon Star Media to bring its monthly “Cancun Boxing” series to CBS Sports Network. The first event, “Knockout’s On Fire,” will take place this Saturday night from Grand Oasis Cancun the Hotel Complex in Cancun, Mexico. Cancun`s ONLY Ultimate All-Inclusive Entertainment Resort will play host to all events in the series.
Hall-of-Famer announcers Jim “JR” Ross and Al Bernstein, respectively, will handle blow-by-blow and color commentary.
“Neon Star Media is excited to partner with Pepe Gomez whose wealth of knowledge and expertise will bring entertaining and quality match-ups to viewers on CBS Sports Network each month from the magnificent Grand Oasis Cancun,” said Mike Garrow, Chief Strategy Officer. “This series will be very synergistic to the current ‘Knockout Night at the D’ series held in Las Vegas. It will allow fans watching on CBS Sports Network to become more familiar with fighters competing on each series, month after month, thereby creating greater opportunities and exposure for these dedicated athletes of the sweet science.”
The first event will feature Mexico’s 3-time world super flyweight champion Cristian “El Diamante” Mijares (53-8-2, 26 KOs) who takes on his fellow countryman, undefeated Andres “Jaguarito” Gutierrez, in the 12-round main event for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) Silver Featherweight Championship.
WBC No. 8 rated Mijares, 34, is a former IBF, WBA Super and WBC super flyweight world champion. The future Hall of Fame candidate is 11-5 in world title fights with key victories over Chatchai Sasakul, Jorge Arce and Katsushige Kawashima (twice).
The 22-year-old Gutierrez, rated No. 6 by the WBC, turned pro at 15. The hot prospect has collected numerous title belts, including WBC Silver and Caribbean Boxing Federation super bantamweight, International Boxing Federation (IBF) bantamweight, and WBC FECARBOX and World Boxing Association (WBA) Fedecentro featherweight.
An 8-round showdown between dangerous Mexican and Filipino rivals, Edgar “Power” Jimenez (21-11-2, 15 KOs) and Jovylito “J-Flash” Aligarbes (12-3, 6 KOs), has all the makings of a real firefight. The 23-year-old Jimenez is a former FECARBOX bantamweight and Mexican flyweight champion who, two fights ago, took a 10-round decision from 28-0 Ivan Morales. The highlight of Aligarbes’ pro career to date is stopping Angelito Merin in the second round of their WBC Youth World super flyweight title fight in 2013.
Former WBA female bantamweight champion Irma “Torbellino” Garcia (13-1-, 2 KOs) meets Miriam “La Patrona” Avila (5-6, 2 KOs) in a 10-round match. Garcia defeated Magali Rodriguez by 10-round majority decision to capture the WBA World bantamweight championship in 2013, but she never defended her title. She is the reigning WBC International bantamweight champion, rated No. 5 in the world by the WBC. Avila is a former Mexican featherweight champion.
In a battle of typically tough Mexican welterweights, Ivan “Zurdo” Alvarez (23-5, 16 KOs) meets former World Boxing Federation (WBF) champion Jose “Piston” Lopez (25-4-2, 15 KOs) in a 10-round bout that promises to be a knockdown, drag-out war. Alvarez, a southpaw, is riding a 10-fight win streak.
