Mexican superstar Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. (48-2-1, 32 KOs) will return to the ring to face hard-hitting Marcos Reyes (33-2, 24 KOs) in a classic Mexican vs. Mexican main event on Showtime at 10pm on Saturday, July 18 live from the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas.
In the evening’s co-main event, a pair of top bantamweights put their undefeated records on the line as Puerto Rican Olympian McJoe Arroyo (16-0, 8 KOs) takes on Arthur Villanueva (27-0, 14 KOs) of the Philippines for the IBF Bantamweight World Championship.
Earlier that day, Premier Boxing Champions on CBS will present a card at the same Don Haskins Arena featuring an exciting battle between Carl Frampton and Alejandro “Cobrita” Gonzalez plus an exciting heavyweight matchup featuring boxing star Chris Arreola.
“Thanks to SHOWTIME for putting together this great fight,” said Chavez. “Reyes is a Mexican warrior and this will be a tough battle for me. This guy likes to brawl. But at 168 pounds I am the best and will prove it with a great victory for my fans.”
“I’m looking forward to this huge opportunity against Chavez Jr. on July 18 in El Paso,” said Reyes. “Fighting another Mexican, especially a Chavez, is huge motivation for me. I want to put on a great show for all the Mexican fans who will be watching. I will be the better man on July 18.”
Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Chavez Promotions, in association with TGB and Warriors Boxing, are priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25 dollars and are on sale now. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the University Ticket Center at (915) 747-5234. Tickets are also available at www.ticketmaster.com.
The oldest son of the legendary Julio Cesar Chavez, the 29-year-old Chavez Jr. is a former middleweight world champion. Born in Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, Chavez Jr. turned pro in 2003 and won his first 23 fights. After running his record to 41-0-1, he earned a middleweight world title shot against Sebastian Zbik, which he won by majority decision. He would go on to successfully defend his belt against Peter Manfredo Jr., Marco Antonio Rubio and Andy Lee. He looks to bounce back from a recent defeat in impressive style with a new trainer and a lower weight class when he takes on Reyes on July 18.
A professional since 2007, the 27-year-old Reyes won the first 13 fights of his career with 11 coming inside the distance. He made his U.S. debut in 2010 with a dominating second round TKO victory over Victor Villereal in Las Vegas. The power-puncher out of Chihuahua, Mexico has two separate streaks of 10 consecutive knockouts in his career. He is coming off of a unanimous decision over David Alonso Lopez in January and will face the toughest test of his career when he squares off against Chavez Jr. in Texas.
A 2008 Olympian for his native-Puerto Rico, Arroyo won bronze medals at the 2007 World Amateur Championships and the 2006 Central American Games. The 29-year-old is undefeated since turning pro in 2010. On July 18 he returns to fight in the United States for the first time since 2010 when he takes on the toughest challenge of his career.
A pro since 2008, the Bago City born Villanueva has fought almost exclusively in the Philippines throughout that time. In 2014 he put up an impressive pair of victories of Fernando Aguilar and Henry Maldonado. The 26-year-old got off to a good start in 2015 when he defeated Julio Cesar Miranda by unanimous decision in February.
