Seven world time champion and the only Mexican fighter to win four full-fledged world titles in as many divisions, Erik “Terrible” Morales along with his promotional outfit Box Latino, return to Baja California to present an explosive night of professional boxing on Saturday, April 14th, 2012. In the main event, Moreno Valley, CA’s Kaliesha “Wild Wild” West (14-1-3, 4KOs) will defend her WBO bantamweight title for the third time versus quite possibly her toughest opponent yet, the tough Claudia Andrea “Chica 10” Lopez (18-5, 4KOs) of Trelew, Argentina in a scheduled ten round championship bout from the Ernesto Ruffo Appel Municipal Gymnasium in the beautiful seaside town of Rosarito, Mexico.
The West vs. Lopez championship tilt will be televised live in Mexico by mega channel Televisa as part of their weekly boxing series “Sabados de Corona”.
The twenty-four year old West is no stranger to Mexico with her next fight being the third time she performs in our neighbor to the south. In her first fight on Aztec soil, West stopped Flor Verdugo in two rounds in Ensenada and in her last fight, she defended her title via unanimous decision over Jessica Villafranca last August in Manzanillo, Colima, Mexico. West captured her title by stopping Angel Gladney in seven on the under card of “Canelo” Alvarez-Baldomir held at the Staples Center in 2010 and has defended it for the first time with a draw versus the current IBF flyweight champion Ava Knight. Known for her speed and technicality, West had and extensive and successful amateur career which continued in the professional ranks. Along with her world title, West is ranked as the #2 bantamweight in the world by the WBC and the #3 by the computerized rankings of BoxRec.com.
Her next opponent might just be her toughest when she faces the game Argentinean Claudia Lopez. Having faced the best her country has to offer in Alejandra Marina Oliveras and Marcela Eliana Acuña, Lopez will visit Mexico for the first time in hopes of taking West’s title back to South America. It will not be the first time that Lopez leaves her hometown or challenges for a title since in April of 2010, Lopez traveled to South Korea and challenged Hyun-Mi Choi for the WBA featherweight strap which she lost in a controversial split decision.
The West-Lopez is expected to be a classic boxer versus brawler in which not only of the ladies will be called the winner but also the fans in the house and watching over the airwaves.
In the semi-main event, WBC ranked #10 Pedro “Pedrin” Guevara (16-0-1, 12KOs) will defend his NABF mini flyweight title versus the #11 ranked Carlos “Ranita” Perez (12-4-3, 8KOs) of Monterrey, Mexico. Mazatlan, Mexico’s Guevara captured the title by stopping Colombian Jorle Estrada and defended it for the first time last December when he stopped Menny Jimenez in five. Perez, the former WBC Latino minimum weight champion, is coming off a challenge of the WBC Silver title versus Denver Cuello.
In a special attraction eight rounder, the younger brother of Pedro, the undefeated Alberto “Metro” Guevara (14-0, 6KOs) will face the “Crazy Russian” Khabir Suleymanov (13-1, 6KOs) in the bantamweight division while Oscar “Finito” Gonzalez (25-1, 19KOs) will face Manuel “Zurdo” Aguilar (19-9, 13KOs) at featherweight, also for 8 rounds.
Popular Tijuana prospect Emilio Bojorquez (19-1, 13KOs) is also scheduled on the card versus the always dreaded TBA. An outstanding amateur with several state and municipal titles, Bojorquez is on a hot streak after taking short hiatus from the ring to re-energize himself in the sport. Since his return, the hard hitting Bojorquez is on a hot streak, winning three in a row. The twenty- four year old Bojorquez is looking to get in the mix this year.
Also featured on the card will be San Diego, CA’s Adrian Vargas (5-0-1, 3KOs), a successful amateur in his own right. Vargas went pro in 2011 and is known as a calculated brawler who is always looking to end the night early for his opponent. Vargas, self-described gym rat, is coming off the best performance of his career when he fought back from an early deficit to earn a draw versus past amateur and cross town rival Emmanuel Robles, in one of the best fights so far in San Diego of 2012. Vargas is scheduled to face former Baja California amateur team member Eduardo “Puas” Diaz (2-0, 1KO) of Ensenada, Mexico, in a classic border war where somebody’s “0” has to go.
