A super flyweight fight between undefeated Oscar Cantu and “Mighty” Aston Palicte headlines the final 2016 installment of the popular “Knockout Night at the D” series on Saturday night, December 17, on CBS Sports Network from inside the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center indoor facility.
“The Cantu-Palicte fight is a classic match-up between a boxer and puncher,” Roy Jones Jr. Boxing Promotions co-founder/CEO Keith Veltre said. “It’s for two title belts and the winner will be positioned for a possible world title shot in 2017. Our final event of the year promises to be our best yet with evenly matched, entertaining fights that our ‘Knockout Night at the D’ series is known for with tomorrow’s stars up-and-down the card.”
The “Knockout Night at the D” series, presented by the D Las Vegasand Downtown Las Vegas Events Center, is promoted by Roy Jones Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions.
Jim “J.R.” Ross and Joey Varner will call the action live from ringside, while Jeff Huston will be the ring announcer and fight week master of ceremonies.
The 25-year-old Cantu (14-0, 1 KO), fighting out of Kingsville, Texas, is a pure boxer who is the reigning North American Boxing Federation (NABF) champion, ranked No. 3 by the WBO North American Boxing Organization (NABO) and No. 6 by the NABA. He is a belt collector having been the former NABF Junior super flyweight, World Boxing Council (WBC) Youth Intercontinental bantamweight and World Boxing Council (WBC) United States super flyweight title holder.
In his last fight, this past May at home in Kingsville, Cantu captured the vacant NABF flyweight title with a 10-round split decision victory over Samuel Gutierrez. Cantu’s most notable win to date is a 10-round split decision against previously undefeated Juan Antonio Lopez (10-0) in 2014 for the vacant WBC Youth Intercontinental bantamweight crown.
Palicte, who will be making his US debut Dec. 17 having resettled in Los Angeles, where he’s training at the famed Wild Card Gym, to enhance his boxing career. Palicte has fought only once outside of his native Philippines as a professional. He has an experience advantage over Cantu in terms of fighting higher quality opponents. World rated at No. 11 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and No. 15 by the WBO, Palicte captured the vacant IBF Pan Pacific super flyweight championship this past June in his most recent fight, stopping Vergilio Silvano (21-6-1) in the seventh round of their rematch, which was also won by Palicte via a 12-round unanimous decision a year ago for the vacant WBO Oriental super flyweight title.
The heavy-handed Palicte, who has knocked out 18 of his 21 victims, is rated No. 5 by the NABF and No. 15 by the NABA. Palicte, 25, also owns his share of title belts, including the IBF Youth super flyweight strap. In Palicte’s only pro fight outside of his native Philippines, he lost a highly disputed 10-round split decision (97-94, 93-97, 94-97) last March to local favorite Junior Granados (14-4-1) in Mexico.
Chilean junior middleweight champion Angelo Baez (15-0-1, 11 KOs) takes on Jamaican-native Nathaniel Gallimore (15-1-1, 12 KOs), fighting out of Evanston, Illinois, in the eight-round co-feature.
Undefeated welterweight Flavio Rodriguez (5-0, 4 KOs) faces Mexican invader Dilan “El Terrible” Loza (5-0, 3 KOs) in the six-round television opener.
Las Vegas’ terrific trio of undefeated promising prospects – 20-year-old junior lightweight Randy “El Matador” Moreno (7-0, 6 KOs), 26-year-old welterweight Jeremy “J-Flash” Nichols (7-0, 2 KOs) and 18-year-old bantamweight Max “The Baby-Faced Assassin” Ornelas (6-0, 3 KOs) – are all scheduled to be on action Dec. 17th.
