Local middleweight prospect Raul “El Tigre” Casarez looks to keep his 10-fight winning streak going against longtime contender J.C. Candelo on March 17 in the eight-round main event of TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” live from the Pharr Convention Center in Pharr, Texas.
In the co-feature, scheduled for 10 rounds in the junior welterweight division, unbeaten Norwalk, California product Carlos Molina faces off against Santo Domingo’s Agino Perez.
After a blistering start to his professional career in 2003 that saw him score four consecutive first round knockouts as a 16-year-old in Mexico, McAllen, Texas’ Raul Casarez (18-2, 9 KO’s) continued to roll through opponents while fighting at home until a 2-2 stint in 2005-06 put him on the sidelines for nearly two years. When he returned to the ring in 2008, he ran off a nine fight unbeaten streak that included eight wins (and one no contest) and capturing the vacant WBO middleweight youth title in 2010. On March 17, the 25-year-old will fight his hardest to extend that streak in front of his hometown fans.
38-year old Juan Carlos “J.C.” Candelo (32-10-4, 21 KO’s) may be giving up a few years to his younger opponent on March 17, but the Texas-based Colombian makes up for that with the kind of experience youth can’t buy. A former top contender at 154 pounds who won the NABF title and went the distance in his lone world title fight against Winky Wright in 2003, Candelo has been on a hot streak winning five in a row, including recent victories over then 30-3-1 Chase Shields and then 9-1 Justin Flanagan. He’ll look to keep that momentum going on the 17th with a win over Casarez.
Plagued by hand injuries, Norwalk, California’s Carlos Molina (15-0-1, 7 KO’s) was sidelined for much of 2011, eventually returning in August of last year with a draw against Juan Montiel in which the ring rust from a nine month layoff was evident. In his final bout of the year, the 26-year-old prospect returned to form with a near shutout victory over then 20-3 Manuel Leyva at the Honda Center in Anaheim, Calif. Now ready to get 2012 off to a big start, Molina will meet 28-year-old Dominican Republic native Angino Perez (11-3, 9 KO’s) on March 17. A hard-hitting professional with seven years of experience under his belt, Perez has won nine of his last ten bouts, including four in a row, heading into this evenly-matched battle.
Casarez vs. Candelo and Molina vs. Perez headline a night of world-class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Don Chargin Productions and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. Doors open at 6:30pm, the first bell rings at 7:30pm and the TeleFutura broadcast begins at 11:00 pm ET / PT (10:00pm CT).
Tickets, priced at $25, $40, $60 and $80, may be purchased online at http://pharrevents.com/index.php.
