On April 30, 2010, a boxing institution returned, when Golden Boy Promotions, TeleFutura and Cerveza Tecate teamed up to revive the beloved Friday night series “Sólo Boxeo Tecate.” On the eve of the one year anniversary of the series’ return, fight fans will have another reason to cheer, as the Friday, April 29 edition of “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” will feature a highly-anticipated matchup when Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin faces Jesse Brinkley at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada .
In the last year, “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” delivered a weekly dose of fistic fury that captivated fans around the world. Kicking off its second life after nearly a year and a half on the sidelines, the series re-premiered with the return of former World Champion Robert Guerrero and “The Ghost” impressed fans at the Tropicana in Las Vegas with an eighth round technical knockout victory over Roberto Arrieta which kicked off a run that has since seen him defeat Joel “Cepillo” Casamayor, Vicente “Chente” Escobedo and Michael Katsidis “The Great” in succession.
That was just the start to a memorable year, as Golden Boy Promotions took the series around the globe packing venues from Argentina to Mexico to Puerto Rico and all across the United States, giving fans many fights to remember…
On July 30 in Cancun, Mexico, Philadelphia prospect Danny “Swift” Garcia kept his unbeaten record intact when he impressively halted fellow welterweight up and comer Jorge Romero in the ninth round of a see-saw battle to capture the interim WBC Youth world welterweight title.
In a Southern California turf war held on September 17 in conjunction with the Mexican Bicentennial weekend at LA Live in downtown Los Angeles, Montebello’s Nestor Rocha put himself back in the bantamweight title picture with a surprisingly dominant eight round decision win over former U.S. Olympian Jose Navarro of East LA.
On November 12 at the State Farm Arena in Hidalgo, Texas, 20 year old young gun Omar “Panterita” Figueroa suffered the first blemish of his pro career when, in an action fight that kept his hometown fans on their feet, Figueroa was held to a draw by Las Vegas veteran Arturo Quintero, who gave a great account of himself in his first bout in four years.
Unbeaten Michael “The Artist” Perez had the toughest test of his career in his Puerto Rico debut on December 10, when he won a hard-fought, split decision victory over Jose Hernandez in Agua Buenas in a back and forth slugfest which was named “Fight of the Year” by “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” and the Puerto Rico Boxing Commission.
The February 25 edition of “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” saw a surprisingly fast ending to a fight that most thought would be a distance clash between fellow undefeated prospects Marco Antonio Periban and Dion Savage when Periban came out of his corner swinging in the first round and scored an impressive knockout win over Savage in just 33 seconds.
On March 18, unbeaten Luis Ramos Jr. got a gut check in his eight round bout with aggressive banger Jose Hernandez at the Hangar at OC Fair and Event in Costa Mesa, California. Despite Hernandez’s entertaining and gritty effort, the patient and skillful attack of Ramos was enough to earn him a majority decision victory.
Other notable fights of the last 12 months included “Knockout of the Year” candidates turned in by Alejandro Perez (against Antonio Escalante) and Lucas Matthysse (against Rogelio Castaneda Jr.) as well as appearances by former World Champions Carlos “Tata” Baldomir, Jorge “La Hiena” Rodrigo Barrios and “Vicious” Vivian Harris.
What’s always most interesting to see is the progression of hot prospects into world champions and with top-notch talents like Randy Caballero, Pablo Cesar Cano, Omar Figueroa, Danny Garcia, Frankie “Pitbull” Gomez, Erislandy Lara, Carlos Molina, Eloy “Prince” Perez, Marco Antonio Periban, Peter Quillin, Luis Ramos Jr., Ronny Rios and Jessie Vargas all hitting the TeleFutura airwaves in the last year with the hopes of eventually receiving world title honors, the future looks bright for “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” and the boxing world.
To celebrate the one-year anniversary, “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” features what promises to be an all-action affair between Quillin (23-0, 17 KO’s) and Brinkley (35-6, 22 KO’s) in a 10-round fight for the USBO super middleweight title which will headline the broadcast. In a six round junior lightweight co-main event, “Dangerous” David Rodela (15-3-3, 6 KO’s) faces Lonnie Smith (12-2-2, 9 KO’s).
These bouts, along with an exciting undercard, are presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Don Chargin Productions in association with Let’s Get It On Promotions, and are sponsored by Cerveza Tecate and AT&T. Doors open at 6:00pm PT, the first bell rings at 7:00pm PT and the two-hour TeleFutura broadcast begins at 11:30pm ET / PT (10:30pm CT).
Fans at home can also be part of the action by participating in Cinturón Tecate and voting for the fighter in the main event who displayed the most character in the ring by sending a text message to 55333. Voting will be open through the end of the weekend.
Tickets, priced at $33.25, $63.25 and $103.25 are available on Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-745-3000 or by visiting the Silver Legacy or Reno Events Center box office during hours of operation.
