Kirk Johnson makes his long-awaited return to the boxing ring and two middleweights will fight to become a mandatory challenger for the IBF Middleweight championship this Sunday at the Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA.
Goossen Tutor Boxing will promote the seven-bout card, which is highlighted by the 12 round IBF Elimination main event bout between Middleweights Sam Soliman and Raymond Joval and the 10 round bout between Kirk Johnson and Gilbert Martinez.
Soliman, (25-7, 8 KO's) from Melbourne, Australia, has earned his opportunity to fight in this bout by becoming ranked number four by the IBF. He is also the current IBF Pan Pacific Middleweight champion as well as the OPBF champion.
Soliman has won his last 14 bouts in a row. He has not lost since his 12 round split decision loss to former WBA Super Middleweight champion Anthony Mundine in September of 2001.
Having previously called out current undisputed Bernard Hopkins, Soliman has lost to some notable contenders in his career. He has lost to Kevin Kelly, Glenn Kelly, Jerry Elliott, and Howard Eastman. His notable victories are against fringe contenders Nader Hamdan and Sakio Bika.
Joval, (32-2, 14 KO's) from Rotterdam, The Netherlands, has won his last nine bouts in a row. In his last bout, Joval defeated the talented and tough Angel Hernandez by an eight round technical split decision in February.
Joval began his professional career fighting in the United States, but decided to return to his homeland of The Netherlands to continue his professional career. Aside from being an IBF Middleweight contender, Joval has won the IBO and WBU Middleweight crowds.
Soliman and Joval have fought before, with Joval defeating Soliman by a close 12 round majority decision in January of 2001.
In the co-feature, Heavyweight contender Kirk Johnson will face Gilbert Martinez in a 10 round bout.
Johnson, (34-2-1, 25 KO's) from North Preston, Nova Scotia, Canada, is hoping to rebound from his second round technical knockout to world champion Vitaly Klitschko in December.
Johnson's most disappointing fight was when he was disqualified against WBA Heavyweight champion John Ruiz in July of 2002. Johnson was disqualified for hitting Ruiz below the belt a number of times.
Johnson is a talented fighter, having defeated Oleg Maskaev, Al Cole, and Larry Donald. However, it depends what fighter will show up for this fight and the fights in the future.
Martinez, (18-7-2, 7 KO's) from Sacramento, CA, lost his last fight by fourth round technical knockout to Ray Austin in May. Prior to that bout, Martinez was unbeaten in four bouts, two of those by split decision over Charles Shufford and Charles Hatcher.
Martinez defeated former world champion Tony Tubbs and has an eight round draw with Clifford Etienne. However, he was knocked out by contenders Jeremy Williams, Michael Grant, and Tony Thompson.
In Junior Welterweight action, James Armah will take on Carlos Cisneros in a six round bout.
Arham, (12-0, 6 KO's) from Glendale, CA by way of Accra, Ghana, will return to the ring for the first time in over two years, when he defeated Chris Barnett in Liverpool, England. He has not scored a knockout since 2000.
Cisneros, (5-6-1, 3 KO's) from San Miguel, El Salvador, burst onto the boxing scene when he knocked out two undefeated fighters in a span of six days. Both Zahami Gracia and George Chavez fell victim to Cisneros in October of last year.
In Featherweight action, undefeated Rudy Dominguez will face Gilberto Bolanos in a six round bout.
Dominguez, (10-0, 2 KO's) from Coachella, CA, will fight for the first time in almost a year, when he defeated Jorge Garcia in August of last year. Dominguez has decisioned his last five opponents, not scoring a knockout since September of 2002.
Bolanos, (9-7, 9 KO's) from Ciudad Orbregon, Sonora, Mexico, is a strong fighter who has given talented fighters Jose Aguiniga and Jhonny Gonzalez problems in their respective bouts.
In other bouts:
- Ricky Funez, (1-1, 1 KO) from Van Nuys, CA by way of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, will face Jovanni Rubio in a four round Junior Middleweight bout. Rubio (3-1, 2 KO's) is from Santa Rosa, CA.
- In a Heavyweight bout, Raphael Butler, (1-0, 1 KO) from Rochester, MN, will take on Victor Ortiz in a four round bout. Ortiz (5-1, 4 KO's) is from Simi Valley, CA.
- Torrence Daniels, Colorado Springs, CO, will make his professional debut against Francisco Urrabaza in a four round Bantamweight bout. Urrabaza (4-0, 3 KO's) is from Lancaster, CA.
Tickets are still available and can be purchased by calling (877) 711-2WIN. Tickets are available at $65, $45, and $35. Doors open at 1PM, with first bell scheduled for 2PM local time. For further information, go to www.pechanga.com and www.goossentutor.com
The event will be tape delayed by FSN and will air as follows: Sam Soliman versus Ray Joval will air on July 25 at 7PM ET/PT. The Kirk Johnson versus Gilbert Martinez bout will air on August 1st at 7PM ET/PT.
Barry Tompkins, Max Kellerman, and Sean O'Grady will call the action from ringside.
