Junior Welterweight Mike Arnaoutis
will continue to make a claim
to being one of the best young
fighters in boxing as he faces
Roberto Santa Cruz tonight at
the Chumash Resort in Santa
Ynez, CA.
The bout, which headlines a
seven-bout card promoted by
Gary Shaw Promotions, will be
for the NABO Junior Welterweight
championship.
Arnaoutis, (12-0-2, 6 KO's)
from Atlantic City, NJ by way
of Athens, Greece, had a productive
and successful 2004 campaign.
Arnaoutis, ranked number six
by the WBO, fought six times
last year, winning five of
those bouts. In the other bout,
Arnaoutis fought to a 12 round
majority draw against Juan Arango
in early August.
In his next bout in October,
Arnaoutis knocked out Jessie
Feliciano in the first round
of a 12 round bout, winning
the NABO Junior Welterweight
title. Arnaoutis knocked out
Joaquin Gallardo in the third
round in his last bout.
Tonight, Arnaoutis will make
his third appearance in a row
at the Chumash Casino in Santa
Ynez.
Santa Cruz, (11-2, 2 KO's)
from Los Angeles, has won his
last nine bouts in a row. He
hopes to carry that momentum,
even though he has not fought
since an eight
round decision victory over
Sergio Macias in May of 2003.
Santa Cruz is a lanky boxer-puncher
who has good ring generalship
inside the ring.
In the co-feature, Shamone
Alvarez hopes to keep his unbeaten
streak alive when he faces Jose
Medina in an eight round Welterweight
fight.
Alvarez, (10-0, 7 KO's) from
Atlantic City, NJ, won a one-sided
decision last month over Roberto
Ortega in Atlantic City.
His first round knockout over
previously undefeated Mohammad
Koyango in November brought
him into the spotlight of being
one of the top young Welterweights
to keep an eye on. This will
be Alvarez' first bout west
of the Mississippi. When he
is not boxing, he works as a
counselor for the Youth Advocate
Program.
Medina, (11-2, 9 KO's) from
Philadelphia, PA, has won his
last two bouts in a row. Prior
to that he had lost two bouts
in a row.
Medina lost a 10 round split-decision
to Tybius Flowers for the USBA
Regional Light Middleweight
title in June of 2003. He was
stopped by Nurhan Suleyman less
than a month later at the Playboy
Mansion in Beverly Hills, CA.
Welterweight Jose Antonio Ojeda
will fight again near his hometown
when he faces Calvin Odom in
an eight round fight.
Ojeda, (12-3-1, 7 KO's) from
nearby Santa Maria, CA, is unbeaten
in his last seven fights. In
his last fight, Ojeda fought
his way to a six round unanimous
decision over tough Victor Mendoza
in December.
Odom, (14-6, 10 O's) from Inglewood,
CA, knocked out Sergio Rios
in the first round a few weeks
ago in San Jose. The victory
snapped a two-bout losing streak.
Junior Welterweight Daniel
Cervantes will step in the ring
when he faces Jean Elissa in
a four round bout.
Cervantes, (3-0) from Ventura,
CA, will fight for the third
time at the Chumash Resort.
He had a decorated amateur career
and is hoping to make it big
as a professional. He is currently
being managed by Fernando Vargas.
Elissa, (2-0-1, 1 KO) from
Selma, CA, is hoping to be the
first fight to put a blemish
on Cervantes' record.
Byron "Buddy" Tyson
returns to the ring as he faces
Jesse Curry in a six round Junior
Middleweight bout.
Tyson, (7-0, 4 KO's) from Seattle,
WA, will fight for the first
time in 10 months, when he defeated
Damon Franklin last April by
unanimous decision.
Curry, (2-2, 2 KO) from San
Jose, CA, hopes to bounce back
from a knockout loss to Nick
Casal at the Chumash Resort
in December.
Two more professional bouts
are on tap, along with two amateur
bouts.
Tickets are on sale now and
are priced at $70, $50, $40
and $30. Tickets can be purchased
at the Chumash Casino Resort
Box Office or by calling Star
TicketsPlus at 1-(800)585-3737.
Doors are scheduled to open
at 5PM, with first bell scheduled
for 5:30PM local time.
ShoBox: The Next Generation
will televise the Arnaoutis-Santa
Cruz and the Alvarez-Medina
fights. Nick Charles and Steve
Farhood will call the action
from ringside on Showtime. The
bouts will air at 11PM ET/PT.
For more information, go to
www.sho.com
