By Mario Ortega Jr.-
OROVILLE, CALIFORNIA – Salvador Briceño takes on comebacking Jonathan Garcia in a six-round welterweight bout to headline the return of professional boxing to the Gold Country Casino Resort on Friday night. The match-up of offensive-minded veterans will cap a six-bout card. Fighters weighed-in Thursday afternoon at the host venue.
Briceño (18-7-1, 11 KOs) of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico and representing the Jose Morales Boxing Academy in Roseville, California is fresh off an eight-round unanimous decision over veteran Cameron Krael on March 16th and with a win Friday, hopes to keep a busy pace the rest of the year.
“The plan Jose and I have is to win five or six more fights and then find the bigger fights,” Briceño explained. “We are taking it slow, making the right decisions for my career.”
Garcia (20-2, 16 KOs) of Watsonville, California will look to shake-off the second longest inactive period of his pro career with a tough assignment in Briceño. Garcia, looking to derail his opponent’s plans, went 5-1 entirely in Mexico after ending his last layoff of over four years in 2019.
Garcia was known as a fan-friendly fighter during his rise in the Southern California boxing scene early in his career. Briceño is not often outworked in the ring, so the bout with Garcia figures to be entertaining as long as it lasts. Both fighters came in at 144-pounds on Thursday afternoon.
In a lightweight fight that promises action, Christian Avalos (1-1-2) of Carson City, Nevada will take on Pedro Angel Cruz (3-4, 2 KOs) of San Jose, California over a scheduled six rounds.
Avalos and Cruz are no stranger to fans that attended last May’s event at the Gold Country Casino Resort. On that night, Avalos engaged in a four-round war with Mark Salgado that ended in a draw. On that same May card, Cruz pounded out a four-round unanimous decision over tough David Reyes.
Avalos and Cruz were the last fighters to weigh-in Thursday. Avalos weighed-in one-half pound under the contracted weight at 134.5. Cruz, having attempted to sweat down to the contracted 135-pounds, came up short and scaled 136. The extra pound will cost Cruz, but the fight is on.
Ebert Diaz (1-0-1, 1 KO) of Richmond, California will return to the Gold Country Casino Resort to take on Clayton Hibbert (0-2) of Los Angeles, California in a four-round light welterweight bout. Diaz and Hibbert both made 142-pounds.
In a middleweight rematch, Marco Ortiz (0-2) of Red Bluff, California gets a second crack Matthew Monroe (1-2) of Sacramento, California. Monroe scored a four-round decision over Ortiz last November. Monroe made 165-pounds, while Ortiz scaled 168.5. When they met the first time, Monroe, at 176-pounds, was four pounds heavier than Ortiz.
Two fighters with mixed martial arts backgrounds will throw hands in a four-round welterweight bout when Scott Hayward of Redding, California makes his professional boxing debut against Miguel Soto-Garcia (0-2) of Fresno, California by way of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico. Soto-Garcia came in heavy at 148.5 to Hayward’s 145.5-pounds.
Maribel Guerrero (0-1) of Gilroy will take on Iris Contreras (3-0) of Richmond in a four-round bantamweight bout. Guerrero, cousin of Robert Guerrero and trained by her uncle Ruben Guerrero Sr., weighed-in at 117-pounds. Contreras, trained by her father Filemon Contreras, scaled 116.5-pounds.
Quick Weigh-in Results:
Welterweights, 6 rounds
Briceño 144
Garcia 144
Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Avalos 134.5
Cruz 136
Super middleweights, 4 Rounds
Monroe 165
Ortiz 168.5
Light welterweights, 4 Rounds
Diaz 142
Hibbert 142
Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Hayward 145.5
Soto-Garcia 148.5
Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Guerrero 117
Contreras 116.5
Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions and Fisticuffs Productions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
