By Mario Ortega Jr. –
SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA – Fighting two weight classes above where he normally campaigns, Malikai Johnson returns home to fight for the first time since the untimely passing of his beloved father earlier this year as he headlines a full evening of fighting at the DoubleTree Hotel by Hilton, Sacramento. Fighters weighed-in Thursday afternoon at the same hotel where the action will take place on Friday evening.
Johnson (8-0-1, 5 KOs) of Sacramento was last in the ring in January, scoring a devastating second-round knockout of durable veteran Jude Yniguez at this very same venue. Batres (10-21-1, 3 KOs) of Nogales, Sonora, Mexico has been fighting professionally since 2010 and has shared the ring with former world champion Miguel Berchelt and rising contender Brandun Lee among others. Despite being a good three inches shorter and normally a 130-pounder just like Johnson, it was Batres that prompted the higher contract weight for the fight Friday. The experienced Batres will hope to test Sacramento’s power-punching super featherweight prospect Johnson in a six-round bout. Johnson weighed-in at by far the heaviest of his career, forcing himself up to 138-pounds, while Batres made the contracted limit of 140 after stripping down behind a tablecloth.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson struggled to find the right training situation he needed to move forward with his professional career. “I was honestly thinking that I was probably going to quit,” recalled Johnson. “I was down to my last, so I thought I needed to challenge myself. The next day, I received a text from my assistant coach now, Genaro, that said Ray [Woods] was talking about you and how he’d love to train you and he extended an invitation. It was almost like it was destiny or fate. So I asked them what time they train on Monday and went over there. I wasn’t in a good place. I was in a bad mood and down, but I was trying to be optimistic. But I went in with really low hopes. Then the first day we started doing mitts, and I was like wow this is new, this is different. Every day I start showing up and really seeing improvements.”
In early February, not too long after Johnson picked up the win with Woods in his corner, the promising young fighter lost his biggest supporter, his father Tommie Tom. As it turned out, Tom had long wanted Johnson to hook up with the well respected Woods, but did not want to impose his belief onto his son’s career plans.
During that whole process, [Woods] said, ‘Your dad always wanted me to train you.’ And then I went through my dad’s texts, and sure enough he had always been saying that he wanted Ray to train me, but that it had to be my decision,” explains Johnson. “After my dad passed, he said, ‘When I heard the news that your dad passed, I was here alone, but I looked up and I said, ‘Don’t worry Tommie, I got him. He’s in good hands, I got him.’ And that really touched me. Coach Ray, he might have tough love and get after me, but I know he is only doing it because this is a tough sport and bad things can happen. He doesn’t want those things to happen, and I know if I work hard and listen to the things that he says, I know if I do that, I have the skills to be world champion and have a successful career.”
In other action on Friday, DoubleTree Hotel favorite Tony Hernandez (4-2, 3 KOs) of Live Oak, California will take on Alejandro Fugon (3-1-1, 3 KOs) of Palmdale, California in what should be a thrilling six-round light heavyweight bout between two power-punchers. Hernandez, who scaled 173-pounds, is on a three-fight win streak dating back to 2019. Fugon, who came in at 170, is looking to bounce back from his lone defeat to a full-fledged cruiserweight prospect, Marco Deckmann, trained by Freddie Roach.
In a four-round pairing of unbeaten welterweights, Luis Chavez (2-0) of Salinas, California will take on Juan Meza Moreno (4-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California. Chavez, who came in at 145-pounds on Thursday, has won two unanimous decisions since turning pro last July. Meza Moreno, weighing 144-pounds Thursday afternoon, turned professional last April, fighting exclusively in Tijuana, Mexico.
In another battle of undefeated fighters, Kenny Lopez Jr. (4-0, 3 KOs) of Ceres, California will meet Andrew Garcia (4-0-1, 3 KOs) of Azusa, California in a four-round super middleweight bout. Lopez is eager to make his home state debut after a successful run in Tijuana last year. Garcia will also be making his California debut after scoring a second-round stoppage last time out in September in Tijuana. Lopez, who saw his January bout at this venue scrapped on the day of the fight, wound up cutting some weight on short notice after a mix-up on the weight limit. Despite the late notice, Lopez made the necessary 165 ½ and will finally enter the ring for the fifth time as a professional. Garcia came in at 165-pounds Thursday, four pounds north of his previous career high.
In a highly anticipated encounter, Lizette Lopez of Salinas will take on Neveah Martinez of Victorville, California in a four-round featherweight bout. Both women will be making their professional debuts on Friday night. With their bout having been originally scheduled for January, both will be well-prepared for their first professional contest. Lopez, a product of the MXN Boxing Center, scaled 123 ½-pounds Thursday, while Martinez made 125 ½.
Super featherweight prospect and former amateur standout Kevin Montano (2-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento will face veteran gatekeeper Corben Page (6-20-1, 1 KO) of Redding, California in a four-round super featherweight bout. Montano, who had been a finalist and a semi-finalist at the USA Boxing National Championships, turned pro with a knockout last August at the DoubleTree Hotel and returned for his second win two months later. Page scored a win in his last fight, a second-round stoppage. Montano and Page both scaled 130-pounds on Thursday.
Irving Xilohua (1-0, 1 KO) of Stockton, California will meet Olaf Estrella Soto (0-1) of North Mankato, Minnesota by way of Apaseo El Grande, Guanajuato, Mexico in a four-round super bantamweight bout. Xilohua, who turned professional with a second-round knockout in Stockton this past December, weighed-in at 121-pounds on Thursday. Estrella Soto had a more difficult time getting to the contracted weight, weighing 123 ½ and then 123-pounds on his first two attempts. Well within the allotted one hour time-limit, Estrella Soto came back to the scale and made 122-pounds.
Sacramento-based prospect Cain Sandoval (4-0, 4 KOs) was originally scheduled to make his hometown debut against veteran journeyman Jude Yniguez (5-9-4, 1 KO) of Oak Hills, California in a six-round lightweight bout. By the time the weigh-in ended, Sandoval was fighting a welterweight, David Minter (3-1, 3 KOs) of nearby Lincoln, California. Before Minter was named as the opponent and signed a contract, it briefly looked as though MMA fighter Alexander Carrillo, who saw his mixed martial arts fight scrapped when his opponent was not medically cleared, was going to bravely step in against the former amateur standout boxer.However, they were little too far apart on weight and experience and Minter was called in to replace Yniguez. Sandoval, who scaled 144-pounds, has kept busy since turning professional just last August, reeling off four knockouts in his four bouts. Minter, no stranger to the DoubleTree Hotel ring, made the welterweight limit of 147-pounds.
In the lone mixed martial arts contest, Raheem Gilliam of Long Beach, California will take on Salvador Martinez of Stockton, California in a three-round middleweight fight. Both fighters are making their professional debuts. The contract had originally called for them to make 185-pounds, but both weighed-in a pound heavier and an agreement was made to make the bout for 186, so neither had to go sweat any extra poundage off.
Quick Weigh-in Resuts:
Welterweights, 6 Rounds
Johnson 138
Batres 140
Light heavyweights, 6 Rounds
Hernandez 173
Fugon 170
Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Chavez 145
Meza Moreno 144
Super middleweights, 4 Rounds
Lopez Jr. 165 ½
Garcia 165
Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Lopez 123 ½
Martinez 125 ½
Super featherweights, 4 Rounds
Montano 130
Page 130
Super bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Xilohua 121
Estrella Soto 122
Welterweights, 4 Rounds
Sandoval 144
David Minter 147
MMA
Middleweights, 3 Rounds
Gilliam 186
Martinez 186
Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com or followed on Twitter @MarioG280
