Tacoma, WA (June 3, 2012) – Junior Lightweight sensation Joel Diaz kept his perfect record in tact following an impressive fifth round stoppage of title contender Emmanuel “The Butcher” Lucero Saturday evening at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA.

Topping Halquist Productions’ “Battle at the Boat 87,” Diaz was in complete control throughout the contest. The aggressive 20-year-old Palmdale, CA native decked Lucero in the third round and dominated the fourth, giving spectators a preview of what was on tap. In the fifth, Diaz came out like a man possessed and decked Lucero twice, forcing the referee to mercifully halt the bout at 1:37.

Diaz improves to 10-0 with 9 knockouts. Lucero, a Scranton, PA native from Mexico City, slips to 23-11-1 with 14 KO’s.

“I’m extremely impressed,” promoter Brian Halquist said of the performance. “Diaz is an excellent young fighter who prides himself on entertaining the crowd. The fans here loved him and we hope to have him fighting on one of our cards again in the near future.”

In the co-featured bout, fan favorites Nate Serrano, 4-1-1 (1 KO), and Osvaldo Rojas, 6-2-2 (2 KO’s), battled to a six round draw. Both Serrano, a retired Marine from Yakima, WA and Rojas of Portland, OR had their moments during the crowd pleasing welterweight affair, but the judges were deadlocked.

Scores were 58-56 Serrano, 58-56 Rojas and 57-57. Shortly after the completion of the contest, Serrano and Rojas agreed to meet in an immediate rematch.

On the undercard, locals Marcelino Pindeda and Juan Hernandez both scored third round knockouts, while Cory Vombaur and Jesus Partida boxed their way to decision victories.

Halquist Productions’ next boxing card takes place Saturday, August 25 at the Emerald Queen.

During the last 23 years, Halquist Productions built a reputation in the boxing world for their loyalty, honesty and integrity. In 1997, Halquist Productions ran their inaugural “Battle at the Boat” series, which remains successful to this day. Halquist Productions promoted many world title bouts and their fight cards have been seen on ESPN, HBO and Showtime.

Joel Diaz 130 lbs Emmanuel Lucero 130 lbs

Nate Serrano 146.5 lbs Osvaldo Rojas 147 lbs

Cory Vombaur 144 lbs Omar Avelar 143 lbs

Marcelino Pindeda 143.5 lbs Jose Leon 148.5 lbs

Josh Hewson 181.5 lbs Juan Hernandez 179.5

Jesus Partida 128.5 lbs Gerarldo Reyes 128 lbs

Promoter: Halquist Productions
Venue: Emerald Queen Casino Tacoma
Tickets: Emeraldqueen.com
Doors Open: 6 pm
First Bell: 7 pm

Tacoma, WA (May 24, 2012) – Contender Emmanuel Lucero has stepped in to face unbeaten rising star Joel Diaz Saturday, June 2 at the Emerald Queen Casino as part of Halquist Productions’ “Battle at the Boat 87” card in Tacoma, WA.

A former world title challenger, Lucero made national headlines in 2003 when he faced boxing legend Manny Pacquiao for the IBF super bantamweight championship on HBO. Lucero, a gutsy fighter with a never-say-die attitude, fought his heart out but the Filipino icon stopped him in the third round. Aside from Pacquiao, then 36-2-1, Lucero, 26-10-1 (14 KO’s), faced a who’s who of pugilists.

The ten foes that beat him including Daniel Ponce De Leon (22-0), Rocky Juarez (25-3), Valdemier Pereira (17-0), Patrick Hyland (24-0), Jorge Diaz (14-0) and Diego Magdaleno (20-0), had an astonishing combined record of 204-6-1 when they faced Lucero. The Scranton, PA based Mexican also holds impressive wins over former world champion Juan Polo Perez and contenders Frankie Archuleta, Rogers Mtagwa and Alvin Brown.

“These kinds of things happen in boxing,” promoter Brian Halquist said of the withdrawal. “Sometimes the replacement fight ends up being much better; and that is certainly the case in this situation. I’m glad we were able to get a suitable replacement and one that has a reputation for making great fights. Plus he has fought the best fighter on the planet, not to mention everybody and anybody along the way. I thank Emmanuel Lucero for his willingness to take on a bright young star like Joel Diaz on short notice. This has the making of one of the best fights we have had in a long while.”

Lucero and Palmdale, CA’s Diaz, meet in the ten round main event.

Appearing in separate undercard bouts are crowd favorites Nate Serrano, Sarah Pucek, Marcellno Pindeda, Josh Hewson and Jesus Partida.

Tickets from $25 are on sale at all Ticketmaster outlets or by visiting the EQC box office.

Doors open at 6 pm and the opening bell is scheduled for 7.

During the last 23 years, Halquist Productions built a reputation in the boxing world for their loyalty, honesty and integrity. In 1997, Halquist Productions ran their inaugural “Battle at the Boat” series, which remains successful to this day. Halquist Productions promoted many world title bouts and their fight cards have been seen on ESPN, HBO and Showtime.

CLICK TO ORDER THE FIGHT
Rising star Jorge “King” Diaz of New Brunswick takes one step closer to the prize this Saturday night when he faces crafty veteran and former world title challenger Emmanuel Lucero of Mexico City, Mexico in a featherweight match up. The bout headlines an eight fight card this Saturday, October 30 at Bally’s Atlantic City.

Diaz (14-0 9 KO’s) is fresh off a KO victory at Yankee Stadium on the undercard of the Cotto/Foreman clash. The New Brunswick native’s star status started to rise when he defeated 2 time Olympian and former Gold Medalist Yan Barthelemy at Madison Square Garden last year.

Mr. Lucero (24-5 14 KO’s), a former New York Golden Gloves Champion, will look to regain the top contender form he displayed when he faced Manny Pacquiao for the IBF super bantamweight title and Daniel Ponce de Leon for the WBO NABO crown.

Highly touted Glen Tapia (7-0 6 KO’s) of Passaic, just back from Baguio City, Philippines where he served as a sparring partner for Manny Pacquiao, puts his unblemished record on the line against Quinton Whitaker of San Antonio, Texas making his fourteenth pro appearance and only the second outside of his native Texas.

In a light heavyweight matchup we will see Union City’s Jason “Monsturo” Escalera (9-0 8KO’s) take on Cleoney Fuqua (2-2 2KO’s). Escalera out of the Union City Boxing Club had only 25 amateur bouts but in that short unpaid career he managed to win the New Jersey Golden Gloves Tournament. A prolific body puncher with knock out power in both hands, he will be more than a challenge for Fuqua.
The best fight of the undercard looks to be a junior welterweight matchup featuring Passaic, NJ’s Jeremy “Hollywood” Bryan (14-1 7KOs) facing Ronald Cruz (9-0 6KOs) of Bethlehem, PA. Bryan the 2004 and 2005 national golden gloves champion’s one loss came at the hand of Vincent Arroyo at Boardwalk Hall. Cruz is no stranger to Bally’s Atlantic City having fought there 3 times in the last 2 years.

Bobby Rooney Jr. (11-3 1 KO) of Bayonne takes on veteran light heavyweight Tyler Stevens of St Louis, MO. Rooney, a fan favorite , has been around the New Jersey fight scene for almost 10 years.
In the card’s only heavyweight matchup we will see Amir Mansour (10-0 7 KOs) of Newark, Delaware do battle with Alexis Mejias (11-5 5KOs) of Paterson. The southpaw Mansour has a bachelor’s degree in paralegal studies.

Pound for Pound promotions in conjunction with Bally’s Atlantic City has once again put together a top notch night of boxing featuring some of New Jersey’s elite up and coming local fighters. Fight fans are in for a treat.

For more New Jersey boxing news, go to gardenstatefightscene.com