By Francisco Salazar
Professional boxing meets horse-racing? It has been done before, but this upcoming event on Saturday night might be over the top.
In the main event, unbeaten super bantamweight Ruben Garcia will fight Javier Gallo at the Fairgrounds in Del Mar, Calif.
The bout will headline a "Battle Off the Saddle" fight card, which is presented by A&T Gym, Barron Entertainment, Paco Presents, and the Del Mar Thoroughbred Club.
The fight card will be a special edition of the "Ringside at Del Mar" boxing series, which will take place in the concert area adjacent to the racetrack at the Fairgrounds in Del Mar.
Garcia (10-0-1, 5 KOs), who hails from Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico, will be fighting for the first time in the United States on Saturday night.
In his last fight on August 24 of last year, Garcia stopped Isao Carranza in the 10th round to win a regional title belt.
The Mexican-born Gallo (21-9-1, 12 KOs), who resides in Buena Park, Calif., has lost his last two bouts in a row. In his last bout on February 28, Gallo lost an eight round unanimous decision to Carlos Carlson.
Gallo also has losses against the likes of Vic Darchimyan, Drian Francisco, and Felipe Orucuta.
A number of four round bouts will also be included on the card. Raymundo Benavides of nearby Oceanside will make his professional debut against Ricky Quevedo (0-1) of Los Angeles. Manuel Ceballos (2-0, 2 KOs) of Lakeside will fight Jerome Buchanan (0-2).
Prince "Tiger" Smalls (6-0-1) and Roque Ramos (5-0-1) will also appear on the card in separate fights.
Jockeys Corey Nakatani and Elvis Trujillo will square off in a three round exhibition bout. It will be a grudge match as Nakatani, who is destined for the Hall of Fame, and Trujillo, the current leading rider, are said to be rivals and do not like each other.
The fight card will begin at the end of the last race, which is scheduled for approximately 7:15 p.m. Horse-racing will take place earlier in the day, with first post taking place at 2 p.m.
Tickets are on sale and could be purchased at ringsideatdelmar.com
Tickets are priced at $35 for reserved, while VIP table seats are priced at $75.
Battle Off The Saddle benefits the Permanently Disabled Jockey's Fund, a public charity that provides financial assistance to some 60 former jockeys who suffered career-ending injuries while riding. A percentage of each reserved ticket purchased to Battle Off The Saddle will be donated to the Fund, which is overseen by The Jockeys' Guild.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. He also covers boxing for the Ventura County (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing