oBy Jake Donovan

With Jonathan Vidal doing his part last weekend, David Carmona and Ricardo Rodriguez square off this Friday to see if a strong candidate can emerge to face the Puerto Rican contender later this fall. The bout headlines live on Telemundo from the Auditorio Plaza Condesa in Mexico City.

Staging the two fights on back-to-back Fridays was initially designed by promoter Felix ‘Tuto’ Zabala Jr as an unofficial tournament to drum up greater interest for the fall season. Vidal rose to the occasion last Friday, scoring an 8th round stoppage of Juan Kantun in Kissimmee to return to the win column. 

Carmona (16-4-2, 8KOs) seeks similar luck this weekend. The 23-year old contender from Mexico is coming off of a failed title bid, suffering a 7th round stoppage at the hands of long-reigning 115 lb. titlist Omar Narvaez last December. 

He gets no soft touch for his efforts. 

Rodriguez (9-1, 3KOs) has won seven straight and since relocating from Mexico to Los Angeles has gained valuable gym time sparring at famed trainer Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. The streaking super flyweight prospect has been sparring with former two-division champ Brian Viloria and two-time Olympic Gold medalist Zou Shiming, both of whom are coming off wins in Macau over the weekend. 

“David is in for a real fight,” Zabala states. “When the summer season was put together, it was taken for granted that it would be Vidal and David meeting in the fall, but nothing is guaranteed. We have another great super flyweight bout next Friday (Daniel Lozano versus Antonio Garcia). So anything can happen this fall.

“We always seek the toughest matchups. This summer season – and this Friday in particular – speaks volumes to what we’re always trying to accomplish in all our years with Telemundo.”

TICKET AND SHOW INFORMATION

Tickets are still on sale at Auditorio El Plaza Condesa (Juan Escutia #4, Colonia Condesa, Mexico DF, Tel: 52110044 or at ticketmaster.com.mx.

The first bout of the six-fight non-televised portion of the show will begin at 8:00pm local time. The cameras begin rolling live at 11:35pm ET.

Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene.com, as well as a member of Transnational Boxing Ratings Board and the Boxing Writers Association of America. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox