By Jake Donovan
Welterweight prospect Alan Sanchez is set for his fourth and final fight of 2011, a year that saw the Californian resume his winning ways and fall back in the good graces of the ringside judges.
The 20-year old was on weight for Friday’s main event versus Albert Herrera at the Woodland (CA) Community Center, less than an hour from his Fairfield hometown. Sanchez weighed in at 149 lb, while Sanchez came in at 146 lb. for their Telefutura-televised headliner.
Sanchez (8-2-1, 3KO) entered the year as a hard-luck prospect, coming off of a stretch that saw him drop two disputed decisions earlier in the year and settle for a controversial draw in the span of eight months. Among the questionable calls was an eight-round draw against then-unbeaten Luis Gradeja in their September bout that was also featured on Telefutura’s airwaves.
The past 12 months have been far nicer to the Fairfield-based boxer, who has now won three straight. All three wins came in his hometown, and all aired live on the Solo Boxeo series, which has given him a considerable profile boost at such a young age.
Matched ambitiously since his pro debut less than three years ago, it says something of Sanchez’ ledger that the 30-year old Herrera (8-3-1, 5KO) isn’t even his best opponent to date. Still, the Riverside native should provide the house fighter with a stiff test, as he too knows what it’s like to be thrown to the wolves early and often in his young career.
Herrera is hardly the garden variety Solo Boxeo B-side, entering the fight on the heels of an upset win over previously unbeaten Marcus Robinson just two months ago. The win snapped a four-fight winless streak, all coming against top shelf prospects.
The fight will reveal just how for real is Sanchez’ latest power surge. A June stoppage win over Chris Coronel marked just his third fight to end inside the distance, having also scored knockdowns over Gradeja and previously unbeaten John Grimaldo.
Sanchez has the honor of proving himself in what will mark the final time Telefutura will air a live Solo Boxeo broadcast. The series will resume in early 2012, changing over to Galavision for the live showing on Friday evenings, with Telefutura to air rebroadcasts over the weekend.
Other weigh-in results for Friday’s show:
Guy Robb, 127 lb vs. Hugo Ramos, 127 lb (televised co-feature – 6 rounds, featherweight)
Jonathan Chicas, 144 lb vs. Paul Cano, 144 lb (televised swing bout – 4 rounds, welterweight)
Demetry Chudinov, 169 lb vs. Anthony Hirsch, weight TBD (6 rounds, super middleweight)
Will Walters, 146 lb vs. Nicholas Balestra, 146 lb (4 rounds, welterweight)
Oscar Godoy, 150 lb vs. Juan Carlos Diaz, 152 lb (4 rounds, junior middleweight
Doors open 7:30pm local time, with the first bout set to begin one hour later. The televised portion of the show airs at 12:30AM ET (9:30PM local time).
Jake Donovan is the Managing Editor of Boxingscene.com. Follow Jake on Twitter at twitter.com/JakeNDaBox or submit questions/comments to JakeNDaBox@gmail.com
