Frisco, Texas - World ranked super bantamweight Chris Avalos of Lancaster, California will replace injured Jessie Magdaleno of Las Vegas in the main event here Saturday night at the Dr. Pepper Arena. Avalos will face Rey Perez of the Philippines on Top Rank's Solo Boxeo Tecate - UniMas on Saturday, August 1.
Top Rank made the announcement today.
Magdaleno was injured in sparring in Las Vegas last Thursday. "I caught a sparring partner with a nice right hook on the top of his head. That punch caused a lot of pain in my right hand. When I took my glove off I had swollen knuckles on the hand. I hate not fighting but I will be back as soon as I can."
Avalos, 25-3, 19 KOs, is ranked IBF #9. He last fought in a world title fight on February 28 in Belfast, Ireland where he was stopped by world champion Carl Frampton in the fifth round.
"No excuses. I just got caught. I trained hard for that title fight and would like to get a rematch. That's my goal. But Rey Perez is next. I've seen video of a couple of his fights so I know what he is all about. Even though I wasn't scheduled to fight I had been training for quite awhile when my manager Mike Criscio got the call for our team to head to Texas."
"After losing his first title shot, Chris will get a chance to come back strong with a win. He took this fight on short notice. He is now feeling great with no injuries," said Mike Criscio, manager of Avalos.
Avalos vs Perez is scheduled for 8 rounds. In the opening televised bout the very popular super featherweight Casey Ramos, 19-0, 5 KOs, of Austin, Texas will take on Daniel Evangelista Jr., 17-5-1, 13 KOs in an eight round bout. Casey has been training primarily in Austin with sparring in San Antonio.
Florida puncher Clarence Booth, 11-1, 7 KOs, will be in action on the card. He is a welterweight. Eric DeLeon, a 9-0, 4 KO lightweight, of Detroit is also scheduled to box.
There will be seven bouts on the Top Rank card.
Tickets are VIP Tables for 10 $850; reserved seating $50, $35, $20 and are available at Dr. Pepper Arena, Ticketmaster outlets and at Ticketmaster.com