PHOENIX, AZ - Undefeated and world ranked cruiserweight BJ Flores returns to the ring this Friday night, August 15th to take on veteran Cory Phelps at the Ibiza Nightclub in Washington DC in an eight round bout.
Flores, 21-0-1 (13KO’s), is currently ranked #2 by the IBF, #5 by the WBO and #8 by the WBA.
The 24 year old Phelps, fighting out of Catlettsburg, Kentucky, brings a record of 13-4-1 (7KO’s) into the battle. Earlier this year he fought to a six round draw with Bobby Gunn in Fountain Hills, Arizona.
Speaking after a final training session in his hometown of Phoenix, Flores stated, “I’m thrilled to get back in the ring, it’s been six months since my last fight and I’m ready to go. With the time off I was still training in Phoenix and Las Vegas because I knew a fight was coming, it just took a little longer. The fight against Phelps was offered to me late last week and it offers me an opportunity to get back in the ring.”
Continued Flores, “Hopefully now I’ll be fighting on a more consistent basis with bigger fights on the horizon. This fight is important for me because I want to fight more often and this is the first step. There are a lot of great fighters in the cruiserweight division and I want to fight the best.”
With the fight in Washington DC, Flores returns to region of his biggest win, the nationally televised twelve round unanimous decision over Darnell Wilson in nearby Dover, Delaware on February 8, 2008.
"The fans were great to me in Delaware so it’s nice to go back there and fight", said Flores
LOS ANGELES, CA - Los Angeles based bantamweight contender Alex Valdez will head to Tokyo, Japan for an October 16th world title bout with World Boxing Council champion Hozumi Hasegawa, it was confirmed today by Frank Espinoza, President of the Espinoza Boxing Club and manager of Valdez.
The 24 year old Valdez sporting a record of 21-2-1 (15KO’s) is coming off a ten round unanimous decision over Anyetei Laryea in Chicago on June 20th.
Valdez is currently is ranked #2 in the world by the World Boxing Council and has not lost a fight in four years, spanning seventeen bouts.
Said Espinoza, “Hasegawa is a great champion, he’s had the belt for over three years. However, Alex and I have watched tapes of him for the last couple of weeks since the fight was mentioned to us and we’re very confident.
Alex had a nice win over Laryea and although he fought well, I believe there is still much room for improvement. We’re going to meet this week to map out a full training camp for him and make sure he gets high quality sparring partners in preparation for the fight.”
The 27 year old Hasegawa, 24-2 (8KO’s) is coming off a second round knockout of Cristian Faccio on June 12th in Tokyo. Along with the World Boxing Council title, he is currently ranked the #1 bantamweight in the world by ESPN and Ring Magazine. The Japan based Hasegawa has made six championship defenses since winning the title from Veeraphol Sahaprom in April 2005
Continued Espinoza, “We’re grateful to Mr. Honda, Teiken Promotions and the WBC for the opportunity and after speaking at length with Alex about the fight, I know he’s definitely coming to win. It should be a great battle.”
The ESPINOZA BOXING CLUB was started in 1991 by Los Angeles area businessman Frank Espinoza. Espinoza has earned numerous accolades for his management skills from many boxing newspaper and internet writers. In the September 2008 issue of Ring Magazine, Espinoza is praised for his outstanding handling of the career of junior featherweight world champion and “Pound for Pound” superstar Israel “EL MAGNIFICO” Vazquez.
Espinoza also has managed retired former world champion Martin “EL GALLITO” Castillo and currently manages former world champion Julio “LA SOMBRA” Zarate along with world ranked Alex Valdez and Miguel “EL ANESTESISTA” Huerta in addition to undefeated prospects Manuel “SUAVECITO” Roman, Jesus “POLLO” Hernandez, Luis Ramos, Carlos Molina and Abraham Lopez.