by Francisco Salazar
His best days are behind him, but that does not mean Cristian Mijares has to hang up his gloves anytime soon. Especially if he keeps winning.
Mijares returns to action tonight, facing Jesus Arevalo in a 10 round bout at the Unidad Deportiva in Campeche, Campeche, Mexico.
The 36-year-old Mijares (57-8-2, 26 knockouts), who resides in Gomez Palacios, Durango, Mexico, won his first world title belt in January of 2007, defeating Rafael Hernandez in a tune-up bout on July 29. In his previous bout on Apr. 8, Mijares won a close decision over Tomas Rojas.
He has won his last eight bouts.
Mijares’ best days was when he fought at 115 pounds, winning the WBC junior bantamweight title in January of 2007. Mijares would successfully defend the title six times before losing to Vic Darchinyan.
Mijares would win another world title belt at 115 pounds in December of 2010, defeating Juan Alberto Rosas by unanimous decision.
Tonight will mark Mijares’ third consecutive fight at 130 pounds. He is currently ranked number five by the WBC.
The 28-year-old Arevalo (25-1-1, 15 KOs), who currently resides in Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, Mexico, has won his last four bouts, all against mediocre opposition.
Arevalo’s most noteworthy fight was a unanimous decision victory over Juan Alberto Rosas on July 30 of last year.
Junior featherweight Francisco Horta (15-3-1, 9 KOs) will square off against Edgar Lozano (9-7-2, 5 KOs) in a 10 round bout.
Unbeaten Joseph Aguirre (17-0, 9 KOs) faces Juan Jose Martinez (26-4, 18 KOs) in an eight round lightweight bout.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (Calif.) Star newspaper, RingTV.com, and FightNights.com. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
