Former world cruiserweight champion and world heavyweight title contender Juan Carlos Gomez is clearly not in the shape of his lifetime these days but slowly on the way back to his old physique. For tomorrow’s (Friday, April 9th) fight against Alexander Kahl in Schwerin (live on Eurosport from 9.00pm German time) Gomez weighed in at 110,0 kg / 242.5 lbs. Although it is still a long way from the „Black Panda“ (as German BILD Zeitung wrote) back to the "Black Panther“ Gomez has lost 13 lbs. since his last fight only two weeks ago in Hamburg.

"Lots of people think I am not serious in trying to get back to the top of the world“, Gomez said in Schwerin. "But I am ready to prove them all wrong. The Black Panther is back. I promise my fans a great fight and I still dream of becoming the first Cuban heavyweight champion of the world. It’s Showtime!“

His opponent Alexander Kahl from Stuttgart weighed in at 247 lbs. and showed self confidence as well: „I haven’t come here to just collect my purse and lose the fight. Of course, I respect Juan for all he has achieved but anything can happen in the ring. I am well prepared and I will do my best to pull the upset.“ Kahl is known for a solid punch, his record contains of 15 wins including 13 stoppages with 4 defeats and one draw.

In the co-feature on Eurosport hard-hitting German heavyweight Konstantin „Sandman“ Airich (13-2-2, 11 kos / 223 lbs.) faces Russian veteran Alexey Varakin (28-17-3, 16 kos / 218 lbs.). Instead of a stare-down the two contenders shook hands at the weigh-in. „May the best man win“, said Airich. „And may I be that best man!"

German light heavyweight prospect Robert Woge (1-0, 1 ko / 174 lbs.) returns only two weeks after his pro-debut. His opponent Armen Azizian (9-9, 1 ko / 182 lbs.) weighed in slightly over the limit. Still Woge is convinced that he will be victorious: "I call myself the Butcher because when I’m done with my opponents they look like minced meat.“

EL PASO, TEXAS --- El Paso's Antonio Escalante stood toe-to-toe with Juarez' Mickey Roman, on February 26 at UTEP's Don Haskins Center in what many are calling -- the 2010 "FIGHT OF THE YEAR."  Escalante won a hard fought decision and left his legion followers craving more of the non-stop action he has come to be known for.

The 24 year old Escalante (22-2, 14 KO's-) is now set to oblige his fans on Friday, May 7, when he puts his number top world ranking on the line against Argentina's respected Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez (22-3, 12 KO's), at the Don Haskins Center.

Escalante and Rodriguez will square off in a ten-round featherweight main event.  Their bout will be one of seven scheduled fights on the Golden Boy Promotions fight card that starts at 7:00 p.m. and will air nationally on ESPN's, "Friday Night Fights," seen at 10 PM Eastern on ESPN2.  The Tecate Texas Boxing Series event is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate.

Tickets for ENCORE PERFORMANCE are priced at $100, $60, $40, $30 & $20 and GO ON SALE this Friday, April 9th (10:00 p.m.) at the UTEP Ticket Center and all Ticketmaster Outlets. Tickets will also be available online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone through the UTEP Box Office at 915-747-5234 and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.

 For Escalante, a world title fight is looming, but in the meantime, he's excited to be fighting at home.

"I'm loving it," smiled Escalante of fighting in his own backyard.  "The real advantage for me is the energy I draw from the El Paso fight fans.  I'm convinced we have the loudest and the best fight fans in the world.  It's a great feeling knowing they will be cheering me on when I walk into the ring.  There's really no better place to fight for me."

As for Rodriguez, Escalante knows very little about him, but that's fine with him.  "I have no idea of who Carlos Rodriguez is," said Escalante.  "All I know is he's never fought in the United States, but is very popular in his home country of Argentina. I also know he hasn't fought me, much less in El Paso.  He's supposed to be a real rough guy, so we'll see how rough he is on May 7th.  I'm ready to give the my fans in El Paso another great show."

Golden Boy Promotions president, Oscar de la Hoya, can't speak for Rodriguez, but can vouch for his record.  "No doubt, Rodriguez' record speaks for itself," stated De La Hoya.  "He's had a great career with 22 wins and only three losses, almost identical to Escalante's record (22-2).  We expect him to be a very tough challenge for Tony."

"The Golden Boy" is also enthused about bringing Escalante back to El Paso. "The crowds are getting bigger and more enthusiastic every time Tony fights in El Paso," he noted.  "It makes sense to come back to El Paso, especially after the performance Tony and Mickey Roman put on here on February 26th.  Having been at the Roman fight, and hearing the roar of the great El Paso fight fans, I know that there's no better place for Tony to fight than El Paso."