Foreign, homegrown Prospects Featured in Texas City
By Peter Lim
Promoter Lou Savarese will never be accused of lacking diversity in his boxing events. His latest 10-bout card, scheduled for Friday at the Charles T. Doyle Convention Center in Texas City, will showcase an oddball mix of homegrown and foreign fighters of all creeds, shapes and sizes. The combined bulk of the two local 112-pounders fighting in the main event still seems diminutive next to the singular tonnage of a 280-pound South African featured on one of the undercards.
Texas flyweight champion Juan Leija (10-1-1, 3 KOs) comes up against Richard Hernandez (2-7-1) in the main event.
Flaming red-headed, six-foot-10 Ruann Visser (4-0, 4 KOs), a towering inferno from Johannesburg, takes on Gary Cobia (2-3, 1 KO) in a heavyweight bout.
Power-punching Russian Medzhid Bektemirov (14-0, 11 KOs) comes off a 10-month layoff to face James Johnson (28-44-4, 17 KOs) in a light heavyweight bout.
In a heavyweight fight, Eugene Hill (30-1, 20 KOs) takes on veteran journeyman Rubin Williams (29-25-1, 16 KOs).
Female junior welterweight La’ Travia Pierce (2-1, 1 KO) faces Tammy Franks (2-24-1).
Radmir Akhmadiyez (2-0, 2 KOs) of Kazakhstan fights Mikel Williams (8-29-4, 3 KOs) in a middleweight bout.
Welterweight Chris Morales (2-0, 1 KO) takes on Cody Walker (1-3).
Junior middleweight Omar Hillail (1-0, 1 KO) faces Alberto Espinozo (2-6).
Welterweight David Armas (1-0, 1 KO) fights Anthony Camper (0-2).
And super middleweight Alex Morono (debut) takes on Christian Holmes (0-2).
Conspicuously missing from the card is featherweight Pablo Cruz (11-0, 3 KOs) who has fought all but one of his pro fights under the Savarese banner. Cruz will collide with fellow-undefeated Adam Lopez (9-0, 4 KOs) on a Showtime-televised bout in New York that night.
