San Juan, PR - After being placed by the World Boxing Association (WBA) in the first position of the world rankings at 130 pounds (super featherweight), Jayson “La Maravilla” Vélez (29-5-1, 21KO's ) will enter to the ring on Saturday, February 8 at the PPL Center in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to face tough Panamanian Jaime Arboleda (15-1, 13KO's) in a world title eliminator.
"This opportunity is very significant for me," said Velez.
“I am very grateful to my promoter Javier Bustillo and my manager José Orraca for the work they have been doing. Since signing with Universal Promotions they presented me with a plan to return to the top of boxing. Now we are at the doors of that great opportunity. We are going to win this eliminator to prove that we belong to that worldwide elite group of boxing.”
In 2014, Vélez had his first chance to contest for the world title, going to a draw with Evgeny Gradovich. Vélez has had a new resurgence in his career, obtaining strong victories by knockout over former world champions Juan Manuel "Juanma" Lopez, Orlando "The Phenomenon" Cruz and Victor "Viking" Terrazes.
"We are working intensely with Emilio Lozada and Abner Ramos to achieve the goal," Velez said.
“I know that Arboleda is a strong boy with good skills. It is a dangerous challenge, mostly because of his punch, but we are preparing intelligently and appropriately. We will achieve victory on February 8 in Pennsylvania, and then we will go to challenge Santa Cruz or René Alvarado. The moment is now".
Currently, Leo Santa Cruz (Super Champion) and René Alvarado (Regular Champion) hold the 130-pound crowns in the WBA.
The event is a presentation of Premier Boxing Champions and will be broadcast live on Showtime.