By Andy Rivera
Thursday night, at the Isleta Casino outside Albuquerque, New Mexico, El Paso’s Caesar Lopez will take on his toughest opponent up to date; the defending NABA 112 pound champion will fight at 115 for the vacant strap of the NABA. Lopez’s opponent is no slouch in Gabriel Elizondo, both Lopez and Elizondo have similar records as Lopez sports an 18-1 record - where Elizondo sports a record of 19-1.
Lopez is cruising an 18-fight win streak since suffering his lone defeat in his pro debut. Elizando’s lone defeat came to the hands of current WBO bantamweight champion Jhonny Gonzales in November of 2004.
Lopez, whose second home is Albuquerque, having fought there seven times in his career, is ready for the challenge. "I’m ready to go, I’m already on weight and I look for a good fight from Elizondo." says Lopez. "I’m already on weight at 115, I feel stronger here then at 112, but I can still make 112, I was going to defend my title but when the opportunity came up we took the chance to fight Elizondo."
In fighting for the NABA 115 crown, the fight was originally going to be on HBO Latino as the co-main event, but the main event between Mao Antonio Rubio and Azlanbek Kodzoev was moved to San Diego, so the bout will not be televised, the bout will support the Mia St. John and Holly Holm battle. T
he card promoted by Fresquez Productions is close to a sell-out, as the fans will be treated to a great night of boxing. Lopez was a little disappointed in the fight not being shown on TV. "My friends and family were ready with the barbecues and ready to have a big party and watch the show, but now they’ll just have to wait, TV will come but I just have to worry about Elizondo."
Lopez and his trainer Jorge Garcia have kept up with Elizondo from his amateur days and expect a tough fight. "We know his from the amateur days and we watched his tape with Gonzales." says Garcia "We expect a tough battle but, Caesar is ready and looking good and strong, he’s already on weight and ready to go."
If Lopez is victorious he feels that soon he will get a crack at a world title, but isn’t looking past Elizondo. "I know if winning will help open doors to bigger opportunities, but I am so focused on this fight that I don’t want to look ahead. I have a game plan of using my boxing skills and moving and doing whatever it takes to win." says Lopez.
