By Francisco Salazar
Unbeaten heavyweight LaRon Mitchell will face Epifanio Mendoza Friday night, Thompson Boxing matchmaker Alex Camponovo confirmed with Boxingscene.com.
The eight round bout will take place at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.
Mitchell (12-0, 12 KOs) is coming off of first round knockout win over Raymond Ochieng on Mar. 12. He has scored first round knockout wins in three of his last four bouts.
While he has displayed power in each of his fights as a pro, Mitchell did have a solid amateur career. The 36-year-old Mitchell is a 2012 U.S. Olympic Boxing Trials runner-up, with wins over Dominic Breazeale and Donovan Dennis.
Mitchell resides in San Francisco and teaches full-time at a junior high in the Oakland area.
Mendoza (42-22-1, 36 KOs) challenged for a light heavyweight world title belt in September of 2007, losing to Chad Dawson by knockout in the fourth round. He has recently served as a gatekeeper in the heavyweight division, having faced the likes of Jordan Shimmell, Oleksandr Usyk, Dominic Breazeale, and most recently, Travis Kauffman.
The 40-year-old Mendoza is 7-5 in his last 12 bouts.
Also fighting in an eight round bout is fringe lightweight contender Jose Roman of nearby Garden Grove. He will fight late-sub Carlos Cardenas.
Roman (22-1-1, 15 KOs) has won his last eight bouts in a row since losing to Robert Osiobe by split decision in December of 2012.
In his last bout on April 22, Roman knocked out Martin Angel Martinez in the second round.
Cardenas (21-10-1, 14 KOs) has lost five of his last six bouts, but all against top fighters at 135 pounds, including Mickey Bey, Robert Easter, and Juan Diaz. Cardenas has not fought since November 7, when he was stopped in the seventh round by Nery Saguilan.
Also on the Thompson Boxing Promotions card:
- Erick Ituarte (13-1-1, 2 KOs) squares off against Daniel Ramirez (11-3, 5 KOs) in an eight round junior lightweight bout.
- Lightweight Manuel Mendez (11-1-1, 7 KOs) will fight Ricardo Maldonado (6-5) in a six round junior welterweight bout.
WEIGHTS
LaRon Mitchell, 244 vs. Epifanio Mendoza, 230 (8-rounds)
Erick Ituarte, 127.7 vs. Daniel Ramirez, 128 (8-rounds)
Manuel Mendez, 139 vs. Ricardo Maldonado, 139 (6-rounds)
Eridanni Leon, 147 vs. Rasheed Lawal, 146.4 (4-rounds)
Rudy Garcia, 119 vs. Rafael Rivera, 118 (4-rounds)
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 (CA) Star newspaper, RingTV, and Knockout Nation. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing
