Sanchez vs. Leyva Set for 8/25 Solo Boxeo in Fairfield

By Ryan Maquiñana

BoxingScene.com/CSNBayArea.com has been advised that welterweight prospect Alan Sanchez, who shocked Artemio Reyes Jr. in one round back in April, will return on Aug. 25 in Fairfield, Calif., against Manuel Leyva.

The Fairfield Sports Center will be the venue for the 10-round main event, and TeleFutura will handle the broadcast.

Sanchez (10-2-1, 4 KOs), who will be fighting in front of his hometown fans for the third time in six bouts, has reeled off five straight wins after a disputed draw with Luis Grajeda in 2010.

Leyva (21-7, 12 KOs), a southpaw from Downey, Calif., has lost five of six following a competitive split decision defeat to Joel Casamayor in March of last year.

In the televised six-round co-feature, junior featherweight Manuel “Tino” Avila (7-0, 2 KOs), another Fairfield resident, takes on an opponent to be named.  Avila is slated for action on this Saturday’s Robert Guerrero-Selcuk Aydin undercard in San Jose as well.

The only other finalized fight is a four-round junior middleweight bout between pro debutant Leo Martinez of nearby Dixon, Calif., and Jose Leon (1-1-1) of Visalia, Calif.

Middleweight Paul Mendez (7-2-1, 2 KOs), who will fight Leshon Sims (5-10, 3 KOs) on the Guerrero-Aydin card, will also appear in Fairfield.  Mendez, originally from Delano, Calif., now trains in Salinas, Calif., and will clash with an undetermined foe in a six-rounder.

In addition, a pair of unbeaten prospects, junior welterweight Jonathan Chicas of San Francisco, Calif. (5-0, 3 KOs), and featherweight Fernando Samaniego Jr. of Phoenix, Ariz. (4-0, 3 KOs), are scheduled to meet separate opponents in respective four-rounders to sum up the card.

Ryan Maquiñana is the boxing producer for NBCOlympics.com and writes a weekly boxing column for CSNBayArea.com.  He is a full member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the Ratings Panel for Ring Magazine. E-mail him at rmaquinana@gmail.com, check out his blog at Norcalboxing.net, or follow him on Twitter: @RMaq28.