Santillan vs. Rivera Set For 2/20 In Ontario, Cal.
By Francisco Salazar
Unbeaten welterweight Giovani Santillan has a new opponent for his upcoming fight.
Santillan will now fight Eduardo Rivera on Friday night at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California, it was told to Boxingscene.com on Monday afternoon. The eight round bout will headline a six-bout "Path to Glory" card, presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions.
Santillan (15-0, 8 KOs) was scheduled to fight Rafael Cobos in the main event, but Cobos dropped out of the fight to accept an eight round bout against Erickson Lubin on March 6 in Las Vegas. That bout will be televised on ESPN2 Friday Night Fights .
Cobos has not fought since losing an eight round unanimous decision to Josesito Lopez on September 11.
Santillan, who hails from San Diego, won an eight round unanimous decision over Luis Solis in his last bout on October 24.
Rivera (9-1-2, 3 KOs) was scheduled to fight Cesar Villarraga in a six round bout on Friday night. Instead, Villarraga (5-0, 3 KOs), who represented Colombia in the 2012 Olympic Games, will fight Jesus Angulo.
Rivera, who hails from Merida, Mexico, is winless in his last two bouts after winning his previous nine bouts in a row. In his last bout on December 5, Rivera fought to a four round split decision draw against Gilberto Delgado.
Friday's card in Ontario will be Thompson Boxing's first of 2015.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for Boxingscene.com since September of 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Salazar 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
