Yomar Alamo and Kendo Castaneda are barely separated by a pound at the scale, but their upcoming crossroads clash is virtually dead-even on paper.
The pair of junior welterweight title hopefuls both easily made weight ahead of their regional title fight, which airs live on Telemundo (Friday, 11:35pm ET) from Osceola Heritage Park (OHP) in Kissimmee, Florida.
Puerto Rico's Alamo (17-0-1, 12KOs) weighed 139.6 pounds for what serves as his fifth straight fight in the Orlando/Kissimmee area, including four in a row at this very venue.
San Antonio's Castaneda (17-0, 8KOs) came in at a trim and fit 138.8 pounds for his Telemundo debut.
Alamo attempts the third defense of his World Boxing Organization (WBO) NABO title, which he won at this location and live on Telemundo exactly 53 weeks ago. The 24-year old from Caguas, P.R. enters on the heels of a 10-round draw versus Mexico's Antonio Moran—also at OHP and in a Telemundo-televised main event—last October.
He holds a WBO regional title, which he managed to hold onto following a surprising 10-round draw versus Mexico’s Antonio Moran last October.
Castenada (17-0, 8KOs) represents by far the toughest test of Alamo’s career. The unbeaten junior welterweight—was brought along slow through his first six years in the pro ranks but is coming off of an impressive 12-month stretch.
Last December saw Castaneda bump off previously unbeaten Gilbert Venegas Jr. in his San Antonio hometown, registered a 10-round decision as he also claimed in his next fight in beating Eudy Bernardo this past March.
Whereas Alamo is coming off the toughest fight of his career, Castaneda enters riding high after having stopped Stan Martyniouk in two rounds this past October in Reno, Nevada.
The winner will take a significant step towards challenging for a major title in the loaded 140-pound division.
FULL WEIGHTS
Yomar Alamo, 139.6 vs. Kendo Castaneda, 138.8—10 rds, junior welterweight
Orlando Gonzalez, 128.2 vs. Charlie Serrano, 128.2—8 rds, featherweight
Henry Lebron, 130.4 vs. Recky Dulay, 130.8–8 rds, junior lightweight
Sean Mason, 138.8 vs. Erick Womack, 140.6—4 rds, junior welterweight
Christian Reed, 135 vs. Eduard Macaya, 131.6—4 rds, lightweight
Julio Solis, 135.2 vs. Zachary Johnson, 139.4—4 rds, junior welterweight
Angel Lopez, 138.8 vs. Jonathan Conde (weight t/k)—4 rds, lightweight
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox