By Jake Donovan
The 2016 spring season of Boxeo Telemundo remains on course to kick off this Friday, February 26 at the Palm Bay Community Center in Palm Bay, Florida.
Headlining the “Showdown at the Bay IV” event, Miguel Cartageña (14-2-5 KO’s) – who hails from Philadelphia but proudly representing his Boricua roots - takes on series favorite Ricardo “Meserito” Rodriguez (12-3-4 Ko’s) of Mexico City, Mexico.
The scheduled 10-round regional title fight taps into two common Boxeo Telemundo themes – fights showcased in the super bantamweight division, and matchups playing to the in-ring rivalry between Puerto Rico and Mexico.
“We’re very excited to kick off the new season,” promoter Felix ‘Tutico’ Zabala, Jr. told BoxingScene.com. “The series keeps growing stronger each year, in the ring and in the ratings. We had really good momentum at the end of last season and hope to carry that over into 2016.”
Rodriguez (12-3, 4KOs) arrived in Miami on Tuesday, remaining in town for a live guest appearance on the Telemundo show Titulares y Mas (Wendesday, 11:30 PM ET) before making his way to Palm Bay prior to Thursday’s weigh-in.
Cartegeña (14-2, 5KOs) makes his Telemundo debut with the 2016 season premiere. The 23-year old Phila-Rican recovered from a devastating knockout loss to the superb Emmanuel Rodriguez with a points win over Javier Franco last July, his lone bout of 2015.
Rodriguez saw a three-fight win streak bookended by separate losses to David Carmona. The 26-year old from Mexico City enjoyed a nice run, bumping off three straight Puerto Rican fighters on the road in Florida – all of which were televised on Telemundo – before once again falling short to Carmona last October at home in Mexico.
Interestingly, Rodriguez is 3-0 in Florida, while all three of his career losses have taken place in his home country.
TICKETS AND DOOR INFO
Five more fights round up the show, with the first bell set for 8:00 p.m. ET. Telemundo Network will televise the main event live at 11:35 p.m. ET.
Tickets are already on sale at the Palm Bay Chamber of Commerce 4100 Dixie Hwy NE, Palm Bay, FL or by calling (352) 951-9998.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox