Golden Boy Shows in September

Golden Boy Promotions Hit Indio and Commerce in September

By Lauren Rodriguez

LOS ANGELES-A double dose of big-time boxing is on the way.

Tuesday afternoon, Golden Boy promotions held a media workout at Forj Fitness in Los Angeles. The promotion company hosted fighters on the bout sheet of their two upcoming fight nights, September 7th and September 16th in Southern California.

September 7th- Fantasy Springs

Fantasy Springs resort and casino will host a boxing card on Thursday night September 7 featuring Mexico’s Raul Curiel (12-0, 10 KO’s) and Courtney Pennington (17-6-3, 7 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NYC. The welterweights will be fighting 10-rounds for the NABF title. Curiel is currently under the wing of Wild Card Boxing's Freddy Roach, making him the projected winner.

The co-main event of the night is between Coachella native Manny “Gucci” Flores (15-1, 11 KO’s) and Jerson Ortiz (17-7, 8 KO’s) of Nicaragua. Flores will be returning to the ring without the buzz of an undefeated career, recently having lost against Walter Santibanes (11-2-0) in the same venue months before. Flores is returning to the ring this time as co-main event and without a fear of losing getting in his way.

“I feel like now chips off my shoulder, you know, I'm not scared to lose anymore. So, you know, I'm going just show everybody that that last fight was an off day, and we're going to come back stronger,” said Flores.

The 24-year old acknowledged the tools he forgets to utilize, saying,

“So, I have these long arms that I don't use, I don't really take advantage of them. So, this time we're going to box more, we're going to use our distance.”

September 16th- The Commerce Casino

The second fight of the month lands on Mexican Independence Day, September 16th at the Commerce Casino. The main event will be between Mexican warrior William Zepeda (28-0, 24 KO’s) and Filipino fighter Mercito Gesta (34-3-3, 17 KO’s). The two lightweight fighters will be going toe-to-toe in a 12-round bout as they face off for the WBA continental Americas title.

The co-main event of the September 16th night will be between 25-year old Victor Morales (18-0-1, 9 KO’s) and 27-year old Edwin Palomares (18-4-2, 9 KO’s). The two will be facing off in a 10-round bout for the WBA Intercontinental featherweight title.

Morales, hailing from Washington, is under the training of his father but spends time in LA training as well.

“I know for sure he's going to come out with nothing, nothing to lose.  He's made it very clear that he wants to give me an upset which I expect him to bring. He's going to come in with a lot of punches and we're going to have a game plan for that,” said Morales.

Yokasta Valle

The only female fight of the night, taking place right before the co-main event, is between minimumweight fighters Yokasta Valle (28-2, 9 KO’s) and Maria Santizo (11-3, 6 KO’s). The women warriors will face off in a 10-round battle as Valle defends her IBF and WBO minimumweight titles. Valle, training under Gloria “Coach G” Alvarado, has sharpened her technique as well as created a close bond with the Coach who has been taking the industry by storm.

“The first time I saw her was, I believe, a few months before she walked in my door. I said, Well, it was just a connection through the TV with her and I said, wow, they bring that girl to me and it's all over with. That we’ll make her a monster. We're going to beat everybody in that division. About three months later, I got a phone call and it was all the way from Costa Rica. They brought her into my gym. I accepted her without even knowing her and when I saw her I said, Oh my God, that's the same girl. That you know, I was talking about, you know, and so ever since then, just the way she walked in my gym ready to work and the way she shook my hand and looked me in the eyes and said, “I'm ready to work, whatever you want me to do.”  I saw her working and I was like, wow, like just wow, I mean technique. You know, it wasn't all the best, but just her work ethic was amazing. So, I was able to work off of her work ethic and the skills and you know, I, I mean, I put a lot into her a lot of work, a lot of tension, literacy as different types of fighters. I've always had a good stable, you know, like great fighters, so she learned off of them as well. So, we fit like a glove. We're a perfect, perfect match, I believe. I love that,” said Coach G.

Although the first time in the professional ring together, Valle and Santizo are no strangers to each other. Valles' manager, Mario Vega, gave insight on the two ladies' relationship in the amateurs. Vega let Uppercut Magazine know the two fighters have fought twice in the amateurs and have each taken a win over each other. This fight will be the silent tie breaker as they battle for the belts.

Fighting on the undercard, super featherweights Daniel Garcia (6-0, 5 KO’s) and Erick Benitez (4-4, 1 KO) are scheduled to go 6-rounds. The young fighter, Garcia hails from Colorado and Benitez from Mexico. Although holding a better record than his opponent, Garcia is preparing for a wild opponent in the ring.

“He's very wild, but he still times pretty well, so the left left hook he throws is really wild but I've seen it. It caught on. If it catches you, you might get hurt. You don't want to. So I'm keeping my hands up and going over under every shot. I throw. I'm just looking to look sharp to make them, you know, look like you shouldn't even be in the ring,” said Garcia.

(Photos by Lauren Rodriguez)