© Ginamarie Russo / Saddo Boxing

Lou DiBella of DiBella Entertainment made a recent trip to Puerto Rico to finalize signing of junior welterweight prospect, Joel "Joelo" Torres.

DiBella comments, “I have no doubt in my mind that Joelo has the qualities to become a big star in Puerto Rico.

"From now on, we will be helping him in everything that we can so he can reach his potential.”

Torres' manager, Ricardo Figueroa of Real Fighters, was also on hand. His efforts have helped Torres succeed and has been supporting "Joelo" since the early days of the junior welter's career. More...

Joel "Joelo" Torres has been keeping himself quite busy since his hand has healed. He is currently preparing for his main event, a six-rounder on January 31 against the durable Omar Serrano in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico.

Torres is fighting at 140 lb and has been sparring 8 to 10 round sessions. Torres has been following a vigorous weight training and conditioning routine, which has accelerated his readiness for the upcoming fight.

The law in Puerto Rico that Joelo has urged to be passed, which is allowing children 12 years and under attend a sporting event for free, has maintained the attention of the town Mayor.

The Mayor has become quite involved in supporting his mission and the town has purchased 100 tickets for January 31st, and are also providing two school buses to ride the fans to and from the event.

Joel Torres' endeavors don't stop there. In February, he will be featured as the co-main event in Caguas, P.R., which is Miguel Cotto Promotion's first event of this year. More...

© Ginamarie Russo / Saddo Boxing

The visit to my hand doctor turned out to be more than just a follow up. I had the pleasure of meeting a fellow patient of Dr. Melone's, light welterweight Joel "Joelo" Torres.

Hailing from Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, this young fighter was only in town for a night to follow up on his recovering tendon that he ruptured from his last fight, in May, against Christopher Fernandez.

We, 'we' being my twin sister and Tommy, who is also apart of his team, then arranged a meeting and met with Torres and his manager, Ricardo Figueroa, to talk boxing. Torres is just learning English and so Figueroa had to translate.

Torres is a humble 25 year old, with a lingering focus in his eyes. His presence is mellow, while his early memoir is anything but. At eight years of age, his brother was murdered. His mother passed away shortly after due to heartache and depression. More...

**With Slideshow**

© Jim Everett / Saddo Boxing

ESPNʼs Spanish-language multimedia brand, ESPN Deportes, hosted their Upfront ʽ08 presentation to the advertising community to announce new programming initiatives and a multiplatform approach to the fall season.

Boxing took center stage at the event held at New York Cityʼs Gotham Hall, where the guests watched an onsite production of ESPNʼs Wednesday Night Fights to mark the return of the sport to ESPN Deportes.

The new programming initiatives include, Miercoles y Viernes de Combate which will begin to air twice a week starting in February 2009, anchored by a new studio show that will broadcast boxing matches from the preceding weekly telecasts. More...