HBO Boxing: Mexican Glory

The Show Must Go On!

Despite the loss of world title challenger Jimrex Jaca due to immigration issues, Golden Boy Promotions is ready, willing, and able to go forward with its ‘Mexican Glory’ pay-per-view show at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso, Texas on Saturday, October 21st with not just three, but now four world-class level bouts.

The Philippines’ Jaca was scheduled to face WBO featherweight champion Juan Manuel Marquez in the main event of the HBO pay-per-view card, but despite the tireless efforts of renowned immigration attorney Frank Ronzio, Jaca received his VISA on October 11th but was unable to receive the government stamp necessary for him to travel to the United States for his first world championship fight due to an unavoidable backup at the US embassy in Manila.

And though a replacement opponent was sought for Marquez, there were no quality opponents willing to take on one of boxing’s best, pound for pound, on less than a week’s notice.

The show must go on though, and in addition to the already announced bouts on the card – the WBO super bantamweight championship bout between Daniel Ponce De Leon and Al Seeger and the junior welterweight showdown between Juan Lazcano and Manuel Garnica – Golden Boy Promotions is pleased to add two action-packed wars to the pay-per-view portion of the show.

“Of course we’re disappointed that Juan Manuel Marquez won’t be defending his title against Jimrex Jaca on this card,”said Oscar De La Hoya, President of Golden Boy Promotions, “but we’ve decided to make sure fight fans get the most for their money by adding two fights to the card which may just steal the thunder from the co-main events.”

In the first added bout, super bantamweight star on the rise Antonio Escalante (13-1, 8 KOs) will look to impress his hometown fans in El Paso as he defends his NABO 122-pound title against hard-nosed veteran Omar Adorno (16-7-1, 10 KOs) in a 12 round bout.

Escalante has had a busy year thus far, decisioning Jose Hernandez in an unforgettable war, winning the NABO crown by outpointing Juan Ruiz, and then stopping Alex Baba in nine rounds. Puerto Rico’s Adorno is no pushover either, as he has won two of his last three and has been in with the likes of Martin Castillo, Carlos Navarro, Abner Mares, and Orlando Salido.

The second bout added to the pay-per-view show will pit the number one ranked bantamweight in the world, Mauricio Martinez (31-6-1, 21 KOs), against former world champion Gerry Penalosa (50-5-2, 33 KOs).

One of the most feared 118-pound fighters in the world, Martinez has won 12 of his last 13 bouts, with the only defeat coming via a controversial 12 round decision to Ratanachai Sor Vorapin in the champion’s home country of Thailand. Undeterred, Martinez is eager to get a title shot as soon as possible and knows a win over a veteran like Penalosa will do wonders in terms of increasing his profile. Penalosa, a seasoned southpaw from Manila, has gone 4-0 with two knockouts since his return to the ring after a two-year layoff. He is a former WBC super flyweight world champion with three defenses under his belt who is now in search of bantamweight gold.