Showtime Boxing: Quintero Faces Harris On July 31 ShoBox

Talented, once-beaten prospect Marvin Quintero (16-1, 12 KOs) hopes to continue his ascension through the ranks with a win over hard-hitting veteran Tyrone Harris (23-5, 15 KOs ) in a 10-round junior lightweight bout on Friday, July 31, live on ShoBox: The New Generation on Showtime (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the west coast).

In the co-feature, undefeated bantamweight prospect Chris Avalos (10-0, 8 KOs) will take on knockout artist Andre Wilson (11-2-1, 9 KOs ) in an eight-round bantamweight bout.

Quintero has won his last two fights on ShoBox and 12 in a row, including nine by knockout, since his lone professional loss on Aug. 9, 2005. The 22-year-old has registered knockouts in more than 70 percent of his fights.

Quintero, who is from Julio Cesar Chavez’s hometown of Culiacan, Mexico, is a speedy southpaw with solid boxing skills. But the hard-hitting Mexican may have a weak chin; his sole loss came via first round knockout in his fifth professional fight. Since then he’s won 12 fights, nine by KO.

“Quintero is an aggressive, hard-punching lightweight prospect from Mexico who fights more than he boxes, often to the displeasure of his handlers,’’ said ShoBox expert analyst Steve Farhood. “In that sense, he reminds me of Antonio DeMarco, who slugged his way to a few wins on ShoBox and is now preparing to fight for a version of the 135-pound title.

“This will be Quintero’s third appearance on ShoBox, so we’ll be able to gauge in rate of improvement. One thing I’ve learned about prospects: You need to see them a few times before making sweeping conclusions. The first time I saw Quintero was in an off-TV fight, and he looked average. Since then, he’s stepped it up.’’

“He’s the quintessential ShoBox prospect and a fighter I always look forward to seeing in action.’’

In his last fight on May 1, on ShoBox, Quintero dominated Wes Ferguson over eight rounds winning an easy decision by the scores of 79-73 and 78-74 twice.

At the end of the second round Ferguson staggered Quintero and then swung big, missing and slipping to the canvas.

“I had my opportunities to knock him out but I wanted to prove to people that I could box,” Quintero said. “It was a very tough fight but none of his punches ever hurt me. I give myself a nine out of 10. I could have worked harder training for this fight.”

In his first ShoBox appearance and just his second in the United States, Quintero registered a third-round TKO over Nick Casal on Jan. 16, 2009.

Now, Quintero has a difficult challenge against the more experienced Harris. Eight of Harris’ 15 knockout victories have come in the first round, so Quintero, who has proven he is vulnerable early, has to watch out for the flash-KO.

“I know I have to keep winning if I want to climb up the division,” Quintero said. “This is a big fight for me. I want to be a world champion, but first I have to beat this Harris. Believe me, I’m ready.”

The 28-year-old Harris, of Lansing, Mich, is looking to bounce back after a tough loss to No. 1- ranked World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 3 ranked World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight contender Urbano Antillon on May 1, 2009.

“This is a must win for me,” Harris said. “A win over a good prospect like this guy is exactly what I need to get my career back on track. “

ShoBox’s veteran play-by-play announcer Nick Charles agrees this is a fight that Harris needs to win.

“I’ve always thought Tyrone Harris has talent,” Charles said. “He stepped up and failed on ShoBox. There’s no doubt he’s the opponent, but I’m interested to see if Harris can turn his career around.

“The hope is he won’t treat this like a payday, but rather like the last opportunity to really make it in boxing.”

The unbeaten Avalos, of Lancaster, Calif, is getting his first shot on Showtime after appearing on the non-televised undercard of ShoBox or Showtime Championshp Boxing telecasts for eight of his 10 professional fights.

Of the 19-year-olds’s eight knockouts, five have come in the first round.

“I’ve seen guys fighting on the big stage for the Showtime cameras, but now it’s my chance,” Avalos said. “I’m ready for the big stage. I’m walking out of that ring undefeated.”

Charles hopes to see Avalos develop as a fighter in his first Showtime appearance.

“I’m always genuinely excited to see somebody with skills and upside potential become a genuine prospect,” Charles said. “Chris, I’ll be calling you’re fight and also watching carefully from a critic’s perspective.”

The power-punching Wilson, of St. Joseph, Miss, will be hoping to end the fight early. Like Avaolos, he has had only two fights go past the fourth round.

“I’ll be looking for the KO,” said the 26-year-old Wilson. “This guy hasn’t lost and I plan on taking that away from him. I’ve been training hard and I’m ready.”

The event is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, and will originate from Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, Calif.

The aforementioned Charles and Farhood will call the ShoBox action along with former light heavyweight kingpin, Antonio Tarver, who will serve as a special guest analyst. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

For more information on Showtime Sports, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go to the Showtime Sports website at http://sports.sho.com.