Golden Boy Boxing: Ruiz vs. Escalante Tonight On Solo Boxeo

Local stars will be shining bright deep in the heart of Texas tonight, August 6, when Antonio Escalante, Omar Figueroa, Jermell Charlo and Cesar Valenzuela enter the ring in separate televised bouts at the Don Haskins Center in El Paso for this week’s edition of TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate.”

In the main event, scheduled for 10 rounds in the featherweight division, explosive top contender Antonio Escalante will look for his fourth straight win in his hometown when he takes on NABA champion Edel Ruiz.

The televised co-featured bout will see unbeaten Weslaco, Texas knockout artist Omar Figueroa taking on San Angelo, Texas’ Miguel Buendia. In other featured bouts, Houston’s Jermell Charlo squares off against Quinton Whitaker in an eight round junior middleweight bout and Cesar Valenzuela meets Roni Alvarado in a junior welterweight four rounder.

Fresh off of a February victory over Miguel “Mickey” Roman that has garnered 2010 Fight of the Year buzz, 25-year-old Antonio Escalante (22-2, 14 KO’s) is adding to an impressive resume with each bout. Currently ranked number two in the world by the WBA and the WBO, this popular El Paso standout hopes that a win over Ruiz this Friday will propel him to a title shot in short order.

A veteran of nearly 16 years in the pro game, Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico’s Edel “Cuate” Ruiz (31-22-5, 20 KO’s) has had his ups and downs over the course of his career, but given his recent form which has seen him win his last four fights (all by knockout), including a fourth round stoppage of former World Champion Bones Adams in February, this NABA featherweight champ may be hitting his stride.

Rising lightweight star Omar “Panterita” Figueroa (10-0, 8 KO’s) has thrilled Texas fans with a blistering attack that has seen him end six of his fights with knockouts in two rounds or less. On Friday, the 20-year-old from Weslaco will meet San Angelo’s Miguel Buendia (3-1, 1 KO) who is the winner of three straight fights.

The man who issued Buendia his lone pro loss is talented newcomer Cesar Valenzuela (3-0), a native of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico who now makes his home in El Paso. In his third bout in his adopted hometown, the 24-year-old will battle Roni Alvarado (2-2, 2 KO’s) of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico in a four round junior welterweight bout.

In junior middleweight action, former amateur star Jermell Charlo (12-0, 6 KO’s) of Houston, who has stopped two of his last three opponents, makes his El Paso debut against hard-hitting San Antonio product Quinton Whitaker (7-6, 5 KO’s).

Other undercard bouts will see veteran junior featherweights Alex Becerra (19-8, 9 KO’s) and Francisco Dominguez (8-6, 2 KO’s) square off against in a six round bout, while middleweight Oscar Palacios (0-1) takes on Armando Rodriguez (3-1, 2 KO’s) in a four battle.

“Escalante vs. Ruiz: Contender vs. Champion” is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and UTEP and sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. The first fight starts at 7:30 p.m. MT and the main event will air nationally on TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” at 11:30 p.m. ET/PT (10:30 p.m. CT).

Tickets are priced at $100, $60, $40, $30 & $20 are available for purchase at the UTEP Ticket Center and all Ticketmaster Outlets. Tickets will also be available online at www.ticketmaster.com and by phone through the UTEP Box Office at 915-747-5234 and Ticketmaster at 1-800-745-3000.