Starvation ends, weigh-ins complete for Friday’s show at Del Mar

Will the rust show when Aaron Garcia (l) of Vista, returns to work after a 19 month layoff to face Cesar Garcia of Lakeside. All photos: Jim Wyatt

After making weight at Thursday’s weigh-ins at the Four Points by Sheraton Hotel in San Diego, Friday’s combatants scurried off to chow down on their favorite foods. We can report that all 12 of these pugilists are in excellent shape. With Friday’s big show beginning at 7:30 p.m. at the Bing Crosby Hall inside the Del Mar Fairgrounds, the only thing left on the docket is rest and relaxation. With all the hard work done, now the waiting begins. Hopefully all the prerequisites have been met.

Here are the fighters and their official weights:

Main event

Khabir Suleymanov (14-3-0, 6 KOs) versus Michael Ruiz Jr. (9-2-1, 3 KOs). The two seasoned pros weighed the exact same 118 lbs. They’ll be fighting a scheduled 10 round match for the NABA (North American Boxing Association) Bantamweight Title.

Suleymanov, orthodox, is 32 years-old from Los Angeles by way of Chelyabinsk, Russia, while Ruiz, a southpaw, is a 24 year-old from Fresno, CA. This is a classic match-up between two tough bangers that should go the distance.

In the Main Event it will be Michael Ruiz Jr. of Fresno, CA (top right) going up against Khabir Suleymanov of Russia (bottom right) for the NABA Bantamweight Title.

In the Co-feature

It is Aaron “Gavilan” Garcia (10-3-2, 2 KOs) 130 lbs. going up against Cesar Garcia (8-13-1, 4 KOs) – no relation- 131 lbs. in a six round, super featherweight match.

Aaron is making his return after a year and seven month hiatus. During the break, he put on 20 pounds and needed an assist from a nutrition and conditioning coach to lose the 20 pounds and get back to his regular fighting weight.

Cesar, who is from Ensenada, B. C., Mexico, is currently trained by Salvador Felix at the Marron Boxing Camp in Lakeside, CA. Not to be picky, but Cesar has never beaten a boxer with a winning record. Aaron has always had a winning record.

Aaron Garcia and Cesar Garcia sneak a peek at each other while posing for photos at Thursday’s weigh-in at the Four Points By Sheraton Hotel. All photos: J. Wyatt

Friday’s undercard 

Leon Spinks III (4-0-1, 3 KOs) of Huntington Beach, CA by way of St. Louis, MO weighed in at 135 lbs. while his opponent Dominic Coca (8-2-0, 2 KOs) from Lynwood, CA. weighed in at 133 lbs. for their four round lightweight match.

In regards to Coca’s two losses, one came by way of disqualification after he hit Miguel Albares while down.  The other was a six round split decision loss to Danny Savala. 

Ever since he was two, Spinks was raised by his grandfather and namesake, the legendary Leon Spinks, the former Heavyweight Champion. He had more than a decent amateur career going 57-3.

Not unlike the wrestlers from the WWF, both Spinks and his assistant trainer, “Repo Man”, go through these wild gyrations to get the crowd’s attention. According to Spinks, “Repo is the opening act and I close it.”

Could the underdog Dominic Coca (bottom left) be the first to knock Leon Spinks III off his high and mighty, exalted perch?  All photos: Jim Wyatt

In the next bout they have Jesus Sandoval (0-1) from San Bernardino, CA trying to exact his revenge against Jonathan Quiroz. On February 21st of this year, while making his debut, Sandoval was overwhelmed by the perpetual motion of the 19-year-old Jonathan “Johnny Boy” Quiroz (4-1-0, 1 KO).

Boxing hacks have started calling Quiroz, “The Show Stealer.” Unlike most fighters, Quiroz benefits big time by living close to the beach in Oceanside, CA. He performs the majority of his workouts in the water or on the beach. He is trained by his father, the head boxing coach at Rhino’s Boxing in Vista, CA along with his brother, Brian, who is also a pro fighter.

Initially, Sandoval weighed-in at 112 lbs. while Quiroz weighed 111 lbs. All the pleasantries will end when these two warriors get in the ring on Friday night.

For the next match, Anecito Gesta, Jr. was accompanied to his weigh-in by his father, Anecito Gesta Sr. his trainer, along with his brother, Mercito “No Mercy” Gesta who in his last fight fought for the IBF lightweight title. That’s quite a pedigree when you consider Anecito Jr. is the third in a line of former kick boxers, mixed martial artists within the immediate family to switch to boxing.

At the scales, the 23 year-old Anecito Gesta jr. (2-1-0) weighed 125 lbs. while his opponent 25 year-old Pablo Cupul from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico (6-11-0, 4 KOs) weighed 123 lbs. for their four round featherweight match. Cupul, who won his first six matches, has now lost his last 11.

Mom and Pop Gesta join their sons, Nescito Jr. and Mercito (r) for a photo at Thursday’s weigh-in. Below, the boxers, Nescito Gesta Jr. (l) and Pablo Cupul (r) weigh-in.

The final bout, a four round welterweight match between James “Hollywood” Taylor (2-1-0) and Andre Ewell (0-2-0) could be very interesting. 

Taylor, who switched trainers, now trains at the Gladiator Gym in Spring Valley, CA. He’s lost some weight from his last outing in February when he lost to Victor Fonseca at 147 pounds. Now that he’s getting closer to being a lightweight, he feels more comfortable and his superior hand speed has returned.

Ewell, who is 25 years old and winless, hails from the Rhino’s Boxing Gym in Corona, CA. Ewell feels he needs to let his hands go more and stop being a defensive minded sharpshooter. He promises to do just that in his match with Taylor, another boxer rather than brawler.

Official weights: Taylor 143, Ewell 142

James Taylor (r) and Andre Ewell (l) pose for a photo at their weigh-ins.

Boxing fans can still take advantage of that offer to receive the FREE 2013 San Diego County Fair admission ticket with each boxing ticket purchased, a $14 value. Good seats are still available starting at $25.

This all ages San Diego Fights event is sponsored by Mossy Auto Group, Filippi’s Pizza Grotto, 2013 San Diego County Fair, Pepsi, and El Latino Newspaper. The Bing Crosby Hall is located at 2260 Jimmy Durante Blvd., Del Mar.

For tickets or more information, you can visit: 

SanDiegoFights.com. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. with the first punch being thrown at 7:30 p.m.