Weigh-ins complete for Thursday’s Night of Champions at Pechanga

Twenty-six boxers all set to do their thing on Thursday evening, December 11, 2014, at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, CA. With so many bouts (13) and so many rounds scheduled (104) it could turn out to be a boxing marathon.

The official weigh-ins for the Goossen Promotions’ “Night of Champions” was held today at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California.

How can we put this? Like Santa’s sleigh, the fight card at the Pechanga Resort & Casino is loaded to the brim. On Wednesday, December 10th, as the officials from the California State Athletic Commission read off the long list of names, 26 combatants in all, 104 rounds of boxing, it sort of reminded you of that Christmas carol that goes on and on:

“On the first day of Christmas my true love sent to me: 12 Drummers Drumming, 11 Pipers Piping, 10 Lords a Leaping, 9 Ladies Dancing, 8 Maids a Milking, 7 Swans a Swimming, 6 Geese a Laying, 5 Golden Rings; 4 Calling Birds, 3 French Hens, 2 Turtle Doves and a Partridge in a Pear Tree.

For the diehard boxing fan, this is a dream come true. A never ending boxing show that will surely go well past midnight and into Friday morning. As far as ESPN, this three-hour ESPN Boxing Special is set to televise LIVE on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN beginning at 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time, 7:00 p.m. Pacific Coast Time. As the bewitching hour approaches you know the promoters are going to be hoping for more than a few first round knockouts.

Bout 1 has 33 year-old southpaw Tyson “Prince of Hali” Cave of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada going up against 30 year-old, 5’3 inch, 30 year-old Oscar Escandon of Ibague, Columbia in a battle for the Interim WBA World Bantamweight tile.

Bout 2 has 29 year-old, southpaw, 5’ 9½” Austin “No Doubt” Trout of Las Cruces, New Mexico coming off his unanimous decision win over Daniel Dawson on August 22, 2014, going up against 27 year-old, 5’11½” Luis “The Slayer” Grajeda of Chihuahua, Chihuahua. Both fighters are 4-2 in their last six contests. Trouts’ follies came against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Erislandy Lara, while Grajeda lost to Pablo Munguia and Willie Nelson in that same stretch.

In this photo we see Vane Martirosyan joining the Luis Grajeda support group which includes the boxing great Daniel Ponce de Leon. Photo: Jim Wyatt

Bout 3 has the 46 year-old southpaw, 6’2” Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver, the former Showtime boxing analyst from Tampa, Florida going up against 6’3”, 32 year-old, Johnathan Banks from Detroit, Michigan. Banks is coming off that loss to Seth Mitchell. His only other loss was to Tomasz Adamek.

Bout 4 has Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez of Worcester, Massachusetts by way of the Dominican Republic going up against 5’6” Derrick “Superman” Findley of Gary, Indiana who has only one win in his last eight contests.

Derrick Findley (c) along with his support staff say “Superman” is more than ready to pull off the upset. Photo: Jim Wyatt

Rodriguez’s only loss was that 12 round unanimous decision to Andre Ward. In the bout just prior to that one, Rodriguez stopped San Diego’s Denis Grachev in round one of that Million Dollar Tournament in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Bout 5 has 6’6½”, 81” reach Dominic “Trouble” Breazeale of Anaheim, CA, the U. S.’s representative in the 2012 Olympics in London being challenged by 39 year-old 6’1”, 79” reach Epifanio “Diamante” Mendoza of Barranquilla, Colombia who has been quite active this year. This will be his 10th fight this year. He has 6 wins and 3 losses in 2014.

Bout 6 has 27 year-old, 5’10” tall Terrell Gausha of Cleveland, Ohio, a 2012 Olympian, going up against 28 year-old Cesar Vila, a semifinalist in the 2012 National Golden Gloves tournament from Brooklyn, New York.

(left) Rising heavyweight Gerald Washington is accompanied by his trainer John Pullman. (bottom, right) Workers will be working through the night to prepare for the big show – “Night of Champions” in the hotel’s Grand Ballroom.

Bout 7 has 32 year-old, 6’ 5¾”, 82 inch reach Gerald “El Gallo Negro” Washington from Vallejo, CA going up against 39 year-old 6’2” Mike Sheppard of Palestine, West Virginia who has lost five of his last seven bouts.

Bout 8 features 28 year-old, 6’½” southpaw “Sir” Marcus Browne of Staten Island, New York going up against 40 year-old, 5’11” Henry “Honey Boy” Buchanan of Indianapolis, Indiana, the 2007 WBC Latino light heavyweight title holder. Over the last seven and a half years, Buchanan has won two fights of the six he has fought.

Bout 9 has 27 year-old, 5’5” Rico Ramos of Pico Rivera, CA going up against 36 year-old Juan “Fenix” Ruiz Jr. from Santa Clarita, CA. Ever since May 12, 2006, “Fenix” has won twice and lost 13 times. Ramos has also fallen on hard times with a record of 3 wins, 4 losses since that Guillermo Rigondeaux loss on January 20, 2012 in Las Vegas.

Rico Ramos and his coach graciously pose for a quick photo. Photo: J. Wyatt

Bout 10 has the six foot Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora from Los Angeles, CA going up against the boxer/mixed martial artist 5’9” Dashon “Fly Boy” Johnson from Escondido, CA. The last time Mora fought more than twice in one year was back in 2008. In June of that year, he defeated Vernon Forrest to win the WBC World Light Middleweight title which he lost to Forrest three months later in their rematch.

Johnson’s once promising career started to fizzle back on February 24, 2012. Since that night he has but 2 wins and 13 losses. However, in the world of MMA, his record is 9 wins with 2 losses.

From the maître d’ in the restaurant to the gentlemen parking your car, the service at Pechanga Resort & Casino is second to none. Just ask Dashon Johnson who had an opportunity to meet this lovely young lady. Photo: J. Wyatt

Bout 11 features the 24 year-old, 6 foot tall Ahmed Elbiale with 7 victories and 7 knockouts from Miami, Florida by way of Egypt going up against 25 year-old Lawrence Blakey from Pennsylvania. While Ebiale has gone 5-0 this year, Blakey has one win with two losses.

Bout 12 features 22 year-old Vatch Martirosyan (3-0), the younger brother of Vane Martirosyan from that hot pocket of Boxing, Muay Thai and MMA phenoms Glendale, CA. going up against 26 year-old Eddie Diaz of Los Angeles, CA who is still winless at 0-2.

The boxer, Vatch Martirosyan and his support to include his father, brother Vane and his coach Joe Goossen (r). Photo: Jim Wyatt

Bout 13 has Malcolm McAllister in his debut against 5’9” Fernando “Pantera Negra” Najera (1-5), the victim of 3 knockouts. In Najera’s last fight at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in San Diego’s Mission Valley, Najera suffered a cut over his left eye. In that match on November 21, 2014, just 20 days ago, the three judges had Najera losing every round.

                                                                                        All of the face-off photos from Wednesday’s weigh-ins were taken by Carlos Baeza.

Pechanga Resort & Casino, one of the largest and most expansive resort/casino experiences anywhere in the western United States, is owned and operated by the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians. Rated a Four Diamond property by AAA since 2002, it provides an unparalleled getaway, whether for the day or for an extended stay, offering more than 3,000 of the hottest slots, table games, world-class entertainment, 517 hotel rooms, dining, spa and golf. For more information, call toll free (877) 711-2946 or visit www.Pechanga.com.