A Queen, a few Warriors, plenty of non-stop action Friday at the Grand Hotel Tijuana

Brenda “La Bonita” Flores will be defending the home turf against Elena Luz “Jaibita” Rodriguez from Mexicali on Friday evening’s Main Event.

Once again Mayen Promociones in association with Bobby D Presents and Marron Productions has another entertaining boxing show planned. On Friday evening, December 2nd, their show at the impressive Grand Hotel in Tijuana is scheduled to begin at 7:30 p.m. On Thursday afternoon, all of Friday’s combatants passed their routine physical check-ups and weighed in at the required catch weight. Below are the photos that were taken Thursday at the weigh-ins conducted at the Tijuana Boxing Commission offices. 

(bottom photo, l to r) Manuel Duran and Frankie Lopez. Photos: Jim Wyatt

In Bout #1 it will be the calm, cool and collected 21-year-old Francisco “Frankie” Lopez (5-0, 4 KOs) from North Hollywood in the City of Angels, Los Angeles, Calif. taking on the stern and more reticent heavyweight Manuel Duran (2-4, 2 KOs) of Mexicali, B. C., Mexico. At their weigh-in, Duran weighed 98.3 kilograms or 216.714 pounds while Lopez weighed 87 kilograms or 191.8 pounds. Despite their huge disparity in weight, it is believed that Lopez should be able handle the heavier punches coming his way from Mr. Duran. However, it only takes one well-placed punch to land you on your back when your opponent outweighs you by 25 pounds.

(l to r) Abel Rueda versus Andres Armendariz

Bout #2 will feature super welterweight Abel “Gemelo” Rueda (6-1, 4 KOs) of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico going up against Andres Armendariz from Tijuana. Up until August 20th of this year, Rueda had been undefeated. His upper momentum changed big time when he had to face Waldo Rojas in a toe to toe scrap. After losing his first fight by a split decision to Rojas, he refused to move on until he avenged that loss. He did just that on October 8, 2016, oddly enough by a similar split decision.

Bout #3 features the 33-year-old righty  Manuel “El Venado” Ceballos (10-1, 8 KOs) of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico (left) going up against the rugged 35-year-old southpaw Juan Carlos “Zurdo” Moreno from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico (right) who on November 11th of this year won his first fight after going winless in his first 16 bouts. Even though Ceballos should have no problem defeating Mr. Moreno, Ceballos (for a second time), Ceballos does have a history of having trouble against lefties. Ceballos won a second round TKO victory over Moreno back on June 25, 2015.

(left to right) Noe “El Gallo” Larios and Rene Cardenas.

Bout #4 features the Pro debut of 19-year-old middleweight Noe “El Gallo” Larios who will be going up against the much shorter Rene Cardenas of which we have no information. Suffice it to say, Cardenas is not a Tijuana taxi driver. Larios, a Ramona High School alum, now trains at the Marron Boxing Camp in Lakeside, Calif. In 2009, Larios defeated all comers in his weight class at the well known Desert Showdown. Not too long ago, Larios was training with the Bomber Squad under coach Berlin Kerney IV’s direction at the Undisputed El Cajon gym before they closed their doors. As a USA Amateur boxer, Larios did extremely well.

(l to r) Jorge Marron Jr. of Lakeside, Calif. and Carlos Apodaca face off just after their weigh-ins on Thursday.

Bout #5 features the 23-year-old Jorge Marron Jr. (4-0, 2 KOs) going up against Carlos Apodaca, a former MMA fighter who is making his Pro debut. Unlike most fighters who like to fight close to home, Marron has already fought in four separate venues and traveled to the East Coast in order to build up his record. For someone who only turned Pro in May, having four victories is quite impressive. 

(l to r) Elias Espadas of Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and Carlos Martinez of Tijuana, B. C., Mexico.

Bout #6 features the 26-year-old, 5’11”, 74” reach Elias “Latin Kid” Espadas (7-1-0, 3 KOs), a Super Middleweight, going up against a gentleman by the name of Carlos Martinez (4-9). Martinez, who in his last bout became a revenge victim of Cristian “Ruso” Olivas. Martinez will no doubt have a difficult time facing the more polished “Latin Kid.” With Martinez being the taller of the two, Espadas will now have to change up his offense and work the body more. 

Despite their records, this could be an interesting bout especially if Jimenez can weather the early barrage tactic that Ledezma often employs.

Bout #7 features super lightweight Alfredo “Pepe el Toro” Ledezma (6-1, 3 KOs) from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico going up against Eduardo “Eddy” Jimenez (1-7) from Tijuana, B. C., Mexico. With Ledezma losing his last fight back on August 25, he’ll be up for this one. Even though Mr. Jimenez has never been stopped, this just might be the night as Ledezma will waste little time and be swarming all over his opponent.

The consummate showgirl – Brenda “La Bonita” Flores – will have both the height and reach advantage against the much shorter Luz Rodriguez.

Bout #8 will feature a rematch between 23-year-old Brenda “La Bonita” Flores (9-3-1, 2 KOs) of Tijuana going up against the 41-year-old Elena Luz “Jaibita” Rodriguez (5-7-1) from Mexicali, B. C., Mexico. No doubt Flores will go all out early in hopes of securing an early stoppage. In terms of weight, Flores usually weighs between 111 to 117 for her fights (a super flyweight to bantamweight) while the shorter Rodriguez has ranged from 105 to 113 (a light flyweight).