The 12-round main event of ESPN’s Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will feature top Junior Welterweights “The Silent Assassin” Mike Dallas Jr. (18-2-1, 7 KOs) and Javier “El Zorro” Castro (27-4, 22 KOs) June 22. Friday’s show will air at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2 HD, ESPN Deportes, and ESPN3 from San Jacinto, Calif. The card is presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions.
Joe Tessitore and Teddy Atlas will be ringside for ESPN2 HD and ESPN3 at the Soboba Casino describing the action, while studio host Bernardo Osuna will present all the latest boxing news and highlights. Alex Pombo and Delvin Rodriguez will call the fights for ESPN Deportes’ Viernes de Combates (Friday Night Fights), with Leopoldo Gonzalez and Pablo Viruega in the studio.
ESPN2 and ESPN3 will provide a recap of the International Boxing Hall of Fame induction weekend and will discuss last weekend’s Middleweight title fight between Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. and Andy Lee. ESPN Deportes will include interviews with Victor Ortiz and Josesito Lopez from their weigh-in as they are scheduled to meet Saturday night for the vacant WBC Silver Welterweight title. ESPN Deportes will also include an interview with female boxer Mia St. John who will be fighting boxing icon Christy Martin in August.
Main Event:
Dallas, of California and trained by Virgil Hunter (who also trains Super Middleweight Champion Andre Ward) is coming off a February 10-round decision win over Miguel Gonzalez. After the fight ESPN.com boxing expert Dan Rafael wrote, “Dallas kicked off 2012 in strong fashion as he returned to the series (ESPN’s Friday Night Fights) as the headliner and rolled past Gonzalez. Dallas pitched a shutout in a fight that he totally dominated. Dallas was quicker to the punch than Gonzalez, peppering him with quick combinations to rack up points throughout the fight.”
Texas’ Castro has won his last three fights, all by knockout, including a second-round TKO win over Carlos Urias. “He is a tremendous fighter, and very aggressive,” said Castro’s manager Oswaldo Kuchle. “With his punching power and good conditioning, he could be a world champion, without a doubt.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s co-feature will pit undefeated Super Middleweight Brandon “Flawless” Gonzales (15-0-1, 10 KOs) against Elie Augustama (6-4, 3 KOs). California’s Gonzales is coming off an eight-round decision win over Ossie Duran, while Augustama of Miami won a six-round split decision upset against previously undefeated Donyil Livingston in his last fight.
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