Tag Archives: Thomas Valdez

boxing

VALDEZ VS. RAMIREZ – ARIZONA’S FIRST SEVEN-ROUND FIGHT

Leave a comment

Bout headlines Guerra De Gallos at Casino Del Sol
 

Tucson, AZ – Oct. 23 –  When Tucson’s Jensen Ramirez (6-2-3, 1KO) squares off with Nogales’ Thomas Valdez (16-4-2, 6KO) at the Casino Del Sol’s AVA Amphitheater, it will be the first seven-round bout in Arizona’s history.  The featherweight bout headlines the Nov. 17 event, dubbed Guerra De Gallos.

 

 

 

Raging Babe’s Michelle Rosado had to think outside the box when negotiating the card’s main event.  One camp wanted an eight-round fight and one wanted a six. Rosado, consulting with her mentor, Hall-of-Fame Promoter J Russell Peltz, lamented the potential loss of a solid, local main event.  Peltz had a solution. “Why not meet in the middle and make it seven rounds?” Rosado was skeptical. “I told him to get outta here,” Rosado said.  “I was laughing, but Peltz wasn’t joking.  School was in session.”

 

 

 

There was a precedent.  Peltz told the story of “The Long-Haired Boxer” Edwin “Chu Chu” Malave vs. Harold Weston, Jr. in a welterweight bout that took place in August of 1971 at New York’s Madison Square Garden.  Malave wanted the bout to be eight rounds, and Weston wanted 10. The New York State Athletic Commission proposed that the bout be nine rounds. Malave went on to win a split decision, with two judges scoring the fight 5-4 in his favor, and the third scoring it 5-4 for Weston.

 

 

 

Rosado had her fight.

 

 

 

“I bought right into it when Russell told me about the Malave-Weston bout,” she said. “I knew we had a good fight, and there was something special about having a seven-round main event.”  Both Ramirez and Valdez’s teams agreed, and the Pascua Yacqui Commission sanctioned the seven-round bout. On Nov. 17, Tucson boxing fans will see Arizona’s first seven-round bout between two local “gallos.”

 

 

 

Raging Babe will host a press conference this Thursday, October 25 at Casino Del Sol’s Paradiso Lounge at 2 p.m.  The presser will be open to the public and will include a tribute to promoter Don Chargin.

 

 

 

 

ABOUT NOV. 17:

The Nov. 17 card consists of eight fights, beginning at 7 p.m. Doors open at 6 p.m. This event is all ages.

 

 

 

TICKETS:

Tickets starting at $25 are available online at www.casinodelsol.com, by phone at (520) 333-5150 or at the Casino Del Sol Gift.

 

 

 

ABOUT CASINO DEL SOL:

Located in southwest metropolitan Tucson, Ariz., the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe with nearly 20,000 enrolled members. The Tribe owns and operates several enterprises including Casino Del Sol, Arizona’s only AAA Four Diamond casino resort, one of the Best Hotels in Arizona named by U.S. News & World Report; Casino of the Sun; AVA Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat open-air concert venue named Casino Arena/Amphitheater of the Year by Casino Entertainment Awards; Sewailo Golf Club, a par-72 championship course designed by Notah Begay III; and the Del Sol Marketplace. For more information, call 1-855-SOL-STAY (765-7829) or visit www.CasinoDelSol.com. Follow Casino Del Sol on Facebook and Twitter.

boxing

RAGING BABE RETURNS TO CASINO DEL SOL WITH GUERRA DE GALLOS: JENSEN RAMIREZ VS. TOMAS VALDEZ

Leave a comment

Alfonso Olvera Returns, Chris Gonzalez faces Judas Estrada

 

 

Tucson, Arizona – October 16, 2018 – On the heels of her sold out July 17th event at the award-winning Casino Del Sol Resort & Casino, Michelle Rosado’s Raging Babe returns to the same venue on Saturday, November 17th, when super featherweights Jensen Ramirez of Tucson, and Thomas Valdez of Nogales collide in the main event, outdoors at the AVA Amphitheater. Tucson’s Alfonso Olvera returns ahead of his anticipated rematch of his sensational bout with Wilberth Lopez on July’s card, and Tucson’s Christopher Gonzalez faces Nogales’ Judas Estrada in a four-round welterweight contest.

 

 

 

Main event fighters Jensen Ramirez (6-2-3, 1KO) and Thomas Valdez (16-4-2, 6KO), have both called Tucson home, but the similarities between the two end there.

 

 

 

Ramirez, 26, is an award-winning tattoo artist when he is not fighting.  He defeated Sierra Vista’s Jesus Arevalo at Raging Babe’s July event, after a two-year layoff, earning a 6-round majority decision over the often-avoided Arevalo.  If his bout with Arevalo was about redemption, his upcoming bout with Valdez is about showing Tucson, and all of Arizona, that he belongs in the mix with the top super featherweights in the state.

 

 

 

Valdez, 29, last fought December 1, 2017,  when he scored a wide unanimous decision in an 8-round bout versus a far more experienced Daniel Valenzuela of Mexico.  A hand injury has kept him on the shelf. Coming from a fighting family, Valdez is trained and managed by his uncle, Oscar Valdez, Sr., who also happens to be the father of WBO Featherweight Champion Oscar Valdez, Jr.  Thomas Valdez will be fighting in Arizona for the first time since a 2013 six-round decision loss to undefeated prospect Victor Castro, of Phoenix, Arizona.

 

 

Both Valdez and Ramirez will walk into the ring on November 17th with something to prove – to Tucson boxing fans, and to themselves.

 

 

 

Tucson favorite Alfonso Olvera (10-5-1, 4KO) will make his return on November 17. Olvera has his sights set on an eventual rematch with Wilberth Lopez (23-9,15KO), but cannot afford to stumble along the way. The two thrilled the Guerro De Gallo crowd in the card’s main event in July, ending in a split decision that favored Lopez. The decision pleased some and disappointed others in the sold out crowd, and since the bout, both camps and fans who were in attendance that night have called for a rematch.  For his part, Olvera has no intentions of looking past his November 17th opponent.

 

 

The Gonzalez-Estrada contest features two local prospects who had the fans on their feet during their separate July bouts at Guerra De Gallos.  Estrada (1-1, 1 KO) lost that night to Jose Barrera, of Phoenix, but the split decision had the crowd in an uproar. Gonzalez also was in a tight one that night, earning a majority decision over Sergio Lopez.

 

 

 

“When fighters fight – when local fighters fight, and aren’t afraid to step into the ring with a friend, former sparring partner or a tough guy, you’re going to get great fights,” said Raging Babe President and Promoter Michelle Rosado.  “That’s what I’m about and that’s what my events are about. Boxing is at its best when the fights are 50-50 fights, and when fans get their money’s worth, and they definitely did that on July card. This event is no different. Hats off to these guys for all being willing to step up and fight in their hometowns. Tucson, if you’re thirsty for good, live boxing, get ready for a tall drink of water on November 17th.”

 

 

 

Heavyweight Edgar Medina makes his professional debut, Manny Guajardo, Nick Rhoads, and Mike Martinez return, and Arturo Resendiz makes his US debut.

 

 

 

Tickets for Guerra De Gallos start at $25, and go on sale Thursday, October 18 at 10:00 a.m.  Tickets may be purchased at the Casino Del Sol gift shop, online at www.casinodelsol.com, or by calling 520-333-5150.