By Mario Ortega Jr.
ROSEVILLE, CALIFORNIA – Last week in Las Vegas, Nevada, the fighting pride of Guadalajara, and the most known boxer in all of the world, Canelo Alvarez thrilled all of his supporters, from Mexico and elsewhere, with a dominant performance on the biggest stage in the sport. Tomorrow night, two more of Guadalajara’s fighting sons will battle it out against one another when Salvador Briceño meets Alan Sanchez in the eight-round welterweight main event at the Thunder Valley Casino Resort in Lincoln, California. Their bout headlines a ten-bout card, dubbed “Thunder Showdown,” the first boxing event held at the new Venue at Thunder Valley. Fighters weighed-in Friday morning at Kickboxing, Inc. in nearby Roseville.
Briceño (18-8-1, 11 KOs) of Sacramento, California by way of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico has fought a long list of contenders and prospects on even terms, but is still looking for that one landmark victory that could catapult him into a marquee fight. Briceño is looking to rebound from a six-round decision defeat in April to comebacking Jonathan Garcia. Briceño got off of the deck in a thrilling slugfest on that night in Oroville, California, but the loss adds importance to securing a victory over Sanchez on Saturday.
Sanchez (23-6-1, 10 KOs) of Fairfield, California also by way of Guadalajara fought his way to the main stage back in 2013, coming up short against former world champion Luis Collazo. Sanchez saw a three-fight win streak snapped in his last bout, a closely-contested eight-round unanimous decision defeat at the hands of Louie Lopez on the July undercard of Nate Diaz-Jorge Masvidal in Carson, California.
Not that Briceño nor Sanchez have ever needed any extra incentive to put on a show for attending fans, given the fact they are both fighting near their adopted hometowns and the stages they are in their careers, the two Mexican warriors figure to lay it all on the line tomorrow night in what should be a memorable eight rounds or less. Briceño weighed-in at 146-pounds, while Sanchez scaled 146.3 on Friday.
In the co-main event, cruiserweight contender Blake McKernan makes a quick return to the ring against Colombian veteran Milton Nunez in a six-round bout.
McKernan (14-2, 7 KOs) of Sacramento, California ended a long layoff on August 3rd with a physician stoppage over Jasper McCargo. McKernan had been out of the ring due to multiple shoulder surgeries and a bout with severe sepsis, which caused organ dysfunction.
Nunez (40-33-1, 33 KOs) of Miami, Florida by way of Barranquilla, Colombia will be fighting for the fourth time this year, coming off of a eight-round unanimous decision over Eduardo Flores on July 27th. McKernan scaled 200-pounds, while the late arriving Nunez made 204-pounds.
Alexander Espinoza (22-6-2, 8 KOs) of Sacramento by way of Managua, Nicaragua will take on tough-as-nails journeyman Diuhl Olguin (16-39-7, 10 KOs) of Oak Hills, California by way of Guadalajara in a six-round featherweight bout. Espinoza made 128-pounds, while Olguin scaled-in at 126.
Undefeated middleweight prospect Victor Guerrero (7-0, 5 KOs) of Morgan Hill, California will move up to the six-round distance against the most experienced opponent of his young career in Moris Rodriguez (8-16-2, 5 KOs) of Sacramento, California.
Guerrero, nephew of former world champion Robert Guerrero and son of former pro Victor Guerrero Sr., made his U.S. debut with a four-round unanimous decision over Matthew Monroe back in January. Guerrero made 160-pounds even.
Rodriguez, who turned pro back in May of 2009 when Guerrero was just a few years into attending grade school, has been known to spring an upset on occasion against well-regarded prospects and rarely gets this much notice ahead of his fights. Rodriguez came in at 160.3-pounds.
Ruben Torres (6-2-1, 1 KO) of Sacramento will take on William Davis (3-2-1, 1 KO) of Sacramento in an intriguing six-round welterweight bout. Torres last was in the ring in July, edging out a close six-round decision over tough Xavier Madrid in Modesto, California. Davis notched a decisive four-round decision over Miguel Soto-Garcia in Sacramento in August. Torres scaled 147-pounds, while Davis was 145 on Friday.
Islam Abdusamadov (3-0, 2 KOs) of Santa Clara, California by way of Makhachkala, Dagestan, Russia steps up his competition against Andrew Buchanan (3-1-1, 2 KOs) of Hesperia, California in a four-round middleweight bout.
Abdusamadov, who came in at 158-pounds, is coming off of his most dominant victory, a first-round stoppage of normally durable Matthew Monroe just last month.
Buchanan, weighing-in at 159-pounds, has already been the six-round distance twice in his young pro career. Only prospect George Liddard has been able to get one over the Hesperia resident, which came in the form of a six-round unanimous decision.
Maribel Guerrero (0-2) of the famed fighting Guerrero family out of Gilroy, California, will take on unbeaten Brenda Hernandez Cardenas (1-0, 1 KO) of San Diego, California in a four-round bantamweight bout.
Guerrero has taken on tough competition early in her career. In her last bout, Guerrero and unbeaten Iris Contreras put on a show back in April. After four rounds, Contreras had edged out the fight on the cards. Guerrero weighed-in at 118-pounds on Friday.
Hernandez Cardenas turned pro back in May after an amateur career that included some national tournament experience. Hernandez Cardenas, who scaled 116-pounds on Friday, scored a first-round stoppage over Jazmin Contreras in just over a minute into her debut.
In a light heavyweight rematch, Mario Hernandez (1-1-1) of Sparks, Nevada will aim to make it two-for-two against Marco Ortiz (1-2, 1 KO) of Red Bluff, California in a four-rounder.
In August of last year, Hernandez scored a four-round unanimous decision over Ortiz in an exciting fight in Sacramento. Ortiz has fought only one other opponent in his three pro fights thus far, but hopes a trend will continue on Saturday. Ortiz was last seen avenging his other defeat by way of knockout over Matthew Monroe in April.
Hernandez, who made 175-pounds on Friday, is coming off of a four-round unanimous draw with undefeated Jaime Cerna last November. Ortiz, the shorter man again, made 173 ½-pounds.
All-action lightweight Christian Avalos (2-1-2) of Carson City, Nevada returns to Northern California to take on rugged Luciano Ramos (2-5) of Stockton, California by way of Buenos Aires, Argentina in a four-round light welterweight bout.
Avalos moved up to the six-round distance in his last fight, getting the nod over Pedro Angel Cruz in an entertaining back-and-forth slugfest by unanimous decision in Oroville, California this past April. Avalos scaled-in at 138-pounds on Friday.
Ramos, also a veteran of 20 MMA bouts, trains out of the Nick Diaz Academy in Stockton. Ramos and Avalos have one common opponent, Mark Salgado. Ramos defeated Salgado by split decision in January 2022. Avalos fought Salgado twice and both memorable bouts ended in draws in May and August of 2023. Ramos made 139-pounds on Friday.
Jamaar Collins (1-0, 1 KO) of Merced, California will take on Cashton Young (3-2-1, 1 KO) of Encino, in a four-round heavyweight bout. Collins turned professional with a quick first-round kayo of Herman Hodnett in Sacramento in August. Young has fought once since 2018, a four-round decision win in January of 2003 that was later changed to a no contest. The solid Collins came in at 220-pounds, while Young was ten pounds heavier at 230.
Quick Weigh-in Results:
Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Briceño 146
Sanchez 146.3
Cruiserweights, 6 Rounds
McKernan 200
Nunez 204
Featherweights, 6 Rounds
Espinoza 128
Olguin 126
Middleweights, 6 Rounds
Guerrero 160
Rodriguez 160.3
Welterweights, 6 Rounds
Torres 147
Davis 145
Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Abdusamadov 158
Buchanan 159
Bantamweights, 4 Rounds
Guerrero 118
Cardenas Hernandez 116
Light heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Hernandez 175
Ortiz 173 1/2
Light welterweights, 4 Rounds
Avalos 138
Ramos 139
Heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Collins 220
Young 230
Tickets for the event, promoted by Upper Cut Promotions, are available online at uppercutpro.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com