OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA – Well-regarded lightweight prospect Lorenzo Powell takes center stage as he and his promotional team at G1 Promotions join with Lion’s Den Boxing Promotions to present “Straight Outta Oakland,” at the Oakland Marriott City Center on Saturday night. Fighters for the seven-bout card weighed-in on Friday morning at the host venue.
Powell (4-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California will take on Javier Rojas Campos (3-4, 1 KO) of Guadalupe Victoria, Baja California, Mexico in the six-round main event.
Powell has been building his professional resume in Stockton, California, including a six-round unanimous decision over Michael De La Cruz this past May. Powell took to the scale last at Friday’s weigh-in, coming in at 136.8-pounds. Rojas Campos, who fought three times last year, going 2-1, weighed-in at 135.4-pounds.
In the co-main event, rising light heavyweight prospect Kumar Prescod (3-0, 3 KOs) of Antioch, California will meet Michael Nelson (4-2, 2 KOs) of College Park, Georgia in a four-rounder.
Prescod, who weighed-in at 176.1-pounds, is coming off of a one-sided second-round knockout in May. Nelson, who sprung an upset over previously unbeaten Carlos Fidel Miranda before hitting a two-fight skid, weighed-in at 173-pounds. Nelson initiated a brief shoving match during the face-off photo op, which was the one spike in excitement during an otherwise cordial weigh-in ceremony.
Former middleweight contender Aaron Coley (16-5-1, 7 KOs) of Oakland ends a nearly three-year hiatus in taking on fellow veteran Moris Rodriguez (8-17-3, 5 KOs) of Sacramento in a six-round bout.
Coley, who will be fighting before his home crowd for the first time in nine years, weighed-in at 160.8-pounds on Friday. Rodriguez, coming off of a split decision defeat to Delen Parsley in February, came in one pound over the contracted weight at 163-pounds before shedding the overage and returning to the scale at 161.9-pounds.
Tony Hirsch Jr. (5-0-2, 3 KOs) of Oakland will meet former regional title holder David Reyes (25-13-2, 13 KOs) of Ciudad Obregon, Sonora, Mexico in a four-round lightweight bout.
Hirsch, who bested a different David Reyes in an exciting fight at the Oakland Marriott City Center last August, scaled 134.5-pounds. Reyes, a thirteen-year veteran, came in at 133.7-pounds.
Alberto Velasco (1-0) of Stockton will meet debuting Antonio Ferrel of Santa Rosa, California in a four-round super featherweight fight. The Oakland-born Velasco weighed-in at 132.2-pounds on his first attempt, but scaled 131.7 on his second try, under the contracted 132. Ferrel, who was drinking water before getting on the scale, came in at 128.7-pounds.
In a rematch of a highly-competitive bout this past May, Alton Wiggins (2-1-1) of Ceres, California and Michael Portales (3-4-1, 1 KO) of San Jose, California will battle it out in a four-round junior middleweight bout. Wiggins, who claimed a four-round unanimous decision in their first meeting, scaled 154.6-pounds, while Portales made 155.6.
Shawn McCollum (0-0-1) of Hayward, California takes aim at professional victory number one against Richard Esquibel (1-3, 1 KO) of Albuquerque, New Mexico in a four-round lightweight bout. McCollum came in heavy at 140.8, but Esquibel who scaled 136.9, agreed to some extra pay in lieu of forcing his opponent to shed any weight.
Super featherweight prospect Braulio Ceja Navarro (5-0, 2 KOs) of Concord, California had been slated to fight Brandon Sandoval (3-4, 1 KO) of Salem, Massachusetts in a lightweight bout.
Sandoval made the trip all the way to Oakland, only to pull out of the fight just before the weigh-in. Obed Sepulveda (0-7-1) of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico was originally pegged to fight Cesar Olvera (1-0, 1 KO) of Tracy, California, who was a late scratch, and offered to step-in for Sandoval, but that fight was not approved by the California State Athletic Commission.
Quick Weigh-in Results:
Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Powell 136.8
Rojas Campos 135.4
Light heavyweights, 4 Rounds
Prescod 176.1
Nelson 173
Middleweights, 6 Rounds
Coley 160.8
Rodriguez 161.9
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
Hirsch Jr. 134.5
Reyes 133.7
Super featherweights, 4 Rounds
Velasco 131.7
Ferrel 128.7
Light middleweights, 4 Rounds
Wiggins 154.6
Portales 155.6
Lightweights, 4 Rounds
McCollum 140.8*
Esquibel 136.9
*McCollum 2.8 pounds over, fight will go on
Tickets for the event, promoted by G1 Promotions and Lion’s Den Boxing Promotions, are available online at g1promotions.com
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com
