COSTA MESA, CALIFORNIA – Local product Alfredo Quinones ends a one-year layoff as he takes on tough gatekeeper Michael De La Cruz in the four-round welterweight main event of the “Fight Club OC” event emanating from the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center on Thursday night. Fighters for the five-bout card, which will be streamed live by TrillerTV+, weighed-in Wednesday morning in the Costa Mesa building across from the venue. 

Quinones (2-0-1, 2 KOs) of Carlsbad, California was last in the ring in May 2024 when he was held to a majority draw. Subsequently, Quinones has been out of action after an eye exam turned up something that needed review. With a clear bill of health, Quinones was originally slated to fight Julian Baez on Thursday, before the taller and more experienced nine-fight veteran De La Cruz stepped-in to take his place. The durable De La Cruz (2-5-2) of Ventura, California recently took heralded prospect Lorenzo Powell the six-round distance and figures to be a good test for the returning Quinones. Both De La Cruz and Quinones weighed-in at the welterweight limit of 147-pounds. 

Quinones is ready to get back in the ring after more than a year away, including four months off of training all together. 

“I had a few problems with my eye,” explained Quinones. “My last fight got cancelled because I had a lattice degeneration, but I got a second opinion and it is all good.” 

Quinones will oppose an opponent roughly five inches taller in De La Cruz. The height difference is nothing new to the Carlsbad native however. 

“I have the same game plan and nothing really changed about that,” said Quinones. “I am walking around at 5’6,” so everyone is always taller than me. I am used to being the shorter fighter. It is going to be a great fight. The people that have to come to support me, I think they know what to expect, they get the same thing everytime.”  

San Bernardino, California’s Elena Mandujano will make her professional debut against Amanda DeRosa (0-1) of Hesperia, California in a four-round featherweight bout. Mandujano, who was originally scheduled to turn pro in her hometown this past February, struggled with her weight cut and an agreement was reached prior to hitting the scales between camps to keep the bout intact. Mandujano weighed-in at 126.2-pounds, while DeRosa scaled 122.8, just over the super bantamweight limit. 

Former amateur standout Ryan Jones of Lake Forest, California will take on Maclovio Salas (0-2) of Mission Hills, California in a four-round super featherweight bout. Jones, who competed at the 2024 USA Boxing National Championships last December, scaled 128.8-pounds. Salas, who last boxed in 2018, came in at the super featherweight limit of 130. 

Albert Ochoa (1-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California will see action against old adversary Leon Miles Jr. of Los Angeles, California, who will be making his professional debut, in a four-round welterweight bout to open the night. Ochoa and Miles, both heavily prevalent on social media, have shared a ring before, having fought an exhibition in December of 2023. Both Ochoa, who claimed victory in their first pairing, and Miles, known by the handle of “Suede the Plug” on social media, scaled 143.8-pounds. 

MMA

In a crossroads pairing of veteran fighters, Elj Portee (8-10-1, 7 KOs) of Fallbrook, California will take on John Simon Portland, Oregon (7-6, 4 KOs) of Portland, Oregon in a three-round middleweight fight. Portee, fighting for the second time this year, scaled 174.8-pounds, while Simon, who just fought on May 10th, made 174.6-pounds.

A scheduled bout between Christopher Cruz (2-1-1) of Los Angeles and Robert Duran (0-1) of Fullerton, California was scratched from the card. 

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Welterweights, 4 Rounds

Quinones 147

De La Cruz 147

Featherweights, 4 Rounds 

Mandujano 126.2

DeRosa 122.8

Super featherweights, 4 Rounds

Jones 128.8

Salas 130

Welterweights, 4 Rounds 

Ochoa 143.8

Miles Jr. 143.8

MMA

Middleweights, 3 Rounds

Portee 174.8

Simon 174.6

Tickets for the event, promoted by SOCA Fights, are available online at socafights.com 

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com 

Four years into his journey as a boxer and nine years removed from the prom date that brought him into the public consciousness, Albert Ochoa is set to take to the ring for his second bout as a pro, and first in the United States, this coming Thursday night at the Hangar at the OC Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. Ochoa, having just celebrated his first Father’s Day as one himself, will take on Leon Miles Jr. in a four-round welterweight bout as part of SOCA Fights’ Fight Club OC event, which will be streamed internationally by TrillerTV+. 

Ochoa (1-0, 1 KO) of Sacramento, California made his pro debut in February, scoring a first-round stoppage over Miguel Angel Ortiz in San Francisco del Rincón, Guanajuato, Mexico. Ochoa had been slated to meet an American opponent before Ortiz, an unknown commodity, stepped in on short notice to keep his debut bout intact.  

“I had one day’s notice [on my new opponent] and I was terrified,” admits Ochoa candidly. “I was scared. The guy I fought had more fights and I didn’t have amateur experience, so I wanted to pull out too, but I had to believe in myself and the work that I put in. With a last minute opponent switch, a lot of fighters would pull out of a fight, because you don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, but I went in there and knocked him out.”

Ochoa, who came to prominence after reality TV star Kendall Jenner agreed to be his junior prom date in 2016, decided to turn professional after a run on the influencer boxing exhibition circuit and without any traditional amateur experience. As one could expect, Ochoa has heard from naysayers along the way, which ultimately made the taste of his first pro victory all the more sweet. 

“I got goosebumps and was very emotional,” recalls Ochoa of hearing his name announced victoriously after the win. “So many people have doubted me and people doubt me in this sport still. Being from Sacramento, I have a big target on my back. I knew whether I won or lost, people were going to talk. In the end, I had to do what was best for me and I went in and got the job done. I was very happy and emotional, because this sport isn’t easy.” 

Ochoa’s debut came after a brief camp with new trainer Stan Martyniouk, a former international level amateur with nearly 18 years of professional experience, dating back to his own pro debut in 2007. Martyniouk was pleased with what he saw out of his new charge in that first fight together. 

“We went into the fight and I had to keep him calm a little bit, so as not to waste a lot of energy,” explains Martyniouk. “He had a little bit of the jitters, so we warmed up and he shook out a little bit. He went into the fight and executed the game plan very well. He got the victory and everything was good.” 

Adding to the swirl of emotions Ochoa experienced on the night of his debut, his girlfriend Maricela Cornejo, who fought Cecilia Braekhus to a close decision in an attempt at an interim title last year, was in the home stretch of her pregnancy, as their son Ocean arrived just over a month later. 

“When I knocked that guy out, I was extremely happy, because now I could enjoy the time with my baby boy,” recalls Ochoa. “So that’s all I was thinking about, was the after effects. I got this job done and now I can spend some time with them and relax with them and be there for Mari as well.” 

Ochoa has managed to juggle his newfound responsibility as a father and as a professional fighter while preparing for his upcoming bout against Miles this Thursday. 

“My baby now is three months and we dialed-in [for this upcoming fight] when he was three-weeks-old,” explains Ochoa. “So I’ve been in camp about nine to ten weeks. I’ve been 100 percent focused and motivated. It does suck to be away from him, being at the gym twice a day. We had a media workout in Sacramento and so many people came, but it does suck being away. I know it is going to pay off in the long run and beating this guy in L.A. is going to be great, but the after effect is what I am looking forward to and that is spending time with my son.” 

In addition to being away from his newborn son, Ochoa has been training mostly out of the Salas Boxing Academy in his adopted hometown of Las Vegas, Nevada, while Martyniouk remained in the Bay Area. Despite the distance, Martyniouk has continued to be a guiding voice and will be in the Ochoa corner on Thursday night. Thus far, Ochoa has impressed Stan “The Man” with his improvement. 

“It has been a bit different, because I have been talking to him about what I’ve seen mostly through videos,” explains Martyniouk. “We discuss what he’s been doing, what he needs to improve and work on. Ever since we started working together, either over the phone or when he comes and sees me, his timing has improved a lot. His power and his ring IQ, have all improved. He looks like a whole different fighter. We worked a lot on speed and while he’s been out there in Vegas, you can tell the difference in speed. He looks like a seasoned fighter now.”  

“It’s been a long camp, but I’ve jumped so many levels,” says Ochoa. “My sparring competition has been higher. My IQ is higher and I’ve been boxing amazingly. I am keeping up with these pros coming up as well. So this camp has been my best camp, it really has. From my strength to my IQ, to letting my hands go in combination, I feel I have taken a big leap from the last fight until now.” 

Ochoa will meet a familiar face on Thursday, taking on Miles, known on social media as “Suede The Plug.” Miles comes from the influencer boxing circuit as well, which is where he and Ochoa met before. Ochoa boxed his way to a decision win over Miles in an exhibition in December of 2023. 

“I am sure he has grown as both a person and a fighter and I am definitely not taking him lightly,” says Ochoa of Miles. “I am training my butt off and doing everything I need to do to come out victorious. He was my toughest challenge. That influencer fight was fun for sure, but now I am going into the pros and it is a different game. Miles wanted to run it back and for [promoter] Roy [Englebrecht] to give me the opportunity, being from Sacramento, it is a blessing to be on that card. [Miles] is from L.A. and he’s a good fighter. We went the distance the last time we fought, but I just have to focus on myself and no matter who they put in front of me, I need to get the job done and that means winning.”

With all the motivation that comes with becoming a father for the first time and pursuing a passion, Ochoa is excited to show that all of his hard work has paid off as he goes for his second pro win on Thursday night in Costa Mesa. 

“The event is about sold out already I believe,” says Ochoa. “I am excited and it is going to be fun. I expect fireworks. I am going to put on a great performance and in this fight, I am going to show why I became a boxer. I think it is going to be a good fight, a really fun one and I plan to show out.”  

The few remaining tickets for the event, promoted by SOCA Fights, are available online at socafights.com 

Photos courtesy Team Ochoa

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortegajr.mario@gmail.com