Rising lightweight prospect Luis Ramos Jr. faces perhaps his stiffest test to date in rugged Jose Hernandez in the main event of tonight’s edition of Telefutura Solo Boxeo at the Orange County Fair & Event Center in Costa Mesa, California. In the co-feature, James Kirkland attempts to continue the rebuilding of his career following a self-inflicted layoff against journeyman Jhon Berrio. It is imperative for both Ramos and Kirkland to look impressive in order to keep proposed money fights on the table for later this year. Fighters weighed in Thursday at the fight venue.

Ramos (17-0, 8 KOs) of Santa Ana, California could be a win or two away from a meaningful fight against a ranked contender or fellow prospect, which is exactly the type a fight a boxer with his record should be moving towards, but first comes tonight’s eight-rounder against Hernandez. Ramos, who has yet to step up to ten round bouts in his career, will be making his 2011 debut after two straight Telefutura-televised eight-round decision wins closed out his 2010 campaign. Ramos weighed in at 139.4-pounds Thursday.

Hernandez (10-4-1, 4 KOs) of Fort Worth, Texas provides an interesting test for the young Ramos, considering he has upset the plans of a couple other prospects and come close to doing the same on two recent occasions. Just last month, Hernandez fought undefeated Mickey Bey Jr. to an eight-round majority draw. Two judges had the fight even, while the third had Hernadnez up by four points. Hernandez, a former WBC Youth Super Featherweight title holder, scaled 135.2-pounds.

Though he fights in the co-feature, the most noteworthy name on the card tonight is James Kirkland (26-0, 23 KOs) of Austin, Texas. Kirkland will fight for the second time in two weeks, as he needed just 34 seconds to dispose of Ahsandi Gibbs on March 5th in Anaheim, California. That recent victory ended a two-year layoff due to Kirkland’s much publicized 17-month incarceration for a probation violation.

Prior to his legal troubles, Kirkland was one of the fast-rising stars of the sport, perhaps on the verge of challenging for a light middleweight title. Kirkland had punctuated a six-fight knockout streak with a sixth-round stoppage over Joel Julio in the main event of an HBO telecast in March of 2009. Though he has had just the one fight since, Kirkland has already been anointed by some in the press as an intriguing challenger to the middleweight throne of Sergio Martinez. Should Kirkland, who scaled 163.4, win without trouble as expected tonight, a slot awaits him on the Erik Morales-Marcos Maidana pay-per-view telecast on April 9th.

Berrio (15-8, 11 KOs) of Monteria, Cordoba, Colombia is 0-2 when competing in the United States. Two fights ago, Berrio lost a ten-round majority decision to light middleweight prospect Sherzod Husanov in Washington, which preceded a sixth-round stoppage defeat against Peter Manfredo Jr. in Rhode Island this past November. Berrio weighed in for the scheduled eight-round bout at 161.6-pounds Thursday.

In a swing bout likely to make television, undefeated Antonio Orozco (8-0, 5 KOs) of San Diego, California by way of Tecate, Baja California, Mexico will take on Manuel Aguilar (6-1, 4 KOs) of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico in a light welterweight contest slated for either six or four-rounds, depending on the length of the two featured bouts. Orozco, an Espinoza Boxing Club stablemate of Luis Ramos, weighed in at 140.8-pounds, while Aguilar weighed in at 140.4.

Unbeaten lightweight prospect Francisco Contreras (15-0, 13 KOs) of Irvington, New Jersey by way of La Romana, Dominican Republic will get his year started against journeyman Adolfo Landeros (20-17-1, 9 KOs) of Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico in a six-round tilt. Contreras, who shares his manager Cameron Dunkin with James Kirkland, weighed in at 133.8-pounds. Landeros, a favorite of Golden Boy Promotions’ matchmakers, scaled an even 133.

Somebody’s ‘O’ must go, as Bobby Chavez (0-2) of Santa Ana takes on Stephen Rubalcava (0-2) of Lindsay, California in a four-round pairing of light middleweights. Chavez scaled 152.2-pounds, while Rubalcava came in at 151.

Jose Manuel Sanchez (3-1, 1 KO) of Santa Ana will meet debuting Humberto Zatarain of Whittier, California in a four-round featherweight contest. Sanchez, fighting for the second time in two weeks, weighed in at 127.2-pounds. Zatarain weighed in 127.6-pounds Thursday.

In the curtain raiser, veteran mixed martial artist J.J. Ambrose of San Jose, California will make his pro boxing debut against Steffan Lugo of Newport Beach, California in a four-round super middleweight bout. Ambrose, who appeared on the UFC’s reality series The Ultimate Fighter last year, is a veteran of over twenty pro MMA contests. Lugo, who is also making his debut, scaled 165.2-pounds, while Ambrose came in at 166.6.

For the second straight time in his career, lightweight prospect Fidel Maldonado Jr. (8-0, 7 KOs) of Albuquerque, New Mexico stepped on the scales, but did not have an opponent with whom to take any traditional weigh-in photos. Maldonado, who weighed in 136.6-pounds, can only hope it turns out as well as it did last month, when his opponent arrived late and was stopped early the next day. Maldonado was to have taken on Juan Montiel (5-3-2, 3 KOs) of Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico in a six-round bout. As of press time a replacement opponent was being sought.

Tickets for tonight’s event, promoted by Golden Boy Promotions and Roy Englebrecht Promotions, are available online at FightClubOC.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

Light Welterweights, 8 Rounds
Ramos Jr. 139.4
Hernandez 135.2

Middleweights, 8 Rounds
Kirkland 163.4
Berrio 161.6

Light Welterweights, 4 or 6 Rounds
Orozco 140.8
Aguilar 140.4

Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Contreras 133.8
Landeros 133

Light Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Chavez 152.2
Rubalcava 151

Featherweights, 4 Rounds
Sanchez 127.2
Zatarain 127.6

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds
Ambrose 166.6
Lugo 165.2

Lightweights, 6 Rounds
Maldonado Jr. 136.6*

*Maldonado without an opponent as of press time

Photos by Eric Gomez/Golden Boy Promotions

Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at ortega15rds@lycos.com.

Exciting and undefeated Jr. Middleweight James Kirkland has been released from a halfway house after a gun conviction and will resume his career in Las Vegas under trainer Kenny Adams according to Dan Rafael of espn.com

“We plan on having him here on Feb. 1 and in the gym with Kenny,” said Kirkland’s co-manager Cameron Dunkin, who lives in Las Vegas. “It’s going to be terrific. Kenny brings [expertise on] defense and a lot of experience. He’s a great teacher and he’s patient with the fighters. He’s great at communication. You look at James and he’s so athletic, he has guts and he has so much power. Now if you can put him with a great teacher in there working on defense, imagine how good he’s going to be.”

“Kenny told me he wants to work on his defense and getting him to use angles,” Dunkin said. “He said there were a few things he saw from watching the tapes that he can teach him that will make his fights so much easier. So we’re really excited. We’re trying to get him set for March 5, unless Kenny tells me he’s not ready. If Kenny says he’s ready to go, we’re going.”

“He’s been training every day, so I think 155 to 157 will be the weight for the first fight,” Dunkin said. “Weight isn’t an issue.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, Undefeated Jr. Middleweight looks to have an early release from prison after being incarcerated for a gun charge which was a violation of his parole.

Kirkland’s original release date of Oct. 2 has been moved up to Sept. 17, according to Kirkland’s manager Cameron Dunkin.

“Sept. 17 is my birthday, so that’s the greatest birthday present I could have right now,” Dunkin said. “I’m so happy.”

“He’ll go to the halfway house, but he’ll have the right to travel and the right to train and fight,” Dunkin said.

Dunkin said Kirkland, 26, intends to fight as soon as possible after his release, and Dunkin has already spoken to his promoter, Golden Boy, about a plan.

“I’ve been talking with [matchmaker] Eric Gomez and [CEO] Richard Schaefer about when he’s going to fight,” Dunkin said. “We think we can get him a fight in October and get him going.”

“The plan would be to have him fight a couple of times before the end of the year, starting maybe in October,” Schaefer said. “We’ll see what works best for him, but then have him fight again in December, maybe on one of our [untelevised] HBO undercards and maybe HBO could show highlights of his fight. After that, hopefully, James and his management feel he is ready to pick up where he left off, which was terrorizing the junior middleweight division.”

“It was wrong, what he did, and he had to pay for it,” Schaefer said. “Hopefully, now he will be able to resume his career and learn from what has happened.”

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, undefeated Jr. Middleweight contender James Kirkland will be released to a halfway house on October 2nd after serving jail time for a probation violation related to buying a firearm last year.

“I think we’ll see him in the ring within two months after he gets out, maybe sooner,” Said Cameron Dunkin, who is Kirkland’s co-manager. “He’s been working out. Maybe he’ll be 165 when he’s released. He’s about 173 now. He’s kept his weight under control. You may see him six weeks after he gets out.”

“Nobody has any idea, but knowing James’ heart and the way he is mentally, and the way he gets in shape physically, he’s going to come back on a tear,” Dunkin said. “He’s going to be nasty in a positive way. He’s going to want to work hard and prove he’s not a screwup. He doesn’t want to lose all that he’s worked for. I think he’ll look terrific and train hard and do the right things.”