Boxing News from the Northwest

As the year moves along and the northwest boxing scene begins to hit its busy season, fight fans are already getting a healthy dose of great boxing action. Only three and a half months into 2009 and the region has already seen some great cards and a few memorable wars, bolstered in by some good match-making. Favio Medina and Orlando Lora kicked things off with their exciting battle in February at the Coeur D'Alene Casino. No to be outdone, Robert Brue and Roger Cantrell opened up the month of March with one of the best six round fights seen in the northwest in recent memory at the Spirit Mountain Casino. The bar has been set pretty high, but local fighters are looking to step up in the upcoming weeks and hopefully give fans some great fights.

The next scheduled show in the region will be held on April 30th at the Coeur D'Alene Casino in Worley, Idaho. Promoter Moe Smith has lined up a seven bout fight card featuring two of the inland northwest's best and some solid undercard match-ups. Favio Medina will make his return to the ring only two months after suffering a devastating knockout loss to Orlando Lora. Medina will face off with Gary Bergeron in a ten rounder. Bergeron, an aggressive, skilled body puncher with a strong left hook, should give Medina a solid test of his confidence in his return. Skyler Anderson will headline in a ten round heavyweight bout against Rafael Pedro.

The under card has some possible wars in the making, the most promising of which will be a rematch between Montana's Leo Bercier and Lewiston, Idaho's Ron Simmons. The two faced off in a four round bout last February that ended in a draw. The bout was close and action packed and the rematch promises to deliver an exciting fight as these two fighters are rarely in a dull fight. Also on the undercard, Adam Torres of Reno, Nevada will take on Spokane, Washington's Jesus Vallejo in a battle of undefeated welterweights. Both fighters like to step in and trade and should deliver some solid action for however long this one lasts.

Former top northwest welterweight prospect Abel Perry is scheduled to fight on April 25th at the Sky Ute Casino in Colorado. He is slated to face Lucas Galle, who has a record of 5-3, in an eight round fight. Perry, a solid tactician with a good jab, will fight for the first time in over a year. He has lost his last three in a row.

One of the northwest's favorite adopted sons will look to take a major leap into the world class spotlight on May 1st. Lansing, Michigan's Tyrone Harris, who has fought much of his career in northwest venues, will travel to Las Vegas, Nevada to take on Urbano Antillon, currently one of the sport's most promising prospects. Antillon is a tough slugger with power in both hands and a fondness for stepping into the pocket and slugging away with his opponents. His aggressive, yet measured and technically sound style will give the slick Lansing native a tough and grueling evening, but Harris has a few key attributes that make him a live underdog. As an aggressive fighter, Antillon has a slight tendency of getting caught by quick counterpunchers. Harris, a proficient defensive southpaw, carries quick hands and excellent counterpunching abilities, which will give him a window towards achieving victory if he can capitalize in his opponents' mistakes. He has reportedly been training hard for this one and should be well prepared for what may be the toughest fight of his career. The bout will be televised by Azteca America.

On May 2nd Othello, Washington's Luis "el lobo" Lopez will travel to Johnstown, Pennsylvania to take on the Anthony "the Messenger" Thompson. Thompson, formerly a highly touted prospect, is coming off two losses and an eight month lay-off. Lopez has not fought since losing via sixth round TKO to Mike Nevitt last July. He has gone 1-8-1 in his last ten, losing his last three in a row.

Salem Oregon's Juan Jaramillo will travel to Puerto Rico on May 16th to fight undefeated local prospect Luis Cruz. Jaramillo, who has lost his last two, will have a tough task in front of him in Cruz who has a record of 9-0 7KOs and a reputation as a tough fighter with big power in both hands. But, according to Jaramillo's team, he's already been training hard for the last month and will be ready to pull away with the upset victory

Portland, Oregon's Robert Brue is quickly becoming one the northwest's most exciting fighters to watch. His aggressive style and dogged determination seem to land him in exciting back and forth slugfests on a regular basis, which makes him a fighter that fans want to see, no matter who he's fighting. His next scheduled bout has the makings of a true fight fans fight. On June 12th at the Spirit Mountain Casino in Grand Ronde, Oregon, Brue will face off with undefeated power puncher Kevin Hand. Hand is an aggressive, tall fighter with power in both hands and, like Brue, a tendency of making good fights. This is a fight northwest boxing aficionados have been waiting to see for some time. When theses two finally step into the ring, fans are assured a great fight. For ticket info visit http://spiritmountain.com/

The Clearwater River Casino of Lewiston, Idaho is rumored to be working on a possible card for June 13th that will feature Chauncey Welliver, Santos Pakau, Dewey Welliver and local favorite Ron Simmons. This will mark the first boxing event at the venue since 2007. Further details are expected in the next few days.