Having lost four of his first 15 bouts, Manuel Quezada (23-4, 15 KOs) looked like a boxer destined for nothing more than journeyman status. But the fortunes of the Wasco, California native have done a complete 180 turnaround, as he will be seeking his 13th straight victory when he makes the first defense of his WBC CABOFE Heavyweight title on August 21st at the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino in Lemoore, California.
Presented by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with the Tachi Palace Hotel & Casino, "Summer Time Black & Blues" will feature the 30-year old Quezada's title defense against Andrew Greeley (14-22-2, 8 Kos) of Monroe, LA as the main event on a scheduled card of eight professional boxing matches and a pair of Mixed Martial Arts contests - many of which showcasing local crowd favorites.
Among other highlights on the boxing portion of the bill is a pair of women's title bouts. Local favorite Carina "La Reina" Moreno (18-1, 5 KOs) of Watsonville, CA will defend her WBC Women's Minimumweight Championship against Yahaira Martinez (7-2, 4 KOs) in a scheduled 10-rounder in which the WIBA title will also be at stake. The other title bout pits San Francisco's Ana "The Hurricane" Julaton (4-0-1, 1 KO) against Dominga Oliva (6-4-1) of Monticello, NY in an 8-round battle for the vacant WBC International Women's Super Bantamweight Championship.
Another local boxer of note to appear on the show is undefeated Bakersfield junior welterweight prospect Mike Dallas, Jr. (4-0).
Two other undefeated boxers will also appear: Los Angeles super bantamweight Rico Ramos (5-0, 3 KOs) and Visalia, CA bantamweight Aaron Alafa (1-0) are both fighting in 4-round bouts.
A pair of MMA participants featured in separate 3-round PFC Featherweight bouts is Oroville, CA native Shawn Bias (12-6) and Tito Jones (4-2) of Sacramento.
Quezada, who has won a pair of non-title bouts since capturing his title via second-round knockout of Rick Dyer at the Tachi Palace last September, believes that he has what it takes to become a force to be reckoned with in the heavyweight division.
"Having run off a long string of wins after hooking up with Tachi Palace and Goossen Tutor, I feel I am improving with every fight they put me in," Quezada said. "I am doing well in sparring sessions with world-class fighters like Malik Scott, which has given me tremendous confidence. The beginning of my career I was just going through the motions at times and the main reason for my losses. With my team intact, now all I've done is concentrate on fighting.
"A win at Tachi on August 21 and perhaps one or two more before the year is out should position me to move up the rankings," Quezada, known as "El Toro" added. "I have a strong feeling that 2009 is going to be a big year for me as I work toward my goal of becoming heavyweight champion of the world."
"I've seen the improvement and gains Manuel has made for the past few years and in 2009 we'll get him his opportunity to take it to the next level," Goossen observed. The relationship we enjoy with Tachi Palace and their fans has been tremendous. Seeing the development of the local fighters from prelim to main event status and then moving on to test the waters at a world-class level is what it is all about. Manuel is really eager to see where he belongs with the elite heavyweights in the world and in 2009 we plan on seeing for ourselves."
Tickets for this exciting event are priced at: $30, $40 and $60 and can be purchased by calling the Tachi Palace box office at: 559-924-7751 or by visiting www.tickets.com.
