Jayson “La Maravilla” Velez Set to Headline at Fantasy Springs Friday Night

By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña
Photo by Cynthia “Cindy Lou” Saldaña

Jayson Velez is a tough competitor and always brings a non-stop action, come forward style to fight fans every time he enters the ring. Now due to an unexpected turn of events last week the originally scheduled main event between Alfonso Gomez vs. Pablo Cesar Cano Friday night at Fantasy Springs Casino and Resort in Indio, California had to be canceled due to Gomez sustaining an elbow injury. So Friday the always exciting Jayson “La Maravilla” Velez, 23-2-1, 16 KO’s will headline the event as he takes on the battle tested Nicaraguan, Rene Alvarado. 23-7, 16 KO’s. Velez who is coming off two straight losses, which are his only two losses on his resume looks to get back on the winning track Vs Alvarado on Friday.

At 28 years old Velez is a true warrior. In 2014, he fought then featherweight titlist Evgeny Gradovich to a draw in a world title bout. In November of 2015, he lost for the first time in a very close 10-round decision in an exciting fight with Ronny Rios on the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Vs Miguel Cotto undercard. Then last May Velez took on undefeated Golden Boy Prospect Joseph “JoJo” Diaz. The fight with Diaz was very competitive but after 10 rounds the judges gave Diaz a unanimous decision victory. For Velez his fight Friday vs. Alvarado will be a measuring stick for his career.

In the Co-main event, Rashidi “Speedy” Ellis, 15-0, 11 KO’s of Boston takes on Luis “La Roca” Hernandez, 12-1, 7 KO’s of Rio Pierdas, Puerto Rico in an eight-round super welterweight fight. Ellis is one of the top Super Welterweight prospects in the world and was also a great amateur fighter. As an amateur he compiled a 60-11 amateur record that included a trio of New England Golden Gloves titles and a PAL crown in 2013, Ellis took his talents to the professional game, where he debuted with a decision win over Josh Beeman. After winning his first four bouts, he became a popular attraction on the Caribbean boxing circuit, winning all of his fights in Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. He showed fans that he had speed, power and plenty of ring savvy, Ellis was at his best when it counted most on March 14, 2015, as he stopped Victor Gonzalez in four rounds, winning the interim WBC Latino and vacant WBA Fedecentro welterweight titles. In his first fight of 2016, Ellis faced Marco Antonio Lopez on the non-televised undercard of Canelo Vs Khan on May 7 at the new T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas. Both fighters brought their “A” game but Ellis dominated the fight, using good movement and effectively landing his combination blows. Ellis walked away with a unanimous decision victory.

To open up the television portion of card, decorated amateur Cesar Diaz of Palmdale, California makes his pro debut against Isau Duenez, 1-5, of Houston, Texas. Diaz who is originally from Aguacalientes, Mexico recently signed with Golden Boy Promotions, and is a decorated amateur with an overall record of 104-11. Winner of the 2012 Silver Gloves National Championship, the 2015 Adidas National PAL title, The Desert Showdown in 2009, 2013 and 2015, and several other tournaments, Diaz has defeated some of the top prospects in his weight class including 2016 United States Olympians Shakur Stevenson and Carlos Balderas, as well as Danny Gonzalez. In 2013, Diaz went to the Junior Olympic regionals and was champion in his weight class, but due to his citizenship, he could not move on to the nationals. Undeterred, Diaz continued to fight, win and impress, earning him a USA Boxing number three ranking in the 123-pound weight class. As his amateur career closes, he will enter the professional game after staying undefeated since 2013 in 29 of his fights since then.

Also scheduled that night is Azat Hovanissyan, 8-2, 7 KO’s of Glendale, California as he goes up against Sacramento’s Mario Ayala, 4-2-1, 1 KO’s in a six-round super bantamweight fight. Local favorite and Indio’s Marco Magdaleno, 3-0, 2 KO’s will face Hugo Padilla, 3-6, 2 KO’s of Aguascalientes, Mexico in a four-round lightweight bout. And opening the night Jhon Leon of Los Angeles will also make his professional debut in a four-round welterweight fight against Jose Huerta, 0-0-1, of Villahermosa, Mexico.

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