ORANGE, Calif. (Sept. 20, 2017) – Ruben Villa (7-0, 4 KOs), one of the featherweight division’s brightest young talents, takes the next step in his development by clashing with veteran Ernesto Guerrero (26-19, 18 KOs) in one of two highly anticipated match-ups on Friday’s “New Blood” undercard.
The 6-round bout takes place at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.
Tickets for “New Blood” are priced at $40, $60, & $100 and are available for purchase by calling 714-935-0900 or visiting ThompsonBoxing.com.
Villa, a southpaw fighting out of Salinas, Calif., turned professional last July and already has produced seven one-sided wins. His opponent for Friday, Mexico’s Guerrero, is no push over. Guerrero has won his last five fights, four of which ended in knockout fashion.
“Guerrero’s a veteran so we’ve been extra serious in this camp,” said Villa. “My team believes that I can take him out. My team wouldn’t set me up against an opponent that I wouldn’t be able to handle so I feel ready for this challenge.”
Villa, 20, loaded up on top-level sparring to help bridge the experience gap between him and Guerrero. He spent three weeks in Indio, Calif. sparring against elite competition such as unbeaten, world title contender Joseph Diaz.
“The way Diaz puts his punches together was really impressive,” said Villa, who is promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing. “It was a great learning experience for me. It’s not every day you get to spar with someone with that high of a skill level.”
In addition to the knowledge learned from the Diaz sessions, Villa is attempting to sharpen his mental focus for his fight against Guerrero.
“I need to be more intelligent in the ring,” Villa said. “I’ve been a little reckless listening to the crowd and taking unnecessary risks. We sparred against bigger guys during this training camp to help me stay disciplined.”
Also on the “New Blood” undercard, advanced junior lightweight prospect Michael Dutchover (5-0, 4 KOs), who is a close friend and occasional sparring partner to Villa, fights Carlos Flores (4-5-1, 3 KOs) in bout set for 6-rounds.
Like Villa, Dutchover comes from an outstanding amateur career and also shares the same promotional outfits in Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing.
All five fights will be livestreamed on TB Presents: New Blood via Thompson Boxing Facebook page and ThompsonBoxing.com.
The livestream starts at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET with Beto Duran as the blow-by-blow announcer and Steve Kim providing expert color commentary.
Photo by Carlos Baeza/Thompson Boxing
