Joselito Velazquez takes on Andres Campos in crossroads bout in Cancun
Joselito Velazquez has demonstrated one loss does not define his career.
Velazquez will face Andres Campos tonight at the Poliforum in Velazquez’s adopted hometown of Cancun, Mexico. The 10-round junior bantamweight bout will air live throughout Mexico on Canal 5 and TUDN (10 p.m. Mexico City time).
At Thursday’s weigh-in, both Velazquez and Campos weighed in at 115 pounds.
The Velazquez-Campos fight is a compelling clash between once-beaten fighters who have bounced back from an earlier defeat in their respective careers. Frank Espinoza, who manages Velazquez, believes an impressive win over a former world title challenger in Campos could lead to a world title shot for Velazquez.
“We’re looking forward to another fine performance,” Espinoza told The Ring Thursday afternoon, “(and this) will put (Velazquez) on the road for a world title shot in the near future.”
Velazquez (19-1-1, 12 knockouts), who is originally from Oaxaca, Mexico, last fought on March 22, dropping Luis Araujo Arellano once en route to a unanimous decision win. In his previous fight on November 24, Velazquez defeated Pablo Carrillo by decision over 10 one-sided rounds.
Both wins over Arrellano and Carrillo took place in Cancun.
The 31-year-old has won his last four fights since a unanimous decision loss to former world titleholder Cristofer Rosales.
Velazquez has been trained the last couple of years by Eddy Reynoso, who also trains Ring super middleweight champion and unified world titleholder Canelo Alvarez. Velazquez represented Mexico at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Campos (16-1-1, 5 KOs), who resides in Santiago, Chile, fought to a majority decision draw against Edinson Martinez in his last bout on May 28.
The 28-year-old challenged then-IBF world flyweight titleholder Sunny Edwards on June 10 of last year, losing by unanimous decision. Campos returned to action three months later, dropping Ben Ligas before winning by knockout in round seven.
Campos is managed by Tony Tolj, who is based out of Australia.
In the co-main event, unbeaten junior featherweight Celex Castro Olivares (17-0, 13 KOs), who also resides in Cancun, will square off against Argentina’s Ckari Cani Mansilla (17-3, 12 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
Preliminary action will air live on Canal 5 and TUDN at 9 p.m. on a card that will be co-promoted by Cancun Boxing, Oswaldo Kuchle, and Boxing Time Promotions.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com
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