Up-and-coming boxers get shot to climb rankings in Mission Valley

Rocky Somo right with his trainer Adrian Melendrez of Azteca SD Boxing Club in Chula Vista Photo by Gayle Lynn Falkenthal San Diego-based professional boxers looking to put on a show and rise through the rankings will get their opportunity on Saturday in Mission Valley under a new and promising promotional partnership The initiative is the creation of promoter Saul Rios of Borizteca Promotions along with Carlos Barragan Jr of the House of Boxing It s backed by No Boxing No Life the professional gloves and boxing gear company owned by world-class boxing trainer Eddy Reynoso Reynoso and Barragan Jr have worked together for several years in aid of Mexican boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez who lives in San Diego Participants and organizers met with news media on Monday at a news conference held at the N Sports Bar Grill in Eastlake Six fights are scheduled at the Town and Country Hotel on Saturday all either four or six rounds Among the featured athletes are super lightweight Diego Luna of San Diego and undefeated welterweight Rockman Rocky Somo of El Cajon both looking to build a fan following and improve their records on Saturday Boxing is all about overcoming adversity and both the event and Luna are doing so The original main event was withdrawn due to an injury so Luna was appealed to step up He is rebuilding after a loss and is on a winning streak View this post on Instagram A post shared by Nicole Hernandez sd nicoleh I ve seen great advancement on his boxing skills revealed Rios I m sure he s going to be fighting for a world title in a insufficient years Luna s opponent Sachin Rohila is a native of India training in Los Angeles Two tough guys going at it explained Rios Luna says he s excited to be the star on Saturday using the billing as motivation to put on a better show Every time I try my best to do this so the job the same the goal is the same declared Luna who had no hesitation when offered the opportunity This is an exciting moment I mean this is where you get to rise to the occasion and I m excited to do so commented Luna In the co-main event Somo will try to maintain his unbeaten record against a veteran Mexican opponent Jose Marruffo now training in Phoenix Somo hopes to become the first Chaldean-American champion in boxing Somo has been fighting in Mexico and looks forward to being on friendlier turf in San Diego We re gonna put on a show he promised I got a tough fight against an experienced fighter and I ve done my homework I ve done my sparring and it s going to be a good fight This fight has been more hyped than my previous fights and my last fight in San Diego last year under Borizteca The fight should be really really entertaining A lot of skills on display Somo added Barragan Jr thanked Reynoso for his aid and for investing in local boxing talent growth giving athletes the experience they need as aspiring professionals Both Barragan and Somo have promoted multiple amateur boxing events and smaller professional cards They outgrew their previous venue and revealed a new partnership with the not long ago remodeled Town and Country Now we re evolving into a professional boxing company and producing tickets online We didn t do that before but we re evolving disclosed Barragan Jr who has been involved at the sport s highest level as a cornerman with Reynoso s association at events from Las Vegas to Riyadh Saudi Arabia Barragan Jr aims to give talented San Diego prospects a similar experience including their first media interviews and fighting in front of growing audiences Rios wants to produce another world champion from San Diego The last San Diego-born boxer to win a world championship was Paul Vaden who captured the IBF light middleweight title in He was the first and only native San Diegan to win a world boxing title Previous world champions based in San Diego including Terry Norris and Ken Norton were not natives Welterweight Giovani Santillan of La Mesa lost his first attempt to win a world title in but continues he push for another opportunity My dream is that I want to see a world champion a local San Diego kid become a world champion out of San Diego I haven t seen that since the s I think we all can do it together helping out and supporting all these boxing events All these kids have the ability to become a world champion They just need the help Rios reported I know for sure that I m not gonna throw in the towel until I see one of these kids raise their hand and they will call them And the new world champion out of San Diego California Ticket prices range from to and are available online or through the Town and Country box office Opening bell is at p m with pre-fight engagements and giveaways starting at p m