Boxing is coming back to Tucson, and it’s going to have even more local flavor than usual.
Junior welterweights Alfonso Olvera and Wilberth Lopez will highlight the Guerra de Gallos fight card at Casino del Sol next month.
The fight card is filled with all-Arizona talent, and all but three Phoenix-area fighters hail from Southern Arizona.
The lack of opportunity for the local fighters is what fight promoter Michelle Rosado said inspired the name of the July 21 event. Fighters have to travel — sometimes as far as New York — to get the chance to fight.
“They’re typically brought in as the B side, the opponent,” Rosado said. “They’re fighting the fighter, the judges and the ref and other promoters. It’s a really, really tough road, but they do it because they love to fight and they’re in there hanging with those guys.”
Olvera made his pro debut in 2014, winning with a third-round knockout. Since then, the 5-foot-11-inch 28-year-old has collected 10 wins (four KOs), four losses and one draw. Lopez, a 5-10, 23-year-old southpaw, made his debut in 2013 and has gone 21-9-0 with 15 KOs.
The co-main fight features Tucson’s Jensen Ramirez (5-2-3, 1 KOs) and Sierra Vista’s Jesus “Zeus” Arevalo (0-1-0, 0 KOs).
“Their trainers may not agree with me, but our co-main event and our main event are toss-up fights,” Rosado said. “If you ask me right now to put money down on Jensen or Jesus, I wouldn’t put money down. If you ask me to put money down on Wilberth or Alfonso, I’m not doing it. Those are both 50-50 fights.”
While there are no friends in the ring, Olvera and Lopez are friends in every other regard.
“In the ring, it’s business. It’s a war,” Lopez said. “Outside, we’re friends.”
The pair has known each other for seven years. They fought each other once before as amateurs.
Olvera said he has a lot of respect for Lopez and in boxing, just like in any other sport, you don’t lose respect for the person when you enter the ring.
“This isn’t a game. It’s boxing,” Olvera said. “You don’t play in boxing. So, we’re going to get in the ring and we’re going to put a fight. When we’re done, we’ll shake hands and we’ll keep being friends.”
