JONATHAN ROMERO & EFRAIN
ESQUIVIAS,
ROMAN MORALES & JONATHAN
ARELLANO
WEIGHTS & FINAL
QUOTES
ShoBox: The New Generation
Doubleheader
Tomorrow / Friday, Sept. 21, LIVE on SHOWTIME ® At 11
p.m. ET/PT
From Chumash Casino Resort,
Santa Ynez ,
Calif.
SANTA
YNEZ, Calif. – The four confident,
determined and motivated super bantamweights competing on an excellent
doubleheader on ShoBox: The New Generation tomorrow/Friday, Sept. 21, live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT,
delayed on the West Coast) made weight Thursday at Chumash Casino Resort.
Combined, the ShoBox fighters are 62-1-1, but each
will be facing his toughest opponent to date on Friday night.
In what should be an exciting 10-round
main event between boxers with contrasting styles, unbeaten, world-ranked Jonathan Romero (Top Photo, Left) (21-0,
12 KOs) of Cali, Colombia, faces Efrain
Esquivias Jr. (Top Photo, Right) (16-1, 9 KOs), of Gardena, Calif., for the No. 2
ranking in the IBF.
A terrific ShoBox co-feature will match Roman Morales (12-0, 6 KOs), of
San Ardo ,
Calif. , and Jonathan Arellano (13-0-1, 3 KOs), of
Ontario ,
Calif. , in an eight-round match for the WBC
Latino Championship..
Tickets for the Gary Shaw Productions event, priced at $35, $45, $55, $70 and $85, are on sale at Chumash Resort Casino Box office or online at www.startickets.com.
Barry
Tompkins will call the blow-by-blow
action on ShoBox with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. Gordon Hall is the executive producer of ShoBox with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
WEIGHTS:
Romero and Esquivias each weighed 122 pounds, but Esquivias had to shed two
pounds to do it. Morales and Arellano also tipped the scale at
122.
What the fighters said
Thursday:
JONATHAN ROMERO
“It’s exciting to be back on SHOWTIME
and I just love the attention and exposure it brings to
me.
“I expect Esquivias to come forward from
the start and try and get right in my face, so I am prepared to do whatever it
takes. Whether it means I have to box and move around or slug in the middle of
the ring, I’m ready. I hurt my left thumb in my last fight, but it is 100
percent now.
“I feel I am mentally stronger than when
I fought Chris Avalos (Romero won a
split decision last Dec. 2 on ShoBox), and look to put on a better
show this time.
“Esquivias is a good fighter. I’ve
watched a lot of tape and know he is very aggressive and will be coming to fight
his fight. But his style is good for me and I will adjust to whatever he is
trying to do.
“This is an important fight with a top
ranking on the line. I hope if I win I can fight for the world title in my next
fight. I know I feel I’m ready.’’
EFRAIN
ESQUIVIAS
“This fight is for No. 2 in the IBF, so
it is very important. I’m looking to win, make a good impression and fight for
the title.
“I’ve seen Romero’s fights. I’m not sure
he likes to get pressured. But for sure I’m going to make him go
backwards.
“I’ve trained hard and have worked
especially hard getting off to a fast start. I know I’m a slow starter. I’m
expecting to start fast and set a good pace. I like to be a crowd-pleaser and
entertain the fans.
“Even though I thought I won my fight
against Chris Avalos (he lost a majority decision last June 23), I didn’t get
discouraged when the decision didn’t go my way. In fact, it made me become more
motivated and work even harder.
“I plan to bring it against Romero.
That’s my style. I think I showed in my last fight (against Avalos) that I
belonged. Now I need to show that I can win.’’
ROMAN
MORALES
“I’ve done it twice so I feel much more
comfortable going eight rounds. I think I did a good job in my last fight on ShoBox (he won a unanimous decision over
the Roger Mayweather-trained Alexis Santiago) and listened to my
corner OK. When I needed to get my second wind, I did and kept pushing
forward.
“I think this is the toughest fight I’ve
had. I know Arellano is quick and moves a lot and is going to box. I just have
to be smart, keep my hands up and try and cut him
off. If I get him against the ropes, I’ll go to the body. But I think jabbing a
lot more is the most important key for me heading into the
fight.
“I just hope to win so
that when I get a few more fights and get some more experience, I’ll be ready
for a 10-round fight against a top-10 guy fight. I’ve been winning decisions,
but that is good. I just want to win. There is no pressure to try for a
knockout. If it comes, it comes …
“I’ve had some good
sparring with Nonito Donaire. I think we’ve helped each other.’’
JONATHAN ARELLANO
“This is my first fight on ShoBox but I feel I’ve been preparing
for it since I was a kid. So, naturally, I am very excited but at the same time
I’m not overwhelmed. I’ve always felt that if I worked hard these kind of
opportunities would come.
“This is going to be a great fight. I’m
looking forward to fighting someone who is really going to try and push me. I
feel I I have good movement and speed, but my trainer, Henry Ramirez, has been trying to get
more to stay in the pocket and throw more.
“I work very hard. I’m looking at this
great opportunity for me to prove myself.’’