Ahead of their all-Mexican showdown, Oscar Duarte and Miguel Madueno showcased their skills at an open workout at SOA Boxing in Orange, CA. The pair square off in a 10-round super lightweight bout at the Honda Center in Anaheim, CA on Saturday, February 15. The WBA Continental Americas title is up for grabs.
Duarte (28-2-1, 22 KOs) is coming off a pair of wins against Botirzhon Akhmedov and Joseph “JoJo” Diaz. Madueno (31-3, 28 KOs), who took the fight on short notice after replacing former champion Regis Prograis, looks to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat against Keyshawn Davis.
“I think it’s a very important fight. The fight I have in front of me is the best fight of my life,” Oscar Duarte said on Thursday. “I trained very hard, and I think it’s going to be an amazing fight. I think he is a very experienced fighter who likes to come forward. It’s going to be a toe-to-toe fight. I prepared very hard for this fight in Riverside with Robert Garcia. I felt very good during preparation, so I feel confident I will win this fight.”
Miguel Madueno said, “I feel this fight is going to be very explosive. It’s going to be a good fight for me, for him, and for the fans. The fans will not be disappointed. I’ve been studying him [Duarte]. He’s an extraordinary fighter with a heavy hand and is very resilient. I don’t think I should underestimate him. He’s a respectable fighter. Hopefully, we give our best in the ring.”
The media workout also featured the fighters battling on the Duarte vs Madueno undercard. In the co-feature, Winfred Harris Jr. (22-2-2, 10 KOs) of Detroit, MI challenges Darius Fulghum (13-0, 11 KOs) of El Paso, TX for his WBA Intercontinental super middleweight title.
Ricardo Sandoval (25-2, 18 KOs) of Montclair, CA puts his WBC ‘Silver’ flyweight title on the line against Saleto Henderson (10-1, 7 KOs) of Indianapolis, IN. Kenneth Sims Jr. (21-2-1, 8 KOs) of Chicago takes on San Antonio’s Kendo Castaneda (21-7, 9 KOs) at welterweight.
Joel Iriarte (5-0, 5 KOs) of Woodland Hills, CA meets Darel Harris (19-23-2, 14 KOs) of Sarasota, FL at welterweight. Harris replaced the previously announced Steven Thomas (4-0, 2 KOs).
Among the prelims, Yair Benjamin Gallardo-Lozano (8-0, 7 KOs) of Mexico City battles Carlos Miranda (7-1, 3 KOs) of Honduras at light heavyweight. Denver’s Daniel Garcia (10-0, 8 KOs) and Mexicali’s Francisco Javier Grande Pacheco (7-3-2) square off at lightweight.
Gael Cabrera (6-0, 4 KOs) meets fellow Mexican Roberto Pucheta (14-25-3, 8 KOs) at super bantamweight. Fabian Guzman (6-0, 6 KOs) of Orange, CA goes up against Daniel Lim (11-3, 3 KOs) of the Philippines at middleweight.
Javier Meza (1-0, 1 KO) of Amarillo, TX and Lyle McFarlane (3-6, 1 KO) of Okmulgee, OK clash at super lightweight. McFarlane replaced originally announced Rickey Smith (0-2).
The bantamweight bout between Kevin Gudino (1-0, 1 KO) of Bakersfield, CA and Rafael Castillo (2-4, 1 KO) of the Bronx, NYis yet to be confirmed.