Fantasy Springs Resort Casino once again hosted an action-packed evening of boxing, complete with boxing world champion appearances from Roy Jones Jr., Scott Quigg, and Randy Caballero. Live on HBO Latino® Boxing, the main event featured, Johan “El Terrible” Perez (20-2-2, 13 KOs), former interim WBA Light Welterweight Champion of Caracas, Venezuela, taking on undefeated Russian boxer Dmitry “The Mechanic” Mikhaylenko (20-0, 9 KOs) in a 12-round welterweight bout.
With the NABA Werlterweight Title on the line, both fighters fought fearlessly as a near sell-out rowdy crowd cheered them on. Mikhaylenko showed his strength early on in the fight and continued to corner Perez on the ropes as the fight progressed. Perez showed a lot of heart as continued to go forward in every round, but by the eighth round, the referee called off the fight as an overwhelmed Perez could no longer defend himself.
Mikhaylenko, maintained his unblemished record as he was declared the winner for the covenant NABA Title via technical knockout.
“I want to thank my promoter and HBO Latino for giving me the opportunity to fight for this title,” said Dmitry Mikhaylenko. “I felt like I dominated the fight from the beginning and definitely set the pace. I was prepared to face a tough opponent in Perez but once I realized my punches were hurting him I decided to continue to put pressure on him. He is not a heavy punch and I took the opportunity to overwhelm him. I want to dedicate this victory to my mother, all my fans in Russia and my darling Sasha.”
“I feel like I should have trained harder for this opponent and now think that I may have been underprepared,” said Johan Perez. “I may have been too relaxed at first as I was trying to read him. He is a very heavy puncher a tough opponent.”
Also live on the HBO Latino® Boxing telecast, former world title contender Yoandris “El Nino” Salinas (21-1-3, 14 KOs) of Miami faced off against undefeated standout Manuel “Tino” Avila (18-0, 8 KOs) of Fairfield, Calif. in the co-main event for the vacant interim NABF Super Bantamweight Title. The fight started off slow as both fighters looked for opportunities to hurt each other. The paced picked up in the third round when Avila shocked Salinas with a right cross that sent Salinas to the mat. Salinas came back with a vengeance in the fourth round to only hurt his right hand. By the sixth round the pain in Salina’s right hand was unbearable and the corner called off the fight, awarding Avila the interim NABF Super Bantamweight Title by technical knockout.
“I was expecting Salinas to be a tougher fighter,” said Manuel Avila. “I had heard a lot about him, his record and reputation. Taking that into account my team really prepared me. I trained longer and harder. I felt like this fight was going to go the distance and I wanted to increase my speed and stamina. In all my 13 years fighting I had never won a belt, not even as an amateur. I now am glad to say that I am the NABF Super Bantamweight Champion. I am taking home the belt back home to my gym, the Vacaville Pal. I am ready for a world championship fight, and this victory proves it.”
“My plan was to start slow and find out what Avila was all about and I found that he wasn’t a heavy puncher, so when he knocked me down in third round I was very surprised,” said Yoandris Salinas. “So I started to put more pressure on him with my right hook. In the fourth round, I continued to lead with my right since I felt like I was hurting him but one of my right hooks hurt my hand. I tried to continue the fight into the fifth and sixth rounds but the pain in my right hand was unbearable and I knew Avila noticed and began to take advantage of my situation.
Opening up the HBO Latino® Boxing telecast, Philadelphia’s Tevin “The American Idol” Farmer (20-4-1, 5 KOs) faced Daulis Prescott (29-3, 22 KOs)of Barranquilla, Columbia in a scheduled 10-round super featherweight fight. The exciting match set the pace for the entire night as both fighters refused to give up to the other. However, as the fight progressed Farmer began to wear-down Prescott. In the eighth round, Farmer added another victory to his record as he delivered a devastating blow that knocked out Presscott.
“I dominated the fight from the first round and right off the bat this is the exact result I was expecting, a victory by knockout,” said Tevin Farmer. “I know myself, I know my power and I feel confident the audience saw that tonight. I want to thank Lou DiBella, my manager Mark Cipparone, HBO, Golden Boy Promotions and my sponsors for all their support.
“I was prepared for this fight but I found Farmer difficult to predict,” said Daulis Prescott. “He was a stronger fighter and I couldn’t read him.”
Undefeated fighter Joet Gonzalez (11-0, 5 KOs) of Glendora, Calif., maintained his record unblemished when he took on Miguel Tamayo (16-15-2) of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico in their scheduled six-round featherweight bout. Gonzalez delivered heavy punches as he knocked down Tamayo twice in third round, winning the bout via knockout.
“I have a great team on my corner, my manger, my trainer and Golden Boy have all contributed to my success as a fighter. This fight was originally was supposed to be scheduled for eight-rounds but the commission only approved six, but I feel like this win really proved that I am ready to go more rounds. I have great training and know that great things are coming for me.”
In the non-televised undercard, Irish knockout artist and Los Angeles transplant Jason Quigley (8-0, 8 KOs) faced Michael Faulk (3-3, 1 KO) of Queens, New York in a six-round super middleweight bout. Quigley’s reputation followed him into the ring as he dominated the first round with heavy punches to Faulk’s body. By the second round the referee called off the fight awarding Quigley his eight victory by technical knockout.
“It feels so great to add another victory to my record and the fact that it was another knockout makes me feel like bigger and better things will be coming my way,” said Jason Quigley. “But we have to take it one step at a time, these fights are all stepping stones to a future title match. I am still learning, still climbing the latter but I know that very soon I will get my chance to be a world champion.”
Paulis Ritter (0-1) of Newport Beach, Calif. made his professional debut in a four-round heavyweight bout against Tommy Washington Jr. (4-7, 2 KOs) of Lansing, Mich. The exciting match went the distance to the enjoyment of the crowd as the judges crowned Washington victorious via unanimous decision.
“This is my second time coming out to Indio, and it feels great to go home with a victory,” said Tommy Washington Jr. “Ritter is a tough kid, but he still has more to learn. I found his style predictable and I understand his position as a new professional fighter. With more work he can be quite successful in the ring.”
Junior middleweight favorite Neeco “Rooster” Macias (9-0, 4 KOs) of Palm Desert, Calif. battled it out against Julian Cruz (2-5) of Long Beach, Calif. Both fighters performed the right moves for a cheery crowd in their scheduled six-round bout. Cruz suffered a cut on the right eye early in the fight and was constantly corned on the ropes by Macias’ unrelenting attacks. Macias’ attacks paid off winning the fight by unanimous decision.
“It’s so great fight at Fantasy Springs, I can hear all the fans cheering me on and it gives me more motivation during the rounds,” said Neeco Macias. “This time I could hear local champ Randy Caballero and the legendry Roy Jones Jr., the experience is exhilarating. I fought Cruz before and I had a tough time with him then, but today I felt confident and comfortable. My training has improved and I have improved and I hope that by early 2016 I will be ready for the eight to 10-rounders.”
Indio, Calif. native Darius Ervin (3-0) gave the fans an exciting fight as he took on Diego Padilla (1-0) of Los Angeles in a scheduled four-round welterweight bout. The evenly matched fighters battled it out, neither relented to the other. Ultimately the victory went to Padilla via majority decision with a score of 38-38, 40-36, 40-36.
Opening up the night middleweight newcomer Quilisto Madera (2-0, 1 KO) of Las Vegas defeated Tijuana, Mexico’s Fernando Najera (1-8) via technical knockout in the third-round when the fight was waved off by the referee.
Johan Perez vs. Dmitry Mikhaylenko was a 12-round welterweight title bout for Perez’s NABA Welterweight Title, presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Main Eevents and German Titov Promotions; Salinas vs. Avila was a 10-round bout for the vacant interim NABF Super Bantamweight Title presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The HBO Latino event on August 8 was sponsored by Corona Extra and Mexico, Live It To Believe It! Doors opened at 5:00 p.m. and the first bell rang at 5:05 p.m. The HBO Latino telecast aired live at 10:30 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT).
