October 1 “Shobox: The New Generation” Fight Week Recap

Added on Oct 01, 2010 by Brian Blake in

Boxing

This week Gary Shaw Productions held the final press conference and fighter weigh-ins for tonight’s latest installment of ShoBox: The New Generation. The event will be hosted by the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. The fights will be nationally televised on Showtime at 11:45 ET/PT.

In the main event, the 26 year old Tim “Pit Bull” Coleman puts his USBA junior welterweight (140 lbs.) title on the line when he takes on Patrick Lopez in the 12-round main event. The televised opener features Albuquerque’s Archie Ray Marquez and Juan “Chago” Santiago in an eight-round co-feature.

Coleman was last seen in the ring in December of last year when he outpointed Mike Arnaoutis with a hotly contested split decision win. At times the more experienced southpaw gave him fits yet Coleman feels that fighting another lefty in Lopez shouldn’t be an issue. Since the Arnaoutis bout he’s gone back to a familiar trainer that should be able to bring out the best in him.

This is my second lefty in a row, but that’s fine with me. Lopez is a more aggressive fighter, and that will work for me. That will suite my style. ” Coleman added, “I’ve been training with Roger (Mayweather) since I was 12 years old when I wan an amateur, but this is my first pro fight with him.”

During the press conference Coleman appeared elated just to be able to once again get back into the ring after nearly a year long hiatus.

“This (140 pounds) is a great weight for me. I feel stronger and quicker here.” He then went on to state, “it’s been hard getting fights, so I’ll take whoever. I fight because I love it.”

That “whoever” happens to be the Venezuelan Patrick Lopez . Since dropping a split decision to Josesito Lopez last year, Patrick has bounced back with five consecutive victories. His most recent came against Pernice Brewer and ended via TKO in the third round. Lopez is eager to make it six wins in a row which he feels would open the door to great things.

“The win over (Pernice) Brewer was huge for me. That’s a big step,” Lopez recently stated. ” We’re ready for Coleman. He’s the perfect opponent for us. There’s no doubt I’ll be close to fighting for a world title in 2011 with a win over Coleman.”

Archie Ray Marquez, much like Tim Coleman, has been out of the ring for longer than he would have liked and his bout against Juan Santiago cannot come soon enough. Marquez has not seen any action following his January decision win over veteran Derrick Campos. While admitting to being a bit hesitant in that fight, he vows that he won’t let himself get too overly aggressive in tonight’s co-feature.

“I was overly cautious in my last fight (win over Derrick Campos), but I stuck to my gameplan. I’m hungry to get back in the ring and make a statement. I had a hand injury so I haven’t fought in a while, but I’m ready to get back in there. I always want to look good. I don’t care how I win. If the knockout comes, it comes,” the lightweight prospect claimed.

His opponent, Juan Santiago, was a bit more bold when speaking of the chances of this fight ending with a knockout. He had no qualms about letting the assembled media know that he has full confidence in his power and ability to take a punch.

“There’s a good possibility there could be a knockout. This (133) is the perfect weight for me. My punches will do some more damage here. I like to be the aggressor. That’s just my style. I’ve never been knocked down before – knock on wood. I’m just going to fight my heart out. I’m not looking for the KO – if it comes, great, if not, I’m fine with that. I can’t wait to get in there and fight him. He’s been out of the ring for a while so he’ll be in for a surprise,” Santiago boasted.

The official weights for tonights event are as follows:

12-round USBA Junior Welterweight title fight (140 lbs.):
Tim Coleman (139 3/4) vs. Patrick Lopez (139)

8-round lightweight bout (135 lbs.):
Archie Ray Marquez (133) vs. Juan Santiago (133)