Top Los Angeles local boxing talent will hit the ring at the ‘Churchill Challenge’ next Thursday night, October 18 at the EXCHANGE LA Nightclub presented by Bash Boxing in conjunction with the Churchill Management Group, partners of which include award-winning actors and directors Mark Wahlberg and Peter Berg.
Based out of the newly named Churchill Boxing Gym, formerly Wild Card West Boxing Gym in Santa Monica, the evening of entertainment will feature seven outstanding clashes. The EXCHANGE LA Nightclub is located at 618 S. Spring St. in Downtown Los Angeles. Advance tickets priced at $150, $85, $75 and $60 can be purchased by calling 310-315-0525. Doors on the night of the event will open at 6:30 p.m. with the first bell at 7:00 p.m. For more information on the EXCHANGE LA Nightclub, please visit their website at www.ExchangeLA.com
In the main event of the evening, popular Filipino junior welterweight Gloferson Ortizo, (12-1-1, 6 KO’s), of Tustin, CA clashes with undefeated Phoenix, AZ prospect Mario Esparza, (4-0-2, 1 KO), in a scheduled six round bout.
Oritzo will be looking to bounce back into the win column following the first loss of his six years as a professional in a hard-fought battle against Abraham Lopez on August 8, 2018 in Hollywood. Esparza returns to Los Angeles after his last fight on March 16, 2018 was declared a technical draw following an accidental clash of heads against Blair Cobbs.
Fighting in the junior featherweight division, local favorite Adam Ochoa, (6-1-0, 3 KO’s), of Los Angeles, CA battles hard-hitting James Thomas, (6-3-0, 6 KO’S), of Grand Rapids, MI. The 20-year-old Ochoa will look to make it five wins in a row coming off a unanimous decision victory over Mike Fowler on July 20, 2018 in El Monte, CA. The upset-minded Thomas has won two of his last three starts.
Junior middleweights will also see action at the ‘Churchill Challenge’ as Brandyn ‘Bad News’ Lynch, (5-1-0, 4 KO’s), of Los Angeles, CA clashing with battle-tested veteran Tavorus Teague, (6-21-4, 3 KO’s), of Paramount, CA. The 27-year-old Lynch has won three in a row including a first-round knockout of Victor Serna on August 18, 2018. Teague quickly returns to action following a unanimous decision victory over Ray Cervera in Bakersfield, CA on September 29, 2018.
Toronto, Canada based light-heavyweight prospect Kareem Hackett, (3-0-0, 3 KO’s), makes his Southern California debut in a scheduled four-rounder against David Damore, (1-3-3), of Chandler, Arizona. The 28-year-old highly-touted Hackett has stopped all three of his opponents in two rounds or less.
Fighting out of East Los Angeles, CA, undefeated junior welterweight prospect Ruben Campos, (4-0-0, 3 KO’s), will face off against Thomas ‘The Animal’ Herrera, (11-20-1, 8 KO’s), of Hollywood, CA in a scheduled four-rounder. The hard-hitting Campos has scored all three of his knockouts in the first round.
Also seeing action 20-year-old lightweight prospect Ivan Oritz, (0-1-1), of Los Angeles, CA will be seeking his first victory against Patrick Gutierrez, (0-7-0), of Las Vegas, NV. Ortiz returns following a hard-fought split decision draw with Jaime Gomez on April 20, 2018 in Las Vegas.
Rounding out the card is the highly anticipated professional debut of lightweight Anthony Garnica of Oakland, CA in a scheduled four rounder against an opponent to be announced.
