Former three-time world heavyweight champion Michael “Double M” Moorer (52-4-1, 40 KOs) will be the special VIP guest for the February 6th edition of Thursday Night Fights presented by Golden Boy at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino.
Moorer, the first-ever southpaw heavyweight champion, will be in attendance to meet fans, sign autographs and take pictures.
Moorer burst onto the boxing scene in 1988 by acquiring the newly created WBO Light Heavyweight Title with a five-round knockout of Ramzi Hassan. He moved up to the heavyweight division in 1991 and defeated James “Bonecrusher” Smith in a 10-round decision. In April 1994, Moorer secured the Lineal, IBF and WBA championships with a majority decision over Evander Holyfield.
After a stunning upset at the hands of 45-year-old George Foreman, Moorer regrouped to reclaim the IBF heavyweight crown with a defeat of Axel Schultz by split decision in 1996. He successfully defended his crown against Francois Botha and Vaughn Bean. Since his retirement, Moorer has worked as a boxing commentator and was briefly Freddie Roach’s assistant trainer at the Wild Card gym in Los Angeles.
In the main event of the February 6th event, hard-hitting 115-pound prospect Ricard “El Niño” Sandoval (17-1, 12 KOs) of Riverside takes on Filipino contender Raymond “Tornado” Tabugon (22-11-1, 11 KOs) in a 10-round bout inside the Special Events Center.
Sandoval, 20, scored a dominant stoppage win last July against Marco Sustaita to defend his WBC Youth Intercontinental Flyweight Title. Tabugon, 28, previously faced former world champions Juan Francisco “El Gallo” Estrada, Luis “Pantera” Nery and Angel “Tito” Acosta.
In the co-main event, Oscar “El Jaguar” Negrete (18-2-2, 7 KOs) of Tierralta, Colombia and Alberto “Impacto” Melian (6-1, 4 KOs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina meet in a 10-round bout for the vacant WBA International Bantamweight Title. Negrete previously defeated Melian at the 2010 South American Games.
Other exciting fights include:
Anthony Reyes (7-0, 5 KOs) of Coachella in a six-round super bantamweight contest.
Standout flyweight prospect Sulem Urbina (11-0, 2 KOs) of Phoenix in a six-round clash.
Leonardo “Leon” Baez (17-2, 9 KOs) of Mexicali in a 10-round super bantamweight fight.
Oscar Acevedo (6-0) of Garden City, Kansas in a six-round lightweight clash.
