Palace Fighting Championship debut
LEMOORE — Fans and fighters packed the Den sports bar at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino on Wednesday for the first-ever weigh-ins for the Palace Fighting Championships.
Weigh-ins went smooth for the 11-bout “King of the Ring” card, which will be headlined by Eric “Butterbean” Esch and local favorite Lemoore’s Poppies “Tachi Kid” Martinez.
Butterbean’s regularly scheduled opponent, ‘Lil Sal Farnetti, unexpectedly was forced to drop from the fight and Charles Hodges, who is making his pro debut, filled in on just hours notice. Hodges is a rather large fighter, too, standing 6-foot-4 and weighing 340 pounds.
The doors for the fights in the bingo hall at the Palace will open at 5:30 p.m. and fights are scheduled to get under way at 6 p.m.
“It’s going to be an exciting fight,” Butterbean said. “I’m a standup, striker type of fighter, but if it happens to go to the ground, I’ve been training there, too.”
There’s been a lot of buzz about Butterbean’s bout, the grudge match between Lemoore’s Kenny Ento (6-1) and Tulare’s Roy Arriola (1-1) and Martinez’ bout with Bakersfield’s Josh Gardner (4-7).
“I don’t know that much about him,” Martinez (9-2) said of Gardner. “I know that he has fought some tough guys.”
Gardner is looking to break a 6-fight losing streak, which includes losses to Jorge Evangelista, Corry Cass and Shawn Bias.
“I’ve been training hard for this fight,” Gardner said. “I really don’t do a lot of talking, though. I do what I do in the ring and I don’t talk smack. I would just say the fans should expect to see me try to knock him out.”
Tickets for the fight are sold out in what is being touted as the fastest sellout of a mixed martial arts event in Central Valley history.
Also on the card is:
— Oroville’s Shawn Bias (8-3) is pitted against Oakland’s Brandon Jinnies (1-0) in a lightweight fight.
— Rafael Del Real (3-4) of Tulare takes on Madera’s Rolando Torres (2-2) in a light heavyweight bout.
— In featherweight action, Clovis’ Ralph Lopez (1-0) tangles with Fresno’s Shahob Nasbaradi (0-1).
— Parlier’s Mike Moreno (0-1) will take on Visalia’s Francisco Magallon (2-3) in a welterweight bout.
— In a welterweight showdown, Hanford’s Chris Botelho (2-2) takes on Bakersfield’s Josh McCartney (1-0).
— Lemoore’s Mickey Martinez (1-2-1) fights Taft’s Billy Terry (1-0) in the welterweight class.
— Hanford’s Brian Huerta makes his pro debut in a heavyweight showdown with Taft’s Tommy Contreras (0-0).
— Sacramento’s Dave Espinosa (1-0) takes on Sacramento’s Nelson Ocampo in a bantamweight bout.
The next Palace Fighting Championship event is scheduled for Thursday, March 22nd. Ultimate Fighting Championship veteran Wes Sims against Tulare’s Anthony Fuller along with nine additional bouts will headline the event. Continue to check out www.palacefightingchampionship.com for more information on the next exciting event.
Jan / 18 / 2007 08:15
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