In Bouts They All Must Win To Keep Careers Headed In Right Direction,
Randy Caballero And Manny Roman & Michael Perez And Fidel Maldonado
Are Set To Do Battle
This Friday, Aug. 24, at 11 p.m. ET on SHOWTIME®
From Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, Calif.
NEW YORK (Aug. 21, 2012) –- At the tender age of 21, Randy Caballero, of Coachella, Calif., has been perfect in a two-and-a-half-year pro career. He’s rarely lost a round while going 15-0 with eight knockouts, and already has attained a world rating.
The talented bantamweight looks to have a bright future, but he will get his toughest test to date when he meets Manny Roman (15-1-3, 6 KOs), of Paramount, Calif., in what is expected to be a hard-fought 10-round main event this Friday, Aug. 24, on ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET) from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio,Calif.
In a companion 10-round fight on SHOWTIME, Michael “The Artist’’ Perez (16-1-1, 10 KOs), of Newark, N.J., will be opposed by hard-hitting southpaw Fidel Maldonado (13-1, 11 KOs), of Albuquerque, N.M., in a key match-up of lightweight prospects.
Caballero vs. Roman and Perez vs. Maldonado are presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Corona. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. PT. The first live fight is at 5:30 p.m. PT.
Tickets for the event, priced at $25, $35 and $45, are available at the Fantasy Springs Box Office, by calling (800) 827-2946 or online at www.fantasyspringsresort.com.
These are risky assignments for the four fighters. While a defeat might not necessarily be detrimental to their careers, none of them wants to take a step backward. Maldonado, like Caballero, is 21-years-old. Perez is 22, Roman 24.
“This is an interesting doubleheader,” ShoBox expert analyst Steve Farhood said. “We have a prototypical ShoBox prospect in Caballero, who’s young, unbeaten and had a strong amateur career facing a fighter, Roman, who has had a lot of starts and stops in his career, but has only one loss, and it came on a split decision, so he could be easily undefeated, too. This is definitely a step up for Caballero.
“The co-feature is also intriguing. Perez had the same kind of background as Caballero, but he lost on ShoBox in January (two fights ago to unbeaten Omar Figueroa). We’re a long way from it happening, of course, but Perez will be trying to become the ninth fighter on ShoBox who lost on the show and then went on to become a world champion (Robert Guerrero andCornelius Bundrage were two of the others).
“Maldonado was also a top-notch prospect, but he is coming off a shocking knockout loss, so he is in the same position as Perez.”
Caballero turned pro in March 2010 after an outstanding amateur career. He fought six times in 2010 and eight times in 2011. This fight will be the third outing of this year for the fighting pride of the CoachellaValley, who is coming off of a fifth-round knockout over Jamal Parram on June 23. Caballero won his ShoBox and 10-round debut, as well as the North American Boxing Organization (NABO) bantamweight title, with a tougher-than-expected unanimous 10-round decision over Jose Araizalast March 16 at Fantasy Springs. A Fantasy Springs favorite, Caballero is making his 10th start at the venue.
The baby-faced Caballero outpointed Araiza by the scores of 98-92 twice and 97-93, but after a fast start, the hometown hero had to withstand a second-half Araiza rally to get the decision. It was anything but a career-best performance by Caballero, who got hit with right hands in the later rounds, but it was an excellent learning experience.
“That was a tough fight,” Caballero said, “but a good fight for me. I know the fights will be tougher as I continue to step up. It’s what I take away from fights like that that will help me down the line.”
A speedy, quick-handed boxer with good skills and movement, the World Boxing Organization (WBO) No. 6-rated 118-pound contender feels forcing the issue may be key against Roman. “I’ve been working on trying to pick up a different way to walk Roman down,” Caballero said. “I’ll be trying to put a little more pressure on in this fight and break him down.
“Roman’s a tough fighter, I’m not taking anything away from him. He’s 15-1. (But) he’s never been 10 rounds. I’ll probably just break him down, and hopefully finish him off in the early rounds. He probably won’t end up lasting all of the 10 rounds. The more pressure I put, the harder it’s going to be for him.”
Roman, who turned pro in Mexico at 16 in June 2004, also had an extensive amateur career. After campaigning mostly as a flyweight early in his pro career, he has boxed at or around 118 in three of his last four outings. This will be his second fight in 2012, making it the first time since 2008 he has fought more than once in a year. Despite the inactivity, look for Roman to give a solid account of himself.
“This is like a world title fight for him,” said Roman’s manager Frank Espinoza. “He knows he’s the underdog and that fans will be for the hometown guy, but we took the fight because we believe Manny can win and for the great opportunity he has to make a statement.”