Rico Ramos faces Jhonatan Romero on June 23rd!

Boxing in the San Fernando Valley is about to be rekindled at the legendary Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, Calif. The Lodge hosted its first boxing event in 1970. The last events held there in the 90′s were promoted by Dan Goossen. Now, 14 years since the Sportsmen’s Lodge last hosted boxing, the San Fernando valley’s Goossen Tutor Promotions will again look to create a series of boxing events held every two months throughout the year. The inaugural world-class event will be held on Saturday evening, June 23, when former WBA Super Bantamweight World Champion Rico Ramos laces up the gloves against the undefeated 2008 Colombian Olympian Jhonatan Romero.
Boxing fans in attendance will also see the return of lightweight stud John Molina Jr., and a battle between two undefeated young super flyweight stars in Matthew Villanueva of Burbank, Calif. against Austreberto Juarez of Ventura, Calif. The event will be broadcast on TeleFutura’s hit series “Solo Boxeo Tecate.”

Tickets priced at $103.50 VIP, $52.50 Ringside & $32.50 will go on sale this Wednesday, May 16 at www.GoossenTutor.com/schedule or by calling the Goossen Tutor office at (818) 817-8001. Tickets will also be available the day of the event at the Lodge.

Rico Ramos (20-1, 11 KOs) reached his dream of becoming a World Champion when he stopped defending World Champion Akifumi Shimoda (23-2-1, 10 KOs) in Atlantic City on July 9, 2011 and televised on HBO.

In his first defense of the title, Ramos was dealt no easy task as he faced two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist in Guillermo Rigondeaux (9-0, 7 KOs) on January 20, 2012. The fight, held at the Pearl inside Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas and televised on SHOWTIME, e­nded when Rigondeaux stopped Ramos in the seventh round.

“I need to redeem myself for the poor showing I had against Rigondeaux, and the only way to do that is fight,” said Ramos. “I’m facing another undefeated Olympian with a strong amateur background in a fight that can get me back into the world championship picture with an impressive victory.”

Making his first steps on the road to recovering his championship, Ramos will need to beat the tough 25-year-old Romero (20-0, 12 KOs). The undefeated Colombian improved his record to 20 wins this past December by scoring a unanimous decision over the very respected Chris Avalos (19-2, 15 KOs).

Romero can’t wait for the chance of getting the former world champion in the ring. “Beat the champ and suddenly the boxing world knows who you are,” stated Romero, “and I intend to beat Ramos.”

In the co-main event, Burbank’s Matthew Villanueva (7-0-1, 7 KOs) will look to remain unbeaten against Austreberto Juarez (10-1, 2 KOs), who is eager to prove that the single blemish on his record was a fluke.

Villanueva last appeared on SHOWTIME the same night Ramos took on Rigondeaux. He unleashed a relentless assault against Michael Ruiz Jr. (8-2-1, 3 KOs) in that bout, forcing referee Russell Mora to stop the bout in the seventh round.

Upon hearing the news of his fight at the Sportsmen’s Lodge Villanueva was ecstatic, “I can’t wait to be fighting literally blocks away from my home in front of family, friends and what is sure to be a sell-out crowd. I want to build a local following and intend doing that with knockout action.”

In Juarez’s last bout he sustained the only loss of his career in a decision to Miguel Diaz (8-0, 3 KOs) in an eight-round fight on March 10, 2012.

“Despite a tough decision in my last outing, I know that I am capable of fighting at an elite level, and I am eager to show the world that I am a strong and exciting competitor in this division.”

Widely considered one of the hottest young lightweight prospects in boxing, John Molina Jr., who is a native of Covina, California, has posted 19 vicious knockouts among his first 23 wins, while only sustaining one loss in his career entering the ring that night with the flu.

Molina’s most recent ring appearance came in June of last year, when he took on Robert Frankel (28-11-1, 5 KOs) at Pechanga Resort & Casino in Cabazon, Calif. Molina was too quick and powerful for the tested veteran fighter, and Raul Caiz Jr. would stop the bout at the conclusion of round 5.

Having had his eye on lightweight kingpin Brandon Rios, as well as the divisions title holders for some time now, Molina looks to establish himself as a contender for top dog in the division by securing a win at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in dominant fashion.

“I’ve been in the gym this whole time and I’m looking forward to showcasing my ability and showing the world that I am ready to take on and beat the upper echelon of fighters at 135.”