Diaz To Meet Sanchez At "Battle At The Boat 87"!
Junior lightweight prospect Joel Diaz will look to take another step in the right direction when he battles Guillermo Sanchez Saturday, June 2 in the main event of “Battle at the Boat 87.”
The card is promoted by Halquist Productions and takes place at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA. Tickets start at $25 and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets or by visiting the EQC box office.
The hard-hitting Diaz is a perfect 9-0 with 8 KO’s as a professional and is one of the top young talents on the west coast. On January 20, 2012, Diaz stopped previously unbeaten Guy Robb in seven rounds on ShoBox: The New Generation. In his most recent bout, the20-year-old Palmdale, CA native battered veteran Yogli Herrera, forcing him to quit on his stool after four rounds.
Rough, tough and battle-tested, Sanchez’ resume speaks for itself. The Puerto Rican shared the squared circle with world champion Adrien Broner, contender Edner Cherry and undefeated prospects Mark Davis and Ronny Rios. Dubbed as “The Vampire,” Sanchez, 13-6-1(5 KO’s), twice won bouts in the backyard of previously unbeaten opponents, outpointing Rod Salka and Eddie Irizarry.
Diaz-Sanchez is scheduled for ten rounds.
Retired Marine and crowd favorite Nate Serrano, 4-1 (1 KO), of Yakima, WA will look to win his second straight bout when he challenges Portland, OR’s Osvaldo Rojas in a six round welterweight contest. Serrano’s fresh off a second round stoppage of Nicholas Balestra while Rojas, 6-2-1 (2 KO’s), makes his first start since 2010.
Also appearing on the undercard is Canadian sensation Sarah Pucek against an opponent to be named. Other undercard bouts will be announced shortly.
Doors open at 6 pm and the opening bell is scheduled for 7.
Erosa and Hempleman win Championship Gold in Tacoma!
For Immediate Release
Tacoma, WA (April 29, 2012) – Julian Erosa and Brandon Hempleman captured CageSport championships following impressive performances yesterday evening at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, WA.
In the main event of Halquist Productions’ “Cagesport XIX”, Erosa emphatically claimed the CageSport featherweight title after submitting Ryan Mulvihill in the fourth round. Both Erosa, of Yakima, WA and Mulvihill, a Spokane, WA native, had plenty of supporters. Mulvihill spent much of the fight on his back attempting to lure his foe into one of his traps, while Erosa preferred to stay on his feet.
In the fourth round, Mulvihill took down Erosa and looked to capitalize, but got caught in a vicious guillotine choke, which ended the fight at 1:43.
Erosa is now 7-0 with 6 wins by stoppage. Mulvihill falls to 5-3 (4 wins by stoppage).
In the co-feature, Idaho native Brandon Hempleman claimed the CageSport bantamweight belt by knocking out rising star and crowd favorite Jeff “TNT” Hatton. The Aberdeen, WA native dropped Hempleman in the early going with a huge right hook, but the tides quickly turned. The visitor connected with a hard knee and Hatton was suddenly on the defensive.
Hempleman proceeded to land a number of strong punches which Hatton was ultimately unable to defend against, forcing the referee to halt the contest at 2:55.
The victory raises Hempleman’s record to 6-1, four wins via stoppage. Hatton slips to 6-1 (6 stoppages).
“I’m very impressed with what I saw in the two title bouts,” said promoter Brian Halquist. “Erosa’s becoming the face of the CageSport series and Hempleman came here and beat one of our bright young stars. Regardless of who won and who lost, this was a great night of action for the fans.”
In undercard action, Richard Steele protégée Mihidi Cotruta, heavyweight Richard Foster, Cory Vombuar, Angel Diaz, Harrison Bevens, David Courchaine, Jeff Degenhardt and Chris Wheaton all scored impressive stoppages.
The CageSport series returns to the Emerald Queen Casino Saturday, July 14. For more information, go to Halquistproductions.com.
Contact: Matt Yanofsky (publicist) – 551-206-0578