Neddy Garcia vs Alberto Ontiveros Headlines Kingfish Fight Card On Feb. 24

14.02 - Promoter Anna Beth Goodman/Kingfish Boxing Productions will present a sensational fight card on Monday, February 24, 2003, at the Thunderbird Wild, Wild West Casino in Norman, Oklahoma.

MAIN EVENT - 12 ROUNDS, SUPER FLYWEIGHTS - VACANT NABF TITLE: NEDDY GARCIA, 14-3-1, 8 KOs, Mission, Texas, vs ALBERTO ONTIVEROS, 18-5-5, 16 KOs, Mazatlan, Mexico

In the 12-round main event, Neddy "Little Guns" Garcia, 14-3-1, with 8 knockouts, of Mission, Tex., will challenge Alberto "The Assassin" Ontiveros, 18-5-5, with 16 knockouts, of Mazatlan, Mex, for the vacant North American Boxing Federation 115-pound title.

26 year-old Garcia is on a roll. He has a three-fight winning streak, which includes his career-best win, is 9-1 in his last 10, and sees this fight as another step toward the world top-ten ratings. He said, "You got to be focused, mentally ready and physically ready. Those are the two things. I'll be ready for this fight."

Former world title challenger Ontiveros, also 26 years old, was stopped on a cut in his last fight, but is 6-2-1 in his last nine. He is experienced against top opposition and is always dangerous. He has fought current WBA flyweight champion Eric Morel twice, as well as former two-time world champion Mauricio Pastrana.

CO-FEATURED BOUT - 10 ROUNDS, JR. LIGHTWEIGHTS: ZAHIR RAHEEM, 20-0, 11 KOs, Tulsa, Oklahoma, vsISIDRO TEJEDOR, 16-11-4, 8 KOs, Miami, Florida

In the 10-round co-featured bout, Zahir "The King" Raheem, 20-0, with 11 knockouts, a Philadelphia native now living in Tulsa, Okla., will face Isidro "Pantera" Tejedor, 15-11-4, with 8 knockouts, of Miami, Fla.

Raheem, a 1996 U.S. Olympian, has stepped up in class of opposition in recent fights, and is coming off his career-best win in his last fight, an eighth-round knockout against former WBC featherweight world champion Luisito Espinosa. Raheem is now ranked WBC No. 12, IBF No. 12, WBA No. 14. Tejedor is a tough 11-year veteran who has fought top opposition and always gives strong efforts.

PLUS - 8 ROUNDS, JR. WELTERWEIGHTS: RAMIRO "Rambo" CANO, 12-0, 10 KOs, Houston, Tex.
vs TBA With an aggressive, exciting style, Cano is becoming a fan favoritewherever he fights.

An exciting lineup of supporting bouts will be announced.

Ticket prices: $15, $30, $60.
Tickets are available at:
Thunderbird Wild, Wild West Casino Box Office - 800-259-LUCK and 405-360-9270; online at www.tickets.com; by telephone at 800-955-5566; and at all Metro area Homeland Stores.

Doors open at: 6:00 P.M., first fight at 7:00 P.M.

More information on Kingfish Boxing Productions is available at www.kingfishboxing.com.

This Kingfish fight card will be telecast on Fox Sports World, Fox Sports En Espanol and Fox Sports Latin America. Two Kingfish boxing events are scheduled for each month, and the telecasts reach over 70 million households.

The ringside analysts on the English-language telecasts are Dave Bontempo and Bob Spagnola. On the Spanish-language telecasts, Carlos Avilas and Luis Rodriguez call the action from ringside. The executive producer is Terry Planell. In the United States, the fights are shown on same-day tape on Fox Sports En Espanol at 11:00 P.M. Eastern Time, 8:00 Pacific Time. The fights are replayed in the U.S. the next day on Fox Sports World at 11:00 P.M. (PT), and Fox Sports Latin America in Mexico and Central America at 11:00 (ET) and 8:00 (PT). The next-day replay for all of Latin America is on Fox Sports Latin America at 10:00 (ET), 7:00 (PT). The telecasts are also available in some areas on DIRECTV and Dish Network. Check local listings for times in your area.