UNDEFEATED JUNIOR WELTERWEIGHT AND 2000 OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALLIST RICARDO WILLIAMS JR. TO FIGHT THIS SATURDAY FEB. 15 AT CAESARS PALACE IN LAS VEGAS
***DiBella Entertainments Rising Star On Underdcard of the Season Premiere of HBOs Boxing After Dark***
14.02 - DiBella Entertainments undefeated junior welterweight sensation and 2000 U.S. Olympic Team Silver Medallist, Ricardo Williams Jr. (8-0, 5 KOs, Cincinnati, OH), will try to extend his unbeaten pro winning streak to nine when he takes on Juan Pollo Valenzuela (15-6, 6 KOs, Culiacan, Mexico) in a 10-round match this Saturday, February 15th at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. The event will be broadcast live at 10:45 PM ET/PT as the co-feature of the Tim Austin vs. Rafael Marquez bout on the season premiere of HBOs Boxing After Dark.
Saturday evenings fight will be first fight of 2003 for Williams, the 21-year-old rising star. One of DBEs 2000 Olympians, Ricardo is coming off a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Terronn Millett as the co-feature of the Marco Antonio Barrera vs. Johnny Tapia bout televised by HBO on November 2, 2002.
With an amateur record consisting of such accolades as two consecutive Junior Olympic titles, two Junior World titles, two consecutive national titles, a national golden gloves title, and a Goodwill Games gold medal, Williams, under the guidance of promoter/advisor Lou DiBella, has a bright future in the world of professional boxing.
Juan Pollo Valenzuela, hailing from Culiacan, Mexico, replaces Juan Carlos Rubio who had to drop from the competition late Wednesday due to a retinal injury. Valenzuela, who in April 2002 stunned highly regarded Julio Diaz with a first round knockout, will be going for his second major upset in less than a year.