LOS ANGELES, June 17 – After an impressive seventh round technical knockout of Calvin Green that announced his return to the ring, former Junior Middleweight World Champion Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora is eager to keep the momentum going when he visits the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California on Friday, July 23 to headline TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” against veteran Juan Carlos Candelo. This ten round middleweight bout, which headlines a night of world-class professional boxing presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Ringside Ticket Inc. and is sponsored by Cerveza Tecate. TeleFutura’s “Sólo Boxeo Tecate” will be broadcast at 11:30pm ET / PT..
Tickets, priced at $75, $65, $50 and $35, are on sale now by calling (877) 711-2946 or visiting www.pechanga.com. Doors open at 6:00pm PT and the first fight begins at 7:00pm PT.
One of the most skilled boxers in the sport today, East Los Angeles’s Sergio Mora (22-1-1, 6 KO’s), first came to the attention of the world when he won the first season of NBC’s ‘The Contender’ in 2005, but Mora is not just a reality TV star. He proved this by winning a decision against Vernon Forrest in June of 2008 to gain the WBC Junior Middleweight World Championship. Mora lost the belt to Forrest in their rematch, but after a 19-month layoff, “The Latin Snake” returned to his optimal weight at middleweight and didn’t miss a beat in stopping Calvin Green in seven rounds on April 3. On July 23, the 29-year-old will fight in front of his California fans for the first time since 2008.
A native of Buenaventura, Colombia who now makes his home in Baytown, Texas, Juan Carlos “J.C.” Candelo (30-10-4, 20 KO’s) has made a name for himself during his 15-year pro career thanks to his exciting style and willingness to fight all comers in the ring. A former NABF junior middleweight champion who has been in with the likes of Winky Wright, Angel “Toro” Hernandez, Michael Lerman, Marco Antonio “Veneno” Rubio and Kassim “The Dream” Ouma, Candelo is currently sporting a three-fight winning streak that he plans on lifting to four this July.
Sergio Mora Targets World Title
Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora (22-1-1, KOs) is set to return to the ring on July 23rd at Pechanga Resort and Casino in Temecula, CA. The bout will be the main event televised by Telefutura. The “Latin Snake” will be taking on tough veteran Juan Carlos Candelo (30-10-4, 20KOs) of Columbia. The Columbian has been in the ring with names such as Winky Wright, Verno Phillips, Kassim Ouma and Marco Antonio Rubio amongst others.
Mora returns to the ring after an impressive 7th round stoppage of Calvin Green this past April on the televised pay per view undercard of Hopkins-Jones 2 in Las Vegas. The stoppage victory was Mora’s first fight in almost seventeen months.
“I felt rusty the first couple of rounds then I started to find my groove in the third round.”
The former “Contender” series star worked the body and landed numerous combinations in what was probably the most exciting fight of the evening.
With promotional and managerial issues behind him, Mora plans on being more active after essentially losing a year and a half of his career.
“I am signed with Golden Boy and Cameron Dunkin now so I shouldn’t have any problems being active,” he said. Mora has one goal in mind and that is capturing another world title. “I want to feel what I felt in 2008 when I won the junior welterweight title. That is what is driving me. I want a shot at a middleweight title.”
Fighting Juan Carlos Candelo is another step towards that goal.
“I am not taking Candelo lightly. My trainer Dean Campos is pushing me and I am training hard for this fight,” Mora stated after a training session. “I know I need to beat him to take another step in my quest.”
If everything goes as planned Mora would like to step up in his next fight and fight one of the top rated contenders in the middleweight division.