Irishmen, Mexicans and More at Fantasy Springs Casino TONIGHT

A pair of real Irish prizefighters straight from the Emerald isle show their skills tonight.

Lightweight Jamie Kavanagh and middleweight Jason Quigley will be in separate fights at Fantasy Springs. The Golden Boy Promotions main event will feature Alfonso Gomez (24-6-2, 12 Kos) facing Japan’s Yoshihiro Kamegai (25-2-1, 22 Kos).

Fox Sports 1 will televise.

If Kamegai’s name is familiar, well, he’s the welterweight who exchanged blows with Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero for 12 rounds last summer. Don’t expect anything less than scientific brutality. Kamegai does not possess the greatest speed, but his chin is world class and does he love to pressure.

Gomez has that Mexican heart that made him famous on “The Contender” television reality show back in 2005. The Southern Californian has made a name beating guys that most experts don’t expect him to beat. Some of those he upset were Arturo Gatti, Ben Tackie, Jose Luis Castillo, and Jesus Soto Karass. He’s earned his respect in the boxing ring.

Featherweight contender Ronny Rios (23-1, 10 Kos) returns to the ring after a knockout loss last October. The Orange County fighter was ambushed by hot contender Robinson Castellanos, who caught him early and ended the fight in the fifth round. Now Rios faces Mexico’s Sergio Frias (16-4-2, 8 Kos) to see where he’s at. It’s an important test for Rios.

Quigley (4-0, 4 Kos), the undefeated 160-pounder from Danegal, Ireland, meets Tolutomi Agunbiade (2-2) of Wichita Falls, Texas. Quigley has fast hands and good power. He looked sharp in his last blowout win two weeks ago.

His compatriot Kavanagh (17-1-1, 8 Kos) is a native of Dublin, Ireland and meets rugged Mexican veteran Miguel Zamudio (32-6-1, 18 Kos) in an eight-round lightweight clash. Kavanagh trains in nearby Indio under Joel Diaz and brother Antonio Diaz. He has plenty of sparring in that camp with talent such as WBC lightweight champ Omar Figueroa, Diego De La Hoya and others. Kavanagh has better speed but Zamudio has been in against some killers like Saul “Neno” Rodriguez and Sharif Bogere. He knows a thing or two.

Undefeated super featherweight Abraham Lopez (17-0, 12 Kos) faces Juan Carlos Martinez (20-15-1) in an eight round bout. Lopez hasn’t fought in three years and returns to see if he still has what it takes. Martinez has fought some tough customers and has a win over Alejandro “Pajarro” Perez. He won’t be an easy touch. He’s also fought Mikey Garcia, Edner Cherry and defeated Bernabe Concepcion.

Also on the card will be Riverside’s Alberto Herrera in a welterweight bout against Jose Marrufo. Herrera is the younger brother of junior welterweight contender Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera.

It’s a night of big tests.

The first bout begins at 6 p.m.

B-Hop

Former middleweight and light heavyweight champion Bernard “The Alien” Hopkins will be signing autographs and taking photographs from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m. inside the arena.

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