Thursday night fights

This Thursday night in San Jacinto California, Paul Williams makes the jump from Welterweight to Middleweight on a VS card from Soboba Casino.  Williams (34-1, 25 KO) takes on Andy Kolle (17-1, 12 KO) who is a 26 year old Southpaw and is already a mainstay in that weight class. 

Kolle has only one blemish on his record and it was to Olympic Gold medalist Andre Ward in 2006.  Since then he has 8 wins in a row.  Both guys are over 6 feet tall and Southpaws but Williams figures to be the sharper puncher and more athletic boxer.   Kolle is here as the opponent, make no mistake.  Williams’s calendar has an open date in November for a fight at Welterweight so a loss here for him would not necessarily derail his career but it sure would create a big roadbump.  For Kolle, there doesn’t appear to be much to lose.  Get your name out there on TV again and even if you lose, look good doing it and get more work down the line.  If you win, the sky is the limit.  However, Kolle is a huge underdog and rightfully so.  This would be a huge upset and I doubt we will see that materialize.  Williams is in with a rugged guy who can take a punch, so this may go the distance but look for Williams to keep his punch output high and a late round stoppage could be the result if Kolle wears down.  Chris Arreola (24-0, 21 KO) is also on the televised portion of the card but is in very soft and will almost certainly wake up Friday having secured his 25th win and 22^nd KO. 

Speaking of history, the VERSUS co-featured bout will see the unbeaten pride of Riverside, California, Cristobal ‘The Nightmare’ Arreola (24-0, 21 KOs), as he attempts to stay on the road to the heavyweight title when he takes on imposing Puerto Rican heavyweight, Israel ‘King Kong’ Garcia (19-1, 11 KOs). With a win, Arreola will move one step closer to becoming the first Mexican-American fighter ever to win the world heavyweight championship, and he vows not to let his growing fan base down.

Added Cristobal “I’m focusing on tomorrow’s fight and a victory which will bring me one step closer to a championship belt.”

For So Cal residents, there is another card at the Sycuan Resort and Casino in El Cajon Thursday featuring Manny Pacquaio promoted fighters facing Mexican opponents.  The headliner is Bernabe Concepcion (26-1-1, 15 KO) of the Philippines taking on Giovanni Caro (11-4-4, 15 KO) of Mexico.  It figures to be a Philippino night as all of the Pacman fighters have big advantages over their Mexican counterparts.  If you can make it, the Sycuan Resort and Casino is an excellent place to see a fight and the Resort is beautiful.  There are still seats available so come down and watch some fights; Manny Pacquaio is slated to be in attendance. 

Tickets priced from $50 are available online at www.sycuan.com, via phone at (619) 659-3380 or in person at the Sycuan box office.