Antonio Escalante, the #3 world ranked featherweight from El Paso, has withdrawn from his scheduled bout on May 7 at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center due to injury.
The 24 year old Escalante was slated to face Argentina’s Carlos Ricardo Rodriguez in the ten round ESPN Friday Night Fights 
main event, but was forced to withdraw after suffering injuries to both elbows. According to Escalante, he was diagnosed by Dr. Charles Zaltz as having “nerve entrapment” in one elbow and tendonitis in the other.
“I’ve been having a lot of pain in both elbows and it finally reached a point where it was bothering me so much, it hurt to throw punches, “explained a disappointed Escalante. “I went to the doctor and see what I needed to do to get well enough to still fight on May 7th, but the doctor said my only choice was to take off about six to eight weeks to allow the injuries to heal. No one is more disappointed about me not fighting than I am. I was hoping for a magic solution, but rest and therapy is what I have to do to get well.”
With Escalante now out, his promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, sprang into action and teamed up with Danny Romero Productions to combine the May 7 ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” event with an existing event being promoted by Romero at the Isleta Casino in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Now stepping into the May 7 main event will be 2004 Cuban Olympian Yordanis Despaigne (5-0, 4 KOs), who will face the toughest test of his young pro career when he squares off against former interim WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Richard “The Destroyer” Hall (29-7, 27 KOs).
“While we’re disappointed with having to move our show from the Don Haskins Center due to Antonio Escalante’s injury, we promise to be back in El Paso as soon as he’s ready to go,” said Golden Boy Promotions COO David Itskowitch. “We thank former World Champion Danny Romero and his staff for stepping up and helping us bring a great event to Albuquerque this week. Despaigne vs. Hall is a great main event, and we’re going to make sure the rest of the card is just as exciting for fans at the Isleta Casino.”
In the co-main event, former All-American linebacker and current heavyweight prospect Seth “Mayhem” Mitchell (16-0-1, 10 KOs) puts his unbeaten record on the line when he takes on fellow prospect Johnnie “Lethal” White (22-1, 18 KOs) of Louisiana in an eight round bout.
Ticket prices for this event range from $100 for ringside to $15. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the first bout will begin at 7:00 p.m. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets can be purchased via the internet at (http://isleta-casino.com/entertain/tickets.cfm). Tickets purchased for the fight originally scheduled at UTEP’s Don Haskins Center, will be refunded at the point of purchase beginning Wednesday, May 5, 2010.
The ESPN “Friday Night Fights” broadcast airs at 10 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. MT on ESPN2, ESPN Deportes and ESPN360.com.
Being from El Paso this sucks. After that last fight he had here with Roman I was excited to see him fighting again here on FNF. Let’s hope he fights within a couple of months.
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