Get ready boxing fans, Paulie Ayala is bringing another exciting night of fights back to Cowtown on Saturday, April 21, 2011 at the Fort Worth Convention Center. Headlining the main event is none other than middleweight contender, Brian Vera
(19-6, 12KO’s) from Fort Worth. His opponent is the tough Taronze Washington (14-16, 7KO’s) from Dallas, Texas, and the WBPA Middleweight title will be on the line.
Vera told NTF that he has been training very hard with his new trainer, Ronnie Shields, a world class trainer, in preparation for this fight and that he is ready to go. Ronnie Shields has trained such great fighters as Jesus Chavez, Vernon Forrest, Pernell Whitaker, Evander Holyfield, and even Mike Tyson, to name a few.
Back in November, Vera fought a rematch against top contender, Andy Lee (28-1, 20KO’s, and Lee was able to win the rematch by decision. According to Vera, he said he went into the fight with the wrong game plan and then he got a little frustrated. He said he should have been more aggressive, boxed less, and that Lee refused to bang with him. Nevertheless, that is behind him, and that he was offered a rubbermatch.
When I asked him about a possible rubbermatch between him and Lee, who is scheduled to fight Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. (45-0, 31KO’s) in June, he said he would welcome it. He also agreed with me that the perfect rubber match with Lee would be for a title, IF, Lee could get past Chavez, Jr. Either way, a third fight with Lee and himself would be very exciting, and a win could catapult him to a future title fight or the middleweight title itself.
In preparation for this fight, he has been training very hard the last four weeks in the gym in Houston and is only a few pounds away from 160. He told me he is very comfortable at 160 and that he is feeling very good coming into this fight. In this fight, Vera said he would put more pressure on Washington, using his strong jab, and fight a smart fight. He also said he is not taking this fight lightly and he is ready to go to work.
Back in February, Vera had the opportunity to spar with middleweight champion Sergio Martinez (49-2, 28KO’s) in preparation for Martinez’ fight against Mathew Macklin (28-3, 19KO’s). Martinez eventually went on to stop Macklin in the eleventh round for the WBC Diamond Middleweight Title. Sparring with a world champion can only make him more confident as he continues to move forward in his career.
I also spoke to him about his last fight which was fought locally in Frisco against the tough Eloy Suarez (11-13, 5KO’s). In that fight he and Suarez exchanged some heavy punching until Vera was able to get the TKO in the eighth. When asked if his style of that fight would be the same in this upcoming fight, he said he wasn’t even sure if his opponent had ever fought at 160. He said he knew his opponent was a little smaller, and that he would be using strong hard jabs and aggression against him.
In his last five fights, Vera is 3-2, with the two losses being close decisions. When asked about how a win on Saturday night would help get him back on another winning streak, he said he was only focused on this fight for now. After this fight, he said there are possible fights in June on ESPN Friday Night Fights, and hopefully a big fight on HBO in the future. But for now, he again is not looking past Washington and he plans to put on a good show for all his fans, especially the ones in his hometown of Fort Worth.
Undercard Fights:
Ubaldo Torres (0-2) from El Paso, Texas v. John Vera (1-0) from Fort Worth, Texas. 4 ROUNDS: 152 lbs.
Guadalupe Perez (2-6) from Garland, Texas v. Joel Hernandez (2-1) from Fort Worth, Texas. 4 ROUNDS: 120 lbs.
Raul Carrillo (1-4, 3KO’s) from El Paso, Texas v. Arthur Trevino (6-7-3, 3KO’s) from Fort Worth, Texas. 4 ROUNDS: 130 lbs.
Jaime Villa (8-10, 3KO’s) from Mission, Texas v. Manuel Rojas (5-0, 1KO) from Dallas, Texas. 4 ROUNDS: 128 lbs.
Terrance Anderson (2-7-1, 3KO’s) from San Antonio, Texas v. Samuel Clarkson (3-0, 3KO’s) from Cedar Hill, Texas. 6 ROUNDS: 165 lbs.
Rasool Shakur (5-7-2, 1KO) from Jackson, Michigan v. Miguel Buendia (7-1-1, 4KO’s) from Fort Worth, Texas. 6 ROUNDS: 130 lbs.
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