Yamaguchi Falcao vs. Elias Espadas on July 21

Boxingnews24.com

Middleweight contender Yamaguchi Falcao looks to rise in the rankings when he meets WBO Latino champion Elias “Latin Kid” Espadas Saturday, July 21 at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV.

Fighting out of Yucatan, Mexico, Espadas has an impressive 17-3 professional ledger and 12 wins by knockout. Rated 14th by the WBO, Espadas stopped his last six foes, most recently dispatching Felipe Santos Pedroso in three rounds.

Falcao, the WBC’s 9th ranked contender, was scheduled to meet Demetrius Andrade as part of an HBO tripleheader but Andrade withdrew after becoming a promotional free agent.

A bronze medalist for his native Brazil at the 2012 London Olympics, Falcao has a perfect 15-0 record with 7 victories via KO. On March 31, Falcao dominated veteran Richard Gutierrez on ESPN. The smooth-boxing 30-year-old is admittedly disappointed about the Andrade fight falling apart and plans to take out his frustrations on Espadas.

“I was looking forward to the Andrade fight because he’s one of the world’s best but Espadas is a respectable fighter in his own right,” said Falcao, who fights out of Plant City, FL. “I don’t know a ton about him but I lived in Mexico for six years and Mexico has produced many great fighters. I’m going to put on a great performance and show that I’m the much better fighter. My goal is to become middleweight world champion shortly.”

The Falcao-Espadas fight is scheduled for ten rounds and takes place prior to an HBO doubleheader featuring WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Mungia against former titlist Liam Smith and WBO 130 pound champion Alberto Machado defending his belt against unbeaten contender Rafael Mensah.

Tickets starting at $25 are available at the Hard Rock Hotel or by going to https://hardrockhotel.com/las-vegas-entertainment/joint-golden-boy-boxing-2018.php. Doors open at 4 pm local time and fans of all ages are welcome to attend.