By Ricardo Ibarra
Looking to keep his unblemished ledger intact, Jr. lightweight prospect Giovanni Cabrera-Mioletti (12-0, 3 KOs) will step into the ring in search of his thirteenth consecutive win on Saturday night at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. The promising twenty-four-year-old will take on one-time interim world title challenger Carlos Padilla (16-7-1, 10 KOs) in a ten round bout, headlining the 117th installment of Brian Halquist Productions’ long-running ‘Battle at the Boat’ series.
Cabrera-Mioletti, a Seattle native who now fights out of Chicago, has had a strong 2018 so far, notching three impressive wins over solid opposition. He kicked off the year defeating former USBA lightweight title holder Tyrone Harris by unanimous decision in January and followed that up two months later scoring arguably the most impressive win of his short career, stopping then undefeated fellow prospect Ray Lampkin in the second round. His last win came in June when he scored a ten round unanimous decision win over Elijah Pierce, who was also unbeaten at the time. He’ll look to keep that momentum going against an experienced foe.
Columbia’s Carlos Padilla has been a pro for over eight years and faced some tough practitioners along the way. His most notable opportunity came in 2015 when he took on Emanuel Lopez for the interim WBA super featherweight title, losing in his title challenge via 9th round TKO. More recently the Columbian’s been in a bit of a slump, losing three in a row. In his most recent fight he was stopped by Ladarius Miller in the first round this past February.
Cabrera-Mioletti and Padilla will meet at the 130-pound limit in the ten round main event. Promoter Brian Halquist and matchmaker Andy Nance have lined up an intriguing five-fight undercard, featuring local talent.
In a five round welterweight showdown, Yakima, Washington’s Andres Reyes (7-3-1, 2 KOs) will face-off with Portland’s Sean Gee (4-8). Reyes, who hasn’t fought in a year, is hoping to rebound after a decision loss to Andre Keys last September. Gee, meanwhile, will look to break a two-fight losing streak, which began last November with a decision loss to Andre Keys. In his most recent fight, Gee lost by sixth round TKO to undefeated Californian Willie Shaw.
Seattle’s Jorge Linares (4-1, 3 KOs) will take on Shae Green (1-0-1), of nearby Kent, Washington, in a five round Jr. welterweight bout. Linares has quickly become a crowd favorite in Tacoma, delivering some memorable fights over the past year, due in large part to his come forward style and vulnerable defense. He last fought in June, claiming a five round unanimous decision win over Antonio Neal. In Green’s last outing, he fought to a four round draw against Niko McFarland.
Making up the remainder of the card will be a four round Jr. welterweight tilt between Renton, Washington’s Cris Reyes (3-0, 2 KOs) and Keith Wolf (0-1), of Sunnyside, Washington; a four round 140-pound match-up between pro debuters Andres Garcia Albaca and Luis De Alba; and in a Jr. lightweight contest also scheduled for four rounds, Juan Gomez (1-0, 1 KO) will take on Gilberto Duran (1-0, 1 KO).
The doors to the I-5 showroom at the Emerald Queen Casino will open at 7 p.m. with the first fight schedule to kick off the show at 8 p.m. Tickets are available at the EQC box office and all Ticketmaster outlets. For more information visit www.halquistproductions.com and the Battle at the Boat Facebook page.