By Ricardo Ibarra
A pair of heavy-handed, unbeaten upstarts will square off this Saturday at the Emerald Queen Casino in Tacoma, Washington. In what has the potential to be an explosive encounter, fast rising local Cris Reyes (7-0, 6 KOs) will take on Las Vegas’ Manuel Monteiro (7-0, 7 KOs) in a scheduled ten rounder, capping off Brian Halquist Productions’ 123rd edition of the long-running ‘Battle at the Boat’ series.
The fight had been scheduled as the five round semi-main event, but late last week the original headline contest between cruiserweights Marquice Weston and Joe Jones had to be scrapped after Weston suffered a hand injury, leading to the last minute adjustment to the card.
Reyes, an aggressive fighter with a strong local following, has gained in popularity and reputation since entering the paid ranks in October of 2017. Scoring seven wins in his first two years as a pro, the Renton, Washington fighter has looked impressive, stopping all but one of his opponents inside the distance, with only his pro debut going to the cards. In his last fight he headlined for the first time at the Emerald Queen, putting on a vicious display in stopping California’s Lennard Davis in one round.
Monteiro, meanwhile, has claimed every one of his pro wins inside the distance. He last fought in June, knocking out Ramon Tadeo Franco in two. The victory was his third knockout of the year. Reyes and Monteiro will meet at 147 lbs. Five additional bouts will round out the rest of the card.
In the semi-main event, Andres Garcia Abarca (2-2) will take on Kevin Davila (3-8-2, 1 KO) in a five round contest. Abarca is looking to score his second straight win after narrowly defeating the previously unbeaten Daquan Wyatt on August 3rd in a close split decision victory. Prior to that, Abarca had been on a two-fight losing run, dropping decisions to Charon Spain (UD4) and Chris Johnson (MD 4). Davila, who has shown the ability to be a much better fighter than his record would suggest, is coming off a surprising four round majority decision win over Jorge Linares Montejo in April, his third career win in thirteen fights. The bout will take place in the welterweight division.
In what could be a bombs away heavyweight match-up, Nick Mills (1-0, 1 KO), of Renton, Washington, will battle Olympia, Washington’s Dylan Potter (1-0). Both fighters come from mixed martial arts backgrounds and have shown an inclination to brawl in their respective boxing appearances. The fight is scheduled for four rounds.
Also on the card, Sua Tuani will make his pro debut against Nick Coughran (0-1) in a cruiserweight match-up; Willie Hernandez Gomez (1-0, 1 KO), fresh off his one round blitz of Ian King in his pro debut one month ago, will face Hamilton Ash (0-3) in a welterweight tilt; and lastly, William Parra-Smith (3-3, 3 KOs) will battle the pro debuting Luis Alverado in a Jr. lightweight bout.
Doors to the Emerald Queen Casino I-5 showroom will open at 6 p.m. with the first fight set to begin at 7 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.