By Ricardo Ibarra
Heavy-handed Pacific Northwest banger Steven “Hands of Gold” Villalobos (4-0, 4 KOs) will look to add a fifth consecutive win on Saturday night at the Mount Baker Theater in Bellingham, Washington, facing off with Idaho’s Vince Morales in a four round Jr. middleweight fight. The bout will be one of four boxing contests featured on Avelar/Galeas Promotions’ inaugural ‘Fight Night Championship,’ which will have both boxing and MMA on the card.
Villalobos, of Burlington, Washington, has scored all four of his wins by knockout and all within the first round. The twenty-six year old from Burlington, Washington started boxing only two years ago and had a relatively short yet successful amateur career, claiming a Tacoma Golden Gloves championship in 2016. He turned pro last September with a first round knockout of Colby Grayson and has stayed fairly busy since, fighting three times in 2017. He last fought on June 24th, scoring an impressive first round TKO over William Fernandez.
Morales, who will be making his pro boxing debut, comes into the fight with a professional MMA record of 6-1, 4 KOs, and is on a four fight win streak in that sport.
Also on the card, Bellingham’s own Kevin Torres (3-0-1, 3 KOs) will take a step up in competition, squaring off with experienced boxer-slugger Sean Gee (4-6), of Portland, Oregon, in a fight that promises to deliver fireworks. Torres, a skilled aggressor with good power, has notched each one of his wins within the first round. He fought twice last month, scoring a first round stoppage of Jesse Barich on June 3rd, and a first round KO of Josh Solis on June 24th. Gee, who has a good set of boxing skills but is prone to slugging it out when pressed, rebounded from a three fight losing streak in his last fight this past January, claiming a five round split decision victory over Jacob Szilasi. They’ll meet in a four rounder in the Jr. middleweight division.
Rounding out the remainder of the boxing portion of the show will be Lacey, Washington’s Jared Teer (2-6) against Pendleton, Oregon’s Justin A. Hubbard in a four round Jr. middleweight match-up; and Justin Milani (1-5), of Pendleton, taking on Moses Lake, Washington’s Jared Torgeson (0-3) in a four round heavyweight fight.
A total of ten fights are expected with the rest of the line-up being MMA. Doors will open at 6 p.m. with the first fight set to start at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at the Mount Baker Theater box office or online at http://www.mountbakertheatre.com/shows/fight-night-championship/