By Ricardo Ibarra
Tacoma, Washington’s Marquice “Tree” Weston (10-1-1, 6 KOs) will step back into the ring in search of his fourth consecutive win on Saturday night at the Green River Conference and Event Center in Auburn, Washington, facing off with Steven Lyons (3-1) in the six round main event of Pacific Northwest Professional Boxing Promotions’ stacked nine-bout card.
The resurging Northwest cruiserweight prospect has been on a roll over the past year, rebounding from his first pro loss last December with three assertive knockout wins. In his most recent assignment, the 6’6” tall Weston disposed of Juan Reyna inside one round with a debilitating body shot.
Lyons, of Larose, Louisiana, is coming off a decision win over Santino Turnbow in his last fight this past March.
“This is going to be a really good main event,” said promoter Keith Weir of the match-up. “Marquice has been on a good run with some solid wins, recently. He’s looking to improve and keep building his career in the right direction, but he’s fighting a tough guy. Lyons is coming to bring it. He’s been in tough, beating some unbeaten guys, and his only loss was to an unbeaten fighter. I think it should be a really good fight.”
Weston and Lyons will square off in a six rounder fought at the 200 pound limit. An additional eight fights featuring regional talent will make up the rest of the schedule.
The always exciting Steven “Hands of Gold” Villalobos (5-0, 4 KOs) will look to continue his five-fight unbeaten run, taking on Spokane’s Cory Vom Baur (2-5) in the four round semi-main event of the card. Villalobos, of Burlington, Washington, has had a solid start to his career since turning pro in September of last year, scoring all but one of his wins by knockout. In his only fight to reach the scorecards, Villalobos claimed a dominant decision win over tough Montana journeyman Daniel Gonzalez in July. Vom Baur, meanwhile, has been off for over a year. He last fought in June of 2016 losing to David Mijares. The fight will take place in the Jr. middleweight division.
Another aggressive-minded Jr. middleweight will also be in action as Bellingham, Washington’s Kevin Torres (5-0-1, 5 KOs) squares off with Kevin Davila (1-5-2), of Puyallup, Washington, in a four rounder. The heavy-handed Torres has scored each of his wins inside the distance, with only one going past the first round. He scored a particularly vicious win in his last fight, knocking out Javier Olchea with a picture-perfect left hook in the first round in August. Davila last fought a month ago, losing to Troy Wohosky by decision.
Former collegiate amateur champion Richard Vansiclen (4-0, 3 KOs) will face off with fellow Northwest amateur stand-out Alex Cazak in a four round light heavyweight match-up. Vansiclen has shown a solid skill-set in his first four pro fights. He last fought in June, stopping Justin Milani in the second round. Cazak, a former Golden Gloves champion, will be making his pro debut.
Former Golden Gloves champion Nicholas Jefferson (1-0, 1 KO) will look for his second win in the paid ranks, taking on Ramel Snegur (1-1-1) in a welterweight bout. Jefferson had been scheduled to fight last month in Oregon, but his fight was cancelled the day of when his opponent failed a pre-fight test. He made his pro debut in June, knocking out Alex Eastman in one. Snegur had his last bout in February, fighting to a four round majority draw against Kevin Torres.
In a super middleweight match-up that promises to deliver fireworks, Yakima’s Carlos Villanueva (2-2) faces John Peak (1-0, 1 KO), of Bonney Lake, Washington in a four round scrap. Villanueva, who has fought his career at cruiserweight and above, is making the move down to 168 pounds where he and his team feel he’ll be more effective. He last fought in June, putting up a game but losing effort against Marquice Weston. Peak made his pro debut in February, coming back from an early knockdown to stop Justin Chappell in the first.
Rounding out the rest of the line-up will be Kevin Roberson (0-1) facing Justin Milani (1-5) in a cruiserweight tilt; Sebastian Baltazar and Marcos Flores making their pro debuts against each other in a 122-pound contest; and pro debuting Chris Reyes in a welterweight fight against Johnathan Arias (2-2, 1 KO).
“This is going to be a great night at the fights,” said Weir of the event. “We’d been looking at other places to have a show. I think Auburn’s is going to be great venue for us. It’s a little closer to Seattle, so I think it’ll bring a bigger crowd. We’ve got nine fights altogether and it’s a great card. We’ve got some really promising young Northwest prospects in some tough fights. It’s going to be a solid card.”
Doors to ‘Fight Night Fright Night’ open at 5 p.m. with the first bell set to ring at 6 p.m. Tickets are available online at https://www.eventbrite.com/e/fight-night-fright-night-brawl-5-tickets-37360553421 The weigh-ins will be open to the public and held on Friday at 5 p.m. at the Iron Horse Casino in Auburn. For more information visit PNW Professional Boxing Promotions’ Facebook page.