The sound of the boxing bell, the shouts from the crowd, the face off of the rival fighters and the air is charged with excitement. Many residents of the Quad Cities love boxing. There is nothing better than a good match fight for a boxing fan, so get ready for this Saturday night because on September 9 at 7:30 PM live professional boxing is taking Davenport by storm. The main event for this night is Joe Perez will be taking on Kevin Cruz. Mexico VS Puerto Rico. Illinois VS Iowa. East Moline VS Waterloo. This fight will be memorable and it will sure be a pure enjoyment for true boxing fans.
“Perez vs. Cruz is for the super featherweight title,” Jesse Gomez, the promoter from Alien Boi Boxing, explained. “Both guys want to prove they are the best featherweight, it’s a 50/50 fight it will come [down] to who wants it more.”
The boxing event will take place at Danceland located at 501 W 4th St., Davenport, IA. Tickets will be $20 from any local fighter and $25 at the door on the day of the event and $60 for the ringside seat.
The co-main event for the Live Professional Boxing will be a faceoff between Gilbert Venegas Jr. from East Moline vs. Evian Rodriguez from Davenport. Other local fighters that will be fighting that night are Lupe Jimenez from East Moline, Hugo Gutierrez from Moline, Lionel Jimenez from East Moline, Carlos Cabrera from Davenport, Eddie Hamilton from Rock Island, Randy Meade from Davenport and Stephen Edwards from Davenport.
As for the main fight Perez vs. Cruz, Hola America got a chance to talk to one of the fighters, Kevin Cruz. Originally from Puerto Rico, Kevin Cruz moved from Florida to Iowa because his father became a pastor in a church in Hampton, Iowa. He started boxing when he was 15 years old. Cruz explained that since he started getting into trouble and fights his father signed him up for boxing in Waterloo, Iowa.
“So every day we drove 1 hr 10 minutes back [and] forth from Hampton to Waterloo just to train,” Kevin Cruz said. “As an amateur I gathered 87 wins with 7 loses, I became a 5x Iowa golden glove champ, 2x Iowa state champ and 2009 ringside world championship.”
Cruz told that he became professional boxer about 3 years ago.
“I stuck with it because of my family. Now I have a wife and 3 amazing kids,” Cruz added. “They motivate me every day to wake up and go to work, I am a welder. I work 8 hours and go to the gym for 3 hours.”
Cruz also confessed that he trained a lot more when preparing for this fight with Joe Perez.
“We have no other option being I’m going up against a top contender. So we put in hard work everyday,” Cruz said. “Come September 9thour goal is to win the title and come out on top.”
Kevin Cruz is anxious to get on the ring. The way he sees it all the extra training he had to endure was simply to prepare him to win. He will not settle for less. He is ready to show off his skills and put in motion the game plan him and his coaches hatched together.
“We are ready for war,” Cruz declared.
Kevin Cruz added that he is very thankful to Jesse, Phil and Clint for an opportunity to be on the show.
“Without them this opportunity wouldn’t be possible,” Cruz thanks them from the bottom of his heart. “I am grateful for this opportunity.”
It will be a memorable night with many local favorite fighters in the community. Boxing fans get ready for fight night and to start the excitement early come and check out the weigh-ins at Mercado on Fifth at 6 PM on Friday September 8.
Live Professional Boxing with Cruz vs. Perez as the main event will be on Saturday September 9 at 7:30 PM at Danceland located at 501 4th St., Davenport, IA. For questions about tickets call (309) 721-9469. The promoters of this event are Alien Boi Boxing, Calkins Sports and Armor Boxing.
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