Fight Night At the Mirage

With a little over two weeks left before friends and loved ones gather together for their seasonal gift exchange, Top Rank Promotions will be catering to the kid in every boxing fan with a triple threat of high caliber action live from Las Vegas. Spread out like a fine 3-course meal will be 3 boxing telecasts guaranteed to spoil at least one tooth due to so much Sweet Science. The icing on the cake of course will be when living legend Manny Pacquiao faces archrival Juan Manuel Marquez for the 4th time this Saturday but before that PPV war ensues at the
MGM Grand, matches will take place at the Texas Station on Friday headlined by the latest Top Rank acquisition, undefeated rising star Jessie Vargas (20-0 w/9 KOs). However, the  excitement kicks off Thursday at the Mirage Hotel & Casino for “Fight Night at The Mirage” which showcases 2 rising stars in Jose Benavidez and Jesse Magdaleno with the main event fight featuring NABF Lightweight Champion, Raymundo Beltran defending against challenger, Ji-Hoon Kim.

Raymundo “Sugar” Beltran (26-6 w/17 KOs) enters the ring at the Mirage fresh from his memorable upset of previously unbeaten star, Henry Lundy this past summer. That exciting July night on ESPN’s Friday Night Fights saw the 7 to 1 favorite Lundy, in a toe to toe battle with Beltran from opening bell to the final round. After the dust settled following those competitive 10 rounds, one judge had it a draw while the other two both saw the fight in favor of Beltran with a (96-94) margin awarding him the title. Since then, not only has Beltran become a hot item in the light weight division but the Los Mochis, Mexico native has found a new source of motivation to continue moving up the rankings in the 135-pound division. The Phoenix, Arizona resident’s trip to Las Vegas will mark only his second professional outing in Sin City, but this is his first as the headlining fight. Eagerly standing in his way ready to play the role of Grinch will be his opponent, Ji-Hoon Kim (24-7 w/18 KOs). The South Korean rides a 3-fight win streak coming into this fight which includes a unanimous decision victory in May of this year.

The main event that night won’t be the only time to look for a fighter hailing from Arizona. Phoenix’s own Jose Benavidez (17-0 w/13 KOs) will co-main event as he puts his unbeaten streak on the line against Jesus Selig (15-1 w/9 KOs). At 20 years of age Benavidez has set a great pace for himself on the road to success however, it hasn’t come easy with the elevated expectations for today’s prospects. As recent as his last match the young gun felt the heat that the bright lights can truly surprise you with when he was in action 2 months ago on the
un-televised card of the Donaire vs. Nishioka fight at the Home Depot Center in California.  That night, Benavidez was cruising along in a one-sided fight against Pavel Miranda before getting caught in the final round with a perfect counter that visibly rocked him. Luckily, Jose alertly resorted to his footwork and defense in order to make it to the final bell and remain unbeaten.  His opponent on Thursday has only tasted defeat once but is more than happy to share that experience and blemish the perfect record of Benavidez.

Undefeated Las Vegan Jesse Magdaleno (12-0 w/9 KOs) steps into the ring less than a month out from his last outing; a 1st round stoppage of Jose Silveira which resulted from a Magdaleno straight left hand counter that instantly broke Jose’s nose. Shortly thereafter, Jose absorbed some more punches before taking a knee, opting out of the bout. Now, the 21-year old Magdaleno plans to match that November performance with another highlight reel finish to close out the year, possibly adding to his 7 first round KOs. Awaiting the challenge to
defeat Jesse in front of his home crowd will be the equally experienced, Jonathan Arrellano (13-1-1 w/3 KOs). Arrellano has gone the distance for the majority of his wins, so it’s going to be in his best interest to make it into the later rounds, imposing his type fight on Jesse in order to pull off the upset.

With so many early holiday treats available in Las Vegas for boxing enthusiasts this week, Top Rank is wearing their Santa hat in hopes that every fan from casual to religious has something to smile about. There are plenty of options for fight fans to find their fix, so what better than to start off the festivities on December 6th?