Olson takes on Olaf in biggest test of his young career
Posted on | February 8, 2008 | No Comments
LEMOORE, Ca. — On Friday, Feb. 29th Fresno’s Casey Olson will attempt to take a huge step in his mixed martial arts career.
Olson (6-1) is scheduled for a 3-round bout against Ensenada, Mexico’s Olaf Alfonso (5-8), who is one of MMA’s stranger characters.
The bout will be apart of the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino’s explosive night of World Championship Boxing, as Showtime comes to Lemoore for Shobox.
In the main event, reigning IBF Featherweight Champion Robert Guerrero (21-4) takes on Jason Litzau (23-1). Also in the co-main, heavyweight Travis Walker (26-1) will take on T.J. Wilson (12-1).
Olson has won twice in the Palace Fighting Championship, most recently defeating Anaheim’s Scott Brommage by technical knockout at PFC 6 in Jan.
Meanwhile, Alfonso is trying to put a halt to a 6-fight losing streak. Alfonso has been in the cage/ring with some of the best in the business and fought around the world. He is still considered a formidable opponent.
Alfonso’s most recent loss was at PFC 4 in Oct. when he lost to Hesperia’s Thomas Denny (25-16) by unanimous decision.
The bout will be fought under PFC rules — with three, 3-minute rounds.
“I can’t imagine a more compelling fight at this time. Casey Olson is a guy who has unlimited potential, obviously a tremendous wrestling background. His career had stalled somewhat due to medical reasons, but he has gotten through that and has looked great since he’s been back,” said PFC President Christian Printup, who also promotes boxing for the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino.
“Olaf as we all know is a dynamic, energetic and an aggressive fighter. He has that never say die attitude that makes great fights. You look at Olaf and who he has fought; he’s fought Denny, [Alex] Karalexis, [John] Polakowski. He’s fought [Gilbert] Melendez, [Gabe] Ruediger, [Hayato] Sakurai and Razor Rob [McCullough]. The list goes on and on. For Casey this is his chance to step up and show all of his tools and really solidify himself as someone to look out for.”
The bout will be sponsored by the PFC and the second time an MMA bout has been apart of a boxing show at the Palace. Lemoore’s Poppies Martinez (14-4) defeated Taft’s Billy Terry (2-6) by submission in Dec. at the Palace.
Olson, who is known in the MMA circuit, as “The Underdog” will relish in that role against Alfonso.
“Olaf is a veteran and been around a long time. He’s fought a lot of top quality fighters. I remember watching him before I even started fighting. And he’s a goer; he is ready to take the fight in any direction. And he’s dangerous with his hands,” Olson said. “This is definitely the biggest challenge to date. He has fought everywhere, very experienced and knows what it takes to win. He’s well known and an exciting fighter, its the next level for me.”
The lightweight bout will cap a night of boxing and will move one fighter one step closer to a PFC World Title shot.
“Is fighter ‘A’ ready for fighter ‘B’? That’s a great question. That question gets posed all the time. The true answer is you never really know until the bell sounds. In regards to Casey vs. Olaf, they both possess the ability to win this fight,” Printup said. “It’s a tough fight to call, a great match up and I think this fight will come down to two big factors. The first is conditioning, who can go 150 miles per hour for the full three rounds.
Secondly and most importantly, who can impose their will and game plan on the other. I think both guys will have different objectives and strategies and it’ll be a battle of wills for sure to see who can dictate the tempo and style of this fight.”
There’s been no doubt in Alfonso’s fights that he likes to push the action and doesn’t seem to ever run out of gas.
“A fight is a fight. Anything, I mean anything can happen. All I can say is that this is one of the most intriguing and anticipated MMA bouts ever in the Valley and to be able to feature it on a night when we also host Showtime and an IBF Featherweight Championship boxing match. It’s great and another step towards helping traditional boxing fans learn and thereby appreciate MMA.”
Alfonso, like he does for most of his fights, is in seclusion and could not be reached for comment.
Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at tickets.com or at the Tachi Palace gift shop starting at $40.
For more breaking PFC news log on to www.palacefightingchampionship.com