“I have never trained harder than I have for this fight. It’s going to be an exciting fight. That’s what I want.”
23-year-old Buffalo welterweight Vincent Arroyo (10-1, 7 KOs) is practically chomping at the bit to get at his next opponent.
The power-punching Arroyo will face 6′ 3″ welterweight up-and-comer Willie Nelson (16-0-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round televised bout on Showtime’s fantastic ShoBox “The New Generation” Triple Header entitled “Rumble on the Rio” from the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas.
“Training is going very well for me and I’m excited about this fight coming up because it’s a chance for me to show people what I’ve got,” says Arroyo in a tone of voice reflecting intensely focused determination. “I want to test my will and my boxing skills and this is a good fight to do it in. I want to see what he’s got. He better have a lot. They call me “Vinsanity” for a reason.”
Arroyo had been cruising up the welterweight ranks and scoring some impressive victories along the way before running into fellow prospect Michael Dallas Jr in September 2009. Claiming he wasn’t fully prepared for the fight, Arroyo put in a listless performance while losing a unanimous decision.
But then in his next fight, Arroyo brutalized a very promising fighter named Jeremy Bryan, stopping him in eight painful rounds. For the pre-Michael Dallas Arroyo, it was business as usual, but to those who had seen him in that fight, beating Bryan was a tremendous upset.
“I took what he threw at me and I just realized if this is the best he could do he was in trouble,” recounts Arroyo. “It was just a matter of time and me doing what I’m supposed to do. I learned how to dig deep in that fight and from now on, I’m not going to stop pushing.”
Arroyo says Nelson’s tremendous height isn’t going to matter when the two fight.
“Height doesn’t do anything. I’m a warrior. If I come to get you, height won’t save you. I know they say he’s the best young 147 pounder and stuff like that and I know he can switch stances. I heard he can crack a bit too. He’s very good fighting from the outside, but it doesn’t matter. He’s going to be in with Vincent Arroyo and that’s a big mistake.”
Arroyo says aside from his vaunted punching power, he has many other assets he can employ in the ring. “People have considered me a puncher since I was 12 and knocking kids out in the amateurs. I’m aggressive. I have many skills I can bring out. I can do anything.
Manager Steve Nelson says he has tremendous confidence in his fighter heading into the April 9 showdown. “Vincent has been sensational except for the aberration of the Michael Dallas fight. And in that fight, the only one who got hurt was Michael Dallas – just a little too late. If you look at the two fighters’ records, Vincent has fought against much tougher competition and he has completed many of his fights with pretty sensational knockouts. Nelson Romine was considered a pretty good prospect: Vincent retired him. Jeremy Bryan had one more fight after Vincent and he’s now retired. He was a shell of himself after facing Vincent. Vincent scores the kinds of knockouts you see in movies.”
Tickets for Rumble on the Rio are priced at $25, $35, $45, & $75 (facility fees not included) and are available at the LEA box office, various H.E.B. locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000, or visit www.ticketmaster.com. Doors at 7pm first bout at 8pm. All bouts subject to change.
For more information, visit learena.com, keeppunching.com or call the LEA at956-791-9192.
