LAS VEGAS NATIVE ANTUNA READY TO BATTLE
Posted on | July 6, 2007 | 1 Comment
It’s payback time for Antuna
LEMOORE — He was a high school state wrestling champion and an All-American that had scholarship offers lined up from some of the top colleges in the country.
But Las Vegas’ Angelo Antuna was never able to see his dreams realized.
Instead the ultra-talented wrestler, who once had friends pay grown men twice his size to fight him, is now getting paid to do what he loves — FIGHT.
“This is the only thing that I’m good at,” said Antuna (4-0), who will make is Palace Fighting Championship debut at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino on July 19th.
“I had my dreams crushed back in high school and now I’m taking that out on people,” he added.
During Antuna’s senior year at Centennial High, he was linked to the notorious “311 boyz”. Antuna was not part of the gang that was described as middle-to-upper-class youths that engaged in numerous violent acts in northwest Las Vegas.
The “311 boyz” gained national notoriety when video footage was obtained by Las Vegas police of several back-yard style fights and several other crimes. Among some of the footage was that of Antuna fighting.
“I got in a lot, a lot of fights growing up,” Antuna said. “I’ve been in a lot of trouble. I’m just not going to fight on the street for free anymore.”
Instead he takes on Palmdale’s Seth Dikun (1-1) in a featherweight bout on the “Step Up” card. Doors open for the 16-fight event at 5:30 p.m. with bouts slated to begin at 6:30 p.m.
“I’ve been promoting MMA and boxing for over six years and I’ve identified a lot of guys with great talent. With Antuna, the physical side is there, what separates fighters is their mental approach to the game,” said Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Entertainment Director Christian Printup. “From what I’ve seen of Angelo, he is a kid that can ascend to the highest level of the sport but that’ll depend on how he handles pressure situations.”
Early on in his career, Antuna has handled the pressure with ease, recording four first-round victories. Most recently Antuna won by submission over Kevin Ross at Tuff-N-Uff 1 in December of 2006.
“I love Las Vegas. A lot of people come out to see me fight here. I can really pack a whole arena here,” Antuna said. “I’m really an explosive fighter and all my fights end really early.”
Antuna is expected to make a highly competitive 145-pound division that much tougher.
“Angelo is very impressive. He is very aggressive; his wrestling is as good as any 145 pounder I’ve ever seen… bar none. The difference is his size. He’s very big for a 145 pounder and his stand up is sharp and explosive,” Printup said. “I see great matchups for Angelo in the PFC and he is a guy who can take it to the next level and not just get there, he can make an impression.”
Antuna is with a great team at LA Boxing with Kevin Barry.
“This kid is a killer,” Barry said. “He grew up tough. He fought his way to school and all the way home most days and he’s a little guy. I can’t wait until people see what this kid can do.”
PFC 3 “Step up” is completely sold out for the third consecutive time and is the fastest sellout in Central Valley MMA history.
The card features a pair of championship exciting bouts. Sacramento’s Dave Espinosa (3-0) takes on Porterville’s Shawn Klarzcyk (5-1) for the vacant bantamweight championship and Oroville’s Shawn Bias (10-4) challenges Minnesota’s Aaron Maldonado (4-0) for the vacant featherweight crown.
In the main event, Lemoore’s Chris Botelho (4-2) takes on Bakersfield’s Josh McCartney (1-1) in a welterweight eliminator.
In other bouts:
— Fresno’s Casey Olson (4-1) takes on Stockton’s Brandon Jinnies (2-5) in a lightweight bout.
— Lemoore’s Kenny Ento (6-2) fights Palika Drummondo (2-3) at middleweight.
— Calousa’s Ruben Villareal (11-13-3) takes on Tulare’s Rafael Del Real (4-5) in a heavyweight bout.
— Las Vegas’ Dewey Cooper and Adam Smith of Venice Beach are slated to tangle in their pro debuts at light heavyweight.
— In a welterweight fight, Lemoore’s Mickey Martinez (2-0-1) battles Bakersfield’s Robert Breslin (3-6-1).
— Sacramento’s Mark Munoz (0-0) makes his light heavyweight debut against Elk Grove’s Donny Easterling (0-2).
— In a featherweight bout, Fresno’s Ralph Lopez (2-0) meets Sacramento’s Louie Moreno (1-2).
— Lemoore’s Elvis Franco makes his pro featherweight debut against Anahiem’s Scott Brommage (0-2).
— Visalia’s Mike Cook (3-1) tangles with Bakersfield’s Paul Mince (4-3) in a heavyweight bout.
— Coalinga’s Mario Rivera (3-4) meets Bakersfield’s Joe Chaidez (2-0) in the welterweight division.
— Sacramento’s Jeremy Freitag (4-5) returns to action at the Palace against Philadelphia’s Lamont Lister (3-2) in a light heavyweight showdown.
— In a bantamweight eliminator, Jason Georgianna (3-0) takes on Visalia’s Brandon Miller (2-0).
Weigh-ins are slated for Wednesday, July 18th at 4 p.m. at The Den Sports bar located on the third floor of the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino. Fight fans are encouraged to come see their favorite fighters.
For more breaking PFC news log on to www.palacefightingchampionship.com.