BANTAMWEIGHT TITLE ON THE LINE AT PFC 3
Posted on | July 11, 2007 | 1 Comment
Electric bantamweight title tilt to highlight PFC 3
LEMOORE, CA — Sacramento bantamweight David Espinosa has quickly become one of the Palace Fighting Championship’s favorite fighters.
“Espinosa might as well be renamed Explosivnosa. He’s a great athlete, very competitive and seems to never run out of energy,” Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino Entertainment Director Christian Printup said. “His game is a lot like Urijah Faber’s and considering the amount of time they’ve trained together that’s not surprising.”
Espinosa appeared on the first two PFC cards and won in convincing fashion both times. At PFC 1 he stopped Sacramento’s Nelson Ocampo (0-1) by rear-naked choke in the second round and then in March at PFC 2 defeated rugged veteran Ed Tomaselli (3-3) of Albuquerque, New Mexico by technical knockout in the first round.
So, Espinosa (3-0) was a likely choice when the PFC put the bantamweight title on the line for the July 19th “Step Up” card at the Tachi Palace Hotel and Casino in Lemoore.
The surprise came with the selection of Porterville’s Shawn Klarcyk, who is coming off a loss to Merced’s Brain Granados in March at Gladiator Challenge.
“Shawn Klarcyk is probably the most underrated, sleeper out there in the bantamweight division,” Printup said. “He’s an amazing grappler and wrestler and is very much like Tyson Griffin was when he fought as a 145 pounder. Klarcyk is huge for the bantamweight division.”
Prior to the loss, Klarcyk (5-1) rattled off five victories in the span of a year and was being hyped as one of the top bantamweight fighters in California.
“This is the best possible bantamweight fight for the Championship. Both guys are young, talented and hungry,” Printup said. “They both know whoever wins this fight is going to be able to pay their bills with more ease every month. That has a way to motivate people.”
The pair have very similar in styles and are expecting a similar fight to come to fruition.
“He has a good record that shows he’s not afraid to finish the fight. With his wrestling background I’m confident he’ll come in shape,” Espinosa said. “As far as I know he didn’t wrestle competitively beyond high school. As a Division 1 wrestler, I think I’ll have the edge in the clinch and on the ground. But I plan to hit him and hit him hard.”
“David is 3-0, and comes from a great team, training with Urijah Faber. I am sure he is going to be well conditioned and as eager to win the belt as I am,” Klarcyk said.
All championship fights are five, 3-minute rounds.
“It’s hard to say how I see the fight turning out, there are a lot of things that can happen in a fight,” Klarcyk said “Just like any one else, I am hoping to bring the belt home, and I will be ready to go the distance to achieve that.”
Espinosa can only envision the fight finishing one way.
“With a gold belt around my waste,” he said.
“The PFC is awesome. They treat the fighters like family over there. They put on an awesome show and continue to bring in talented fighters,” Espinosa added.
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.
— Las Vegas’ Angelo Antuna (4-0) challenges Palmdale’s Seth Dikun in a featherweight fight.
— 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).
—In a last minute addition to the card, Brazils’ Cleverson Dezonet (1-1) will meet Visalia’s Bobby Rivas, who will be making his professional debut, in a welterweight bout.
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.
Doors open for the fights on Thursday, July 19th at 5:30 p.m. with the first fight slated for 6:30 p.m.
For more breaking PFC news log on to www.palacefightingchampionship.com.