Antonio Escalante's return to familiarity

Escalante's return to familiarity

Mark Ortega

Leave-it-in-the-ring.com

March 22, 2011

This weekend's Telefutura Solo Boxeo main event will see a familiar face to its airwaves, as the always exciting Antonio Escalante [24-3, 15 KOs] returns to the network that helped build him to take on the tough Alejandro Perez [14-2-1, 9 KOs] in a bout scheduled for ten rounds.

Escalante, who last fought on Telefutura against veteran trial horse Edel Ruiz last August, will fight without the benefit of his fanbase in El Paso, Texas as he travels to the west coast and the now Solo Boxeo familiar Fairfield Sports Center in Fairfield, California.

Escalante is coming off a third-round knockout loss at the hands of former 122-pound champion Daniel Ponce de Leon in a major step up and will look to rebound in a fight that is far from a sure win.

Those familiar with Solo Boxeo over the years are certainly fond of Escalante, who has provided the program with a number of wars over the early portion of his career.

His January 2006 battle with Jose Hernandez saw Escalante drop the game gatekeeper twice while also tasting the canvas once in a thrilling fight that saw Escalante walk away with the victory. Nearly a year to the day later on the same network, Escalante suffered an eighth-round knockout defeat at the hands of a faded Mauricio Pastrana, who delivered his final hurrah with an upset knockout of the heavily favored Escalante. Despite it being a defeat, it was a bombs away affair that would earn Escalante quite a following.

Following the defeat, Escalante was matched more carefully and earned wins over solid opposition like Mike Oliver [TKO3], Gary Stark, Jr. [TKO3], and Cornelius Lock [UD10] before earning an ESPN Friday Night Fights headlining spot against Miguel Roman last February.

The grudge match was hailed as an early Fight of the Year candidate and featured a rivalry that began in the two fighter's youths on the streets of Mexico. Escalante established himself as must-see television.

Despite featuring three losses on his ledger, Escalante is still only 25 years old and has the style that should earn him another big opportunity or three down the road. Escalante is one of those fighters that proves you can lose in brutal fashion and come back and give some great entertainment. This time he will be doing it on the road and the Northern California boxing fanbase will be in for a treat.

Escalante has been a good barometer on the building of young fighters by promotional giant Golden Boy Promotions. Was he thrown to the wolves too soon after struggling with a fringe contender like Roman? Escalante was thrown in with the exact style that could capitalize on his weaknesses, though the bout promised to be a barnburner.

If Escalante can get back on track with a win Friday, there are still tons of fights out there for him that could prove to be very lucrative, including a possible showdown with supposedly newly-signed Golden Boy stablemate Nonito Donaire, Jr., who hails out of San Leandro, California, which is not far from the Fairfield venue that Escalante will be competing at.

Escalante is one of the few guys that could be used as an opponent for Donaire as Golden Boy just does not control much stake from 118 to 126 pounds. If Abner Mares doesn't get by Joseph Agbeko in the Showtime bantamweight tournament final, he surely couldn't be used as an opponent for Donaire. If Donaire is able to climb the ladder to 126, Top Rank controls the moneymakers in the division in Yuriorkis Gamboa and Juan Manuel Lopez and it leaves Escalante as a possible opponent.

Escalante still has a bit of time to grow into himself as a fighter, being in his mid-20's. It's a matter of whether or not Golden Boy pushes him into deep waters sooner rather than later or if they allow him to rebuild his confidence, which is the purpose Valdez should serve Friday.

Win or lose, if you're getting an Antonio Escalante fight, you're likely getting some excitement. There's no guarantee that he will ever hoist championship gold, but its as close to being one that when he steps between the ropes you are getting your money's worth.