MIKE DALLAS JR. STOPS JAVIER CASTRO IN ROUND 6 TO WIN WBO LATINO TITLE

SAN JACINTO, CALIF. (June 22) A determined Mike Dallas Jr. shined brighter than the desert sun that was beating down on the ring set outdoors at Soboba Casino Friday night.  In his fourth consecutive fight on ESPN "Friday Night Fights" Dallas locked leathers with Javier Castro and displayed blazingly fast hand-speed throughout the title fight, which marked Dallas' first 12-round dance. 

In round 6, Dallas caught his opponent with a heavy left and after seeing Castro stunned, unleashed a relentless assault forcing the referee to step in and stop the bout.  Analyst Teddy Atlas was quick to comment on Dallas' maturing as a fighter and pointing out how he was displaying great boxing prowess as he switched to the body and avoided Castro's attempts to clinch.

The pride of Bakersfield, Dallas is trained by the 2011 Boxing Writer's Association of Americas (BWAA) Trainer of the Year, Virgil Hunter and managed by the "First Lady of Boxing" Jackie Kallen.  The "Silent Assassin" made plenty of noise on this night, becoming the WBO Latino Jr. Welterweight Champion and improving to 19-2-1, with 8 KO's in the process.

Talented trainer Virgil Hunter (who also trains WBA/WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Andre Ward) went 2-0 on the evening when he also called the shots for Sacramento's Brandon Gonzales in the co-main event for his impressive win over Elie Augustama (6-5, 3 KOs).  Gonzales improved to 16-0, with 10 KO's in his 8-round unanimous shutout victory.

Augustama re-opened a cut above the left eye of Gonzales that he had sustained during training and almost forced him to withdraw from the bout.  Gonzales was able to avoid stitches, allowing him to continue training and ultimately outclass his opponent to remain unbeaten.

The event, which was promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions, also featured another talented young star from Sacramento in Guy Robb, who improved to 8-1, 4 KOs after a knockout victory over Rodrigo Aranda at 2:22 of round 5.

Former Olympian Javier Molina engaged in an all-out brawl with Octavio Navarez and scored a TKO3 victory, improving to 11-1 with 5 knockouts. 

*Photo Credit: Jan Sanders / Goossen Tutor Promotions

6 QUESTIONS WITH MIKE DALLAS, JR. "THE SILENT ASSASSIN" LOOKS TO SHOOT DOWN JAVIER CASTRO JUNE 22 AT SOBOBA IN ESPN "FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS" MAIN EVENT

SHERMAN OAKS, CA (June 13) - With a week to go before he steps up to challenge #4-ranked WBO Latino Junior Welterweight Champion Javier Castro for his international title belt at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA - with a possible world title opportunity for the winner lying in the balance - Mike Dallas, Jr. took time out to discuss his upcoming June 22nd ESPN "Friday Night Fights" main event.

This fight will mark the fourth straight appearance on ESPN for the 25-year old Bakersfield, CA native known as "The Silent Assassin."  

1.      What are your thoughts on headlining an ESPN "Friday Night Fights" telecast with a possible world title fight at stake?

MD:     "I look at this as a great opportunity for me to set myself up in a position to realize my dream of winning a world title.  This will be my fourth straight time fighting on ESPN, and I have had mixed results so far.  I know I am taking a step up in competition against a top five fighter in Castro, but I believe I am focused, prepared and ready for the challenge".

2.      You rebounded nicely versus Miguel Gonzalez after two tough losses.  How is your mindset going into this fight against one of the world's premier 140 pounders?

MD:     "I'm feeling great both physically and mentally.  I'm ready for this challenge.  I'm looking forward to putting on a good performance in this fight and getting better and better with each fight."

3.      How has training camp gone for you?

MD:     "I've been training in Oakland with Virgil Hunter and it has been going good. Virgil is a great teacher and has me well prepared.  This will be our third fight together and I learn more and more from him every day."

4.      Compare your boxing style to Castro's.

MD:     "I am more of a boxer and have a bigger variety of weapons than he does.  He is strictly a power puncher and has knocked out his last three opponents, so he is dangerous.  I possess more speed and better defense.  This is a classic matchup of power versus speed and should make for an exciting fight."

5.       What would be the significance of a win over a Top 5 opponent such as Javier Castro?

MD:      It would be me taking a major step forward toward realizing my goal of fighting for - and winning - a world title and being recognized as the best junior welterweight in the world."

6.      What is your prediction on the fight?

MD:     "I am not going to make any prediction.  All I can say is that I am going out to box and just win."

The six-bout event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Soboba Casino.  The Castro-Dallas bout is being promoted in association with Promociones Del Pueblo.

Tickets priced at $30, $25, $20 & $10 are now on sale and can be purchased at the Soboba box office or by calling the hotline at (866) 476-2622. Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745- 3000 or online at ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 5:00 and the event will air live on ESPN 2, ESPN 3 and ESPN Deportes at 6:00 p.m. PT.

Javier Castro takes on Mike Dallas, Jr. in WBO Latino Title Fight on ESPN "Friday Night Fights"

JAVIER CASTRO VS. MIKE DALLAS JR. 

WBO LATINO JR. WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP BOUT

 FRIDAY - JUNE 22 - ESPN 

SOBOBA CASINO - SAN JACINTO, CA 

SHERMAN OAKS, CA (May 25) - Every fighter dreams of winning a world championship belt. Mike Dallas Jr. and Javier Castro will take a step closer to realizing that dream on June 22 when they battle it out in a WBO Latino Junior Welterweight Championship fight televised on ESPN's "Friday Night Fights" at the Soboba Casino in San Jacinto, CA.

The championship bout headlines a card also featuring hot California prospect, and undefeated middleweight, Brandon Gonzales. The event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with Soboba Casino. The Castro-Dallas bout is being promoted in association with Promociones Del Pueblo.

Tickets priced at $30, $25, $20 & $10 go on sale Friday, June 1 and can be purchased at the Soboba box office or by calling the hotline at (866) 476-2622. Tickets are also available by calling Ticketmaster at (800) 745- 3000 or online at ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 5:00 and the event will air live on ESPN 2, ESPN 3 and ESPN Deportes at 6:00 p.m. PT.

The #4 WBO world rated jr. welterweight and Latino Champion, Castro (27-4, 22 KOs), traveled to Florida June 24, 2011 to take on local favorite and top ten-rated Jesus Pabon. Castro stunned the junior welterweight contender with a second round knockout to win the Championship.

In October 2011, Castro again traveled to Puerto Rico to take on another local contender in Javier Monserrate, dropping the Puerto Rican favorite twice before stopping him in sixth round in his first defense of his newly won WBO Latino title.

Castro, who lives in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, earned his third consecutive victory April 28, 2012 against veteran Carlos Urias, when he stopped him in the 2nd round.

"Another hometown favorite will go down on June 22. Dallas will not be able to withstand my knockout power," said a confident Castro.

With Castro's #4 rating at stake against Dallas, and Timothy Bradley, the WBO Jr. welterweight champion moving up in weight when he faces Manny Pacquiao June 9, puts the winner of Castro-Dallas in line for a possible shot at the World Championship.

Dallas Jr. (18-2-1, 7 KOs) shined recently in the headline spot on an ESPN "Friday Night Fights" card when he faced Miguel Gonzalez on February 17, 2012. The fight was the first ever boxing event held at the University of Texas at Arlington's brand new College Park Center, which gave the Texas fans and an ESPN audience a glimpse of the new and improved Mike Dallas under new trainer Virgil Hunter, the Boxing Writers Athletic Association 2011 "Trainer of the Year" and the longtime trainer of Andre Ward.

Despite a cut above his left eye that was opened up by an accidental clash of heads in the opening rounds, Dallas displayed great foot and hand speed and landed several quick one-two combos on his way to a unanimous decision victory with scorecards.

"I feel a lot smarter and aware of what needs to be done as the fight progresses since being with the "Zen Master" Hunter, Dallas said. I believe with this confidence, things are going to keep getting better. Castro has power, but its nothing new to me, I'll be ready to show some pop too."

In addition to his promoter, Dan Goossen, Dallas is managed by the "First Lady of Boxing," Jackie Kallen, one of the most successful managers in the sport whose life was portrayed in the movie "Against the Ropes" by Meg Ryan.

Hunter, who is coming off of an extremely successful year with his roster of fighters, which is headlined by the WBA and WBC Super Middleweight World Champion and the Boxing Writers Athletic Association 2011 "Fighter of the Year" Ward, will also be in the corner with another one of his prospects, Brandon Gonzales.

Gonzales returns to the ring for the first time since outpointing Ossie Duran (26-9-2, 10 KOs) at Bally's in Atlantic City on October 28th of last year. A hamstring injury in his preparation for a bout in January of this year sidelined the undefeated Gonzales (15-0-1, 10 KOs) until it had fully healed.

"I'm very excited to get back in the ring," said an eager Gonzales. "The time away has built up a hunger inside of me. At this point we're completely past the injury, it was a sprain in my hamstring. I tried to train on it, but as soon as it started to mess with my boxing, we knew there was nothing I could do. I stayed off of it for four or five weeks and rehabbed it properly. It was unfortunate that it happened when it did, but it was a good thing that its given me more time to mesh with Virgil and continue working and improving on everything, so I'm definitely expecting to put forth a good performance this time out."

"ESPN has become known as the network featuring fighters one-step away from stardom, and both of these bouts place the winner closer to the big money fights," said promoter Dan Goossen.

"The Tribe is pleased to bring this exciting world-class event to our local community, and to sports fans worldwide via an internationally televised audience," said Mike Hiles, Tribal Information Officer for the Soboba Band of Luiseño Indians.