Colombia'sYeis Solano will face a new opponent in former Argentine lightweight champion Elias Damian Araujo in an eight-round bout that will open a ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader on Friday, June 21st from WinnaVegas Casino in Sloan, Iowa. Araujo (19-1, 7 KOs) replaces Jose Romero, also of Argentina, who was forced to withdraw from the bout due to an injury. Nicknamed “El Macho,” Araujo, a 31-year-old southpaw from Venado Tuerto, Santa Fe, Argentina, suffered his only pro los to Javier Jose Clavero in an immediate rematch last June. Araujo won the forst encounter. He trains in Coachella with Freddy Fundora, father and trainer of main eventer Sebastian Fundora. In his last outing in January, Araujo stopped veteran Pablo Rodriguez in four rounds.
"I’m excited for this fight,” said Araujo, who is making his United States debut. "My style is aggressive. I have fought four southpaws. I know how to fight them – I like fighting them. I checked out videos of Solano. I think he is going to come to fight. He's training out of Compton, California, so he's going to come more than ready, as well. These are the ingredients for a good show.”
Solano, (14-0, 10 KOs), is not concerned about the last minute opponent change. “It doesn’t matter who I fight. I trust my team and my skills,” he said. “I don’t worry about who is across from me. I would have beaten the first guy and I will beat this guy too. I don’t train to beat one fighter specifically. I train to beat all fighters and I make adjustments in the ring. Some fighters get upset when the opponent changes. Not me. Even if my team says they want me to fight a different guy at the weigh-in, my job stays the same.”
Solano is a hard punching 26-year-old from Monteria, Colombia who started boxing at the age of seven; he amassed an amateur record of 118-12. In 2012, he placed third in the Colombia National Games. In his last fight, he scored a five-round stoppage over Jesus Manuel Sandoval in October 2018. He is currently training at Compton Boxing Gym in Compton, Calif., and is trained by Jose Ponce, Sr. and his son Jose Ponce, Jr.
In the main event, southpaw Sebastian Fundora (12-0, 8 KOs) of Coachella, Calif., faces Hector Zepeda (17-0, 4 KOs) from Tijuana, Mexico in a ten-round junior middleweight bout. In the co-feature, Michel Rivera (15-0, 10 KOs) from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic takes on Mexico’s Rene Tellez Giron (13-0, 7 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight bout. The event is promoted by Sampson Boxing in association with Paco Presents. Tickets are on sale now and available at www.WinnaVegas.com.
