Warrior's Boxing Press Release: Junior welterweight prospect Juan Urango will battle rugged veteran Francisco Campos in a twelve-round junior welterweight clash at the Grand Ballroom of the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida on April 22, 2005. Two regional belts will be at stake. Warrior’s Boxing Promotions, Inc. will present the latest installment of the “Hard Knocks at The Hard Rock” series which will co-feature Boxingtalk's #16 super middleweight contender, Syd Vanderpool, who will look to stay on the road to a title shot against Colombian Alejandro Berrio in a light heavyweight ten rounder.
Born in Monteria, Colombia, where he later served in the Armed Forces, Urango (14-0-1, 11 KOs) has always been a winner. A dominant amateur with five national championships to his credit, as well as an amateur win over current WBO titlist Miguel Cotto, “El Mello” is always one step ahead of his foes with his relentless pressure and knockout power in either hand. As a professional, Urango has not skipped a beat, and has quickly showed potential to become a future champion. In his last bout, on December 16, 2004, Urango registered a devastating two round stoppage of normally durable Ubaldo Hernandez, who had lasted the distance with Vivian Harris and Juan Diaz and who also had stopped Ebo Elder in a single round. His lone draw came in a tough bout with another top prospect, Mike Arnaoutis.
Campos (21-2-1, 13 KOs) is the type of opponent no one wants to fight because he always brings his ‘A’ game to the ring on fight night. A former Costa Rican lightweight champion, Campos has only lost to ex-world champions Cesar Bazan and Paul Spadafora – and even in those defeats, the winners knew they had been in tough fights. On April 22, Campos knows that a victory over the highly touted Urango will put him firmly on track to a world title shot.
Nicknamed “The Jewel”, Vanderpool (35-3, 23 KOs) returns to a Florida boxing ring for the first time since his stirring win over Tito Mendoza last April, and he hopes a win on April 22 will lead him to a world title rematch with Jeff Lacy, who he waged an unforgettable war with last October before just falling short in his title bid. The pride of Kitchener, Ontario, the 32-year-old southpaw feels that he is just hitting his prime as a boxer, and his 7-1 record with 5 knockouts in the last eight fights proves that notion to be true.
Vanderpool’s opponent, Alejandro Berrio, is the prototypical knockout artist. 23-3 in his seven-year career, Berrio has gone home early in 21 of those 23 victories, and he would like nothing better than to send a world-rated opponent down that same road. A native of Cartagena, Berrio started fighting in Florida in 2004 and quickly gained a following with two knockout performances, including an eighth round stoppage of prospect Carl Handy in a bout last November that earned him the IBO Intercontinental light heavyweight crown. Now all Berrio wants to do is add a “Jewel” to that crown.
On the April 22 undercard, local favorite Elieser Castillo (26-5-2, 14 KOs) will look to put a disappointing 2004 campaign behind him when he faces crafty veteran Otis Tisdale (21-17-1, 13 KOs) in an intriguing heavyweight ten rounder. Havana’s Castillo was riding a red-hot winning streak over quality opponents before dropping two upset decisions to DaVarryl Williamson and Kendrick Releford in 2004. Disappointed but not discouraged, Castillo went back to the gym, rededicated himself to the sweet science, and he’s looking forward to getting back in the title picture this year. Castillo has to first get by Charlotte’s Tisdale, a nine-year veteran of the fight game who has hung in tough with a Who’s Who of heavyweight boxing, including Michael Moorer, Lance Whitaker, Dominick Guinn, Nicolay Valuev, and Lawrence Clay-Bey.
Also featured will be Hawaii’s tattooed welterweight warrior Kili Scott Madrid (6-0-1, 4 KOs), who will put his unbeaten record on the line against New York City’s Maximo Cuevas (3-1-1, 1 KO) in a rare six round contest that pits two prospects against each other.
Opening up the card will be Hollywood’s own Ed Paredes (2-0, 1 KO), who will compete in a four round junior middleweight bout against an opponent to be announced shortly. For tickets to “Hard Knocks at The Hard Rock”, call 954.327.7625 (ROCK) or Ticketmaster
