Featherweight Erick Ituarte (19-1-1, 3 KOs) kicks off the 2018 Thompson Boxing schedule with an intriguing matchup against the well tested Jose Ramirez (27-6-2, 16 KOs) on Friday, February 16 at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.
In the 6-round co-feature, rising featherweight talent Ruben Villa (9-0, 4 KOs) of Salinas, Calif. puts his unblemished record to the test against fellow southpaw and veteran Ruben Tamayo (26-11-4, 18 KOs) of Ciudad Obregon, Mexico.
In the 8-round special attraction, free swinging super bantamweight Isaac Zarate (13-3-3, 2 KOs) of San Pedro, Calif. fights Mexico's Christian Ayala (12-1, 4 KOs). Zarate holds a recent win against former world title challenger Carlos Carlson and routinely spars with WBA titleholder Danny Roman.
Undefeated bantamweight Saul Sanchez (6-0, 4 KOs) of Indio, Calif., who recently signed with Thompson Boxing, gets the toughest challenge of his young career when he takes on veteran Pedro Melo (17-17-2, 8 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico (6-rounds).
Also on the card, bantamweight Mario Hernandez (4-0, 1 KO) of Santa Ana fights the hard charging Francisco Lapizco (8-6, 2 KOs) of Mexico (4-rounds).Lightweight Ruben Torres (3-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, who earlier this month signed a promotional deal with Thompson Boxing, battles Marco Resendiz (2-1-1) of Mexico in a fight set for 4-rounds.
The "Path to Glory" show opens with lightweight prospect Zhora Hamazaryan (8-0, 6 KOs) of Armenia. An opponent for Hamazaryan will be announced at a later date (4-rounds).