Undefeated San Diego welterweight prospect Giovani Santillan (25-0, 15 KO) is ready for his showdown as he takes on former world champion Antonio Demarco (33-8-1, 24KOs) tonight at the "Bubble" at MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Santillan and DeMarco will serve as the co-feature bout live on ESPN.
“I am extremely focused going into this fight. Antonio DeMarco is the hardest fight of my career, and I want to be as prepared as possible," Santillan said.
The year 28 old Santillan is coming off a unanimous decision over Wilfrido Buelvas last fall. Santillan, who is co-promoted with Thompson Boxing and Top Rank will look to make the most out of this opportunity as this will be his biggest test to date.
"A lot of people are watching these fights, and I believe this will put me in contention to fight for a world title. These times have been very tough, and I am glad that my promoters, Top Rank and Thompson Boxing, have given me this opportunity to fight on ESPN," Santillan said about the opportunity,
Santillan,understands the experience the former world champion brings to the ring. DeMarco, a veteran of over 40 fights was defeated by the late Edwin Valero in 2010. Demarco bounced back in becoming world champion defeating Jorge Linares. He has also squared off with the likes of Adrien Broner, John Molina Jr, Jessie Vargas, and Omar Figueroa Jr. DeMarco is coming off a unanimous decision defeat to Jamal James last summer as he looks to hand Santillan his first defeat.
"DeMarco is a true veteran with a lot of power. He has twice as many professional fights as me, so I know this is a major step up fight," Santillan on DeMarco.
(Photo by Mikey Williams/TopRank)
With a victory here, the undefeated southpaw hopes to breakthrough into the top 15 rankings at welterweight. Santillan looks to make an impression tonight fighting on a major platform.
"I want to show the world that I am an elite fighter worthy of a top 15 ranking," Santillan stated. “A win against DeMarco will change my life. It will mean I would’ve won a fight against a former world champion on national television when hardly anything live is occurring," Santillan added.
With a solid camp wrapped up, Santillan like most fighters stood active during the quarantine as he trained at home with his father/head trainer Guillermo Santillan along with former world title challenger Danny Perez who also hails from San Diego and now hopes the hard work will pay off with a victory which will lead to bigger things down the road.
“I want to be as prepared as possible. I did my whole training camp in my hometown of San Diego with my dad Guillermo Santillan who is my head trainer. We are very blessed to have Danny Perez as a second in the corner. We have a plan put in place. I’m in the best shape of my career. I’m fully prepared to go the distance if need be.” Santillan on his preparation. "I want to get a ranking in the top 15 of any of the major sanctioning body to be considered as a world title challenger, and defeating Antonio DeMarco will be a great step in that direction.” Santillan concluded.
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