By Jose Martino

 

In the last few years, Colombia has produced some fine boxers, most of them known for their powerful punch; fighters such as Irene Pacheco, Alejandro Berrios, Carlos Maussa, Edison Miranda, Joel Julio, and Ricardo Torres. However, while this group has shown promise and in the case of Maussa and Pacheco held titles in their respective divisions, none currently posses a championship belt from one the recognized organizations. Juan "Iron Twin" Urango (16-0-1 13kos), who currently resides in Miami, Florida, but was born in Jaraquielle, Colombia, hopes to become the next and only current champion from the land of Simon Bolivar.  

He will get this opportunity on Friday, June 30th when Warriors Boxing promotions will present a night of live championship boxing from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Florida. In the main event Urango will be squaring off against Naoufel Ben Rabah (24-1 13kos) of Australia for the vacant IBF Jr. Welterweight title. Urango, who had an outstanding amateur career, with over 100 wins and five national championships to his credit, as well as a win over current WBO junior welterweight champion Miguel Cotto, hopes that a win on Friday will catapult him towards big money fights.

With household names like Floyd Mayweather, Arturo Gatti, Ricky Hatton, and more then likely Miguel Cotto all making the move up to welterweight division it would appear that the jr welterweight division will be in need of new stars to emerge and take the place of it's former one. On the 30 th Urango will get a chance to prove to the world that he's someone boxing fans should follow, and perhaps create a demand for future fights which will earn him big money and notoriety in the sport.

One fight which could possibly earn Urango a nice payday in the future would be a match against Jose Luis Castillo, who a fter failing to make the lightweight limit in his last scheduled bout with Diego " Chicago" Corrales, is expected to make his return to the ring at the 140 pound limit. Corrales himself will probably be making the move up in the near future and there are also some young talented fighters with the potential to make a name for themselves and perhaps create some interesting matches for boxing fans to look forward to at 140. 

Demetrius Dwayne Hopkins, nephew to Bernard "The Executioner" Hopkins looks like a promising fighter and recently had an impressive knockout victory on ESPN2. With an impressive showing, the winner of the HBO televised bout between Vivian Harris and Mighty Mike Arnaoutis, will have earned themselves a title fight and placed themselves in the top 5 of the division. There is Paul "The Magic Man" Malinagi, who with his gutsy performance against Miguel Cotto, has shown himself to be a worthy foe for any man at 140.

Urango-Castillo, or Urango-Corrales doesn't have great appeal to most boxing fans at this moment; however, Urango can start changing all that with an impressive victory this Friday night. The fight will be televised by EPSN2 and we encourage all fans to tune in.