Ana Julaton (1-0) of Daly City, California, faces off with top-ten contender Carly Batey (3-2-2) of San Diego, California, in a six-round bout at the Pechanga Resort & Casino in Temecula, California tonight. Julaton, nicknamed ?the Hurricane?, weighed in at the contracted 122 pounds on the dot at the weigh-in. In preparation for the bout, Julaton trained with Freddie Roach alongside her Filipino idols Manny Pacquiao and Gerry Penalosa at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles. ?It was great just being around the energy, and just to feed off it. They are real fun to be with?, Julaton reflected soon after the weigh-in on Wednesday night. Pacquiao will attend the event tonight, showing support for his Filipino stable mate.
Batey, currently ranked #8 by WBAN (Women Boxing Archive Network) at bantamweight, dropped a controversial decision to Monica Lovato (11-1, 4 KOs) in an attempt to win the NABF Super Flyweight title in April of last year. Her only other loss was to highly touted Kaliesha West (7-0) via spilt decision in another close bout this past August. A win against the highly ranked Batey for Julaton could put her in line for a title bout by her fourth or fifth fight.
Julaton?s bout is on the undercard of Holly Holm?s IFBA Welterweight title defense against Belinda Laracuente (23-19-3, 9 KOs) of New York, which will be televised on Fox Sports Net?s The Best Damn Sports Show Friday night. According to Julaton?s boxing advisor, Angelo Reyes, there is a possibility that her bout with Batey will make the telecast. The card is a rare nationally televised all-women?s card, a fact that Julaton does not let add additional pressure. ?I try to block it out. It?s great to have an all-women?s card. Every fight on the card is a main event fight. It?s good for the public to see how professional we are. Hopefully it will be history in the making?.
Tickets are still available for tonight?s show, promoted by Roy Englebrecht Events, by calling the Pechanga Resort & Casino at 877-711-2946.
Mario Ortega Jr. can be reached at [email protected]
