Ray Valentino Ximénez, Jr. vs. Luis Alberto López Vargas

Headlining an RJJ Promotions card in Toppenish, WA on Thursday night, airing live on UFC FightPass. The vacant WBO International featherweight title will be on the line. Neither man is currently rated top 15 by the WBO (or any major org) but this victory could just punch either man's ticket in...

Ximénez is probably the best talent signed to Roy Jones at the moment. The fast and crisp (but light) hitting southpaw has only a single professional defeat coming at the hands of Christopher "Pitufo" Díaz Vélez, a very good Puerto Rican contender with Top Rank - and that was a competitive match-up. Likewise, his opponent López - a Mexican under the promotional banner of the Escobar brothers (sort of a "minor league" farm system for Golden Boy in Mexico) and boasting a powerful if not exactly stealthy left hook - only has a single, competitive defeat in the pros in which Abraham Montoya snatched his Mexican Pacific Coast super featherweight title along with his zero via SD.

This will be skillful footwork & combination-punching artistry versus power and relentless pressure. It should make for good watching - but the undercard is absolute trash.

Here is the most recent available uploaded footage of each...

Ray Valentino "The Beast of Pleasant Grove" Ximénez, Jr. vs. German Iván "Panteonero" Meraz

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Luis Alberto "El Venado" López Vargas vs. Gregorio "El Goyo" Torres:

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Also battle of the diametrically opposed sort of nicknames - one generic AF (the "beast" having become overused lately, and "the blank of place the boxer is from" being a centuries-old trope in this sport) while the other is just plain...weird. Like, why choose to be called the reindeer, of all possible animals you could liken yourself to, in a fistic context?

 

Ximénez's only loss:

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López's only loss:

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Can't find any odds published yet, but in the meantime let's start handicapping what color Ray's hair will be dyed for this one. (past coiffures have included cerulean blue and cherry lipstick red)

Lime green -100
Hot pink +250
Glittery rainbow +500

 

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