SHOBOX TRIPLEHEADER FINAL WEIGHTS AND QUOTES Friday, Jan. 20, The Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nev.

SHOBOX TRIPLEHEADER

FINAL WEIGHTS AND QUOTES

Friday, Jan. 20, The Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort, Las Vegas, Nev.

Live at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) on SHOWTIME^®

Rico “Suavecito” Ramos: 122 pounds

Guillermo “El Chacal” Rigondeaux: 120.5 pounds

Guy Robb: 128.5 pounds

Joel Diaz Jr.: 129 pounds

Matthew Villanueva: 115 pounds

Michael “El Unico” Ruiz Jr.: 114.5 pounds

All six fighters made weight Thursday from the Key West Ballroom at Palms Casino Resort a day before an exciting special edition tripleheader on SHOWTIME^® which will feature World Boxing Association (WBA) super bantamweight champion Rico Ramos defending his title for the first time against the WBA interim champion Guillermo Rigondeaux, matching two world champions and two of the sport's rising stars.

The main event showdown and two more exciting co-features on ShoBox: The New Generation, Friday, Jan. 20, at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) originates from the Pearl Theatre at Palms Casino Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.

Ramos (20-0, 11 KOs) of Los Angeles weighed in at 122 pounds on Thursday while the 31-year-old Rigondeaux (8-0, 6 KOs), of Miami, Fla., by way of Cuba, tipped the scales at 120.5.

In an eight-round super featherweight attraction between two undefeated prospects, Guy Robb (7-0, 3 KOs), a 22-year-old out of Sacramento, Calif., registered a weight of 128.5 pounds and Joel Diaz Jr. (6-0, 5 KOs) of Los Angeles weighed 129 pounds.

Opening the ShoBox telecast, undefeated Matthew Villanueva (6-0-1, 6 KOs) of Burbank, Calif. will fight Mike Ruiz Jr. (8-1-1, 3 KOs) of Fresno, Calif., in an eight-round super flyweight affair. Villanueva weighed 115 pounds while Ruiz Jr. weighed 114.5 pounds.

The night of fights are being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions.

Here’s what each fighter had to say on Thursday:

RICO RAMOS:

“A lot of people are doubting me for this fight but who cares? It's me and him in that ring. I came to keep that title. I'm the WBA champ and I will stay the champ.

“It's hard work to stay the champion. I put a lot of hard work and dedication into this. I'm still moving, man. I've got my son, he's two, that keeps me motivated. I've got my fans, my friends, my family, it all keeps me motivated.”

GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX:

“Of course I should be the betting favorite. What should I expect from Ramos? He has to worry what to expect from me!

“I'm very happy for the opportunity to win a title with less than 10 pro fights. I'm ready for the challenge.”

GUY ROBB:

“Boxing came into my life at a perfect time. I was getting in a little trouble but I was on the verge of getting in big trouble. I was introduced to Ray Woods and I was intrigued by who he was (Diego Corrales' stepfather and original trainer).

“Boxing was fun when I started. But I didn't like getting tired and beat on so I realized I had to give it 100 percent. It took over my life.

“This fight will be action-packed. He's aggressive but I plan to beat him up. It should be a brutal fight.”

JOEL DIAZ JR.:

“I don't want to rely on just one punch. Yeah, I can brawl but I can box. If I have to stay in his face and throw punches all day, fine. But I'm ready for anything.

“I can't wrong go with this opportunity. I took it on two weeks notice. I'm going to show everybody what I got. With all the people watching, you don't want to look bad.”

MATTHEW VILLANUEVA:

“I've got to get this victory, that's first. But if I can do it in big fashion, a KO, even better. I believe I can knock him out.

“I've sparred Ruiz before and I believe I got the best of him. It was my reach, my aggression, my power. And now, I'm even more conditioned than I was when we sparred.”

MIKE RUIZ JR.:

“This is do or die. It sucks when you don't put your hand up at the end of a fight (like my last outing). I've gotta do this.

“I feel good. I feel I'm two or three times better than when we sparred the first time. The sparring sessions were pretty even but now I'm sharper.”

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite★ Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.

Rigondeaux targets Ramos

No sooner had new World Boxing Association (“WBA”) Super Bantamweight Champion Rico “Suavecito” Ramos had his arm raised victoriously after his seventh-round knockout of defending champion Akishumni Shimoda last Saturday night in Atlantic City, WBA Interim titlist Guillermo “The Jackal” Rigondeaux issued an instant challenge to the 24-year-old Ramos for a supreme 122-pound showdown.

The Shimoda-Ramos fight was on the verge of being called off when Rigondeaux’ Irish manager, Gary Hyde, through renown boxing lawyer Patrick English, lodged an objection to the WBA. The action resulted in the promoters for both Shimoda and Ramos being instructed to make a deal with Team Rigondeaux or their fight wouldn’t be sanctioned.

As WBA world Interim champion, Rigo should have been the next challenger for Shimoda's title, but the Japanese champion by-passed Rigondeaux in favor of an easier title defense against Ramos.

Top Rank-promoted Rigo will now fight Ramos (20-0, 7 KOs) and the Cuban sensation has vowed to take the title belt from Ramos. “I stepped aside and let the fight go ahead,” Rigondeaux explained, “even though they ignored the fact that I was next in line. Ramos will soon regret that he won the title when we get it on.

“Ramos is a tough, aggressive fighter but those types of fighters suit me. I promise he will not have enough time to enjoy this victory because I will be taking that belt from him when we meet in the ring. My goal is to be the undisputed 122-pound world champion and I want to achieve this goal by the end 2012.”

Rigondeaux, arguably the greatest amateur boxer of all-time, defected from Cuba and made his pro debut May 22, 2009, won the NABA super bantamweight title in his third action as a pro and last November in only his seventh fight, he won a 12-round decision against Ricardo Cordoba (37-2-2) to become the WBA Interim 122-pound divisional champion. His last fight was an opening-round destruction of former European champion Willie Casey (11-1) last March in Dublin.

A crafty southpaw and deadly body puncher, Rigondeaux (8-0, 6 KOs) now fights out of Miami, and trains in Houston with Ronnie Shields. Rigo is a 2-time Olympic Gold Medalist, as well as a 7-time national champion who captured a pair of World Championship titles during his amazing 243-4 amateur career.

Hyde also manages promising prospects such as British welterweight Mark Heffron (5-0, 4 KOs) and Georgian junior welterweight Levan Ghvarmichava (4-0, 3 KOs), as well as the newly-signed former European Super bantamweight champion Willie “Big Bang” Casey (11-1, 7 KOs), of Ireland.

♔EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess♔, See you at the Fights and Thank You for your time.EL Boxing Empress Online @ Twitter http://www.twitter.com/Keishamorrisey ©®™ 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 All photos other than specified by "EL Boxing Empress & MMA Princess" Keisha Morrisey, for ♔Empire Morrisey Photo-Studios♔, KCKMT for Bloodline Boxing Communications Entertainment and ★Starlite Boxing's Sweetscience Magnews-Online Publication all rights reserved.