De Leon, Gutierrez headline Fists of Fury Adrenaline show at Dodge Arena

Mission featherweight Guadalupe de Leon said his eight-round main event showdown against Saul Jonathan Gutierrez of Saltillo, Mexico, headlining Friday’s Fists of Fury Adrenaline show at Dodge Arena in Hidalgo should be entertaining for fight fans.

“Saul’s a tough kid,” de Leon said. “He’s always coming forward, and he doesn’t back down. I don’t like to back down, either, so I think it’ll be a good fight that the fans will enjoy.

“I need to manage the fight with my jab more and box him, but if it becomes a slugfest I’m ready for that, too,” the Mission fighter added.

De Leon (7-8, four knockouts) is coming off a six-round unanimous decision setback July 24 in El Paso against Saul Morales (7-1, three KOs) of Durango, Mexico. Before that bout, de Leon fought June 13 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

“Lupe always puts on a good performance,” said James Gogue, de Leon’s trainer. “(Gutierrez) is a tough fighter, but I think we’re one step ahead of him. Lupe’s a multi-dimensional fighter.”

Gutierrez (7-16-3, two KOs) last fought Aug. 21 in Laredo and captured a six-round split decision victory over Gino Escamilla (5-6-1, two KOs) of Laredo.

Friday night’s six-round co-main event matching bantamweights will have Gabriel Rangel (6-6-3, two KOs) of Veracruz, Mexico, going against Joseph Rios (6-4, two KOs) of San Antonio.

Seven fights are on tap. On the scheduled undercard, it’s Alberto Feliciano (1-0-1) of Puerto Rico vs. Robert Perez (2-4) of Matamoros, Juan Lucio (3-0-1, two KOs) of Pharr vs. Antonio Gamez (3-1, one KO) of Laredo, Maria Salinas (3-0-1, one KO) of Pharr vs. Valeria Garza (0-1) of Brownsville, Richard Flores (1-8) of Edinburg vs. Pedro Silva (2-12-1) of Rio Hondo and Juan Jose Garcia (pro debut) of Pharr vs. Manuel Urbina (pro debut) of Brownsville.

Doors open at 7 p.m. For ticket information, call (800) 745-3000.

Roy Hess writes for Valley Freedom Newspapers.