VICENTE ALFARO RETURNS TONIGHT IN CARLTON, MN

Vicente Alfaro, right, weighed in at 117.2 while Franklin weighed 117.4 at last night’s weigh-in’s.

Minnesota State Super Bantamweight champion Vicente Alfaro makes his long awaited boxing return tonight. Alfaro will be fighting for the first time since 2014. He had two fights fall through that were under contract which he says was very frustrating along with a minor surgery that let to the layoff. But now he says he is now ready to resume his boxing career.

Alfaro (6-4, 1 KO) brought with him excellent skills from his home country of Mexico that he and trainer Gordon Marino have polished to the point of making him a force to be reckoned with against any prospect around the nation. Fans will see tonight a clash between two highly skilled boxers when Alfaro faces undefeated John “Fast Hands” Franklin (9-0-1, 4 KO’s) of Missouri.

“It is true that most guys would look for an easy fight after a long layoff, but that has never been my style” said Alfaro when asked why his return is against the undefeated Franklin. “I have been in with two Olympians. I  beat one and lost a decision to the other – Jo Jo Diaz. Aside from one re-match, I have never fought anyone with a losing record. So competition like Franklin is nothing new to me. Franklin is fast but so am. I am also very determined. While I never make predictions, I can promise that there will be fireworks at Black Bear on Saturday night.”

Alfaro says that training for this fight went extremely well, noting that his team often gets calls for short notice fights. But he is grateful that they had plenty of notice for this fight.

“My trainer Gordon Marino and I live in Northfield, so we have to do a lot of traveling to get sparring. But I got plenty of good work with Jonathan Perez (C.O.D.), Danny Figueroa, Gavino Gauman (Peek A Boo Boxing Gym), and Gizzy Hobbs (of Cerresso Fort Boxing) . Big thanks to those guys and their gyms!”

“I just want to say that it is great to be boxing in Minnesota again. I love the fans here and the atmosphere. Thanks to Tony Grygelko for the opportunity.”