Combat notes: Visa woes lead to change atop boxing card

Boxing promoters in the United States, especially in the Southwest, often look to Mexico for lower-weight fighters to populate their cards since such fighters are plentiful south of the border.

But there are problems with that, too.

Jose Angel Perez Diaz is out and Gilbert Mendoza is in as the opponent for Albuquerque’s Abraham Perez in Saturday’s Legacy Promotions main event at Expo New Mexico after Perez Diaz’s visa problems forced the change.

The vacant WBC Youth world title at flyweight (112 pounds) remains at stake.

Mendoza, a California native, is no stranger to New Mexico. On Feb. 24, he lost by unanimous decision to Kansan Nico Hernandez on a Tapia Promotions card at the Rio Rancho Events Center.

In June 2022, Mendoza (19-13-4) lost by six-round unanimous decision to Albuquerque’s Matt Griego-Ortega on a previous Tapia Promotions card in Paradise Hills.

Mendoza is actually 0-2-2 in New Mexico, twice having fought to draws with Española’s Tony Valdez on Legacy cards in 2015.

His durability — Mendoza has been stopped short of the prescribed distance in only three of his 36 fights — will test the power the unbeaten Perez (7-0, three KOs) displayed in his third-round stoppage of the Philippines’ Jeronil Borres on April 8 at the Embassy Suites.

BKFC: To no one’s surprise, Albuquerque’s fighting Dodson brothers will be together again when the BKFC returns to Tingley Coliseum on Aug. 11.

For the BKFC, it’s part of a winning formula. The bare-knuckle fighting promotion, which staged a highly successful card at Tingley on Feb. 17, is again populating the card with local fighters.

As announced earlier, Albuquerque’s John Dodson (2-0 bare-knuckle) is scheduled to face Joshua Ridge (3-1) of the Philippines in the Aug. 11 main event. The vacant BKFC flyweight title belt will be at stake.

Dodson’s younger brother Eric (2-0) again will join his sibling on the card. He’s matched against Stevo Morris (2-1) of Tampa, Florida.

According to the BKFC website, another set of brothers, Los Lunas’ Gene and Derek Perez, also are scheduled to perform on the August card.

Derek Perez (1-0), who KO’d Albuquerque’s Anthony Sanchez in his bare-knuckle debut in February, is scheduled to face Keith Richardson (2-0) of Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Gene Perez (0-1) is matched against Sanchez, his brother’s KO victim in February. Gene Perez lost his BKFC debut to Eric Dodson by TKO.

Albuquerque’s Wil Santiago (2-0), like the Dodson brothers, won his first two BKFC fights on home turf — the first at the Rio Rancho Events Center on Aug. 27 2022, then in February with a first-round stoppage of Noah Cutter at Tingley.

Santiago is matched against Jeremie Holloway (BKFC debut) on Aug. 11.

This being combat sports, all matches are subject to change.

Paid attendance at the Feb. 17 card at Tingley was 6,792, which remains the highest in the BKFC’s five-year history.

COWBOY RIDING HIGH: Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone never won a UFC title. He lost his last four fights. He retired with a good but not great win percentage of .680 (36-17).

Yet, the longtime New Mexico resident’s longevity, popularity, toughness and anytime, anyplace attitude made him a no-doubt UFC Hall of Famer — an honor accorded him last week in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“It’s been a wild journey,” Cerrone said of his long MMA career.

During a post-ceremony news conference Cerrone said he’s happy in retirement and more than comfortable financially — claiming he made $10 million during his 18 years in the sport.

Only a monstrous payday, he said, could lure him back into the Octagon at age 40.

“I’d fight my grandmother for $5 million,” he said.

MORE NM TIES: It might be a stretch to call Bo Nickal a New Mexican. Then again, it might not be too much of one.

Nickal, a fast-rising UFC middleweight, lived in the state for for some five years — long enough to have wrestled for Rio Rancho High School as an eighth-grader in 2009-10.

His father, Jason Nickal, was the Rams’ head wrestling coach from 2006-10. He led RRHS to four consecutive big-school state titles before the family moved to Texas.

Bo Nickal went on to win three NCAA wrestling titles at Penn State before eventually entering the MMA ranks. He’s 5-0 after his victory over Val Woodburn on Saturday in a main-card fight on UFC 290 in Las Vegas, Nevada.