Angel Aponte will no longer appear atop a boxing show in association with the annual WBO convention.
The 30-year-old junior lightweight from San Juan, Puerto Rico will instead appear before a judge, where he will have to answer to charges of domestic abuse.
The Department of Justice filed charges in absentia against Aponte for domestic violence and child neglect involving a youth under twelve years of age. The Court of First Instance in San Juan found cause to proceed with the case, calling for the boxer’s arrest and with bail set at $500,000. He will also be required to wear a home monitoring bracelet.
The development forced handlers to remove Aponte (11-1, 7KOs) from a scheduled ten-round clash with fellow Boricua prospect Bryan Chevalier atop an October 26 ProBox show from Coliseo Roberte Clemente in San Juan.
Bayamon’s Chevalier (17-1-1, 13KOs) will now face Mexico City’s Cesar Juarez (27-12, 20KOs), a former title challenger now campaigning at junior lightweight, in the main event.
Chevalier was fine with any replacement opponent sought by Miguel Cotto Promotions for the show that takes place during the heart of the WBO convention during the final week of October in San Juan. The 28-year-old prospect has won nine straight, including a ten-round decision over James Wilkins last July in Los Angeles and a second-round of Carlos Padilla on July 6 in Rio Grande, P.R.
Juarez accepted the fight on very short notice but was in shape from his previous outing. The 31-year-old trialhorse offered a strong showing in an eight-round points loss to unbeaten Otar Eranosyan on a September 9 ProBox show from Plant City, Florida. He has lost two straight after having won two in a row in 2021.
Charges were filed in absentia due to Aponte’s failure to respond to an arrest warrant upon arriving in Puerto Rico after having spent training camp in Florida.
Aponte was arrested on April 26 and charged with one count of domestic abuse, though the recent charges stem from a separate matter. Aponte was accused of making death threats against his ex-partner and their adolescent daughter. The prosecution filed charges in violation of Article 3.3 of The Domestic Abuse Prevention and Intervention Act—also known as Law 54-1989—as well as Article 59 of Law 246-2011, known as the Child Safety, Well-Being and Protection Act.
“The charges were filed in absentia because the accused did not appear, despite the fact that he was duly summoned,” explained Frances Ortiz Fernandez, prosecuting coordinator of the Specialized Unit for Domestic Violence, according to court records—a copy of which was obtained by BoxingScene.com. “The threats against the victims are extremely serious and worrisome due to what was ordered for their arrest.”
Aponte rebounded from his lone career defeat earlier this year with a second-round knockout victory on May 1 in Santiago de los Caballeros, Dominican Republic. His last three bouts have taken place in D.R. with the all-Boricua showdown against Chevalier to have served as his first fight on P.R. soil since February 2020.
Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox