Jesus Arechiga is slowly emerging into a contender.
The unbeaten junior featherweight returns to action tonight, facing Florentino Perez at the Gimnasio German Evers in his hometown of Mazatlan, Mexico. The 10-round bout will headline a Zapari Boxing card.
Arechiga (17-0, 13 knockouts) last fought on June 24, stopping former fringe contender David Reyes Cota in the fourth round. The victory over Reyes took place almost three months after Arechiga knocked out Jose Valdes Bernal in the fourth round.
The 22-year-old has displayed more power and aggression in recent fights, having stopped seven of his last nine opponents.
Arechiga has mostly fought in the western part of Mexico, fighting in the states of Jalisco, Nayarit and Sonora. Including tonight, he will have fought his last three fights in his hometown of Mazatlan.
Hector Zapari, Jr., who has also worked and represented light heavyweight contender and recent world title challenger Gilberto Ramirez, believes Arechiga has the talent to move forward with his career.
“Jesus has a high ceiling and can develop into a top fighter,” Zapari told BoxingScene Thursday morning.
Arechiga did fight once in the United States. That was back in December 2018 in Corpus Christi, Texas, a fight Arechiga won over four one-sided rounds against David Martino.
Perez (14-7-2, 9 KOs), who resides in Monterrey, Mexico, lost by unanimous decision to unbeaten prospect Luis Nunez of the Dominican Republic on May 15 of last year. He has lost his last three fights, all by decision, including to Alan Picasso and former world title challenger Eduardo Baez.
Francisco A. Salazar has written for BoxingScene since September 2012 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached by email at santio89@yahoo.com or on Twitter at FSalazarBoxing