College Park Center gets rave reviews for boxing
In the boxing debut of UT-Arlington's new College Park Center, the "Silent Assassin" defeated Miguel Gonzalez by unanimous decision in 10 rounds.
Dallas came out agressive in the second round and landed several rights against the southpaw. Gonzalez could never recover.
Just weeks after the Feb. 1 debut of the new arena, more than 1,500 fans bought tickets for the ESPN "Friday Night Fights" bout.
Following his big win, Dallas said he loved the College Park Center.
"It almost feels like home. I have a lot of family from Texas that came to watch me," the California native said. "I'm so happy I came."
Lester Bedford, who organized the event, said College Park Center is a perfect spot for big boxing events.
"I came and took a look at it and I couldn't believe it," Bedford said. "Absolutely the best-looking arena for boxing I've seen in a long time."
Bedford said he had no doubt there would be future boxing events at College Park Center.
"One hundred percent. Absolutely," Bedford said. "I think it's got a great future. I think this will become a regular venue for HBO and Showtime events."
The new arena is already showing off its versatility in Dallas-Fort Worth. Grammy-nominated hip-hop artist Drake will be there March 2. The concert is already sold out, according to The Shorthorn, UTA's student newspaper.
The 7,000-seat arena offers DFW a mid-size arena in a market that doesn't really have one, UTA assistant vice president for media relations Kristin Sullivan said. She said it offers a different market than big arenas such as Cowboys Stadium and American Airlines Center or smaller arenas like Bass Performance Hall in Fort Worth, which seats about 2,000.
Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie seats 6,350, but primarily hosts stage productions like concerts and shows.
Along with upcoming UTA basketball games, it will host a science fair Feb. 26-27, and former Florida governor Jeb Bush will be at College Park Center in March.
Dallas native Luis Yanez was aggressive throughout his bantamweight bout against Jamal Parram, and it paid off.
The 2008 olympian defeated Parram by unanimous decision in six rounds to stay undefeated.
Night Recap:
Junior welterweight: Mike Dallas Jr. (18-2-1) defeats Miguel Gonzalez (20-3) by unanimous decision in 10 rounds.
Cruiserweight: Shawn Estrada (14-0) defeats Terrance Woods (9-4) by unanimous decision in eight rounds.
Bantamweight: Luis Yanez (6-0-1) defeats Jamal Parram (5-4) by unanimous decision in six rounds.
Middleweight: Angel Sigala (7-2) defeats Corey Washington (3-7-1) by unanimous decision in four rounds.
Junior welterweight: DeAnthony Bonner (1-0) defeats Matt Patton (0-1) by TKO in round two (2:21).
Bantamweight: Ray Ximenez (6-0) defeats Lamar Charlton (1-2-1) by TKO in round four (1:57).
Junior lightweight: Jose Rodriguez (3-0) defeats Alex Lopez (2-3) by unanimous decision in four rounds.
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Richard Durrett
Richard Durrett joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. He writes about colleges, the Dallas Stars and the Texas Rangers. Richard spent nine years at The Dallas Morning News covering the Rangers, Stars, colleges, motorsports and high schools.
Tim MacMahon
Tim MacMahon joined ESPNDallas.com in September 2009. Tim covers the Cowboys and Mavericks. He has covered the local sports scene from high schools to colleges to pros during his six-year tenure at The Dallas Morning News. MacMahon is a graduate of UNT.
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