FORMER interim World Boxing Association (WBA) featherweight champion Jhack Tepora has another opponent change and will be facing veteran ex-world champion Oscar Escandon in a 10-rounder on Dec. 21, 2019 at the Toyota Arena in Toronto, California.
The 24-year-old Tepora was originally slated to face Bryan de Gracia in a title eliminator for No. 1 status in the WBA. That paved the way for a fight didn’t seem to pan out and former world title contender Chris Avalos’ name popped up as Tepora’s opponent for a non-title bout. That too didn’t push through, which paved way to a fight with Escandon.
Despite the short notice, Tepora is always ready to face whoever is placed in front of him regardless of his opponent’s style.
“I don’t want to watch tapes of my opponent. I just adjust in the fight itself,” Tepora told SunStar Cebu. “Yes, he’s 35 but I won’t take him lightly. He’s a veteran, while I still have a lot to learn.”
Escandon is a former interim champion in the World Boxing Council (WBC) and WBA. He has fought some of the best like Gary Russell Jr., Moises Flores, Nehomar Cermeno and Brandon Figueroa.
“This is my second test. The first one was my win in Malaysia (against Edivaldo Ortega),” said Tepora. “For me all of my fights are hard. I don’t think that my opponent is easy so that I won’t let my guard down.”
Despite his impressive credentials, Escandon is currently on a slump, losing his last three fights.
Tepora, on the other hand, had a successful US debut with a unanimous decision win over Jose Luis Gallegos last June 1, 2019 in San Jacinto, California.
Tepora is currently rated No. 3 in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), in which Josh Warrington is the current titleholder.
He hopes that a win over Escandon will impress his promoter, Manny Pacquiao, and give him a world title shot.
“I hope that God will grant me my wish and win so that I’ll get a chance at fighting Warrington,” he said. “But that still depends on Sir Manny Pacquiao. But I won’t think about that for now. I’ll still focus on my fight at hand.”
Tepora is 23-0 with 17 knockouts, while the Colombian Escandon is 25-5 with 17 knockouts. (EKA)