Featherweight John Dato faces Ronal Ron on Friday at Chumash Casino
John Dato continues down a path to contender status.
A statement win in his next fight could allow him to continue down that path.
Dato will face Ronal Ron Friday night at the Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, California. The 10-round bout will headline a World Fighting Championships card.
The 30-year-old Dato (16-1-1, 10 knockouts), who is originally from Bangar in the Philippines’ province of La Union and now resides in nearby Santa Maria, last fought on January 13, defeating Jesus Rizo by unanimous decision. Although Dato won the fight, the scorecards (80-72, 80-72, and 78-74) did not reflect how competitive and even throughout much of the fight.
In his previous fight on April 1 of last year, Dato stopped former world junior bantamweight titleholder Rodrigo Guerrero at the end of the fifth round.
The only loss of Dato’s career took place in August 2021, losing by unanimous decision to gatekeeper Angel Contreras.
Ron (14-3), who is originally from Venezuela and now trains in Pomona, California, lost by knockouts after the third round to Hector Garcia, who currently holds the IBF world junior lightweight title, in April 2019.
In the co-feature, Rudy Ochoa of nearby Oxnard will square off against John Alimane in a six-round lightweight fight.
Ochoa (10-2, 6 KOs) has not fought since January 28 of last year, losing by knockout to unbeaten lightweight prospect Avoran Graham. In his previous fight in July 2021, Ochoa lost by unanimous decision to Angel Alejandro in a clash of unbeaten lightweight prospects.
Alimane (8-5), who resides in Manila in the Philippines, was stopped by Leonardo Sanchez in his last bout on September 7. Alimane, also 29, has lost his last four bouts.
In a clash between unbeaten light heavyweights who reside in nearby Ventura County, Max Duran (3-0, 2 KOs), who trains in Camarillo, will square off against Simon Aristegui (2-0, 2 KOs) of Oxnard in a four-round bout.
Matt McGovern, who will promote the World Fighting Championships card, is grateful to the Chumash Casino Resort for allowing a platform to provide a platform to promote combat sports over this weekend.
“We’re thrilled to present a weekend of combat sports at the Chumash Casino Resort,” said McGovern. “This event promises to be a thrilling two-night boxing and MMA event, with some of California’s finest fighters stepping into the ring and cage. We’re committed to helping local fighters showcase their skills and get to the next level. We also pride ourselves on delivering high-quality entertainment and this card is a testament to that commitment.”
Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 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 at santio89@yahoo.com
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