MANILA, Philippines - Ana “The Hurricane†Julaton returns to the ring on Aug. 17 as she faces off rising star Celina Salazar at Plaza de Toros in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
The Fil-Am boxer, coming off two impressive wins since losing the WBO junior featherweight title to Yesica Marcos last year, is in deep training in Las Vegas as she tries to make it three in row for a chance at another title shot possibly against IBF bantamweight champion Yazmin Rivas.
There were reports that Julaton is being primed up to challenge Rivas in the undercard of the Floyd Mayweather-Saul “Canelo†Alvarez fight in September, according to fighthype.com.
But the 33-year-old former WBO and IBA world champion is not looking past the 24-year-old Salazar, who is raring to bounce back from her first pro loss at the hands of former WIBA flyweight champion Melinda Cooper last year.
“Training is fantastic here in Las Vegas. The heat reaches to 120 degrees Fahrenheit which is why I’ve been training here since 2011 to help prepare me for Mexico’s weather when I fight outdoors,†said Julaton in an email to Philstar.com.
Julaton, who traces her roots to Pangasinan, feels her punching power is getting stronger under coach and adviser Angelo Reyes.
That was evident when she knocked out Abigail Ramos of Mexico 19 seconds into the first round in her last fight in what went down as the fastest knockout in the boxing history of Yucatan, Mexico.