George Acosta has not let his only loss as a pro define him. Instead he believes he could become a legit star at 130 pounds, as long as he continues winning.

Acosta will face Isaac Avelar tonight at Doubletree Hotel, in Ontario, California. The eight-round bout will headline a five-bout “New Blood” card via Thompson Boxing Promotions’ Facebook and YouTube pages (11 p.m. ET/ 8 p.m. PT).

At Thursday’s weigh-in, Acosta weighed in at 129 pounds. Avelar weighed 129.2 pounds.

Acosta (12-1, 1 knockout), who resides in nearby Whittier, has not fought since May 7 of last year, defeating Gadwin Rosa by unanimous decision. The win over Rosa headlined a “Boxeo Telemundo” broadcast.

The 25-year-old has won his last five bouts since suffering his only loss at the hands of lightweight prospect Ruben Torres in May 2019. Acosta will take a major step up in opposition when he faces Avelar, who has fought solid opposition in recent years. He has lost four of his last five fights, including those to The Ring Magazine No. 1-ranked junior featherweight Stephen Fulton, Eduardo Ramirez, and, most recently, Hector Garcia on December 18.

On paper, Avelar (16-4, 10 KOs), who resides in Aguascalientes, Mexico, presents the toughest challenge to date but Acosta is confident he can get the job done.

“Avelar is a tough opponent that will be coming with everything he’s got,” said Acosta earlier this week. “He’s fought some very good fighters, so I know he’ll be well-prepared going into this fight. But let’s be honest; I need to stand out, so I must perform at a high level to gain the respect of the fans. I want fans to be excited when I fight. I know my opponent will be willing to exchange and take chances and I’m looking forward to the challenge.

“The goal of this fight is a stoppage but I am not going to solely look for it. I want to be recognized as a top prospect in my division and a nice performance against Avelar will accomplish that.”

Thompson Boxing Promotions has existed since 2000 and has promoted some of the top fighters, including Timothy Bradley, Mauricio Herrera, Josesito Lopez, Yonnhy Perez, Danny Roman, Ruben Villa and Torres.

Acosta is grateful Thompson Boxing stuck by him when others believed he would not pan out to the current success he has thus far.

“I am very grateful to Thompson Boxing,” said Acosta, who made his pro debut in April 2017. “They stuck with me after I had a loss and now I am ready to prove them right. The whole team at Thompson Boxing groomed me to be a world-class boxer and now it is my time to show the world what I’m capable of. This will be my first main event on a Thompson card and I can’t wait to perform at my very best for all the fans that will be there live and watching on the internet.”

In the co-main event, junior middleweight prospect Richard Brewart (11-0, 4 KOs), of nearby Rancho Cucamonga, will face Ramon Ayala in an eight-round middleweight bout.

Brewart most recently fought on April 15, defeating Antonio Duarte by unanimous decision. In a clash of unbeaten fighters on February 21 of last year, Brewart overcame a knockdown to defeat Nathan Weston by split decision.

Ayala (25-6-1, 13 KOs), who resides in San Francisco Acuautla, Mexico, lost by stoppage to Bryant Perrella after the second round, in his most recent fight, in January 2016. He has lost four of his last six bouts, with all four losses coming by stoppage.

Featherweight Japhethlee Llamido (8-0, 3 KOs), of Norwalk, California, will square off against gatekeeper Diuhl Olguin (15-24-5, 10 KOs) in a six-round bout. Olguin, who resides in Guadalajara, Mexico, is winless in his last nine bouts.

Beto Duran will call the play-by-play while The Ring Magazine editor-in-chief Dougie Fischer will provide color commentary. Jessica Rosales will be the ringside reporter.

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 by email at [email protected] or on Twitter @FSalazarBoxing.

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