Gerardo Zapata vs. Rene Santiago on December 16 in Santo Domingo

Tuto Zabala Jr, President of All Star Boxing, announced on Thursday morning that his undefeated WBO #9 ranked contender Gerardo “El Cascabel” Zapata (14-0 5 KO’s) will face WBO #15 Rene “El Chulo” Santiago (9-3 7 KO’s) next Friday, December 16th, for the vacant WBO Latino junior flyweight belt in a 10 round bout.,

The fight is set to take place in Pabellon de Esgrima Centro Olimpico in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic and will be in association with Shuan Boxing Promotions.

“All Star Boxing, Inc is happy to return to the beautiful city of Santo Domingo” notes Zabala.

“Our first world champion as a company was Carlos 'Teo' Cruz of Santiago de los Caballeros who won the lineal lightweight titles in 1968 and was promoted by my father Tuto Zabala Sr,” Zabala continued “On Friday night we will bring the fans a great battle between two WBO junior flyweight contenders.”

Zapata, born in San Juan Del Sur, Nicaragua, is making his 2nd appearance of the year but his first as a pro outside his home country. Zapata known as “El Cascabel” has recently beat former title challenger Julio Mendoza and Byron Castellon.

“I have been anxiously waiting for this opportunity, training hard and we are ready to end the year with a bang” notes Zapata “It will be a nice Christmas with my family being the new Latino champion."

Santiago, of Humacao, Puerto Rico, is looking to get back to his winning ways after piling 3 in a row. Santiago was gunning to capture his second WBO regional belt but suffered a small set-back, dropping a hard fought 10 round decision to Yudiel Reyes, with a 7th round knockdown proving to be the difference on the cards.