Costa Rica’s David Jimenez will return home for his next fight.
Jimenez, ranked No. 9 by The Ring in the junior bantamweight division, will put his WBA interim belt (not recognized by The Ring) on display against Keyvin Lara at the Polideportivo de Cartago in Cartago, Costa Rica on Saturday, December 7.
“I’m incredibly excited to fight in my home country and hometown of Cartago,” Jimenez (16-1, 11 knockouts) told The Ring through his manager/promoter Ernesto Sandoval. “I have responsibility for my country, Costa Rica, but it doesn’t distract me. On the contrary, it motivates me to work even harder.
“I will be participating in a training camp in Las Vegas where I expect to continue to improve my level and will be ready for that commitment.”
“Medallita” hopes this will lead to something even bigger in the future.
“For now, I’m focused on this fight, but my eyes are on the current (IBF/WBA) world champion (Fernando Martinez) in my division,” he said. I hope he will have the courage to give me a chance to face him.
Junior middleweight Eduardo Sanchez (9-1-2, 5 KO) and bantamweight Juliana Rodriguez (8-0, 5 KO) will also enter the ring at the Fight Club Promotions gala.
Jimenez competed internationally for Costa Rica as an amateur before turning professional in early 2019. The 32-year-old was able to move relatively quickly. However, it was his victory over Ricardo Sandoval (MD 12) in the WBA title eliminator, in which he scored a knockout in the 11th round, that made the difference and gained recognition.
He lost to Artem Dalakian (UD 12) for the WBA 112-pound title, but has since returned to winning ways with four wins, most notably against the usually robust Rosendo Hugo Guarneros (RTD 7), and most recently moved up to 115 pounds and defeated John Ramirez (UD 12) for the WBA interim title.
Lara (32-6-1, 12 KO) turned professional in 2013. Although the Nicaraguan lost his debut and drew in his second fight, he won 18 in a row to earn himself a chance to fight then-WBA 112-pound belt holder Kazuta Ioka. Although he gave a good impression of himself, he was stopped in the 11th round.
After the rebounds, Lara went to South Africa, where she lost to Yanga Sigqibo (UD 10). The 30-year-old stopped a close fight with Keiver Fernandez (SD 9) and also lost to Norbelto Jimenez (UD 10) and Salvador Juarez (SD 8), although he came back with a victory.