The Churchill County Fairgrounds rodeo arena will undergo a metamorphosis Saturday.
Instead of being equipped for bull riding or calf roping, it will be converted into a boxing venue. The city of Fallon and Lets Get It On Promotions of Reno will host Fallon Fights/Rural Rumble '09, a seven-fight event featuring a combination of boxing and mixed-martial arts.
Five boxing and two MMA bouts are on the card. Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first bell at 7 p.m.
The event marks the second consecutive year of professional boxing in Fallon. Last year, Derek Hinkey defeated Ben Aragon in only 2 minutes and 28 seconds in the main event.
"Boxing in rural Nevada is a tradition and we want to be part of that history," Terry Lane of Let's Get It On Promotions said. "The Fallon Fights will be an action-packed night of competitive matches, and we hope they will become a mainstay on the Nevada boxing calendar."
Hinkey is back this year, but this time he will be fighting on the undercard. Joey Gilbert of Reno (17 wins, two losses) has top billing for his scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout against Ivan "Sitting Bull" Stovall (10-4) of Pomona, Calif.
Stovall has lost his last two bouts and three of his last four, most recently to Chris Pawlak in Primm, Nev., on April 17. Gilbert lost to Jesse Brinkley by unanimous decision at the Reno Events Center on Feb. 14.
Hinkey (8-1), of McDermitt, has won his last four bouts, the most recent being a unanimous decision over Loren Myers in Reno on July 10. He faces Valentino Jalomo (3-3) of Amarillo, Texas. Jalomo defeated Hanson Thacker by technical knockout on June 27 in Odessa, Texas.
Derek felt his performance was a little lackluster and he's looking to putting on terrific performance in Fallon," Lane said.
Derek won't be the only Hinkey fighting. His brother, Tyler Hinkey (5-1-1), goes against Yohan Banks (2-3) of San Jose in a heavyweight bout.
Tyler Hinkey suffered his first career loss on July 10 in Reno to Andrae Carthron in a split decision. Banks is 0-2-1 in his last three bouts, falling most recently to Herman Binek on July 30 in Los Angeles.
"For Tyler, it's a chance at redemption," Lane said. "He's looking forward to bouncing back and is grateful for the opportunity to do it in Fallon."
The boxing undercard also features a light welterweight bout between the undefeated Bayan "The Mongolian Mongoose" Jargal (13-0-1) of Arlington, Va. and Carlos Contrereas (20-14) of Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico. Jargal has won 11 consecutive fights. His career record includes six technical knockouts, two knockouts and three unanimous decisions. His most recent fight was a six-round TKO over Josh Durden in Hilton Head, S.C. on July 25.
"Bayan has all the skills to become a world champion and the fans in Fallon are in for a real treat to see him in action," Lane said.
Contrereas won 10 of his first 11 bouts and was 17-4-2 from 1996-2000, but since then, he has lost eight of nine four in a row, five by unanimous decision. His latest tilt was a loss to Monty Meza Clay on May 11 in Pittsburgh.
Theron Delorme of Reno made his professional debut in Fallon last year, losing to Manny Cotrich by majority decision. He goes against another newcomer from Reno, Johnny Mancilla (0-0-1) in a lightweight bout. Mancilla debuted on Feb. 14 in Reno with a draw against Andrew Rempp.
The mixed martial arts (AKA ultimate fighting) contests are presented by MMA legend Ken Shamrock. Zeth Martin of Harrisburg, Pa. makes his debut against Joshua Turner (1-0) of Reno. Martin is on active duty in the U.S. Navy and is stationed NAS Fallon. Devin Cockling (4-2) of Reno squares off against Giovani Encarnacion (1-3) in the other MMA bout.