Rural Rumble card taking shape

As the clock winds down, the fighters for the sixth annual Rural Rumble make their final preparations.

The professional boxing, amateur mixed-martial arts spectacle hits the canvas at 7 p.m. Aug. 24 at the Churchill County Fairgrounds. A slew of local fighters from Fallon, Gardnerville, Carson City, Sparks and Reno plaster the card.

As of Thursday, seven amateur MMA fighters from Fallon are slated to fight, while Reno’s Oscar Vasquez and Carson City’s Justin Benitez will perform in the boxing portion of the event.

All MMA bouts will be three rounds.

With so many Fallon fighters, one bout will feature two locals going head-to-head. Casey Diaz and Tim Nunes will battle in a middleweight bout.

Nunes is looking to rebound from last year’s disappointment, where he lost to Daniel Reece in the first round.

Cody Downs is appearing in his second Rural Rumble after winning last year’s bout in 38 seconds. He will face Gio Mackey of Gardnerville in a middleweight fight.

Also representing Fallon are Dillon Baker, Robert Smith, Wes Fletcher and Ryan Eager. As of Thursday, no opponent has been secured for Eager’s bout, although one is expected by Aug. 24.

In the boxing ring, undefeated heavyweight prospect Ytalo Perea (4-0, 3 KOs) is scheduled to fight his first six-rounder of his professional career. Hailing from Ecuador, Perea was a 2012 Olympian for his native nation.

He is now considered to be one of the top heavyweight prospects in the world. Perea is coming off of an exciting one-punch, first-round knockout over John Orr in New York City.

He will be tested against the tough and talented Avery Gibson (2-2-2, 1 KO) of Southern California. Although Perea is quickly becoming known for his early knockouts, Gibson has never been stopped, or knocked down in his career.

Reno’s rising junior flyweight star, Oscar Vasquez (4-1), returns to Fallon for the third straight year. Vasquez is coming off of a dominating performance over Don Jose in Sacramento in April.

Oscar faces the tough Alejandro Solorio (4-7, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles. Despite his record, Solorio is one of the most feared flyweights in boxing. He has knockout power, and has never been stopped in his seven losses — many of which were controversial split decisions.

Benitez, meanwhile, is making his professional boxing debut. He battles James Jones (0-1) of Las Vegas.

Jones is a professional MMA fighter transitioning to boxing the fight is scheduled for four rounds in the welterweight division.