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Las Vegan Max Ornelas headlines boxing card at UNLV

Updated April 19, 2018 - 6:43 pm

When Max Ornelas takes a stroll through the student union at UNLV he sees a familiar face on the walls.

“I see posters around campus promoting my fight,” Ornelas said. “This one feels different because there’s a lot of promo.”

Ornelas, a criminal justice major at UNLV, will have a back-to-school night of sorts.

Ornelas will headline a Roy Jones Jr. Boxing card Friday at Cox Pavilion on the UNLV campus that is scheduled to air on beIN Sports at 7 p.m. The Eldorado High graduate will face Tony Lopez in a eight-round bantamweight bout with the vacant NABA United States title on the line.

Tickets start at $29 and can be purchased at unlvtickets.com. Doors open at 5 p.m. with the first fight starting at 5:30.

“I’m going to have a lot of friends and family there,” said Ornelas, who turns 20 in June. “People from school will be there. There are some people that say there’s a lot of pressure on me but I don’t feel that way. I see it as motivation to go out there and perform my best.”

It won’t be the first time Ornelas fights in his hometown. He made his professional debut at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center in 2016, a day before he turned 18.

Ornelas is 10-0-1 with four knockouts and has fought in Mexico, Iowa, California and Arizona.

“When I started I was just too anxious (in the ring),” Ornelas said. “I just wanted to go in there and try to land something big, and now I’m more calm and I take my time.”

Ornelas, who is taking three classes, said students recognize him on campus because of the fight posters. He promised his mother, Lucy, he would get a college degree.

“My parents support my boxing career, but told me when I was 16 I need a degree to fall back on,” Ornelas said. “I thought it was a great idea and I enjoy going to school and meeting new friends.”

Ornelas said he doesn’t have much free time after school. The fighter known as “The Baby-Faced Assassin” immediately leaves campus to train with Gil Martinez at the Roy Jones Jr. Fight Academy.

The Las Vegan expects Friday’s fight to be the toughest of his young career. Lopez, 24, from Mexico, has a record of 12-3-0 with four knockouts.

“I’ve faced older and more experience fighters,” Ornelas said. “The last guy I faced was 40. I know older fighters have the strength advantage, but that just makes me train harder.”

More boxing: Follow all of our boxing coverage online at reviewjournal.com/boxing and @RJ_Sports on Twitter.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.

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