BRUNO ESCALANTE FACES RIOS TONIGHT AT CACHE CREEK CASINO

On Saturday night, 24-year old junior bantamweight prospect Bruno Escalante (9-1, 5 KOs) will step into the ring against Joseph Rios at the Cache Creek Resort Casino in Brooks, Calif.

Hailing from Cebu in the Philippines, but fighting out of Redwood City, Calif., Escalante is on a four-fight win streak, since his lone defeat in June 2012, and has shown quite a bit of improvement, particularly with his offensive weapons, that he continues to work on when training at the Undisputed Boxing Gym in San Carlos, Calif.

Escalante spoke with 3 More Rounds earlier this week regarding his upcoming fight and on his developing career.

There are some mighty big shoes to fill in the Filipino boxing community with both Pacquiao and Donaire still fighting, but what do you hope to do differently to establish yourself as someone to keep an eye on?

Bruno Escalante:  All I can do is be myself and keep working hard to become a better fighter.  Pacquiao and Donaire have definitely inspired me to be in the best shape possible so I can perform at my best ability. This past year I’ve stay really busy and I’m happy with my progress.

Tickets are priced at $65, $95 and $125, and can be purchased at cachecreek.com, tickets.com, and pacopresentsboxing.com.  The weigh-in will take place at Cache Creek Casino Resort on Friday starting at 3 p.m.