Boxing returns to the San Fernando Valley of Southern California with a former contender making a return to the ring for the first time in over three years.

Former contender Juan Valenzuela makes his long-awaited return to the ring this Friday night at the Warner Center in Woodland Hills, CA. His opponent is no slouch as he takes on Danny Stanisavljevic in an eight round Super Welterweight bout.

The bout will headline a five-bout “Warner Center War� card, presented by Art of Boxing Promotions. It will be the first fight card promoted by former Super Flyweight contender Kahren Harutyunyan.

It has been a long and adventurous professional career for Valenzuela, a career that began in 1998. A fan favorite for his aggressive style, Valenzuela seemed to be to be the underdog facing most top contenders. However, not only did he defeat these contenders, he defeated them convincingly.

His breakthrough bout came over five years ago when he knocked out former world champion Julio Diaz in the first round with a devastating power.

Three bouts later in 2003, Valenzuela, (20-6, 9 KO’s) from Fountain Valley, CA by way of Culiacan, Sinaloa, Mexico, was brought in as an opponent to face then-unbeaten Ricardo Williams Jr. After 10 rounds, Valenzuela had his hand raised after thoroughly outboxing the former Olympian.

Later in the year in September, Valenzuela fought current contender Eleazar Contreras for a regional title. Valenzuela knocked down Contreras in the eighth round, securing a close 10 round majority decision victory.

In his last bout, he stopped Guillermo Valdes in the second round of a scheduled 10 round bout in March of 2004.Valenzuela has won his last five bouts in a row.

Because of that success, Valenzuela was mentioned as a strong candidate to face Miguel Cotto. However, Valenzuela was removed from consideration in that fight and in future fights as doctors noticed a detached retina. He has been declared ready to fight.

Stanisavljevic, (8-12-2, 4 KO’s) from Los Angeles, CA by way of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is coming off a fourth round stoppage victory over former contender Saul Roman in June.

The victory snapped a six-bout losing streak. He was never stopped in those bouts, going the entire distance in those bouts.

Stanisanljevic has had a history of pulling off upsets over young fighters throughout his career. Stanisanljevic won three bouts in a row defeating previously-unbeaten Karl Noons, then Julian Townsend and Frank Mondejar.

In the co-feature, Super Welterweight Vardan Gasparyan will take on rugged Steve Verdin in a six round bout.

Gasparyan, (8-1-3, 4 KO’s) from Glendale, CA by way of Yerevan, Armenia, is unbeaten in his last seven bouts dating back to 2005.

In his last bout, Gasparyan faced Aaron Martinez in August for the California State Welterweight title. After an action-filled opening round, Martinez suffered a cut above his eye due to an accidental head butt resulting in a technical decision draw.

Gasparyan’s only defeat was at the hands of Aaron Robinson, losing a four round unanimous decision.

Verdin, (8-33-2, 1 KO) from Houma, LA, has faced numerous prospects and contenders since beginning his professional career in 2000.

Verdin has fought mostly in four and six round bouts throughout his career, having only fought in an eight round bout once.

Lately, Verdin has had a run of decent victories. He has won two out of his last three bouts, including a six round majority decision victory over Daniel Garcia on Saturday night in Lafayette, LA.

Verdin fought a remarkable 11 times in 2002. Friday night’s fight against Gasparyan will be Verdin’s seventh of 2007.

Bantamweight Jorge Diaz will take on Israel Navarrete in a six round bout.

Diaz, (4-5-1, 1 KO) from Van Nuys, CA, returned to the ring from a 15 month hiatus in his last bout to defeat Larry Olvera in August by a six round split decision.
Diaz had already defeated Olvera almost four years ago.

Friday night will mark the third time that Diaz has fought inside the Warner Center. He scored a first round stoppage victory over Thomas Hensley before losing a six round split decision to Misael Nunez in the same year.

Diaz has already faced Navarrete before, dropped a six round decision to Navarrete in May of last year.

Navarrete, (4-4, 1 KO) from Acapulco, Guerrero, Mexico, will return from a second round knockout to still-unbeaten Yonnhy Perez in July of last year.

The defeat to Perez snapped a four bout winning streak dating back to 2002. In two of his four victories, Navarrete defeated fighters who entered the ring against him undefeated.

In other bouts:

- Super Featherweight Miguel Reza (3-2-1) from Oxnard, CA, will take on Evgeniy Khil in a four round bout. The Russian-born Khil, now living in San Diego, CA, is 1-1-1.

- Featherweight Jesus Adami will make his professional debut when he takes on Sytel Wilbern, (2-0) from Los Angeles, CA, in a four round bout.

As an added bonus for fight fans, boxing celebrities will be in attendance. Scheduled to appear at the show will be Heavyweight contender James “Lights Out� Toney, WBC Super Bantamweight champion Israel Vazquez, Lightweight Joel Casamayor, former world champion Brian Viloria, and fight trainer Freddie Roach. Mario Lopez will be the celebrity ring announcer.

Tickets are on sale and could be purchased on the day of the event or by calling (818) 521-2373. Tickets are valued at $65, $50, and $40.

Doors open at 6:30PM, with first bell scheduled for 7:30PM.