‘Cold War 4’ set for Jan. 27 at Buffalo Thunder

When Pat Holmes scheduled a fight card at Buffalo Thunder Resort & Casino for January 2014, he worried about the timing of the event.

With a hectic holiday season just ending, setting up a boxing event so soon after that might have been an easy sell for fight fans. Those fears were put to rest with a strong crowd for the “Return of the Warrior” card that year. Since then, Holmes has put on the “Cold War” series, and the results have been better than he could have imagined.

“When we talked to [casino and resort officials] about doing a show in January, they were like, ‘Well, that should be fine because all the golfers aren’t here,’ ” Holmes said. “I was worried because it was so soon after Christmas and New Year’s and people might not be able to come, but it ended up being our fastest show to sell out. We sell out [hotel] rooms every time and they told me in the beginning that we wouldn’t be able to sell all the rooms here, there are over 800 rooms.”

With “Cold War 4” set for Jan. 27, Holmes said he is already down to around 100 tickets for the card, which will feature Española’s Antonio Martinez and Leanna Martinez (no relation). For his other fight cards in May and September, he usually has about 200 tickets left to sell by this point before the fights.

Spectators will see Antonio Martinez, who lost in a split decision to El Paso’s Gabriel Gutierrez in September, take on Belen’s Gene Perez. Holmes has brought the 27-year-old onto his card several times over the last four years, and while he owns only a 2-10 mark, Perez has more than held his own in the ring.

His tenacity and determination in the ring is partly why Holmes brings him back.

As for Antonio Martinez, Holmes said he is eager to get back into the ring after a tough loss in which he suffered a cut under his left eye from a Gutierrez elbow during the first round, Martinez gamely battled even though he was essentially a one-eyed fighter after the second round.

“It will be a good fight,” Holmes said. “Mentally, ’Ton wants to come back from that last fight.”

Meanwhile, Leanna Martinez is trying to go 2-0 after an impressive debut in knocking out Brittney Horton from Belen. This time, she will take on a foe familiar to Holmes’ events in Albuquerque’s Kristen Montano, who was the last opponent Española’s Monica Lovato faced in the ring in October of 2014. Lovato knocked her out in the first round.

“She fought Monica at her weight [115 pounds], so this time she’ll be at 112,” Holmes said. “Leanna’s going up to 112, because she normally can fight at 108.”

Also on the card will be Manuel Eastman of Los Lunas, as the heavyweight will take on Frank Sanchez Faure out of Cuba. Rio Rancho’s Bryant McClain is scheduled to take on Travis Foster of Newark, N.J., in a super middleweight bout.

For more ticket information, call 505-795-2772.