By Francisco Salazar

Super bantamweight Chris Avalos (20-2, 15 KOs) is eager to show why he is a fighter to be reckoned with. He will face Jose Luis Araiza in a scheduled 10 round bout tonight at the C. Robert Lee Center in Hawaiian Gardens, CA.
 
"It's been a long time since my last fight and I really can't wait to get back in the ring," Avalos told Boxingscene.com earlier in the week. "I really want to show the fans what I've been working on in the last eight weeks.
 
The Lancaster, CA resident, who won a 10 round unanimous decision over Yenifel Vicente in his last fight on August 10th, is also known for losing a controversial 10 round split decision to Jonahthan Romero. Last Saturday, Romero won the IBF super bantamweight title with a 12 round split decision over Alejandro Perez.
 
Ironically, Avalos said he was rooting for Romero to win. Although he did not agree with his decision loss, Avalos is pretty sure that he would beat Romero convincingly if they were to fight again.
 
"That fight and seeing Romero win really motivates me to work hard in the gym. As far as I'm concerned, he's holding that title for me. I'm going to let him enjoy carrying that belt around. In terms of talent, he is not better than me. I'm going to work hard in 2013 to get my title shot with him."
 
Avalos' bout tonight against Araiza will be televised live on UniMas (formerly Telefutura) at 11:30PM ET. Top Rank will promote the card.