The Las Vegas Sun looks at tonight’s Tapia/Torres fight from the perspective of both fighters’ Mexican heritage:

Mexican/American fight fans in Las Vegas will get to watch their beloved son Saturday night when Oscar De La Hoya goes up against Manny Pacquiao in a mega fight at the MGM Grand.

But if they want an early appetizer, they can swing over to another casino tonight to see a pair of Mexican/American fighters in Miguel Torres and Manny Tapia square off in a bantamweight title bout at The Joint at the Hard Rock.

The prize isn’t a boxing belt, even though the pair of mixed martial artists grew up watching beloved Mexican pugilists like Julio Cesar Chavez.

“I was always a fan of boxing but there was no boxing available (when I was growing up),” said World Extreme Cagefighting 135-pound champ Torres (34-1), who puts his title on the line against the undefeated Tapia (10-0-1) in the main event of WEC 37. The first bouts start at 2:45 PT, with the live show on Versus (Ch. 67) kicking in at 5.

The two fighters both said that in addition to high stakes of a championship, they are excited to be a part of such a historic night.

“I think about it that I’m fighting Torres for a world title and that we’re both Mexican-Americans and to be honest it’s crazy,” said Tapia in an interview with the WEC.

Historic night on tap for Mexican/American MMA fighters @ Las Vegas Sun