The August 1 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates presentado por Corona Extra will feature an IBF eliminator between former Light Heavyweight titlist Gabriel “Chico Guapo” Campillo (23-6-1, 9 KOs) and undefeated Light Heavyweight Thomas “Top Dog” Williams Jr. (17-0, 12 KOs) in the 12-round main event. The winner of the fight will be ranked No. 2 by the IBF. Friday’s show from the Little Creek Casino in Shelton, Wash., will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will air the fights Sunday, August 3, at 4 p.m. The card is promoted by Goossen Promotions.
Commentators:
Todd Grisham will be ringside with analyst Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2. Alex Pombo and analyst Delvin Rodríguez will call the fights for Noche de Combates on ESPN Deportes, while Claudia Trejos and Leopoldo González will anchor the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will present live interviews and reports for both shows.
Main Event:
Washington D.C.’s Williams — the son of former Heavyweight veteran Thomas Williams — is coming off a third-round TKO win over Enrique Ornelas on the April 24 edition of Friday Night Fights. Campillo, who hails from Spain and won the WBA Light Heavyweight title in 2009 before losing the belt in 2010, is looking to score another victory following a seventh-round TKO win over Ricky Pow in his last fight.
“I’ve seen Campillo fight in person,” Williams said. “I fought on the undercard when he fought Tarvoris Cloud. I sat and watched because it was a championship fight in my weight class, and I just wanted to look at him. He didn’t really impress me, he’s definitely beatable. He’s going to try to run around, but he won’t run around for that long. If you negate everything and cut the ring off, he won’t be able to move too much. I’m going to catch him – they can run, but they can’t hide. I’m going to catch up with him and when I do, I’m going to put the work in.”
Sampson Lewkowicz, Campillo’s advisor, said, “For Campillo, it’s the ‘last tango.’ He’s got to do his best and win, or it could be his last time in boxing….Campillo feels the same way and has said so, but he is confident that he can win this fight and then go on to win the world title.”
Co-Feature:
Friday’s 10-round co-feature will pit former Super Middleweight world title challenger and 2004 Olympian “The Matrix” Andre Dirrell (21-1, 14 KOs) of Flint, Michigan, fighting out of Boca Raton, Florida, against Providence Rhode Island’s Vladine “Mr. Providence” Biosse (15-4-2, 7 KOs). In his last outing, Dirrell won a 10-round unanimous decision over Michael Gbenga, while Biosse is looking to rebound from a 10-round unanimous decision loss to Callum Smith.
Upcoming Schedule:
Date
Time (ET)
Main Event
Location
Networks
Fri, Aug 1
9 p.m.
Thomas Williams Jr. (17-0, 12 KOs) vs. Gabriel Campillo (23-6-1, 10 KOs) — 12 rounds, Light Heavyweights
Little Creek Casino, Shelton, Wash.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Aug 8
9 p.m.
Willie Nelson (22-1-1, 13 KOs) vs. Luis Grajeda (17-2-2, 13 KOs) — 10 rounds, Jr. Middleweights
Fairgrounds,
Fallon, Nev.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Aug 15
9 p.m.
Rustam Nugaev (27-6-1, 17 KOs) vs. Denis Shafikov (33-1-1, 18 KOs) — 12 rounds, Lightweights
Chumash Resort & Casino,
Santa Ynez, Calif.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
Fri, Aug 22
9 p.m.
Austin Trout (26-2, 14 KOs) vs. Daniel Dawson (40-3-1, 26 KOs) — 10 rounds, Jr. Middleweights
Pechanga Resort & Casino
Temecula, Calif.
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes+, WatchESPN
*Schedule subject to change
Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates Social Media:
· Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook.
· Score the fights round-by-round with the “Live Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,” an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.
· Follow ESPN Deportes’ Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo.
· For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.
