Karmazin, McKart Weigh-in For Regional Title Clash

Two former world champions will face off against one another Saturday night at the Hollywood Park Casino in Inglewood, California, as Roman Karmazin squares off against Bronco McKart in a twelve-round fight for both the IBF Intercontinental and NABF Middleweight titles. The make or break middleweight main event headlines a jam-packed eleven bout event.

Karmazin (36-3-1, 23 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Katsniezesk, Russia will be looking to get back on track after suffering a surprising setback against fringe contender Alex Bunema this past January. Karmazin, a former IBF Light Middleweight titlist, is moving up in weight to the 160-pound middleweight division. Karmazin weighed in at 157 ¾ pounds.

McKart (51-8-1, 31 KOs) of Monroe, Michigan held the WBO Light Middleweight title briefly in 1996 before dropping it to Winky Wright. McKart, currently ranked #11 by the IBF, is coming off a majority draw against Raul Marquez. The fight was originally ruled a split decision victory for Marquez, but the result was changed to a draw due to an error on the calculations of two of the judges’ scorecards. McKart weighed in at 158 pounds.

Vardan Gasparyan (10-1-4, 5 KOs) of Glendale, California will meet Octavio Narvaez (7-5-1, 4 KOs) of Chinandega, Nicaragua in a six-round light middleweight fight. The bout was originally scheduled to be a pound over the 147-pound welterweight limit, but Narvaez came in way over at 153 ½ pounds. Gasparyan agreed to the fight anyway, and came in at 148.

WBC USNBC Middleweight Champion David Medina (19-2, 10 KOs) of Junction City, Kansas will take on Dan Wallace (9-7, 3 KOs) of Adrian, Michigan in a non-title six-round super middleweight bout. Medina scaled 168 ½, while Wallace came in at 167 pounds.

WBO #8/WBA#9 ranked welterweight Vitaliy Demyanenko (15-0, 10 KOs) of Almaty, Kazakhstan risks his world ranking against spoiler Marteze Logan (26-34-2, 6 KOs) of Covington, Tennessee in a six-round bout. Demyanenko, son of 1980 Olympic bronze medalist Viktor Demyanenko, scaled 147 pounds. Logan weighed in a pound over the contract at 148, but the fight will go on.

In a rare pairing of highly regarded unbeaten former amateur champions, Willie Nelson (10-0, 6 KOs) of Cleveland, Ohio will take on Antonio Johnson (7-0, 3 KOs) of Oakland, California in a six-round welterweight fight. The lanky Nelson weighed in at 149 pounds, while Johnson scaled 150.

Undefeated Ukrainian import Ismayl Sillakh (5-0, 4 KOs) of Simi Valley, California will face Jose Humberto Corral (16-10, 10 KOs) of Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico in a six-round light heavyweight contest. Sillakh, who qualified for the 2008 Summer Olympics, but did not compete at the games, weighed in at 177 pounds, as did Corral.

Former EliteXC fighter Joe Schilling of Los Angeles will make his professional boxing debut against late replacement Orlando Brizzo of Los Angeles via San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy in a four-round super middleweight fight. Brizzo, replacing Roger Vargas, brother of popular former champion Fernando Vargas, is also making his pro debut. Schilling scaled 170, as did Brizzo.

Former international amateur standout Gabriel Tolmajyan (4-1) of Glendale, California meets Andre Kim (2-2) of Sacramento, California in a four-round super featherweight fight. Tolmajyan and Kim both weighed in at 130 pounds.

Former New York Golden Gloves Champion Khabir Suleymanov (5-0, 2 KOs) of Brooklyn, New York makes his California debut against former WBO Intercontinental Bantamweight Champion Lante Addy (6-2, 4 KOs) of Accra, Ghana in a four-round bantamweight fight. Suleymanov, who was a co-New York Golden Gloves winner with his brother Sabir in 1996, scaled 119 pounds. Addy, making his U.S. debut, came in over at 123 pounds. Suleymanov agreed to take the fight anyway.

Hollywood, California-based Nigerian heavyweight Lateef Kayode (4-0, 3 KOs) takes on Ethan Cox (2-3-1, 1 KO) of Long Beach, California in a four-round heavyweight contest. There are high hopes for Kayode, who made for an imposing figure at the weigh-in. Cox, who did not arrive in time to make the weigh-in, will serve as a litmus test for the promising Kayode. Cox was kayoed in two by 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Deontay Wilder and failed to get out of the third against Golden Boy Promotions’ prospect Ashanti Jordan in bouts this year. Both fighters will weigh-in tomorrow.

Unbeaten former Australian Light Welterweight Champion Dean Byrne (9-0, 3 KOs) of Los Angeles, California by way of Crumlin, Ireland is set to take on Francisco Rios Gil (13-8, 9 KOs) of Phoenix, Arizona in a six-round light welterweight fight. Gil had not made his arrival into town in time to make the weigh-in. Although Byrne was on hand, both fighters will officially weigh in tomorrow.

Undefeated heavyweight Joe Hanks (4-0, 3 KOs) originally of Orange, New Jersey was originally slated to take on tough Alvaro Morlaes (3-2-4) of Las Vegas, Nevada in another four-rounder, however he suffered a training injury which forced the cancellation of the fight.

East Los Angeles’ Anthony Mosquera (3-0, 1 KO) was scheduled to meet Michaelangelo Lynks (6-8-2, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles in six-round light welterweight fight. However, Mosquera was not near the contracted weight and the fight was called off.

Tickets for the event, promoted by Art of Boxing Promotions, are available online at ArtOfBoxingPromotions.com.

Quick Weigh-in Results:

IBF Intercontinental Middleweight Championship
NABF Middleweight Championship, 12 Rounds:
Karmazin 157 ¾
McKart 158

Super Middleweights, 6 Rounds:
Medina 168 ½
Wallace 167

Light Middleweights, 6 Rounds:
Gasparyan 148
Narvaez 153 ½

Welterweights, 6 Rounds:
Byrne*
Gil*

Light Heavyweights, 6 Rounds:
Sillakh 177
Corral 177

Welterweights, 6 Rounds:
Johnson 150
Nelson 149

Welterweights, 6 Rounds:
Demyanenko 147
Logan 148

Heavyweights, 4 Rounds:
Kayode*
Cox*

Super Middleweights, 4 Rounds:
Schilling 170
Brizzo 170

Super Featherweights, 4 Rounds:
Tolmajyan 130
Kim 130

Super Bantamweights, 4 Rounds:
Suleymanov 119
Addy 123

*fighters weighing in tomorrow