NEW YORK / YORKSHIRE, ENGLAND (July 2, 2010)—This Friday night at the Doncaster Dome in Yorkshire, England, Jamie McDonnell will make the first defense of his European Bantamweight title in front of his hometown fans when he takes on Rodrigo Bracco of Italy in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds and the bout, along with a eight bout undercard will be streamed on www.gofightlive.tv

The fights will be available on Saturday July 3rd at 12:30 am eastern time and will be available FREE of charge just by clicking: http://www.gofightlive.tv/showEvent.do?eventId=730

McDonnell has a record 14-2-1 with six wins coming by knockout and he won the crown in his last bout as he stopped Frenchman Jerome Arnould (22-3-1) in ten rounds in Arnould’s homeland in France.

McDonnell has won six straight fights which also includes his exciting split decision over Ian Napa back on January 22nd for which McDonnell captured both the British and Commonwealth Bantamweight titles.

Bracco of Italy has a record of 11-2 with five knockouts.

This will be Barcco’s first fight outside his native land and has won two straight bouts which includes his last bout when he won the Italian Bantamweight title with a tenth round stoppage over previously undefeated Pio Antonio Nettuno on March 19th.

The ten round co-feature will be a Jr. Welterweight bout between Curtis Woodhouse taking on Stefy Bull.

Woodhouse has a record of 13-1 with eight knockouts and has won three in a row by knockout.

The Yorkshire resident is coming off a fourth round stoppage over Maurycy Gojko on April 25th.

Bull is a veteran of thirty-six bouts and has produced an impressive record of 29-6-1 with seven knockouts.

Bull is also a Yorkshire resident and has won four straight with his latest victory being a second round stoppage over Dean Hickman (15-6-1) on May 21st.

The rest of the card as Follows:

6 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights—Scott Haywood (20-5-1, 4 KO’s) vs. Rick Godding (11-0, 1 KO)
6 Rounds – Flyweights- Usman Ahmed (6-3-1) vs. Luke Wilton (7-2-1, 3 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Welterweights – Steven Swinburn (0-0-1) vs. Joe Smith (0-1)
4 Rounds – Heavyweights – Damian Campbell (PD) – Lee Swaby (25-25-2, 11 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights – Tommy Coyle (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Daniel Thorpe (23-103-3, 9 KO’s)
4 Rounds – Jr. Welterweights – Chad Gaynor (3-0. 2 KO’s) vs. Johnny Greaves (2-50, 1 KO)
4 Rounds – Middleweights – Liam Cameron (4-0, 1 KO) vs. Dee Mitchell (9-7, 2 KO’s)

The card is promoted by Frank Maloney Promotions and this is the second show in as many weekends that a Frank Maloney Promotions show has been streamed on www.gofightlive.tv

“We had a lot of great feedback and views on the Tyson Fury – John McDermott rematch”, said David Klarman, president of www.gofightlive.tv

“Frank Maloney has been one of the great promoters in all of Europe and puts on great fights and we hope to be able to show the fans around the world these great fights that will take place this weekend and beyond.”

NEW YORK (July 2, 2010) – With dreams of becoming the next great champion to come out of boxing-rich Philadelphia, welterweight prospect Mike Jones will face Irving Garcia in a 12-round main event bout on ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, July 9, live on SHOWTIME® (11 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the ballroom at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

Jones, 27, puts his perfect 21-0 record (17 KOs) on the line against Puerto Rico’s

Garcia (17-4-3, 8 KOs), a tough, aggressive brawler who ShoBox fans might remember for twice knocking down undefeated Carlos Abregu before eventually suffering a fourth round knockout in his last main event fight on May 1, 2009.

In an exciting co-feature, promising, once-beaten Antwone Smith (18-1-1, 10 KOs) of Miami, Fla., will battle Houston’s Lanardo Tyner (23-3, 14 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight tussle.

Jones is ranked among the Top 10 welterweights by all four major world sanctioning bodies in one of boxing’s deepest divisions: No. 2 by the World Boxing Organization (WBO), No. 3 by the World Boxing Association (WBA) and No. 7 by the International Boxing Federation (IBF) and the World Boxing Council (WBC). In addition to his camp touting Jones as the WBO’s top-ranked American 147-pounder, ESPN.com’s Dan Rafael recently wrote, “The 27-year-old from Philadelphia sure looks like he has the potential to become a top welterweight.”

Philadelphia Daily News boxing writer Bernard Fernandez has suggested that Jones could possibly replace the late Arturo Gatti as the next big Atlantic City drawing card. This will be Jones’ fifth consecutive fight in Atlantic City and his first as a headliner at Boardwalk Hall. Not only will Jones’ unbeaten record be on the line but also his North American Boxing Association (NABA) and North American Boxing Organization (NABO) titles.

“There’s a lot at stake for me with this fight and other big ones in the future,” said Jones. “But all of my focus is in winning this fight and looking good in possibly my toughest fight to date.”

The Atlantic City fans will be rooting for Jones, who lives and trains in Philadelphia. In the weeks leading up to his fights, Jones takes to the Newtown Athletic Club in Newton, Pa. for final preparation. Jones has developed quite a following in Pennsylvania, so much so that the Newtown civic leaders proclaimed June 28 “Mike Jones Day.”

The 6-foot Jones is coming off a fifth-round TKO over Hector Munoz of Albuquerque, N.M., also at the Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall in April. In February, he scored a 10-round unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Henry Bruseles at Bally’s Park Place Hotel and Casino Ballroom.

Jones says he has “Tyson power” which was taught to him as an amateur by “Smokin” Joe and Marvis Frazier. “I was taught how to bang early on: just plant my feet on the floor and bang,” he said. “I have a jab like Ali; snap that jab and then throw combinations off that and my ring tricks are like Roy Jones. I have long, long arms, am tall for a welterweight and fast. I’m pretty good at blocking a guy’s shot. I really haven’t been boxing too long and I’m still learning every day.”

Garcia is no stranger to fighting highly touted prospects, having faced the world-ranked Abregu and the dangerous Said Ouali.

SHOWTIME announcer Nick Charles called the Abregu-Garcia fight “one of the most wildly entertaining fights I’ve seen in years,” while SHOWTIME expert analyst and boxing historian Steve Farhood considers the Abregu-Garcia battle as the most exciting bout to ever air on ShoBox.

“This is a difficult fight but not an impossible one to win,” said Garcia, who turned pro in 1998. “I am working very hard to come into this fight in my best physical condition. I know how important this fight is for my future and the future of my family.”

The event is promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment.

In the co-feature, all eyes will be on Smith, who is the early favorite to beat Tyner. Many feel that the winners from each of the night’s top fights will likely square off against each other in an upcoming match.

The 5-foot-7, extremely athletic Smith is a boxer-puncher who is not averse to trading punches. In his last fight on April 10 in Sunrise, Fla., the 23-year-old knocked out Franklin Gonzalez with a body shot in the third round on the Andre Berto-Carlos Quintana card. In November of last year, Smith earned a ninth-round stoppage against undefeated Henry Crawford in an all-out slugfest that ShoBox fans won’t soon forget.

Smith is rated No. 13 by the IBF and has been a pro since 2006. Smith also has wins over Jerome Ellis, Norberto Gonzalez and Richard Gutierrez.

Tyner, 34, is originally from Detroit. He turned pro in 2004 and has beaten Kenny Abril, Leo Martinez and Gilbert Venegas. He also went 12 hard rounds with Mexican knockout sensation Saul Alvarez, losing by decision last year in Mexico.

Curt Menefee will call the action from ringside with Steve Farhood and Antonio Tarver serving as expert analysts. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Chuck McKean directing.

For information on SHOWTIME Sports Programming, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries, complete telecast information and more, please go the new SHOWTIME Sports website at http://www.sho.com/sports.

About ShoBox: The New Generation

Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi, Kendall Holt, Timothy Bradley, Bernard Dunne, Yonnhy Perez, Yuri Foreman and Andre Ward.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL® HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL® ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (July 2, 2010) — With one week to go before Classic Entertainment & Sports presents “Let Freedom Ring” July 9th, 2010 at the Twin River Event Center in Lincoln, R.I., the number of available tickets are dwindling fast.

As of today, all $35.00 and $100.00 ringside VIP tickets are sold out. Only $75.00 seats (front row outside of the ringside corral) and $50.00 seats are available, and those are moving fast, too, so get yours today or risk being left out in the cold on July 9th.

“Let Freedom Ring” will broadcast live on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” with NABO lightweight champion “Hammerin'” Hank Lundy (18-0-1, 10 KOs) defending his title against John “The Hammer” Molina (20-1, 16 KOs) in the 10-round main event. Friday’s card also features a highly-anticipated border war between Vladine Biosse (6-0, 4 KOs) of Providence and Lowell, Mass., native “Irish” Joey McCreedy (11-4-2, 6 KOs) in the 8-round co-feature for McCreedy’s New England super middleweight title.

The undercard includes Keith Kozlin (5-1, 3 KOs), Joe Gardner (4-1-1, 1 KO), Dustin Reinhold (1-1, 1 KO), Maceo Crowder (2-0, 1 KO), Diego Pereira (4-0, 2 KOs), Providence firefighter Eric Estrada (the brother of 2004 U.S. Olympian Jason Estrada) in his pro debut and a long-awaited rematch between female welterweights Kali Reis (2-0, 1 KO) and Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (2-1, 1 KO).

To purchase tickets, call 401-724-2253 or visit CESBoxing.com. Be sure to visit the site in the next few days for more information on your favorite fighters and CES’ upcoming shows. Also, join Team CES at the Twin River Casino tonight for an open workout from 7 to 9 featuring several fighters from next Friday’s card, including Biosse, McCreedy and Kozlin.

On the 1 July Frank Warren proudly announced a bumper fight card that is stacked from top to bottom with Championship fights calling it “The Magnificent Seven”. It contains one Interim World Title fight, 3 European title bouts and 2 British Championship fights. It takes place on 18 September from LG Arena, Birmingham on Sky Sports on PPV. Headlining the card is Wales Nathan Cleverly 19-0(9) who squares of with another unbeaten fighter in Maro Kurat 22-0(13) of Germany by way of Iraq for the Vacant WBO Interim Light Heavyweight crown.

In European action Enzo Maccarinelli 32-4(25) makes the first defence of his Cruiserweight crown likely against another German Alexander Frankel who is originally from Ukraine sporting a pristine 22-0(17) record. An intriguing battle of Britain takes place when Matthew Macklin 26-2(18) challenge’s for his old European Middleweight title against Darren Barker 22-0(14) in a 50-50 fight. Sheffield’s Ryan Rhodes 44-4(30) makes the second defence of his European Light Middleweight when he meets former World title challenger Lucas Konecny 44-3(21).

Another highly anticipated fight see’s Kell Brook 21-0(14) meets Michael Jennings 36-2(17) in a British title scrap that doubles up as a WBO Welterweight eliminator. These two have been matched several times only for the fights to be cancelled for a variety of reason’s. Derek Chisora 13-0(8) rematches Sam Sexton 13-1(6) in a British Heavyweight title fight. Chisora previously beat Sexton just over two years ago by sixth round stoppage.

Former Olympian’s James Degale & Frankie Gavin also see action. Degale 7-0(5) makes the first defence of his WBA International Super Middleweight crown though no opponent is known as yet. Gavin 7-0(6) clashes with former Soccer player Curtis Woodhouse 13-1(8).

Local Don Broadhurst 11-1(3) returns after a 9 month hiatus when he lost for the first time against Lee Haskins. No opponent was announced for Broadhurst.

Ticket’s go on sale on 9 July. Stayed tuned for more information.

Photo by REUTERS/Las Vegas Sun/Steve Marcus (UNITED STATES)

Raul Lopez 122 vs Geraldo Rosas 122
Joshua Arocho 128 vs Joseliz Cepeda 127
Joey Tiberi 135 vs Javiar Dennis 134
Joel DeLaPaz 167 vs Randy Campbell 167
Carlos Perez 146 vs Hector Collado 146
Ismail Garcia 159 vs Bryan Smith (failed to show for weigh-in fight cancelled)
Isiah Seldon 166 vs Damion Reed 166
Mazur Ali 178 vs Charles Hayward 174

Venue: Merighi’s Savoy Inn
Promoter: Mike Indri’s Dignity Promotions

15rounds.com Matt Yanofsky goes one on one with former WBC Junior Middleweight champion and Contender Season 1 winner Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora. Mora is slated to battle the legendary Shane Mosley September 18 in the main event of a pay per view. Click below to hear what Sergio has to say about Mosley, his previous struggles as an unpromoted fighter and why The Contender failed after four seasons!
listen-to-sergio-mora

A reported agreement on terms for Manny Pacquiao-Floyd Mayweather Jr. should be reason for optimism. Maybe, the biggest fight in years will finally happen. But skepticism is the only reasonable reaction. We’ve been here before, haven’t we? We’re back at the scene of an old accident, waiting on Mayweather all over again. I’d prefer to wait on a root canal.

Mayweather is as unpredictable as he is elusive. Annoying, too, but give him this: He says – ad nauseam –that he is the face of boxing, that everything happens because of him. Few can argue with him on that one right now. In resurrected talks of negotiations that blew apart more than six months ago, Mayweather has the last say, yea or nay.

“It’s up to him,’’ Pacquiao promoter Bob Arum told Yahoo Wednesday.

Safe to say, Arum won’t leave it up to Mayweather for long. He’ll give it a couple of weeks. The Top Rank promoter says he will wait until mid-July for an answer from Mayweather. No reply presumably means Arum will turn to Plan B or C, Antonio Margarito or Miguel Cotto for a Pacquiao bout scheduled for Nov. 13.

But nobody knows how — or even if — Mayweather will respond. Mayweather’s representatives, Golden Boy Promotions CEO Richard Schaefer and Leonard Ellerbe, have honored an initial agreement not to comment. If Mayweather-Pacquiao is going to happen in November, however, it’s time to take off the gag.

Mayweather must enjoy the power of being granted the last word. But it is double-edged with potential enough to destroy Mayweather’s attempts to spin himself into a less profane, more media-friendly personality before and after his brilliant victory over Shane Mosley in May.

In renewed talks however, it looks as if there is a reversal of roles. There was no deal six months ago because of a sudden, deal-breaking demand from Mayweather for random, Olympic-style drug-testing. Pacquiao said no, a refusal that then aroused speculation about whether he was in fact a user of banned substances despite a clean record of tests sanctioned by regulatory agencies, including the Nevada State Athletic Commission.

According to Arum, the drug issue has been resolved. Arum didn’t provide any specifics, but the assumption is that Pacquiao has agreed to some sort of random blood-testing under protocol set down by the Nevada commission, which appeared to consider possible methods and timetables during discussions last month with sports-medicine experts, physicians and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency.

If Pacquiao has agreed to drug testing, Mayweather has lost the high ground he had occupied amid repeated boasts that he was only try to clean up boxing. Drug testing is no longer the issue. But that doesn’t mean that Mayweather won’t find another one.

If he does, Mayweather will have to face renewed accusations that he just doesn’t want to fight Pacquiao.

Arum is right:

It is up to Mayweather.

Is it ever.

From this corner, it looks as if Mayweather’s only wiggle room is a delay until next year. In interviews with Yahoo and Filipino media, Arum seemed to prepare himself for Pacquiao-Mayweather at a later date.

He has to look only at Mayweather’’s recent record. The unbeaten welterweight has fought only four times over the last four years – twice in 2007 with victories over Oscar De La Hoya and Ricky Hatton, not once in 2008, once in 2009 with a lopsided decision over Juan Manuel Marquez and once this year against Mosley.

Even if Mayweather’s career is down to only one a fight year, it appears as if there is only one fight for him. It looks as if he can’t say no to Pacquiao. Then again, Mayweather has already shown that he can say just about everything and sometimes nothing at all. It’s impossible to know what he will do. The only thing anybody knows for certain is that he will make you wait.

Undefeated welterweight Mike Jones, of Philadelphia, was given a citation from the Pennsylvania House of Representatives proclaiming June 28, 2010 as “Mike Jones Day” at the Newtown (PA) Athletic Club, his training site for several weeks prior to his fights. The proclamation was presented to him by Adrianne Sellers, legislative assistant to Pennsylvania State Representative Steve Santarsiero. Jones, who is ranked the #2 welterweight by the WBO behind champion Manny Pacquiao, has been preparing for his July 9 fight when he defends his NABA and NABO titles against Irving Garcia at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.

# # #

Mike Jones vs. Irving Garcia: The Fireworks Continue on July 9, 2010 at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall is promoted by Peltz Boxing Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment and Caesars Atlantic City. The 12-round main event will be for Jones’ NABA and NABO welterweight titles.

Tickets are $100, $75 and $50 and are available at Ticketmaster.com (800-736-1420) and through Peltzboxing.com (215-765-0922)

Featherweight contender Bernabe Concepcion of the Philippines and chief trainer Bueboy are off to Puerto Rico today. Concepcion is taking on world champion Juan Manuel Lopez there on Saturday, July 10.

Concepcion, 22, boxes in the Manny Pacquiao stable and has been training for weeks at the Wild Card Gym in Hollywood, Ca. Both Concepcion and Lopez have promised victory in the world title fight which will be at the Coliseo of Puerto Rico in Hato Rey.

“Bernabe has all of the ingredients to make a great champion,” Pacquiao said. “He works hard and is focused only on boxing. We have very high hopes for him.”

Lopez, 26, is the WBO 126-pound champion. He is 7-0 with six knockouts in world title fights.

Michael Koncz, chief advisor to Pacquiao, is taking a flight from the Philippines and will be with Concepcion in Puerto Rico.

Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Bernabe Concepcion and Nonito Donaire vs. Hernan Tyson Marquez is promoted by Top Rank in association with PR Best Boxing. The two title fights will be broadcast live on SHOWTIME (9 pm eastern/9 pm pacific – delayed on West Coast)

YURI FOREMAN ON ROAD TO RECOVERY

Yuri Foreman, who had a knee injury during the recent fight with Miguel Cotto, is on the road to recovery. Yuri, from his iPad, wrote…”walking a bit with a knee brace…rehab going well….but I would like to speed up the process.”

Top Rank Notebook — Steven Badgley, the U.S. Army helicopter pilot who fought several weeks ago at Madison Square Garden, has been transferred from Fort Drum, N.Y. to an undisclosed location. “I am fine – don’t let anyone worry,” said Badgley, a Chief Warrant Officer……

Tony Martin, chief trainer for Mark Melligen, says Manny Pacquiao – even as a very young fighter in the Philippines – always had a ‘warrior style of fighting’ whenever he got into the ring.’….

Melligen, from Rizal, Philippines and Martin are off to Reno, Nevada today for a Top Rank/Let’s Get It On Promotions press conference. Melligen, who trained for weeks in Las Vegas, is taking on Anges Adjaho, in the opening televised bout on the Top Rank Live! (FSN) fight card on Saturday, July 3. The live telecast is 10 pm eastern/7 pm pacific.

Thanks to all

TOP RANK SCHEDULE

Saturday, July 3, Grand Sierra Resort & Casino, Reno, Nevada – FSN
10 Rds., Flyweights
ULISES ‘ARCHIE’ SOLIS, 30-2-2, 21 KOs, Guadalajara, Mexico
vs. ERIC ORTIZ, 31-10-3, 20 KOs, Mexico City

10 Rds. Welterweights
MARK MELLIGEN, 18-2, 13 KOs, Cebu City, Philippines
vs. ANGES ADJAHO, 17-2, 9 KOs, Geneva, N.Y.

8 Rds., Middleweights
JOEY GILBERT, 20-2, 16 KOs, Reno, Nevada
vs. BILLY BAILEY, 10-8-1, 4 KOs, Bakersfield, Ca.

Saturday, July 10, Coliseo of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico – SHOWTIME
12 Rds., WBO Featherweight Championship
Champion JUAN MANUEL LOPEZ, 28-0, 25 KOs, Caguas, Puerto Rico
vs. BERNABE CONCEPCION, 28-3-1, 15 KOs, Rizal, Philippines

12 Rds., WBA Interim Super Flyweight Championship
Champion NONITO ‘FILIPINO FLASH’ DONAIRE, 23-1,15 KOs, San Leandro, Calif.
vs. HERNAN ‘TYSON’ MARQUEZ, 27-1, 20 KOs, Empalme, Mexico

12 Rds., NABO Super Bantamweight Champioship
JONATHAN OQUENDO, 18-2, 11 KOs, Vega Alta, Puerto Rico
vs. EDEN SONSONA, 19-5, 8 KOs, Paranaque, Philippines

Saturday, July 17, Chiapas, Mexico – FSN
12 Rds., WBO Bantamweight Championship
Champion FERNANDO MONTIEL, 41-2-2, 31 KOs, Los Mochis, Mexico
vs. Interim Champion ERIC MOREL, 42-2, 21 KOs, San Juan, Puerto Rico

6 Rds., Junior Featherweights
ROBERTO MARROQUIN, 14-0, 11 KOs, Dallas
vs. To Be Announced

Saturday, July 31, Tepic, Mexico – Fox Sports Espanol
Main Event to be Announced

Photo By Chris Farina / Top Rank

NEW YORK (July 1, 2010) – World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion Juan Manuel “Juanma” Lopez (28-0, 25 KO’s) is set to defend his title against Filipino Bernabe Concepcion (30-2-1, 17 KOs) on July 10 in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the west coast).

Saturday’s 12-round world title fight is promoted by Top Rank Inc.

Lopez, The former WBO super-bantamweight champion, knows Concepcion will be one of the fastest fighters he’s ever faced. “I’ve seen Bernabe Concepcion fight several times and I’ve really studied his style. I know he’s working with Manny Pacquiao – they work with the same people. He’s a very strong fighter. He’s a young fighter – a hungry fighter. He really wants to be a world champion. He’s a difficult opponent.

“He’s a very intelligent fighter, so we need to be very intelligent, too. We need to fight him with a lot of pressure and a lot of speed – we need to be very fast that night.”

In what should prove to be an equally entertaining co-feature bout, Nonito Donaire (23-1, 15 KOs) will battle Hernan Marquez (25-1, 18 KOs) for the interim WBA super flyweight championship. Donaire is currently ranked in the top five on several publications’ pound-for-pound lists and is the former IBF world flyweight and IBO world flyweight champion.

Lopez, who will be making the first defense of his second world title, made the move up to featherweight in his last fight, a January TKO win over Steven Luevano at Madison Square Garden in New York, and is currently on the longest layoff of his five-year pro career. Luevano was the third world champion Lopez has fought and vanquished in his last seven fights.

Luevano is the only common opponent between Lopez and Concepcion with Concepcion losing to him by disqualification in the seventh round in August, 2009.

On June 7, 2008, Lopez defeated Daniel Ponce de León by technical knockout to win his first title – the WBO super bantamweight championship. He defended the title five times until Jan. 23, 2010, vacating it after defeating Luevano for the organization’s featherweight championship.

Against Lopez, Concepcion will face the biggest puncher he’s ever encountered. The 22-year-old began his pro career at 110 pounds before settling into the super-bantamweight division in 2005. He later moved up to 126 pounds in 2009.

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In his last fight in February of this year, he won a 10-round unanimous decision over Mario Santiago in Las Vegas. Before that, against Luevano, Concepcion blatantly belted the defending WBO featherweight champ with an after-the-bell shot at the end of the seventh round earning him the disqualification.

In preparation for his 12-round co-feature bout against Marquez, Donaire will be looking to drop close to 10 pounds to get down to the 115-pound limit. The “Filipino Flash” has been sparring with heavier fighters like Glenn Gonzales and Luevano.

Donaire, 27, won the interim WBA super flyweight title in August 2009, and has made one successful defense. He is unbeaten in world title bouts. Marquez is just 21 and goes by the nickname “Tyson” because as an amateur his father said he hit as hard as Mike Tyson.

Gus Johnson will call the action with Al Bernstein serving as expert analyst and Jim Gray as the ringside reporter. The executive producer is David Dinkins Jr., with Ray Smaltz producing and Bob Dunphy directing.

For information on all SHOWTIME Sports telecasts, including exclusive behind-the-scenes video and photo galleries from its events, please visit the website at http://www.sports.sho.com.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television Networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, as well as the multiplex channels SHOWTIME 2™, SHOWTIME® SHOWCASE, SHOWTIME EXTREME®, SHOWTIME BEYOND®, SHOWTIME NEXT®, SHOWTIME WOMEN®, SHOWTIME FAMILY ZONE® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ XTRA. SNI also offers SHOWTIME HD®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ HD, SHOWTIME ON DEMAND® and THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution. All SNI feeds provide enhanced sound using Dolby Digital 5.1. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV®.

Photo by Chris Farina/Top Rank