ONEIDA NATION HOMELANDS (August 30, 2012) Turning Stone Resort Casino hosts a World Boxing Association middleweight championship bout in the Event Center Saturday night. The first-ever HBO Boxing After Dark broadcast from Turning Stone is expected to reach more than 100 countries around the world.
The 12-round main event features undefeated World Boxing Association Middleweight Champion Gennady Golovkin (23-0, 20 KOs) of Kazakhstan defending his title against highly regarded Grzegorz Proksa (28-1, 21 KOs) of Poland. Golovkin arrived in New York earlier this week for his first fight in the United States.
At a news conference Thursday in the Turning Stone Showroom, Golovkin said, “I’m happy now. It’s been my dream for a long time to come fight in America. The best fighters are in America. My favorites were Sugar Ray Robinson, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Mike Tyson, because they had power, and were strong punchers, and that’s my style. Now I get to show that to the American fans, and Turning Stone is a great atmosphere for this fight.”
The challenger, Proksa, said, “Fifteen years ago, when I started to box, my dream was to fight for a world championship. I know Golovkin is a top-level boxer, and I am excited for this fight.”
The 12-round co-feature showcases former WBO Jr. Middleweight champion Sergiy “Razor” Dzinziruk (37-1, 23 KOs) of Kiev, Ukraine versus undefeated Puerto Rican contender Jonathan Gonzalez (15-0, 13 KOs), the current NABO and WBA FEDELATIN Jr. Middleweight champion. Six other bouts are also scheduled for the undercard.
Banner Promotions and Greg Cohen Promotions are promoters of the event with special thanks to K2 Promotions and Warriors Boxing Promotions. Greg Cohen said, “The Central New York community has an appetite for boxing. Turning Stone lends itself to that. The arena is spectacular. It’s perfect for world title fights. I believe when we have a successful event Saturday night that Turning Stone is going to become a main staple in the rotation for both HBO and Showtime championship boxing.”
Tickets for the Saturday, September 1 HBO Boxing After Dark event range from $25 to $75 and are available at the Turning Stone Resort Casino Box Office. Call (315) 361-7469 or visit www.Ticketmaster.com. The undercard begins at 8 p.m. with the HBO live national broadcast starting at 9:45 p.m.