It’s official! Erik Skoglund (22-0, 11 KOs) will defend his IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight title against Oleksandr Cherviak (15-4-1, 5 KOs) on September 19 in Nyköping, Sweden.

In a landmark moment for Swedish boxing, the country’s Martial Arts Delegation has approved Team Sauerland’s application for the undefeated 24 year-old to box 12 x 3 minute rounds. Skoglund will become the first male boxer to compete in a major title fight on Swedish soil since a ban on professional boxing in 1969.

‘’This is the happiest day of my life,’’ said Skoglund on hearing the news. ‘’ It means everything to me to bring the sport back to Sweden. Boxing has been forbidden since 1969 and although it came back to some degree in 2006, this is going to be the first twelve-round title fight since 1968. We’re making history now and it feels unbelievable!’’

‘’We’re delighted that the Swedish commission have accepted our application,’’ said promoter Nisse Sauerland. ‘’This is a historic decision and we’re ecstatic that Erik will be able to showcase his skills in front of his home fans in Nyköping.

‘’There is no one more deserving of this opportunity then Erik. He is a phenomenal athlete, a great role model and a real ambassador for the sport. This is a fantastic moment for him and for Swedish boxing as a whole.’’

Skoglund’s historic homecoming will be broadcast by Viasat. Per Nunstedt, Head of Sports at Viasat Sport, Sweden has welcomed the Martial Arts Delegation’s decision.

‘’Swedish boxing fans haven’t seen a great male fight since the 60s,’’ said Nunstedt. ‘’So this is a very welcome decision and hopefully the beginning of new era of professional boxing in Sweden.

‘’Erik deserves this chance to fight with the support of a Swedish home crowd. We have broadcast all of his fights so far but of course this event will hasve a special flair and a historic touch. Our Viasat channels has been the home of boxing for many years now, but this adds something extra for us, our viewers and the sport in general. To broadcast a fight like this in Sweden is a real knockout!’’

Venue and ticketing details for Skoglund’s IBF Intercontinental Light Heavyweight defence on September 19 in Nyköping will be announced shortly.

Bethlehem, Penn. (Friday, July 17, 2015) – Uprising Promotions super middleweight Samuel Clarkson (14-3, 8 KOs) will be making his promotional debut on Friday night, opening the Showtime telecast for ShoBox: The New Generation against once-beaten Jerry Odom (13-1, 12 KOs). The ShoBox broadcast will start at 10:00 PM EST.

“I’m going into this fight very confidently,” Clarkson stated. “I plan on showing my true skills, my ability, my speed and my technique. I feel that this fight is very even, and I will be able to showcase my skills and show the world what I’ve got.”

Clarkson enters Friday night as a winner in seven of his last eight bouts. His only loss during that timeframe was to undefeated super middleweight contender Jesse Hart, where he became just the third fighter to take Hart the distance. His greatest win as a professional came this past February when he defeated once-beaten Cedric Agnew in New York, with Agnew being just one fight removed from a world title bout with Sergey Kovalev.

Uprising Promotions will be returning to action with its next card on Friday, July 24th, bringing another loaded show to the Brooklyn Masonic Temple. Scheduled to headline the night is a featherweight scrap between two aggressive fighters, with Dominican Yenifel Vicente (26-3, 18 KOs) facing Manuel de los Reyes Herrera (21-16-1, 15 KOs) of Colombia. With many local prospects and rising stars, Ring of Fire will most certainly continue the tradition of Uprising Promotions bringing competitive and entertaining fights to boxing fans.

Ring of Fire will continue the initiative of Uprising Promotions to KO Autism, with proceeds from the night getting donated to The School For Language and Communication Development (SLCD) in Glen Cove, New York. This card is being sponsored by Charlie’s Auto Collision in Long Island City, Sleep Inn, Ronson Frank Fitness and Resolution Sports.

For more information on Uprising Promotions and to keep up with all of our latest news, make sure to check out www.UprisingPromotions.com and follow us on social media: @UprisingNYC

BROOKLYN (July 17, 2015) – A light heavyweight contest between Brooklyn’s own “Notorious” Travis Peterkin (15-0,7 KOs) and fellow undefeated prospect Lenin Castillo (12-0, 7 KOs) highlights a full night of undercard action at Barclays Center on Saturday, August 1.

The headlining event of the evening is a Premier Boxing Champions on ESPN doubleheader featuring undefeated superstar Danny “Swift” Garcia (30-0, 17 KOs) taking on Brooklyn’s own Paulie “The Magic Man” Malignaggi (33-6,7 KOs), with middleweight champion Daniel “The Miracle Man” Jacobs (29-1, 26 KOs) squaring off against Sergio “The Latin Snake” Mora (28-3-2, 9KOs) in the co-feature.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT. Fans in attendance will also be treated to a riveting undercard featuring an abundance of local talent on the rise.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Swift Promotions, are priced at $250, $150, $120, $75 and $45, not including applicable service charges and taxes, and are on sale now. Tickets are available at www.barclayscenter.com, www.ticketmaster.com and at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. To charge by phone, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. For group tickets, please call 855-GROUP-BK.

The showdown between hometown favorite Peterkin and the Dominican Castillo is scheduled for eight rounds. Following an amateur career that ended with a 95-7 record, the highly touted Peterkin turned pro in 2011 and has developed on DiBella Entertainment’s “Broadway Boxing” series. Castillo is a former amateur standout and 2008 Dominican Olympian. Both Peterkin and Castillo will be making their Barclays Center debuts.

Brooklyn’s Rafael “Dynamite” Vazquez (15-1, 12 KOs) has kept a busy schedule in 2015 and will return for his fourth fight this year in an eight-round featherweight contest. The 37-year-old Vazquez is not your typical boxer. While he is ranked high in the world rankings at number seven and is seeking a world title opportunity, fame and glory are not his top priorities. With an autistic daughter and a wife diagnosed with cervical cancer, Vazquez fights for his family. Getting a late start to boxing, Vazquez, who lost both of his parents at an early age and endured a stint in prison as a wayward youth, turned pro in September 2010. He has since donated portions of his purses to autism research, while also holding fundraisers to help raise awareness. After suffering a shocking split decision loss to Jhovany Collado in 2012, Vazquez, who has absolutely devastating power in both hands, has stopped six of his last seven opponents, including the 30-2 Leon Moore.

Polish heavyweight knockout artist Adam Kownacki (10-0, 9 KOs) will return to Barclays Center following a dominant eight-round unanimous decision over the tough Ytalo Perea on May 29. Kownacki was born in Lomza, Poland, before migrating to the US with his family at the age of seven and settling in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, known as a large Polish community. A pro since 2009, Kownacki has gained immeasurable experience sparring with heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko on multiple occasions. Prior to his bout in May, Kownacki had scored all of his knockouts in five rounds or less. He’ll be facing fellow heavy-hitter Maurenzo Smith (12-9-3, 9 KOs) in an eight-round contest in Brooklyn.

Brooklyn’s popular Heather “The Heat” Hardy (13-0, 2 KOs), who competed in Barclays Center’s first-ever professional female boxing match last year, has become a staple at the famed venue since then. On August 1, Hardy will be making her third consecutive appearance at Barclays Center. A little over two years after her pro debut, Hardy won an international title belt in the super bantamweight division in October 2014. In her last bout on May 29, Hardy impressively outpointed Noemi Bosques over eight frames. She’ll look to keep that momentum going on August 1, in an eight-round featherweight contest when she takes on Hungarian Renata Domsodi (12-6, 5 KOs).

Eager to make a name for himself as the next promising up-and-comer out of Puerto Rico, junior middleweight Prichard Colon (14-0, 11 KOs), will return to Barclays Center for the third time. As an amateur, Colon was a five-time Puerto Rican national champion prior to turning pro in 2013. Trained by his father, Colon has been stylistically compared to fellow countryman Felix Trinidad, with all but one of his knockouts coming in five rounds or less. In the opposite corner at Barclays Center will be Las Vegas-resident Michael Finney (12-3-1, 10 KOs) who is known for giving prospects a real test, having gone the distance with Jermall Charlo and Erickson Lubin, while battling to a draw against the 11-0-2 Wilkins Santiago.

Unbeaten 24-year-old junior lightweight Omar “Super O” Douglas (14-0, 11 KOs) of Wilmington, DE, is ready to transition from prospect to contender. While an adept technical boxer, the powerful Douglas always seeks to end bouts early, with five of his 11 knockouts coming in the very first round. On August 1, he’ll be squaring off against Puerto Rican southpaw Frank Santos de Alba (16-1-2, 6 KOs) who has not lost since dropping a decision in his 2011 pro debut.

Junior lightweights Titus Williams, from Elmont, Long Island, and Philadelphia’s Thomas Velasquez will be making their pro debuts in separate four-round bouts following decorated amateur careers.

Select undercard bouts will be carried live on ESPN3. ESPN Deportes will also televise the fights live, as part of its Noche de Combates series and ESPN International will present live coverage across its networks in Latin America, Brazil, the Caribbean and Pacific Rim. Live coverage will also be available through WatchESPN on computers, smartphones, tablets, Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One via an affiliated video provider.

For more information, visit www.premierboxingchampions.com, www.barclayscenter.com and www.dbe1.com. Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @DannySwift, @PaulMalignaggi, @LouDiBella, @ESPNBoxing, @BarclaysCenter and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/fanpagedannyswiftgarcia, www.facebook.com/PaulMalignaggi, www.facebook.com/barclayscenterand www.facebook.com/ESPN. Follow the conversation using #PBConESPN and #BrooklynBoxing.

Arthur Abraham (42-4, 28 KOs) and Robert Stieglitz (47-4-1, 27 KOs) both made weight today ahead of their fourth WBO World Super Middleweight Championship contest tomorrow night at the Gerry Weber Stadium in Halle, Germany.

WBO World Super Middleweight Championship:
Arthur Abraham: 76 kg
Robert Stieglitz: 75.9 kg

The star-studded show in Halle also features 17 year-old German knockout specialist Vincent Feigenbutz (19-1, 18 KOs) who faces Mauricio Reynoso (15-1-1, 11 KOs) for the Interim WBA World Super Middleweight title, and the return of London 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist Anthony Ogogo (7-0, 4 KOs) against Ruslan Schelev (11-3, 6 KOs).

Full list of weights from the undercard below:

Interim WBA World Super Middleweight Championship:
Vincent Feigenbutz: 75.4 kg
Mauricio Reynoso: 76 kg

Cruiserweight – 8 Rounds:
Noel Gevor: 89.7 kg
Lukasz Rusiewicz: 91.5 kg

WBC Euro Asia Middleweight Championship – 10 Rounds:
Mike Keta: 73.3 kg
Aliklych Kanbolatov: 72.2 kg

Super Middleweight – 6 Rounds:
Stefan Haertel: 76.5 kg
Maurice Possiti: 76.5 kg

Middleweight – 6 Rounds:
Anthony Ogogo: 73.2 kg
Ruslan Schelev: 73.9 kg

Light Heavyweight – 8 Rounds:
Enrico Koelling: 79.3 kg
Vasyl Kondor: 80 kg

Super Middleweight – 4 Rounds:
Leon Bauer: 75 kg
Misa Nikolic: TBA

Tickets for the ‘Final Showdown’ Abraham vs. Stieglitz IV are available by calling the Gerry Weber Ticket Centre on (+49) 5201 81 80 or online via http://www.gerryweber-world.de and http://www.tickethall.de. All the action will be shown live on SAT.1 in Germany and on Sky Sports in the UK.

LONDON (17 JULY) Middleweights Nick Blackwell and Damon Jones will weigh-in on Friday, July 24 at Derby Arena ahead of their British middleweight title clash the following day.

Also appearing at Friday’s 1pm weigh-in – open to the general public – are English flyweight champion Louis Norman and his opponent Brett Fidoe, Bolsover’s Jamie Robinson and his opponent Sam Sharpe, as well as many other boxers appearing on the July 25 undercard.

Twenty-four-year-old Blackwell won the British middleweight title in May at London’s sold-out O2 Arena with a stunning upset victory against Londoner John Ryder, live on Sky Sports Box Office. The pair went toe-to-toe for six-and-a-half rounds before Blackwell’s better fitness and strength saw him halt Ryder in a dramatic seventh round. Now champion, Blackwell intends to clean up the domestic scene before pursuing world honours.

Yorkshireman Jones, meanwhile, his first challenger, is unbeaten in 13 professional fights and has barely put a foot wrong since turning professional in 2012. The six-foot southpaw won an English middleweight title eliminator against fellow unbeaten Grant Cunningham last time out and, at 22 years of age, believes he’s ready to fight for top honours in Britain.

Derby Arena is located on Derby’s Pride Park next to the iPro Stadium, and development of the £27.5 million Arena heralds the most exciting and important changes to leisure facilities in Derby in the last 40 years, as part of Derby City Council’s Leisure Strategy.

The new arena is primarily a space for sports and physical activity, yet also serves as a venue to host cultural events, exhibitions, product launches and conferences, and can hold up to 5000 people.

Address: Derby Arena, Royal Way, Pride Park, Derby, DE24 8JB
Website: www.derbyarena.uk.com
Weigh-in: Friday, July 24 (starts 1pm)

*** Tickets for Blackwell vs. Jones can be purchased from the Derby Arena Box Office on 01332 255800 or by visiting www.derbylive.co.uk ***

*** Blackwell vs. Jones will be televised live on Channel 5 on July 25 (10pm), while the supporting undercard will be televised live earlier in the evening (8pm) on Spike ***

17 July 2015 – Yangon, Myanmar: Asia’s largest and the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization, ONE Championship™ (ONE) announced today that all mixed martial artists competing at ONE: KINGDOM OF WARRIORS have made weight and are ready for all the action which takes place tomorrow evening at Thuwanna Stadium.

Visit the official ONE: KINGDOM OF WARRIORS face-off photo gallery by clicking:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6k384krsvdao0f3/AABoZfKfuYDUszYYrjf_77sta?dl=0.

MAIN EVENT
Bantamweight bout: Bibiano Fernandes (61.2kg / 135.0lbs) VS Toni Tauru (61.1kg / 134.5lbs)

MAIN CARD
Atomweight bout: Jenny Huang (47.7kg / 105.0lbs) VS Elena Pashnina (48kg / 105.5lbs)

Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Semi-Finals
Featherweight bout: Min Htet Zaw (64.6kg / 142.5lbs) VS Myo Man Thit (63.5kg / 140.0lbs)
Featherweight bout: Hlit Hlit Lay (62.9kg / 138.5lbs) VS Tha Pyay Nyo (65.6kg / 144.5lbs)

Myanmar Featherweight Tournament Alternate Bout
Featherweight bout: Phoe Thaw (65.6kg / 144.5lbs) VS Kyal Sin Htoo (65.6kg / 144.5lbs)

Myanmar Lightweight Tournament Semi-Finals
Lightweight bout: Dawna Aung (66.4kg / 146.0lbs) VS Saw Ba Oo (69.0kg / 152.0lbs)
Lightweight bout: Thway Thit Aung (69.0kg / 152.0lbs) VS Saw Thae Oo (65.9kg / 145.0lbs)

Myanmar Lightweight Tournament Alternate Bout
Lightweight bout: Saw L Lay( 69.5kg / 153.0lbs) VS Saw Hla Doe (70.3kg / 155.0lbs)

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow Twitter and Instagram @ONEFCMMA and Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship™ is Asia’s largest and the world’s most exciting Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.

LONDON (17 JULY) Heavyweight prospect Hughie Lewis Fury says his latest training camp has been boosted by news of Tyson Fury’s world heavyweight title shot against Wladimir Klitschko and that he fully expects his cousin to bring the belts back to England when the pair meet on October 24 in Germany.

Twenty-year-old Hughie faces durable Brazilian veteran George Arias on July 25 at Derby Arena and admits he couldn’t be happier right now.

“It’s a good thing for the whole family that Tyson has finally got his shot,” he said. “I’m over the moon for him.

“It will be great to see him become the first fighter to beat Wladimir Klitschko in a long time. The Klitschkos have taken over the division and dominated for a number of years now. All respect to them, they’re very good men, but it’s about time Tyson took those belts. It will be nice for the Fury family to hold the titles instead.

“We’ve always believed Tyson would one day fight for the world heavyweight title and win it. We’re not in boxing just to win a few titles or for the money. We’re in it because we love the sport and we want to be the best. That’s why we train hard every single day.”

For the last four weeks both Furys have been in the south of France preparing for their upcoming fights. In total, Hughie will have spent over eight weeks there by the time he steps through the ropes at Derby Arena.

Given this time spent in each other’s company, it’s fair to say Hughie, better than perhaps anyone, knows exactly what Tyson can produce behind closed doors.

“Tyson sometimes goes into fights just to entertain and put on a show,” he said. “Nobody has seen the real Tyson Fury yet. I think this fight with Klitschko will bring it out of him.

“I’ve seen it in Tyson, though. I’ve been there from the start with him. I know what he’s capable of doing.

“And the reason I know he beats Klitschko is that I know Tyson loves tall fighters. He loves them. Wladimir is in for a very big surprise. Stylistically, Tyson is his worst nightmare.

“Emanuel Steward, Wladimir Klitschko’s former trainer, said the same thing. He said the next heavyweight champion of the world is going to be Tyson Fury. I was at the camp with him – I heard him say it.”

*** Tickets for Blackwell vs. Jones & Fury vs. Arias can be purchased from the Derby Arena Box Office on 01332 255800 or by visiting www.derbylive.co.uk ***

*** Blackwell vs. Jones will be televised live on Channel 5 on July 25 (10pm), while the supporting undercard will be televised live earlier in the evening (8pm) on Spike ***

FOLLOW US ON ON TWITTER @HENNESSYSPORTS
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BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, U.S.A. – This month, undefeated twenty-year-old featherweight professional boxer, Gervonta “Tank” Davis (Baltimore, Maryland/pro record: 11-0-0, 10 KOs) accompanied top pound-for-pound welterweight boxing champion, Floyd “Money” Mayweather (Las Vegas, Nevada/pro record: 48-0-0, 26 KOs), on trips to New York City, Washington, D.C., Miami, St. Louis, and Kansas City. He travelled on Floyd’s private jet, participated in Mayweather’s public appearances, observed his business dealings, and took a ride with him on his yacht. Davis is now in Las Vegas, training alongside Mayweather at his gym, Mayweather Boxing Club. Mayweather started training camp in preparation for his next scheduled fight, September 12 at the MGM Grand’s Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. In Davis’ previous fight on May 22, 2015, Davis needed just one minute and fifteen seconds to defeat Mexico’s Alberto “Ironman” Mora (5-4-0, 1 KO) by TKO at the Claridge Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Gervonta Davis said, “Floyd has taken an interest in me because he believes that I can be the next big star in boxing, and he knows I’ve put in work to be ready for that next level. Having an opportunity to travel with The Money Team has been a dream come true. I grew up watching all Floyd’s fights. He is a great teacher, and I’m learning a lot of positive things from him, especially about the business of boxing. He has built himself to be the richest athlete in sports. I feel truly blessed that he would want to give me advice that will help me in my career. He is the top boxer of my generation, both in and outside the ring. I’m going to listen to everything he says and share what I learn with the young fighters that come into the sport after me.”
Davis continued, “This week, I was in a room with both Floyd and my manager, Al Haymon, and both are really excited about my future in boxing. I had a conversation with Al, and he is very supportive of me and my goals. I will continue to work hard, and I’ll be sure to keep everyone posted on my next fight and opponent when everything becomes official. My story is really big for my city of Baltimore, and proof that hard work can take you to the next level, no matter where you come from. I really appreciate all the supportive messages I’ve received on social media from everyone. Keep supporting me, and I’ll fight for you.”
Davis’ boxing trainer Calvin Ford (Upton Boxing Gym) said, “Floyd’s involvement has been a great learning experience for Tank, and it is a huge story for the Baltimore City Parks and Recreation programs. Gervonta started boxing at Upton Boxing Gym on Pennsylvania Avenue, and to have him reach the highest level in his sport shows that this can happen to other kids if they put in the work, believe in what they are doing, and get support from their city. I can’t wait to see what’s coming next for Gervonta and Team Davis.”

Follow Gervonta Davis on Instagram: @GervontaDavis or http://instagram.com/gervontadavis
Follow Gervonta Davis on Twitter: @GervontaDavis or https://twitter.com/GervontaDavis
Follow Gervonta Davis on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GervontaTankDavis

LONDON (17 July) – Liverpool heavyweight David Price will face his toughest test since his shock defeats to Tony Thompson two years ago when he challenges for the European title.

The former British and Commonwealth champion takes on undefeated Erkan Teper, live and exclusive on BoxNation this Friday from 8pm, in a fight that can see him catapulted back among the top names at heavyweight.

His losses to American Thompson in 2013 were a major setback for Price, who was being tipped as one of the potential heirs to the Klitschko brothers’ throne, but he insists he is over those defeats as he now looks to step back into the limelight.

“If someone had said to me 18 months ago that you will be fighting for the European title at this point in time I would have snapped their hand off because back then it felt like there was going to be no other opportunities,” said Price.

“But it’s also a lesson because things can change quickly if you keep working hard and don’t lose faith – we all have doubts in our minds – but if you keep working hard and plugging away you will get your rewards and that’s happening now.

“I could rest on my laurels and say I got back to this point and everything else is a bonus but I’m not looking at it like that. I want to get beyond this point because I feel that’s where I should be – heading towards world level – so I want to use this fight as that springboard.

“But that’s not disrespecting this fight in anyway because it is a massive fight and a great opportunity but I really do want to go beyond here,” Price said.

The 6ft 8” Olympic bronze medalist isn’t expecting an easy night’s work when he steps in the ring in Ludwigsburg, Germany against the unbeaten Teper, who has won nine of his 14 fights by knockout.

33-year-old Teper will be looking to start fast against Price given he has lost twice by stoppage but the Merseyside hitter, who has 16 knockouts from 19 wins, has warned him he will be running headlong into disaster.

“From what I’ve seen he’s going to try and come out and start fast. Now, because I’ve lost by stoppage people have it in their head that it will be easy to knock me out so they come out and start head hunting straight away but it plays into my hands,” Price told BoxNation.

“I’m not particularly worried about his power because it’s the same with any other heavyweight if you get hit on the chin you’re likely going to end up feeling it.

“So it’s not like I’m going to go in there worrying about his power – if anything he should be worrying about mine because he’s there to be hit.

“I’m the better fighter defensively but I do expect him to come out and start fast and try and put it on me early but he’s more than welcome because I’m prepared.”

In recent times Price has had to take a back seat as rivals such as Deontay Wilder and Tyson Fury have seen their careers blossom, with the latter now set to face world champion Wladimir Klitschko later this year.

A Price-Fury showdown was long mooted before Price’s setbacks but should he claim the vacant European title in his upcoming fight he would be more than happy to finally step in the ring with Manchester’s Fury.

“It’s still a fight I would like but I don’t think it will happen at the end of this year because of his plans. Once I’ve established myself as European champion then it’s a fight that can be made as people will be interested in it again,” said Price.

“It’s definitely something that can happen next year and if he comes through the Klitschko fight it could even be for the world title but that’s for another day.

“I think he’s up against it [against Klitschko]. He might cause Klitschko a few problems with his style but I think Klitschko will have too much for him,” he said.

BoxNation will also have some top light-welterweight action live and exclusive when this Saturday night two undefeated 140-pounders clash in Macau, with China’s Ik Yang and Argentine southpaw Cesar Rene Cuenca battling it out for the vacant IBF world title.

The 2012 ‘Fighter of the Year’ Nonito Donaire will also feature on the Top Rank card as he takes on Anthony Settoul in a 10-round super-bantamweight bout.

Price v Teper is live on BoxNation (Sky 437/490HD, Virgin 525, TalkTalk 415 and online) from 8pm tonight. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

-Ends-
About BoxNation
BoxNation, the Channel of Champions and proud partner of Rainham Steel, is the UK’s first dedicated subscription boxing channel. For £12* a month and no minimum term customers can enjoy great value live and exclusive fights, classic fight footage, magazine shows and interviews with current and former fighters.

BoxNation is proud to support Fight for Peace, a charity that uses boxing and martial arts combined with education and personal development to realise the potential of young people in communities that suffer from crime and violence. Buy LUTA (www.luta.co.uk) clothing and support Fight for Peace.

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Khan vs Collazo and Mayweather vs Maidana.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at Livesport.tv and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon). BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

BoxNation is also available to commercial premises (inc. pubs, clubs and casino’s) in the UK and Ireland, for more information on a commercial subscription please call 0844 842 7700.

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

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Antoine Douglas 159.8 – Istvan Szili 159.4
(IBO Intercontinental title)

Arif Magomedov 160 – Derrick Webster 158.3
(NABO Middleweight Title)

Adam Lopez 118.6 – Eliezer Aquino 118.5
(WBA FEDELATIN and WBC Latino Super Bantamweight titles)

Jerry Odom 168.3 – Samuel Clarkson 172.2

Manny Folly 121.4 – Jose Garcia 120.6
Rickey Nuno 154.9 – Tim Kunkel 155.3
Christopher Brooker 168.4 – Botirsher Obidov 167.9
Rob Brant 163.1 – Ernesto Berrospe 162
Samuel Teah 138.8 – Raymond Velez 139.4

Promoters: GH3 Promotions in association with Kings Promotions, Greg Cohen Promotions and Main Events

Venue: Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem
1st Bell: 7 PM
Television: Showtime- ShoBox:The Generation 10 PM ET / PT

Tickets are priced at $100, $75 and $50 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster and www.ticketmaster.com

GH3 Promotions features undefeated Middleweight Antoine Douglas, Super Middleweight’s Jerry Odom & Derrick Webster, undefeated Super Bantamweight Adam Lopez as well as Boxcino 2015 Jr. Middleweight Champion John Thompson, Jr., undefeated Welterweight Jerrell Harris,undefeated Super Bantamweight Qa’id Muhammad, lightweight Oscar Bonilla, Heavyweight Natu Visinia, Light Heavyweight Lavarn Harvell and Jr. Lightweight O’Shanique Foster to the GH3 Promotions stable.

Uncasville, CT. (July 16, 2015) – The official weigh-ins for “Bellator 140: Lima vs. Koreshkov” concluded today from The Mohegan Sun Arena, with both Welterweight Champion Douglas Lima (26-5) and his opponent Andrey Koreshkov (17-1) hitting their 170-pound marks.

In addition to the aforementioned headliner, Bellator 140, which airs live and free on Spike at 9 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. CT, features four additional must-see welterweight attractions.

In the co-main event, the explosive Paul “Semtex” Daley (36-13) looks to put an end to the present winning streak of Dennis Olson (14-8). Daley looks to impress once again when he competes in Connecticut, following up on his victory at “British Invasion” in February.

Hometown favorite “Irish” Brennan Ward (10-3) looks to remain undefeated in 2015 when he meets Roger Carroll (16-11), who replaced Gavin Sterritt on short notice. “Irish” has not been involved in a fight that reached the judges’ scorecards since 2012.

Undefeated Edinboro University of Pennsylvania wrestling standout Chris “The Cutt” Honeycutt (6-0) receives the toughest test of his career, when he meets fellow All-American wrestler and nine-year MMA veteran Paul “The Gentleman” Bradley (22-6).

In the opening televised bout of the evening, Michael “Venom” Page (7-0) will attempt to return to his impressive trend of finishing fights when he faces 29-fight veteran Rudy “Bad News” Bears (16-13). “MVP” was originally slated to compete in February, but during the lead-up to the bout, sustained a cut that has kept him out of action since last year.

MACAU, CHINA (July 17, 2015) – Undefeated No. 1 junior welterweight contender CESAR “El Distinto” CUENCA of Argentina is just three victories shy of tying Rocky Marciano’s hallowed 49-0 record. He will be looking to cut that victory deficit on Saturday when he battles undefeated No. 2 world-rated contender “IK” LIAN HUI YANG of China, for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) junior welterweight world title in the main event of “Victory at The Venetian,” at The Venetian® Macao’s Cotai Arena. The fight will be streamed live to the U.S. via www.toprank.tv, beginning at 6:00 a.m. ET.

Cuenca (46-0, 2 KOs) is tied with Hall of Famer Joe Calzaghe for third place on boxing’s all-time list of undefeated fighters, behind Floyd Mayweather, Jr. and Marciano.

“I made my pro debut in 2002 and I have climbed up the ratings the old-fashioned way, by winning,” said Cuenca, 34. “No one ever did me any favors. I earned my No. 1 world rating by beating everyone who has been put in front of me in the ring for the past 13 years. I have probably boxed more rounds professionally than anyone of my era. Lots of fighters claim they train to go the distance but I really do.”

Against the Freddie Roach-trained Yang (18-0, 13 KOs) Cuenca will be going up against a Chinese knockout artist who has gone the distance only once in the past four years.

“I think once we get past the midpoint of the fight, Yang is going to be in very deep and very uncharted waters. We will see who is in condition to go the distance. I want to bring the world title home to Argentina, a country with a proud lineage of great fighters dating back to “The Wild Bull of the Pampas” Luis Firpo.

“Regarding my style I am more Mayweather than Marciano,” continued Cuenca. “Mayweather has had only two knockout victories over the past 10 years. He fights his fight and he fights to win. That is my philosophy too. After I claim the title I want to make the most of it and fight only the biggest fights. Perhaps a world title unification with undefeated junior welterweight champion Terence Crawford or move up a weight division in a battle for the best record of our era, against Mayweather.”

Promoted by Top Rank® and Sands China Ltd., in association with Tecate and SECA, remaining tickets to Victory at the Venetian can be purchased via Cotai Ticketing™; prices start at HKD/MOP 180, with ferry and hotel packages also available.

Former Fighter of the Year and five-division world champion NONITO “Filipino Flash” DONAIRE (34-3, 22 KOs), from General Santos City, Philippines, and 2012 U.S. Olympian and undefeated super lightweight contender JOSE RAMÍREZ (14-0, 11 KOs), from Avenal, Calif. will also be featured on the “Victory at The Venetian” card. Their fights will be televised to the U.S, via same-day delay, on Solo Boxeo Tecate on UniMás, beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. Donaire, in the hunt for another world title shot, will be taking on France’s ANTHONY SETTOUL (20-3, 8 KOs), from Clermont-Ferrand, France, in a 10-round super bantamweight battle. Ramírez will open the telecast in an eight-round super lightweight bout against RYUSEI YOSHIDA (26-7, 13 KOs), of Kumamoto, Japan.

For fight updates go to www.toprank.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/trboxing or facebook.com/trboxeo, or and on Twitter at twitter.com/trboxing or twitter.com/trboxeo. Use the Hashtag #VictoryAtVenetian to join the conversation on Twitter.

LINCOLN, R.I. (July 16th, 2015) – The following are quotes from Thursday’s heated press conference and weigh-in in advance of tomorrow’s “Rhode To Redemption” event, presented by CES Boxing at Twin River Casino.

Tomorrow’s fight card is highlighted by the 10-round main event showdown between Providence, R.I., super middleweight Vladine Biosse (15-6-2, 7 KOs) and the hard-hitting Chris Chatman (12-5-1, 5 KOs) of Jersey City, N.J.

“Rhode To Redemption” also features a dynamic, six-round welterweight co-feature between undefeated Nick DeLomba (7-0, 1 KO) of Cranston, R.I., and southpaw Juan Rodriguez Jr. (12-2, 5 KOs) of Union City, N.J., and a four-round heavyweight rematch between Jean Pierre Augustin (4-0-1, 2 KOs) of Lawrence, Mass., and Solomon Maye (1-4-1, 1 KO) of New Haven, Conn., who fought to a draw in April.

Chris Chatman
Jersey City, N.J.
12-5-1, 5 KOs

“I think I speak for all fighters when I say this all starts with a phone call, text or email. Then that fire starts to burn. Then we start thinking about the fight and that flame grows even more. You study, and it grows. You run and you train, and it grows. It becomes an obsession. ‘I’ve got to beat him. I’ve got to destroy him.’ It burns inside you every fucking day.

“You get up, train go to work, come home, run, sleep, get, run – that’s been my life for the last month and a half. Tomorrow night, the only way I can extinguish this flame is to get up in there and destroy this dude. I won’t get into details. You all followed it in the media. It’s personal for me. I have to destroy this guy. I’ve got to beat him bloody. I’ve got to taste his blood. I’m fucking you up, Vla. Don’t you ever come to my town again.

Orlondo Valles
Trainer, Vladine Biosse

“I just want to say I have nothing personal against Chris, but I will tell you this: I don’t give a fuck what gym you train in, who your trainer is, or if you can punch holes through brick walls. None of that means shit. I used to love stomping out motherfuckers like you who talked all of that shit. [Biosse], you will be using your gloves tomorrow.”

VLADINE BIOSSE
Providence, R.I.
15-6-2, 7 KOs

“It’s an honor fighting at home and showing my talent in front of people like you. Listen, I’ve been doing this many years. Camp was awesome. I’m back with my trainer, got things together and it’s been awesome.

“I appreciate Chris for taking this fight, but, Chris, be a man. Be a real man. Talking all that junk to the media, making up stories to make your story seem like something it’s not – be a man. I’m a gentleman and I train hard to come out and put on a great show every time I come out because I appreciate the people that follow me and show me love. Tomorrow night, you’ll get nothing but the best of me.”

Juan Rodriguez Jr.
Union City, N.J.
12-2, 5 KOs

“I ain’t the one stepping up. Let’s make that clear. For anyone who doesn’t know me, you’ll see Friday. All I have to say is there are levels to this shit, and he ain’t on my level.”

Victor Fagnant
Trainer, Nick DeLomba

“Nick’s been working really hard for this fight. He trains everyday. I wish all of my fighters worked as hard as him. As far as all of those levels go, [Rodriguez Jr.] ain’t ever going to see that level.”

Nick DeLomba
Cranston, R.I.
7-0, 1 KO

“There are lots of great fights on this card tomorrow night. I guess we’ll find out what those levels are tomorrow. We know I bring only one level and that’s my best. That’s what you’ll see Friday.”

Solomon Maye
New Haven, Conn.
1-4-1, 1 KO

“Whoever is fighting after me this time, make sure you warm up, because it’s going to be a quick one. I’m going to knock him on his ass. It’s not even funny. Are you ready? Tomorrow is going to be your career choice, whether or not you want to do this for the next 10 years.”

Jean Pierre Augustin
Lawrence, Mass.
4-0-1, 2 KOs

“Contrary to what you said, I do like you, Solomon. I might even consider you a friend after this. The last time wasn’t my best time out, but you’re about to see what we’ve been working on. I wish you the best of luck.”

Also on the undercard, Framingham, Mass., super lightweight Julio Perez makes his pro debut against Boston’s Rafael Francis (0-4) and New Bedford, Mass., welterweight Scott Sullivan (1-1, 1 KO) returns to face Providence’s Angel Valdez (0-2), both four-round bouts. Lawrence, Mass., lightweight Jacob Solis (1-0) will make his Twin River debut and fight for the first time since 2012 when he faces Salem, Mass., vet Matt Doherty (2-1, 2 KOs) in a four-round bout. Unbeaten Worcester, Mass., junior middleweight Khiary Gray (7-0, 5 KOs) faces 28-fight vet Antonio Fernandes of Brockton, Mass.

Tickets for “Rhode To Redemption” are priced at $40.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and available for purchase online at www.cesboxing.com or www.twinriver.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

For more information on “Rhode To Redemption” visit www.cesboxing.com, follow @CESBOXING on Twitter and Instagram and “like” the official CES Boxing Facebook fan page.

– CES –

LINCOLN, R.I. (July 16th, 2015) – Listed below are weights for all of the participants in tomorrow night’s professional boxing card at Twin River Casino in Lincoln, R.I., titled “Rhode To Redemption.” Doors open at 6 p.m. with the first bout scheduled for 7.

VLADINE BIOSSE
Providence, R.I.
15-6-2, 7 KOs
170

CHRIS CHATMAN
Jersey City, N.J.
12-5-1, 5 KOs
168

NICK DELOMBA
Cranston, R.I.
7-0, 1 KO
145

JUAN RODRIGUEZ JR.
Union City, N.J.
12-2, 5 KOs
147

JEAN PIERRE AUGUSTIN
Lawrence, Mass.
4-0-1, 2 KOs
219

SOLOMON MAYE
New Haven, Conn.
1-4-1, 1 KO
220

THOMAS GIFFORD
Hot Springs, Ark.
2-2-1, 1 KO
172

EDWIN ESPINAL
Providence, R.I.
6-0, 4 KOs
175

KHIARY GRAY-PITTS
Worcester, Mass.
7-0, 5 KOs
157

ANTONIO FERNANDES
Brockton, Mass.
5-21-2
157

SCOTT SULLIVAN
New Bedford, Mass.
1-1, 1 KO
145

ANGEL VALDEZ
Providence, R.I.
0-2
146

JACOB SOLIS
Lawrence, Mass.
1-0
133

MATT DOHERTY
Salem, Mass.
2-1, 1 KO
135

JULIO PEREZ
Framingham, Mass.
Pro debut
138

RAFAEL FRANCIS
Boston, Mass.
0-4
139

LAS VEGAS (July 16, 2015) – Abubakar Nurgamedov will square off with undefeated finisher Jorge Moreno in a featured welterweight (170 pounds) matchup at the highly-anticipated World Series of Fighting (WSOF.com) world championship doubleheader event at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas on Saturday, Aug. 1, live on NBCSN.

The younger brother of undefeated superstar Khabib Nurmagomedov and one of the top welterweight prospects in the world, the 23-year-old Abubakar (9-1) of Makhachkala, Russia is quickly distinguishing himself as a force in the sport, notching all of his victories to date by way of (T)KO or submission.

Abubakar, who trains under his father, Abdulmanap, at Khabib’s gym FightSpirit Team, is coming off of a first round TKO (punches) win over Vladimir Gunzu on Feb. 22. His lone defeat came due to a cut he sustained in a matchup with Magomed Mustafaev on Sept. 1, 2014, prompting the ringside physician to halt the bout.

At just 19 years old, Moreno (4-0) of Moses Lake, Wash. is already knee deep in his professional career, with 3 of his 4 wins having come by way of TKO or submission. As an amateur, he amassed an overall record of 8-2, collecting three titles along the way.

Moreno’s start will mark his WSOF debut as well as his first professional bout at 170 pounds, after competing as a middleweight (185 pounds). In his last start on April 17 in Snoqualmie, Wash., he scored a first round TKO (doctor stoppage due to knee injury) on Ian Williams.

The five-bout, live NBCSN telecast of “WSOF 22: Palhares vs. Shields” begins at 11 p.m. ET/8 p.m. PT on Aug. 1.

In the main event, a long-awaited showdown will finally come to fruition when WSOF World Welterweight (170 pounds) Champion Rousimar Palhares (17-6) of Minas Gerais, Brazil puts his title on the line against two-time world champion and fellow Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt Jake Shields (31-7) of San Francisco, Calif.

In the co-main event, WSOF World Bantamweight (135 pounds) Champion Marlon Moraes (14-4-1) of Toms River, N.J. via Nova Friburgo, Brazil will defend his strap against undefeated challenger Sheymon Moraes (7-0).

Superstar Thiago Silva (16-4, 2 NC) of Oakland Park, Fla. via Sao Paulo, Brazil will face dangerous veteran Mike “MAK” Kyle (21-12-1) of San Jose, Calif. in a light heavyweight (205 pounds) contest.

A lightweight (155 pounds) matchup between Jimmy Spicuzza (6-2) and submission ace Islam Mamedov (11-1) will lead off the live NBCSN telecast.

A complete preliminary bout card will be announced soon.

Priced from $29.99, tickets for “WSOF 22: Palhares vs. Shields” are on sale at Ticketmaster.com and WSOF.com.

Doors at The AXIS at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino will open at 4 p.m. PT, and the first preliminary card bout will begin at 5 p.m. PT.

MAIN CARD
WSOF World Welterweight Championship Main Event:
Rousimar Palhares (Champion) vs. Jake Shields (Challenger)

WSOF World Bantamweight Championship Co-Main Event:
Marlon Moraes (Champion) vs. Sheymon Moraes (Challenger)

Light Heavyweight: Thiago Silva vs. Mike Kyle

Welterweight: Abubakar Nurmagomedov vs. Jorge Moreno

Lightweight: Jimmy Spicuzza vs. Islam Mamedov

About “World Series of Fighting” (WSOF)
“World Series of Fighting” (WSOF) is a world wide premier professional Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) fight promotion dedicated to delivering the best action-packed fights for fight fans by producing the best possible match-ups between elite fighters from around the world. For more information please visit WSOF.com. Follow “World Series of Fighting” on Twitter @MMAWorldSeries and “World Series of Fighting” President Ray Sefo @SugarRaySefo.

ABOUT NBCSN
NBCSN, part of the NBC Sports Group, is dedicated to serving passionate sports fans. Now in more than 85 million homes, the Emmy Award-winning network is the cable television home of the Summer and Winter Olympics, National Hockey League (NHL) – including two games of the Stanley Cup Final — Premier League, Formula One, IndyCar, Tour de France, the 34th America’s Cup, and beginning in 2015, NASCAR. In addition, NBCSN features college football, college basketball, college hockey, cycling, outdoor programming, horse racing surrounding the Triple Crown and Breeders’ Cup, Fight Night boxing, Ironman, the Dew Tour and USA Sevens Rugby. The network is also home to original programs such as Costas Tonight, NFL Turning Point, Pro Football Talk, The Dan Patrick Show, and NASCAR America. NBCSN is

Bethlehem, PA: Tomorrow at Sands Resort and Casino in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania Arif “Mayhem” Magomedov (15-0, 9 KOs) will make his ShoBox debut against Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (19-0, 10 KOs) for the vacant WBO NABO Middleweight Title. This fight will be ten rounds and will be the third fight on the ShoBox telecast just before the main event featuring Antoine Douglas against Istvan Szili in another middleweight showdown. The ShoBox telecast begins at 10:00 PM ET/PT.

Magomedov, 22, of Chekhov, Russia made his professional debut January 24, 2013 with a four-round split decision victory over Ruslan Sirazhev. He went on to finish 2013 going an impressive 8-0 with six of those wins coming by way of knockout. Earlier this year he made his U.S. debut with an eight-round unanimous decision over Derrick Findley at The Hangar in Costa Mesa, California. In his most recent bout, Mayhem scored an impressive first round knockout over the ultimate spoiler and always game opponent Darnell Boone.

The southpaw, Webster, 33, is originally from Raleigh, West Virginia, but now resides in Glassboro, New Jersey. Webster made his professional debut in 2009 when he earned a decision win over Vince Burkhalter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Darnell Boone was a common opponent for both men, Webster faced him in 2013 winning a split decision. Webster’s biggest win of his career came in 2014 when he earned a first round knockout over Obodai Sai.

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David Price (19-2, 16 KOs) and Erkan Teper (14-0, 9 KOs) took to the scales today ahead of their European Heavyweight title fight on Friday night at the MHP Arena in Ludwigsburg, Germany.

Price, who tipped the scales at 113.1kg (17st 11lbs 1oz), looked in fine form as he attempts to wrestle the vacant European crown from the undefeated Teper, weighing in at 114.3kg (17st 13lbs 9oz), tomorrow night.

‘’I feel great,’’ said the former British and Commonwealth Champion. ‘’I’m calm, collected and ready to go. This is a good weight for me. I’ve come in a little lighter than my last fight, but I’ve had a longer camp so that’s to be expected. I honestly believe I’m in the best shape of my career.

‘’Now I just want to get in there and get the job done. I’m not worried about Teper, I just need to concentrate on what I’m doing. He’s a good boxer, he’s undefeated and has some decent wins on his record, but he’s never fought anyone like me. Mentally and physically, I couldn’t be better prepared. I’m 100% confident and ready to bring the belt home!’’

Price’s European Heavyweight title fight with Teper is live and exclusive on BoxNation tomorrow night at 8pm. Visit boxnation.com to subscribe.

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 television channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, will air extensive live programming for UFC Fight Night™: Bisping vs. Leites this Saturday, July 15 from The SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

Fight Network will air the live prelims exclusively in Canada from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. ET. The main card will be televised on TSN2.

The prelims will include a fiery flyweight clash between Ireland’s Paddy Holohan (11-1-1) and Englishman Vaughan Lee (14-10-1), a light heavyweight battle between Sweden’s Ilir “The Sledgehammer” Latifi (10-4, 1NC) and Dutchman Hans Stringer (22-6-3), a lightweight meeting between Frenchman Mickael Lebout (13-4-1, 1NC) and undefeated Finnish newcomer Teemu Packalen (7-0), plus Scottish featherweight Robert “The Hammer” Whiteford (11-2) kicks off the televised festivities against Irish prospect Paul Redmond (10-5).

Live pre-fight coverage will lead into the prelims on Saturday with Fight Network’s UFC® Pre-Show Live at 10:30 a.m. ET, featuring previews, predictions and analysis.

In addition to all the live pre and post-fight coverage, Fight Network is the destination for UFC library content, specials and series, including UFC Unleashed, UFC Now, UFC Ultimate Insider and classic UFC PPV events. All airings are listed at tv.fightnetwork.com.

The full card for UFC Fight Night™: Bisping vs. Leites includes:

Main Card (Live on TSN2, 1 p.m. ET):
-Michael Bisping (26-7) vs. Thales Leites (25-4)
-Ross Pearson (19-8, 1NC) vs. Evan Dunham (15-6)
-Joseph Duffy (13-1) vs. Ivan Jorge (26-4)
-Joanne Calderwood (9-1) vs. Cortney Casey-Sanchez (4-1)
-Leon Edwards (9-2) vs. Pawel Pawlak (11-1)
-Stevie Ray (17-5) vs. Leonardo Mafra (12-2)

Preliminary Card (Live on Fight Network, 11 a.m. ET):

-Paddy Holohan (11-1-1) vs. Vaughan Lee (14-10-1)
-Ilir Latifi (10-4, 1NC) vs. Hans Stringer (22-6-3)
-Mickael Lebout (13-4-1, 1NC) vs. Teemu Packalen (7-0)
-Robert Whiteford (11-2) vs. Paul Redmond (10-5)

Preliminary Card (Live on UFC Fight Pass, 10 a.m. ET)

-Marcus Brimage (7-4) vs. Jimmie Rivera (16-1)
-Daniel Omielanczuk (16-5-1, 1NC) vs. Chris De La Rocha (3-0)

For a full listing of Fight Network’s broadcast schedule, please visit tv.fightnetwork.com, follow us on Twitter @fightnet, become a fan on Facebook and visit us on Instagram @fightnet.

New York(July 16, 2015)–This Saturday at the Warren Valley Golf and Banquet Center in Warren, Michigan, Three prized fighters under the Victory Sports & Entertainment management banner will be on display.
Undefeated Lightweight, Sonny Fredrickson will be in action against tough veteran Marteze Logan in 6-round bout.

Undefeated Featherweight Tyler McCreary will take on John Willoughby in a 4-round bout.

Also Cleveland’s Yaundale Evans will be making his return to the ring against
Dwayne Wisdom in a 6-round Super Featherweight bout.

Fredrickson of Toledo, Ohio and promoted by Roc Nation Sports has a perfect record of 9-0 with six knockouts and is coming off a 2nd round stoppage on June 20 in Oakland, California over Juan Santiago. That bout was part of Roc Nation’s Andre Ward- Paul Smith card.

It has been difficult to find opponents opponents willing to step in the ring with the 21 year-old Fredrickson as his combination of size and power has most opponents reluctant to face him.

McCreary, also of Toledo, Ohio and also promoted by Roc Nation Sports has a record of 5-0 with 5 knockouts. He will be taking on the the 30-fight veteran Willoughby of Selma, Alabama.

Tyler McCreary
McCreary is coming off a 1st round stoppage over Donny Miller on May 8
is looking to make another statement as this most likely will be his last four-round bout.

Evans will make his first ring appearance in just over three-years. He has a record of 16-1 with 12 knockouts.

After suffering his first loss of Javier Fortuna Evans had promotional and managerial issues that kept him sidelined. Now that he is signed with Victory Sports he is planning to get active again and get back on track as prospect to keep an eye on in the Jr. Featherweight and Featherweight divisions.

Said Rick Torres, President of Victory Sports, “Victory Sports is excited to have
3 of our fighters in action this Saturday. Each fighter brings a unique set of skills to the ring, from the raw power of Sonny Fredrickson to the blazing speed of Tyler McCreary. Also, Yuandale Evans is a fighter everyone was taking note of until he was sidelined. We are excited to get him in the ring so that he can show the world that he is back better than ever.”

Victory Sports & Entertainment is a newly formed athlete management company with offices in New York and Las Vegas. Founded by noted boxing attorney Rick Torres and boxing trainer Michael Leanardi, Victory has steadily built an impressive stable of young prospects that it is grooming for future stardom. Victory Sports’ website is www.victorysportsent.com

Were you surprised when you heard about Fedor returning to professional fighting?

VF: “Well, yes, I was surprised. I lost hope for his comeback after one or two years of negotiations. I just couldn’t do it. One time he asked me not to talk about this anymore. But about a week ago he told me that he might make a comeback. I couldn’t believe what I heard. I was happy to hear that, but the real decision he made only a couple of days ago.”

Will Fedor continue his work in Russian MMA Union?

VF: “Yes, I’m sure that fighting wouldn’t become a distraction from his post of President of MMA Federation.”

What did Fedor Emelianenko tell you about his possible match-ups and opponents?

VF: “There’s no definite information yet. The only thing he told me is that he needed to prepare well enough to become as dangerous as he used be. Mentally, he is ready to fight; his attitude about fighting is great. I think he has good chance to show the best version of himself.
What do you think about his next fight? When will we see it?

VF: “I can’t tell you exactly right now. I would like him to make his first fight in Russia, of course, but this is all up to him, after all. But it would be great if first he makes it for his Russian fans. They would be happy.”

Will you make the third M-1 Global event with Fedor as the headliner?

VF: “I’d like that, of course. It would be awesome to make a show in “Olimpiyskiy” like we did when he was leaving. That show gathered 22,000 spectators and was a great present for all his fans. And then he would go abroad. This is of course is only my desire for now. I will work on it. Maybe we will make it happen.”

Who do you see as his next opponent?

VF: “I think any M-1 heavyweight would accept this fight. Actually, he can face any TOP heavyweight from all over the World.”

How long will Fedor be able to fight in your opinion?

VF: “I think for a couple of years, easily.”

Information

www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

www.M1Global.tv

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/pages/M-1-Global/145250878842244

Totowa, NJ: Curtis “Showtime” Stevens (27-5, 20 KOs) the30-year old middleweight from Brownsville, Brooklyn has signed a new promotional deal with Main Events. Stevens originally signed with Main Events in February 2013. During his first two years with the promotional outfit, he won the vacant NABF Middleweight Title against Saul Roman, challenged Gennady Golovkin for the WBA Middleweight World Championship and made his debut DirecTV BKB debut against Gabriel Rosado.

Curtis Stevens & Tureano Johnson
Photo Credits:
Larry Levanti/Main Events

Curtis’ fight against Tureano Johnson on April 4, 2014 was one of the most exciting contests of the NBCSN Fight Night series and a Fight of the Year contender. Stevens was losing on every judge’s scorecard until the tenth and final round when he knocked out Johnson with less than a minute remaining. In his BKB debut, Stevens knocked down current BKB Middleweight Champion Gabriel Rosado and battled him to a seven-round split draw. Rosado retained his belt, but Stevens is poised for a rematch.

Stevens had only this to say about his new deal, “Time to become champ!”

Main Events CEO Kathy Duva said, “We love Curtis. He’s such an exciting fighter. I’m so happy that he’s decided to remain with Main Events and we look forward to getting him back in the ring!”

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16 July 2015 – Singapore: Asia’s largest and the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization, ONE Championship™ (ONE) is thrilled to announce the dates for six upcoming events in six different cities this year, headlined by our roster of elite international champions and local mixed martial arts heroes.

ONE: DYNASTY OF CHAMPIONS (SHANGHAI), 1 September in Shanghai, China
ONE: ODYSSEY OF CHAMPIONS, 27 September in Jakarta, Indonesia
ONE: TIGERS OF ASIA, 9 October in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
ONE: BATTLE AT THE GATES, 7 November in Macau, China
ONE: PRIDE OF LIONS, 13 November in Singapore
ONE: SPIRIT OF CHAMPIONS, 11 December in Manila, Philippines

In addition to this, ONE Championship is set to host more events in new countries across Asia this year which will be announced shortly. The rapid growth of ONE Championship has significantly increased the demand for world-class international entertainment in Asia, and the organization is ready to deliver.

CEO of ONE Championship™ Victor Cui, stated, “Early in 2015, we knew that this year would be another amazing year with exciting growth for ONE Championship as we continue to expand at an incredibly rapid pace, bringing our signature brand of world-class MMA action into more cities in Asia. ONE has achieved a historic milestone by becoming the first major mixed martial arts organization to hold multiple events in mainland China. China is the most populous country in the world and is rich in martial arts history and now fans in Shanghai and Macau can look forward to witnessing world class mixed martial arts that has already captivated fans from all around the world!”

Cui added, “We will also return to our favourite cities in Asia — Jakarta, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore and Manila — with even greater shows and blockbuster fight cards that will ignite stadiums and get fans screaming for more!”

ONE Championship will announce further ground-breaking partnerships, explosive fight cards and main events as the demand for world-class mixed martial arts action hits a fever pitch among fight fans all across Asia.

For more updates on ONE Championship™, please visit www.onefc.com and follow on Instagram and Twitter @ONEFCMMA, Facebook at www.facebook.com/ONEFCMMA and Weibo at http://www.weibo.com/onefc.

About ONE Championship (ONE)
ONE Championship is Asia’s largest Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) organization. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship™ has partnered with FOX and STAR Sports for an unprecedented 10-year cable television deal with a coverage that spans 70+ countries across the world.

Media Contact:
Loren Mack, ONE Championship
(e): L.mack@onefc.com
(m): +65 9771 5617
@LorenONEFC

LONDON (16 JULY) Leeds’ Damon Jones is adamant that British middleweight champion Nick Blackwell will only encounter a world of pain should he attempt to rush in and force the pace when the two meet on July 25 at Derby Arena.

New champion Blackwell, renowned for his incredible fitness and strength, believes his experience over the 12-round distance will prove to be key next weekend, while Jones, yet to go beyond six rounds as a pro, feels such a claim will prove short-sighted.

“Nick has talked about setting a pace I won’t be able to match but we’ll have to wait and see,” he said. “I think he’s going to be in for a big shock if he thinks that’s the case. I won’t just be able to match his pace, I’ll also be able to dictate the pace and make him fight at my pace as well.

“We’ve done a lot more sparring and a lot more running for this one, and the championship distance doesn’t bother me. I know I’ve got it in the tank. Whether it goes 12 rounds or less, I know I’ve got the gas for it.

“I’ve got the height and reach over Nick and I’ve got the boxing skills to give him massive problems. And no matter what he brings to the table, I’ll have an answer for it. I’m prepared for everything he’s going to throw at me, and I expect there to be a lot of target to hit if he tries to force a pace.

“He’ll be different to how he’s been in the past, I’m sure. He’ll try different things and give me different looks. But it doesn’t matter what his game plan is. I’ll have a counter game plan to any game plan he brings. I’ve prepared 100%, I’ve left nothing in the gym and I’m raring to go.”

Just days away from his first major title fight, and his first appearance on terrestrial television (Blackwell vs. Jones can be watched LIVE on Channel 5 from 10pm), you’d be forgiven for thinking Jones was feeling the pressure of it all. But that couldn’t be further from the truth. In fact, the confident 22-year-old couldn’t be happier with his role in the upcoming drama.

“There’s no pressure on me whatsoever,” he said. “Nick is the one who holds the belt and he’s the one who has the promoter behind him. I’m just coming in through the backdoor and taking his title. I’ve got no stresses, no pressure, and I’m ready for it. This is my chance to show everybody what I’m all about.

“Yes, it is a step up from my previous fights – I’ve been performing under the radar for a bit because I haven’t had a big promoter behind me – but now it’s time to show everybody why I’m stepping up and why I’ve decided to take this fight.”

*** Tickets for Blackwell vs. Jones can be purchased from the Derby Arena Box Office on 01332 255800 or by visiting www.derbylive.co.uk ***

*** Blackwell vs. Jones will be televised live on Channel 5 on July 25, while the supporting undercard will be televised live earlier in the evening on Spike ***

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Former two-time Heavyweight champion knocked Todd Duffee out cold in the first round of their scheduled 5-round Heavyweight bout in San Diego.

The fight was fun and wild while it lasted as the two traded huge shots from the opening bout. Both landed and were staggered until a short left caught Duffee right on the jaw and he plummeted face first on the mat and the mat and the fight was stopped at 1:13.

Mir, 262 lbs of Las Vegas is 18-9. Duffee, 241 lbs of Boca Raton, FL is 9-3.

Tony Ferguson blooded and battered Josh Thomson in winning a 3-round unanimous decision in a Lightweight bout.

Ferguson landed a landed a big elbow in round two and subsequent punches made Thomson a bloody mess to the point that Ferguson’s white trunks turned bright red.

Ferguson, 156 lbs of of Orange County, CA won by scores of 30-27 twice and 30-36 and is now 20-3. Thomson, 155.5 lbs of San Jose, CA is now 20-8-1.

Former boxing champion Holly Holm remained perfect in MMA with a 3-round unanimous decision over Marion Reneau in a Bantamweight bout.

Holm, 135 lbs of Albuquerque, NM won by scores of 30-27, 30-26 and 29-28 and is now 9-0. Reneau, 134.5 lbs of Visalia, CA is 6-2.

Manvel Gamburyan won a 3-round unanimous decision over Scott Jorgensen in a Bantamweight bout.

Jorgensen’s nose was bleeding from the first round on.

Gamburyan, 135 lbs of Hollywood, CA won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 18-9-1. Jorgensen, 135 lbs of Boise, ID is 15-11.

Kevin Lee choked out James Moontasri in one round one of their Lightweight bout.

Moontasri tapped out at 2:56 of the first frame.

Lee, 156 lbs of Las Vegas is 11-1. Moontasri, 155 lbs of Los Angeles is 8-3.

Alan Jouban won a 3-round unanimous decision over Matt Dwyer in a Weterweight bout.

Jouban, 170.5 lbs of Los Angeles won by scores of 29-27 on all cards and is now 12-3. Dwyer, 169 lbs of British Colombia, CAN is now 8-3.

Sam Sacilia won a 3-round unanimous decision over Yaotzin Meza in a Featherweight bout.

Sicilia, 146 lbs of Spokane, WA won by scores of 30-27 and 29-28 twice to raise his record to 15-5. Meza, 145.5 lbs of Glendale, CA is now 21-10-1.

Jessia Andrade scored a 3-round unanimous decision over Sarah Moras in a Bantamweight bout.

In round three, Moras was bleeding from her nose that eventually covered alot of her face. After nearly fourteen minutes of Andrade’s domination, Moras locked in a rear naked choke that almost had Andrade out but the horn sounded to signify the end of the fight.

Andrade, 134.5 lbs of Niteroi, BRA won by scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 13-4. Moras, 135.5 lbs of British Colombia, CAN is 4-3.

Rani Yahya won a debated 3-round split decision over Masanori Kanehara in a Bantamweight fight.

Yahya, 135.5 lbs of Barsila, BRA won two cards by 29-28 tallies and is now 21-8-1. Kanehara, 136 lbs of Tokyo, JAP won a card 29-28 but is now 23-12-5

Sean Strickland won a 3-round unanimous decision over Igor Araujo in a Welterweight bout.

Araujo began to bleed from his nose in round one following a big barrage of punches from Strickland.

Strickland, 171 lbs of Corona, CA won by scores of 30-26 and 30-27 twice and is now 16-1. Araujo, 171 lbs of Brasila, BRA is 25-8-1.

ST. PETERSBURG, Russia (July 15, 2015) – A pair of past M-1 Challenge championship contenders, Maro “Mean Machine” Perak and Viktor Nemkov, will battle August 5 in the main event at M-1 Challenge 60 in Orel, Russia with the winner positioning himself for a potential title shot against M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz..

Perak (R) unsuccesfuly fought Denis Smoldarev for the coveted M-1 Challenge heavyweight title earlier this year
Perak (23-5-1, 12 KO/TKO, 7 SUB), fighting out of Croatia, is coming off tough, competitive fights against two of the best heavyweights in the world, another past M-1 Challenge title challenger, Denis Smoldarev, and reigning M-1 Challenge champion Marcin Tybura.

This past February at M-1 Challenge 55, Perak lost by submission (arm-lock) to Smoldarev in the opening round. Perak’s only title fight to date was April 4, 2014, in which he was stopped in the third round by Tybura’s punches.

After his aforementioned fights, Perak decided to drop down in weight to fight as a light heavyweight. He was scheduled face Rashad Yusupov last May at M-1 Challenge 57, however, a knee surgery forced Perak out of that fight and he will instead make his M-1 light heavyweight debut versus Nemkov. Perak will be looking for his first win in M-1 Global competition, fighting for the fourth time in an event presented by the highly respected Russian promotional company.

Nemkov (on top) gave M-1Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz all he could handle in their bout
A native of Kazakhstan, now fighting out of Belgorod, Russia, Nemkov (16-8-0, 9 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) hopes the third time is the charm for him. He has lost two M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title fights, March 14, 2014 toPuetz by split decision at M-1 Challenge 46, and back in 2011 to Vinny Magalhaes by third-round submission (choke) at M-1 Challenge 25.

A veteran of 16 M-1 Global fights (9-7-0), Nemkov has been sidelined the past 1 ½ years recovering from a series of injuries.

Nemkov’s return and Perak’s debut as a light heavyweight adds up to an explosive fight for the right to challenge Puetz.

Three other fights have been announced this far for M-1 Challenge 60: Battle in Orel. All fights and fighters are subject to change, additional bouts will soon be announced.

Polish light heavyweight Marcin Zontek (14-8-0, 6 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) takes on Maxim Futin, of Russia, Zulfikar Usmanov (7-4-1, 1 KO/TKO, 4 SUB) faces Alexey “Ataman” Makhno (9-3-0, 4 KO/TKO, 1 SUB) in a battle of Russian lightweights, and French bantamweight Moktar Benkaci (11-6-0) meets Evgeni Lazukov (7-2-0, 1 KO/TKO, 1 SUB), of Russia.

Zontek (14-8-0, 6 KO/TKO, 5 SUB) (pictured to left) plans a spectacular comeback from his 2012 bloody fight with Sergey Korneev for the M-1 Challenge light heavyweight title. Zontek needed more than 2 ½ years to fully recover from his loss but he won his last two fights going into his Aug. 5 fight.

A two-time Combat Sambo champion and European vice-champion, Futin (4-2-0, 4 KO/TKO) is an exciting fighter who often spars with Vyacheslav Vasilevky. Futin is always in great shape and known as an excellent striker.

Usmanov (pictured below left) is an experienced MMA fighter from St. Petersburg.
A powerful striker, he has twice been awarded “Fight of the Night” bonuses. Riding a five-fight win streak, Makhno is a promising prospect whose M-1 Challenge debut ended with a sensational knockout victory over Rakhman Makhazhiev (pictured below right).

In his most recent fight, Benkaci (11-7-0, 3 KO/TKO, 7 SUB) gave Nikita Chistyakov all he could handle, albeit in a loss by majority decision. Benkaci (pictured below left), whose previous fights have been at featherweight, was at a disadvantage fighting Chistyakov at lightweight. When M-1 Global launched its bantamweight division last month, dropped down to a much more comfortable weight class for him.

A seven-time European Universal Combat champion, Lazukov (pictured below right) showed his potential early, defeating UFC flyweight contender Ali Begautinov during his relatively young professional career.

M-1 Challenge 60 will be streamed live from Orel in high definition on www.M1Global.TV. Viewers will be able to watch the preliminary fights and main card by logging on to register at www.M1Global.TV. Fans may watch all of the action on their computers, as well as on Andriod and Apple smart phones and tablets.

Fight Network will air M-1 Challenge 60 live on Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Grande Communications, Shentel Cable and Armstrong Cable in the U.S., as well as nationwide in Canada, Roku devices across North America, and globally in more than 30 countries throughout Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

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ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2015 promises to be another sensational year of world-class competition with a full calendar of Challenge events fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

ABOUT M-1GLOBAL.TV: Enjoy MMA action now in high definition brought to you by M-1Global.tv, offering only the best fights from M-1 Global and other MMA organizations. M-1Global.tv is a great platform developed specifically to bring together the most exhaustive fight video database. It also provides an easy and intuitive interface, helping everyone to start using the platform in no time while avoiding any spoilers. Besides watching the past fights on demand at any time convenient to the customer, viewers are able to enjoy the action LIVE, all available to M-1Global.tv users through a low-priced month to month digital subscription. Your world of action. Anytime!

Turkish top prospect Avni Yildirim is convinced that WBO Super Middleweight Champion Arthur Abraham will defend his title against Robert Stieglitz this Saturday in Halle / Westfalen. “He is in good shape”, said Yildirim after sparring with “King Arhur” last week in Berlin. “Abraham is very experienced but he doesn’t seem to be very hungry anymore. He is more of a business man than a fighter. He wants to make money and he knows that to make even more money he has to beat Stieglitz. I want to thank Arthur Abraham and his trainer Uli Wegner for giving me the chance to do some rounds with the champion. It was a good experience for me. And I think now Abraham knows who Avni Yildirim is and that there is somebody who could take away the belt from him.”

Yildirim is currently fighting at light heavyweight and will try to capture the vacant WBC Silver International Championship on August 15th in Miami, Florida, when he takes on veteran Glen Johnson. Even though the 23-year-old who has won all of his five pro fights so far feels comfortable at 175 lbs. he considers moving down to 168 lbs. “I can make either weight without any problems”, says Yildirim. “I am more powerful at light heavyweight. But if there are good fights at super middle – for instance against Abraham – I will take them, too.”

Promoter Ahmet Oner is convinced that his newest attraction got what it takes to make it all the way to the top. “I think Avni is the best Turkish fighter I have seen so far”, states Oner. “He is more skilled than Selcuk Aydin and more focused than Sinan Samil Sam. Glen Johnson is an excellent test and a big step-up for him in only his sixth pro fight but I’m sure that he is up for the task.” Oner surely wants his fighter to take the fast lane to the top. Of course, it was the promoter’s idea to let Yildirim spar with Arthur Abraham. “I have had my issues with Sauerland in the past but that’s history. And I always got along well with Uli Wegner. It’s always good to see him. He’s a great coach and I think it was good for Avni to spend some time with him.”

Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev, WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion

On coming off big fights against Pascal and Hopkins but now facing a lesser known fighter:
“For me, any fight means a lot because it is the next step. Who I am and how I do my job means a lot. He is the #1 IBF contender. He deserves this fight. I very excited that I have three titles and I have the opportunity to defend it against Mohammedi. He deserves this fight. He is #1. He is very motivated. When a boxer is motivated or any man is motivated it makes him very dangerous.”

On training in Oxnard:
“Oxnard is different place compared to my last training camp. I am very happy here and everything is comfortable. Everything is good. Big Bear training camp is conditioning and physical training camp. Now training camp in Oxnard is boxing camp with sparring and heavy bags. For the boxing, I feel very comfortable here. My sparring partners help me. I feel good.”

On his last fight against Pascal:
“I had some problems in my training camp for Pascal. I made some mistakes. I started to make my weight very late. I was very happy after Hopkins fight. It was a lot of things. I celebrated New Year and Christmas in Russia. Christmas is biggest holiday in Russia. I got a lot of overfull. It made for me big trouble to make the weight for the fight. I didn’t have a good sparring partner for the fight. It was a lot of things. Right now everything is clean and going very well.”

On the possibility of a Pascal Rematch:
“I don’t want to speak about Pascal because he does not deserve to get attention. He lost my respect for him even before the fight. I cannot respect even his team. He is piece of shit. Same as Stevenson. I think all fighters make terrible fighters in Canada. I don’t respect and I want to kick his ass again and much, much bigger this time. If it will happen rematch, he will sleep in four rounds because he is a piece of shit.”

On the added pressure of headlining a fight in Las Vegas:
“No for me it doesn’t matter where I am fighting. I don’t have any problems. I feel very comfortable and happy that my fight is in Las Vegas. I wait a long time for my fight. I wanted LA or Las Vegas and it will happen July 25. I am very happy and excited because I wanted to give to my fans who long time waited to watch my fight live and now it will happen. Las Vegas is biggest place for the fight and Las Vegas is terrific place a lot of people from everywhere come to Las Vegas to get more fun. July 25 they will be very happy and very fun day.”

On Nadjib working with Abel Sanchez, Kovalev’s former trainer:
“Who is this Abel? I don’t know any Abel.”

On Adonis Stevenson:
“He is a piece of shit.”

On where he stands among all current boxers:
“I don’t think about this at all. I don’t care where I am. It is most important what I have, not where I am.”

On his opponent, Nadjib Mohammedi:
“I can say that I will kick his ass.”

On the added pressure to impress:
“I want to be better and want to be improved for every fight because a boxer can never to be perfect. 100% everything is good, no. Every boxer wants to be better, better, better. My goal in my preparations is to get better and remove all my mistakes from last fight. To show to people I can not only to punch, I can do boxing. I am disappointed people couldn’t see in my first 14 or 15 fights. I can do boxing. I just started to get good opponents when I signed contract with Kathy Duva. Very big respect with Kathy Duva and her team that they got attention on my boxing. I am very happy that I signed contract Main Events and right now my career is going up. It will continue be going up because we are together right now. We are a team – Egis Klimas, Kathy Duva, Main Events and Krusher Promotions. We are going up. We give to boxing fans good boxing fight because right now it is very seldom in real fights. Because a lot of fighters are making business but not making boxing. I can count on my left hand who are the real fighters in boxing: Gennady Golovkin, Miguel Cotto and Keith Thurman and I don’t remember more. And maybe me. I don’t want to push me that I am the best, but if people are thinking it I am very happy. I wake every morning and get running and working hard. I happy that people are thinking that I am good boxer.”

Kathy Duva, CEO of Main Events

“We are very pleased to be working with HBO and Mandalay Bay where we have had such a great history here at Main Events. Sergey Kovalev is a throwback fighter who wants to take on every challenge. He has fought the #2 and #3 guys in his division in Bernard Hopkins and Jean Pascal. Now he is fighting his mandatory against Nadjib Mohammedi. It will be a great fight. It always is when Sergey gets in the ring.”

On why fans just want to see Sergey Kovalev fight no matter who he is fighting:
“It is the same thing that makes fans wants to watch Mike Tyson or Gennady Golovkin. Fans want to see knockouts. This is a blood sport. Sergey brings all of that. Sergey is a bad, bad man. He’s got that edge and that danger to him. My barometer has always been when I get excited myself to watch a fighter after the thousands of fights I have seen. I still get excited when Sergey fights. Every fighter when he becomes accomplished enough will have to get themselves up for absolutely everybody. He needs to prove this too. He is still on the way up, but he is a lot further along the way. He has had two difficult and challenging fights and there is a natural tendency to taper off in that situation. He needs to stay focused on Nadjib.”

On Mohammedi’s hunger:
“He has nothing to lose and everything to gain. He has had a year to focus on nothing else but this fight. Sergey has had to face two huge challenges. He also had a child and moved across the country. Nadjib has had nothing to do except focus on this fight. He is working with Abel Sanchez, who used to work with Sergey, and they don’t like each other very much.”

On Sullivan Barrera and Isaac Chilemba fighting on the undercard:
“Jolene [Mizzone, Main Events’ matchmaker] was still working to find opponents for them. I believe they are still on the card. Jolene is the best and she will figure it out. If Chilemba can’t fight on this card, he will be ordered to fight as mandatory for the WBC title soon.”

On the current status of ticket sales for this fight:
“There has been a tendency in boxing lately to give all the tickets away. Tickets are in no way sold out. It will take a lot of time before the damage to this market can be undone. We are hoping for a big walk up. I have no thoughts at all on the show down the street. Giving tickets away on the same night that people are charging for a fight down this street is another example of anti-competitive behavior. Our prices are reasonable, tickets start at $25. Sergey is well worth the price of admission and you get what you pay for.”

On why Main Events signed Mohammedi:
“When we met Nadjib, he fought on one of our NBC cards against Anatoliy Dudchenko and became the #1 challenger. As Sergey’s promoter I became interested in him. We struck a good relationship with him and his team. It made sense for us to work with him. When he came here for his fight on the Hopkins’ undercard, his trainer couldn’t make it so he ended up working with Abel [Sanchez]. He decided to wait very patiently for Sergey’s other fights. He is exciting and aggressive and that is what we like to see.”

On the odds for this fight:
“We don’t set the odds. The odds don’t reflect the competitiveness of the fight but certain people’s willingness to bet on the fight.”

On the possibility of a rematch with Pascal:
“I think Sergey just made it a lot more interesting with his comments about Pascal. From a business perspective, it is a great fight. We are keeping Pascal close. He is fighting in the co-feature but first Pascal has to defeat Gonzalez.”

On the possibility of a fight against Andre Ward:
“We have been talking to Andrew Ward’s people all week. We all agree the fight is going to happen; it is just a matter of when. Sergey’s schedule for his next few fights is planned. That fight should happen by the end of next year. Sergey wants to fight the best. The best fighting the best is what people want to see. We want to complete that deal in the foreseeable future.”

On the other potential opponents for Kovalev in the light heavyweight division:
“There are plenty of opponents. There are always new fighters coming along. The landscape of boxing changed six months ago and I am willing to bet that in another six months it will change again. I think between the fighters in the light heavyweight division and guys at 168 that are going to moving up there will be no shortage of opponents for Sergey. When you have that kind of star power in the division, they are going to draw together like magnets. Sergey has a contract with HBO and his career is mapped out for the next three years.”

On Nadjib Mohammedi:
“He has had an education with Abel that he didn’t have before. He came in as the opponent and he showed up on his own and did the job. You have to respect a guy that can do that. He has had a year to focus on this while Sergey has been focused on 1,000 other things over that same year.”

On Mohammedi working with Abel Sanchez:
“He fought on the undercard of the Hopkins-Kovalev fight and worked with Abel on that fight as well. He has been in the gym with other tremendous other fighters. I give Nadjib a lot of credit.”

On Sergey’s improving English:
“I don’t have to tell him that it is important. He came to me about it. Every time I talk to him it gets better. He finds ways to express himself. That is just part of the fun of Sergey Kovalev. He is working with a teacher. I had a similar situation with Tomasz Adamek and now he can express himself as well as anybody. The perfectionist part of Sergey will drive him to continually improve. What you don’t see is when he is in a relaxed setting he is much better. You will see more of that as time goes on.”

John David Jackson, Sergey Kovalev’s Trainer

On Nadjib Mohammedi:
“He is unconventional. He has his own style. He’s wild with some of his shots. Getting ready for him isn’t an easy task. We have to prepare correctly. Now that Abel is working with him they may have a formidable fight plan to combat what Sergey is brings to the table. However, once he gets hit we will see what he is made of. We know they are going to prepare the best they can and so are we.”

Egis Klimas, Sergey Kovalev’s Manager

“Welcome to conference call and we are looking forward to the fight.”

Vince Caruso, Nadjib Mohammedi’s Co-Manager

On Nadjib’s ethnicity:
“Nadjib is of Algerian descent but he was raised in France.”

On the odds for this fight:
“HBO told me that they were up to 45-to-1 and that is about as high as Buster Douglas was. I think we are about 100-to-1 shot. We are in with a guy who doesn’t make mistakes. Odds are against us but this will be the last time he will be overlooked.”

On how Mohammedi started boxing:
“His older brother took him to a boxing gym and he fell in love with it. He was 14 years old and was working in the markets. He’s been in love with it ever since.”

On Nadjib’s preparation for this fight:
“This is the first training camp where I know nothing. Nadjib is secluded with Abel. They are going to do it their way. He is up there doing their thing. I am down here dotting the I’s and crossing the T’s. I can tell you this, his weight is on target and he is in tip top shape.”

About Kovalev vs. Mohammedi

WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (27-0-1, 24 KOs) will compete in his first mandatory title defense against Nadjib “Irondjib” Mohammedi (37-3, 23 KOs) on Saturday, July 25 at the Mandalay Bay Events Center, Las Vegas, Nevada. The co-feature will include a ten-round light heavyweight match-up between Jean Pascal (29-3-1, 17 KOs) and Yunieski Gonzalez (16-0, 12 KOs). Tickets are on sale now and start at $25. Tickets can be purchased through TicketMaster and all MGM Resorts Properties Ticket Offices. The HBO World Championship Boxing® telecast begins at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT.

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Vineland, NJ (July 15, 2015)–Due to a conflict with the New Jersey Motorsports Park, the July 25 Rising Star Promotions event has been moved to Saturday August 1 at Vendetta Boxing (217 West Peach Street) in Vineland, New Jersey.

Said Debbie LaManna of Rising Star Promotions, “I just want to thank the people at Vandetta Boxing. We had a couple of unforeseen issues with the New Jersey Motorsports Park and we were fortunate to have found a nice venue to host this event.”

Two co-features will headline the card.

In the six-round Heavyweight co-feature, John Lennox (13-2, 5 KO’s) of Carteret, New Jersey will fight Dan Pasciolla (3-1) of Brick, New Jersey

In a 6-round co-feature, Jeff Lentz (5-0, 1 KO) of Lanoka Harbor, NJ will fight Marlon Brown (4-0, 2 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY in a battle of undefeated Welterweights.

In 4-rounds Bouts:

Edgar Flores Philadelphia, PA will make his pro debut against Alshmar Johnson (0-0-1) of Vineland, NJ in a Super Middleweight bout.

Carlos Rosario (2-1, 1 KO) of Pennsauken, New Jersey will take on Joshua Arocho (3-10-4, 2 KO’s) of Vineland, NJ in a battle of South Jersey based Lightweights.

Quian Davis of Vineland, New Jersey will make his pro debut against fellow pro debuter Willy James of Newark, NJ in a Heavyweight bout.

Matthew Gonzalez (2-0) of Vineland, NJ will fight Eddie Edmond (2-4-2, 1 KO) of Newark, NJ in a Middleweight bout.

Edgar Cortes (1-1) of Vineland, NJ will fight against an Arthur Parker (1-13-2, 1 KO) of Lancaster, PA in a Super Bantamweight bout.

Zhang Zhilei (4-0, 2 KO’s) of Las Vegas, NV via Zhoukou, China will see action in a 4-round Heavyweight bout against an opponent to be named.

Doors open: 5:30 First Bell 6:00pm
Tickets: $40 GA & $60 Ringside
Tickets can be purchased online at www.risingstarboxing.com

Glassboro, N.J. (Wednesday, July 15, 2015) – Fight fans are now just two days out from Derrick “Take it to the Bank” Webster (19-0, 10 KOs) stepping up to face unbeaten Russian Arif Magomedov (15-0, 9 KOs) in the co-feature bout of this Friday night’s ShoBox telecast. The fight, which will be taking place at the Sands Casino in Bethlehem (Pennsylvania), will also have the NABO Middleweight Championship resting on the outcome of the bout.

“Camp has been going beautifully. I don’t think I have ever been so focused for a training camp before,” Webster stated. “My trainer, Denny Brown, has been pulling things out of his hat that I have never seen. My team has been amazing this entire training camp. We’ve been working. I have been pushed to my limits, and everything has remained intense since we first opened up. We’ve been at weight for a week now, and I feel great. I’m excited for this opportunity.”

In Magomedov, Webster is facing another representative from the recent wave of Russians who have moved their home base to the United States. Magomedov is currently ranked #2 in the WBA, #8 in the WBC and #6 in the WBO.

Webster enters this fight after recently campaigning at super middleweight, and he even had to spend some time in the light heavyweight division just to keep himself busy. However, he started his professional career as a middleweight, and he feels very comfortable to once again be competing at 160 pounds.

“I have so much speed, I could give some away, and my power at 60 feels amazing. What you’re looking at is the total package,” Webster commented. “I consider myself the best southpaw in boxing today. I’m 6-4. Think about that. I’m 6-4 with an 80-inch reach, and I can move like I’m 5-2. Just think about it. You’re looking at a freak of nature. When I get in the ring, you’re not out on the playground. I’m nothing to toy with.”

Weigh-ins for Friday night’s Showtime Quadrupleheader will take place on Thursday evening at the Vision Bar, located at Sands Casino Bethlehem, with fighters stepping on the scale at 6:00 PM. Doors for Friday night’s show open at 6:00 PM, with the first bout occurring at 6:50 PM and the Showtime telecast kicking off at 10:00 PM.