LAS VEGAS (September 22, 2017) – Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz will be keeping an especially close eye on one of the supporting bouts of his “Cuba vs. Mexico” instalment of Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on Tuesday, September 26, at the Cannery Hotel & Casino in North Las Vegas.

Appearing in an important six-round test against another undefeated fighter will be 6′ 7″ middleweight prospect Sebastian “Towering Inferno” Fundora (4-0, 3 KOs). With a victory over Youngstown, Ohio’s Victor Toney (5-0, 4 KOs), 19-year-old Fundora, from Coachella, California, will be enlisted to join Lewkowicz’s formidable promotional stable… a fast-track to an eventual world rating and championship challenge.

Televised live on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes (9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT), and presented by Sampson Boxing, in association with Pochiro Boxing and the Cannery Hotel & Casino, “Cuba vs. Mexico” will be headlined by a 10-round featherweight main event between undefeated Leduan Barthelemy (13-0, 7 KOs) and also undefeated Eduardo Ramirez (20-0-2, 7 KOs).

In the other televised bouts, hard-hitting prospect Alejandro Salinas (8-1, 8 KOs) matching up against unbeaten Duarn Vue (12-0, 4 KOs) in an eight-round super featherweight attraction plus a six-round showdown between unbeaten lightweight prospects Bryan Figueroa (12-0, 5 KOs) and Ivan Jimenez (7-0-1, 4 KOs).

Tickets, starting at $30, are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, at all Boyd Gaming Showroom Box Offices (Aliante, The Orleans, Gold Coast, Suncoast, Sam’s Town, Cannery & Eastside Cannery), or by calling 800-745-3000.

Salinas, who has been boxing since age nine and had over 100 amateur fights, says his incredible height comes from his father/trainer Freddy Fundora’s Cuban side of the family. His mother is of Mexican descent.

“I have cousins in Cuba that are seven feet tall,” said Fundora. “I eat a lot but for some reason, I can’t gain any weight. Could be because I’m always training.”

Naturally, Fundora says he boxes from the outside and uses his natural gifts to overwhelm opponents and eventually stop them. He credits his success in the ring to his father, who has been his trainer since the first day. “He’s always been there for me, and he’s the biggest inspiration of my life. He’s the only person I really look up to. He’s my coach and father and best friend; an all-around good guy.

Fundora says he doesn’t know much about opponent Toney, but has worked hard at Coachella Valley Boxing Club to land this big promotional bump with a victory. “First and foremost, I want to thank Sampson Boxing Promotions for giving me the opportunity to showcase my talent that has derived from all the hard work that both my team and I have put in for so long,” continued Fundora. “As ‘Towering Inferno,’ my game plan is out of control and coming your way on Tuesday, September 26, at the Cannery Casino & Hotel in Las Vegas.

“The lost art of professionalism in the boxing industry is something that Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz bases his company on,” said Freddy Fundora. “Those very same values are the core of Fundora Squad and what we are based around.”

“I haven’t seen him fight yet,” said Sampson Lewkowicz. “But with a name like Towering Inferno and that incredible height, I will be watching closely. If he is impressive in victory, I look forward to a long association with Sebastian and his father, Freddy. At just 19 years old, Sebastian has all the physical gifts to become a major force from middleweight all the way to heavyweight with age.”

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Sampson Lewkowicz is proud to announce he will be donating $1 from every ticket sold to his upcoming event in Las Vegas to help victims of the recent Mexico City Earthquake. The donated funds, to be distributed by Mauricio Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council, will be matched X5 by world-renowned philanthropist and Mexican business man Carlos Slim’s Foundation.

Fans can live stream the fights on FOX Sports GO, available in English or Spanish through the FS1 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSportsGO.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku. In addition, all programs are also available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.comhttp://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com.

Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @FS1, @FOXDeportes and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, and www.facebook.com/foxdeportes. Highlights available at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions.PBC on FS1 & FOX Deportes is sponsored by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

PHILADELPHIA – On the brink of his first shot at a world title, super middleweight Jesse Hart commented on his March 18, 2016 fight against Dashon Johnson, which was named the “Philly Fight of the Year”.

“That’s what it deserves,” Hart said about his 10-round thriller against Johnson. “I gave blood sweat and tears.”

Hart was generally in control in the fight, but had to battle back from the Californian’s aggressive rushes that had him in trouble in round six and on the floor in round ten. Hart climbed to his feet and went on to win the decision after ten exciting rounds. It was a memorable fight on a great night of Philly boxing.

“I showed a tremendous amount of heart,” Hart said. “It was a war. I was prepared to die. I won that fight on heart. I had to dig down to the pit of my soul – dig down deep to find it, and to get it.”

On October 15th, Hart and Johnson will be honored at the 10th Annual Briscoe Awards for their excellent fight and the page in Philly boxing history that they created together.
Of course, first on Hart’s mind is his chance to win the WBO super middleweight championship Friday night in Tucson, AZ.

ABOUT THE BRISCOE AWARDS ON OCTOBER 15 FROM 1-4 PM

The Briscoe Awards are named in honor of legendary Philly middleweight Bennie Briscoe and the trophies given away – the Briscoe Statue and the Briscoe Medal – all bear the deceased icon’s likeness. The event brings together the local boxing community, including the award winners, their families, past and present boxers, fight fans, other boxing people, and general sports fans.

This is the tenth year for the Briscoe Awards, which are presented by Philly Boxing History Inc., a 501(c)3 Non-Profit Organization, dedicated to preserving and celebrating Philadelphia’s great boxing legacy. Past winners at the Briscoe Awards include Bernard Hopkins, Danny Garcia, Steve Cunningham, and many others.

The event returns to Xfinity Live! Philadelphia, the central hub of Philly’s sports stadiums, located at 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia. Admission is $5, and tickets can be purchased at BriscoeAwards.com or by calling 609-377-6413. Everyone is welcome.

For more information, including sponsorship and advertising opportunities, please call John DiSanto, 609-377-6413 / johndisanto@phillyboxinghistory.com.

The 10th Annual Briscoe Awards will be held on Sunday, October 15, 2017, 1-4 PM, at Xfinity Live!, 1100 Pattison Avenue in South Philadelphia.

Kathy Duva, CEO – Main Events: All right, everybody, welcome. We are here today to officially kick off the promotion for a fight that’s going to take place at The Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, November 25. That’s the Saturday after Thanksgiving. Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev is going to fight Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in a fight that is going to be a little departure for what Sergey’s gone through lately. It’s going to be a fight where both guys stand in the ring and throw punches at each other.

I think it’s going to be entertaining and fun for all. We’re thrilled to be bringing Sergey to the Mecca of Boxing for the very first time. It’s something we’ve been wanting to do for a while and I want to thank Joel Fischer, Sal Federico and, of course, Larry [Torres] of Madison Square Garden, who is here with us today.

It is the number one destination for boxing in the country as far as I’m concerned and we’re really looking forward to putting on a tremendous show. Sergey, of course, the former unified light heavyweight world champion, with a 30-2-1 record, with 26 knockouts; he’s anxious to get back to his “krushing” ways. It’s been over two years since he’s fought on regular HBO in the United States. It is time to get back on track and based on what we’ve heard this morning, apparently, he’s the man in the light heavyweight division again! Sergey said he was going to retire Ward; I guess he did.

He’s going to be fighting Vyacheslav “Lion Heart” Shabranskyy, 19-1, with 16 knockouts and he is the current WBC USNBC Light Heavyweight Champion. This bout is scheduled to be a 10-round light heavyweight matchup and it will be in the Theater live on HBO Boxing After Dark® beginning at 10:00 PM, Eastern and Pacific.

At this moment, tickets have already gone on sale. Our presale was very good and you can still get them at ticketmaster.com and the MSG box office. They start at $50 and range up to $350 for ringside, so this is a very nicely priced event. I think it’s going to be terrific. We’re going to have lots of other fighters on the undercard, you’ll hear more about them in the coming weeks, but we’ve got a lot of guys who will be from New York who are just starting out with Main Events, some others who’ve been with us for a while. Every fight, as a usual, Jolene puts together the best undercards in boxing, as far as I’m concerned, and I’m sure she won’t let us down because she never does.

It is my pleasure to introduce my friend Ray Stallone, HBO Vice President of Media Relations.

Ray Stallone: Thank you. Not too many comments but I just want to obviously say thank you to our host here today, the Renaissance. This is a really, really nice venue. This is so bright, so airy, so classy, it is just lovely. The next time someone asks for recommendation where we should go in New York, this would certainly be considered.

The second thing is there’s always a formula in boxing where you feel like something special could happen. I feel like we have something special perhaps on November 25th. You’ve got promotional firms like Main Events and Golden Boy. You’ve got Madison Square Garden as the venue, HBO Sports as the television company, those add up to a formula where we really could see something special on the night of November 25th.

The other element that makes that night interesting people say, “Gee, Thanksgiving weekend, people are busy.” HBO has traditionally found that that Saturday night is a really solid sports entertainment evening for viewership. Maybe it’s because people are traveling Wednesday and Thursday, maybe because by Friday they want to settle in on Saturday night and just stay home and watch live sporting events. It is actually a terrific sports viewing night. So, anyone who’s thinking, “Oh gee, it’s going to get buried on Thanksgiving weekend with family celebrations,” there’s a window for some real live sports entertainment and we think we’re going to hit it.

The other thing I wanted to mention is, on behalf of Peter Nelson, Tony Walker and Jonathan Galst and the rest of the HBO family, we do have a tripleheader, this Saturday night on HBO at 10:00. Many of our people and executives are on the West Coast today, but as I mentioned to Sergey, they will certainly be back in New York and at the final press conference. All of our executives will be back and we want to welcome Slava to the HBO broadcast. He has been on HBO Latino, I believe, twice now. He’s actually familiar to the HBO subscriber family, with the HBO Latino platform, but this will be his debut on HBO Boxing After Dark®.

Last comment I wanted to make: I was doing a little bit of research, if that’s the right word, and I think everyone, especially fight fans and boxing media, love it when fighters fight frequently. This fight on November 25th will mark the 10th time that Sergey has fought since January of 2014. This will also be on November 25th, Shabranskyy”s 10th fight since January of 2015. So, that kind of frequency, I think is ideal for boxing fans to connect with these fighters. And obviously, from a television perspective, the more they’re on TV, the more you can showcase them. We’re pumped up for November 25th. We will see you then.

KD: Thank you so much, Ray. Again, I can only just echo what Ray had to say about bringing together Main Events, Golden Boy, Madison Square Garden and HBO. These are the crown jewels of the sport. I think that it’s wonderful to know that after– my company is coming up on its 40th anniversary, and most of that time we’ve spent– we’ve been working with HBO, and it’s always a pleasure. I can’t tell you how important it is to us to be able to do that.

Now, I’m going to bring up an old friend. Long, long ago Rolando Arellano was the manager of Fernando Vargas. As part of that journey on HBO, he must have fought, I don’t you know how many times?

Rolando Arellano: Many, many times. I think since he was 19 years old.

KD: Yes. And Vargas had a spectacular career there. And Rolando, as I said, was half the fun, really, of working with Fernando. And it’s wonderful to have him back here today, now that he is the executive in charge of fighter relations for Golden Boy Promotions, and I’m going to bring him up to introduce Slava Shabranskyy and tell us all about what he expects to have happen.

RA: Actually, my boxing birth, was given over at Main Events, and I’ve learned so much from Kathy, and from Patrick English, from Jolene, and many of the other staff members. But, good afternoon, my name is Rolando Arellano on behalf of Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions and all the staff members, it’s a great pleasure to be here. We thank all of you for joining us today. It’s also an absolute pleasure to be working with my dear friends again over at Main Events, of course, HBO, and the one and only Madison Square Garden.

As we all know in the recent years, there has been a complete portfolio of Eastern European boxers that have taken boxing by storm. Golden Boy now has a pleasure to represent one of these boxers by the name of Slava Shabranskyy. He’s actually from the Ukraine. Slava has a record of 19-1, with 16 by way of knockout, he is currently the WBC USNBC Light Heavyweight Champion. It is my pleasure ladies and gentlemen, at this point in time, to introduce a champ, Slava Shabranskyy.

Vyacheslav Shabranskyy: Good afternoon, it’s a great pleasure to be at New York. I’m excited to be fighting at Madison Square Garden and on HBO. I’m excited to be fighting a great ex-world champion Sergey Kovalev. I look forward to bring the best in me for this fight is the only thing. Thank you, see you November 25th.

KD: I want to make a point of saying that, we worked really hard to find someone who was willing to fight Sergey Kovalev; it’s not easy. A lot of people didn’t want to even take our call, a lot of people didn’t even ask, how much? They just weren’t available. But when we called Golden Boy, we had an answer in about an hour and that speaks to the professionalism of the people over at Golden Boy. It also speaks to the professionalism of this gentleman to my side, Mr. Shabranskyy. This is the way boxing is supposed to be. Fighters are supposed to want to fight each other and it’s refreshing when it happens and, generally, those turn out to be the best fights. Now I am going to introduce to you Sergey’s manager, and also my friend, Mr. Egis Klimas.

Egis Klimas: Good afternoon everybody. I am very happy to be back here in New York City and Madison Square Garden. In Sergey’s career, he has never fought here in New York, so is very excited. We have a lot of fans. A lot of people that when he fights somewhere else like Las Vegas or Los Angeles, many people are coming from New York to see him. Now we’re going to be able to bring Sergey’s fights to New York, so we’re going to have a lot of fans.

There are a lot of Ukrainian fans here in New York, so hopefully Madison Square Garden Theater is going to be sold out. We would like to thank HBO for giving us this opportunity. Especially thanks to my fighter Sergey Kovalev for coming back after all those nonsense things. I believe he is clear-headed completely. I would say completely clear-minded coming for the next fight.

As far as Slava, I have known Slava for some time. He was coming to my gym sparring with– actually never sparred Sergey, but he was sparring with some other of my fighters. The one thing he has for sure is his nickname “Lion Heart”; he has a heart. So, I know that fight is going to be really good fight for both of the guys, and I just wanted to wish good luck to both of them.

KD: Thank you, Egis. A man who I’ve had the pleasure of introducing many, many times, he is the former unified light heavyweight champ of the world and I think he’s going to be that again, sooner than perhaps we thought, and this is the next step in the road to achieve that goal, and so here he is, Sergey Kovalev.

Sergey Kovalev: Hi, everybody, we’re happy to be here in New York for first time. My fight coming up November 25th and really happy to fight in East Coast again. I’ve fought in New Jersey, Atlantic City, but never fought in New York. I want to say thanks to my team, promoter Kathy Duva and my manager, Egis Klimas, and HBO. Also, to Team Slava Shabranskyy. Personally, to Slava Shabranskyy, that he approved to fight me November 25th. I will back stronger than I was before. It’s my goal right now to prove everybody and for myself that I am still strong fighter and I can be world champion again.That I have two last losses, it’s just like a huge lesson for me. Not like for the boxer, just in my life. I made a lot of analysis from these losses and I hope I will be much stronger than I was before. Thank you very much for your support and see you in November. Thank you, very much.

KD: Thank you Sergey. One little plug I want to put in. We have a nice little show coming up on October 5th at the Mohegan Sun. It’s another Main Events’ Mohegan Sun’s Rising Stars show. If you can make it out, you should come. It’s a beautiful card with Vaughn Alexander fighting Elvin Ayala in the main event. It’s going to be tremendous.

Question: Tim Dalberg from AP would like to know your reaction to the announcement of Andre Ward’s retirement.

SK: If it’s 100% true, it’s good for the boxing. It’s good for the boxing. We’re ready for fighting again for these titles and makes interesting fights between great fighters. Right now, in our division, a lot of good and strong fighters who wants to get this title. This would be very, very good fight for the boxing fans.

Question: Do you think his retirement is real or it’s for publicity?

SK: I don’t know. I don’t think about him at all. Because I’m looking forward to get my goals. That was my last two fights, it is already history. I forgot about those.

Questions: Are you disappointed of the possibility that you would not get a third fight?

SK: Yes and no. If this fight can happen very quickly, I’m happy. If like long time waiting, just to fighting close to titles, it’s no good. I want to be best in this division. I wanted to fight with the best fighters in this division.

Question: Do you have an update on your trainer search?

SK: I’m not looking for a coach. Just like everything counts as camps. Just have patient. My team will be complete in my training camp and in the ring also.

Question: When do you begin training?

SK: When? Next Monday.

Question: Do you go to Big Bear first like you normally do?

SK: It depends from the weather. From the weather in Big Bear.

Question: I would like to know if you find the timing of Andre Ward’s retirement strange. Is he trying to upstage you?

SK: His team and his self can’t play, he’s like mentally the games as they did before rematch. I don’t know, I don’t care at all.

Question: You said that you are starting next week at Big Bear. Is there a possibility that you work with Abel Sanchez?

SK: No.

Question: Supposedly Andre Ward left those titles vacant. Of course, everybody is looking towards vacant titles. If you don’t reach that goal, would you go after Superman Stevenson?

SK: I’m ready fighting anybody, but my goal to fight for the title as soon as possible. But right now, my fight is against Slava Shabranskyy and I have a focus on this fight. After this fight, will be understanding for me next way.

Question: Virgil Hunter had reached out, I think, and you kind of humored the idea of having him as your trainer if Andre was to move to cruiserweight or retire. Is that still a possibility to have Virgil Hunter be your new trainer?

SK: I thought about it, but didn’t decide it. I still thinking, but is good offer maybe, or maybe not. Who knows? I can’t get back to team of my opponent who I hate. Right now, two persons inside me like wrestling yes or no. It’s not easy to say yes or no. Just I keep going myself right now. I already almost understand who will be in my team. But I not ready announce it, because I’m not sure 100% ready they or not. But I already decided who I want to see in my training camp, in my team.

Question: Sergey, will this match-up with Shabranskyy determine if you stay at light heavyweight or move up to cruiserweight after this match-up?

SK: Cruiserweight very good because you can eat more in your diet. I understand now that I’m small for cruiserweight. Guys are losing weight from over 200 pounds and in the fight, they can have a weight like 210, 215 and more pounds. I am 185 to 190 maximum, it’s difficult to make 175 for one day; after this I get weight back and I feel good. I think so no.Maybe in future will try but not right now.

SK: Thank you very much.

KD: All right, thank you, everyone. Thank you for your time and we’ll see you in November 25th and I hope October 5th.

About Kovalev-Shabranskyy: The Saturday, November 25 bout between Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev and Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is a 10-round light heavyweight match-up at the Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The event is promoted by Main Events and Krusher Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions and will be televised live on HBO Boxing After Dark beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT. Tickets range from $50 to $350 and are available at ticketmaster.com and the Madison Square Garden Box Office.

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MANCHESTER, UK (September 22, 2017) – The eight principal fighters for tomorrow night’s Parker vs. Fury Pay-Per-View card all made weight at today'(see below). Tensions erupt when Fury pushed Parker during the traditional face-off and members of both teams went at it before security broke up the altercation.

In a battle of undefeated heavyweight, World Boxing Organization (WBO) Heavyweight World Champion Joseph Parker (23-8, 18 KOs) defends his title against WBO No. 1 contender Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs), airing on Pay Per View in the United States (3:00 p.m. ET / 12:00 p.m. PT start), live from Manchester Arena in Manchester, United Kingdom.

“Parker vs. Fury”, promoted by Hennessey Sports, is presented in the United States by Integrated Sports Media and Protocol Sports Marketing, Ltd., in conjunction with an internet-based YouTube PPV that is available at www.youtube.com/parkerfury.

Integrated Sports Media will distribute “Parker vs. Fury” live in the United States on cable and satellite PPV via iN Demand, Vubiquity, Sling TV and DISH for a suggested retail price of only $24.95.

Outside of North America, “Parker vs. Fury” is being distributed to broadcasters worldwide by leading boxing television rights distribution firm, Protocol Sports Marketing Ltd.

OFFICIAL WEIGHTS

MAIN EVENT – WORLD BOXING ORGANIZATION HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP (12)
Joseph Parker(23-0, 18 KOs), Champion, Las Vegas, NV, USA by way of New Zealand 245 lbs.
vs.
Hughie Fury (20-0, 10 KOs), No.1 mandatory contender, Stockport, UK 234 lbs.

CO-FEATURE — BBBOFC BRITISH BANTANWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (12)
Josh Wale (24-9, 11 KOs), Barnsley, UK 117 lbs.
vs.
Don Broadhurst (19-3-1 (4 Kos), Birmingham, UK 118 lbs.

VACANT WBO INTERCONTINENTAL SUPER WELTERWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP (12)
“Jimmy” Kilrain Kelley (21-2, 9 KOs), Manchester, UK 154 lbs.
vs.
Stiliyan “Still Kill” Kostov (21-7, 16 KOs), Razgrad, Bulgaria 153 lbs.

LIGHTWEIGHTS (10)
Joe Murray (21-2, 9 KOs), Manchester, UK 137 lbs.
vs.
Matty Fagan (11-2, 0 KOs), Chester, UK 136 lbs.

All and/or highlights of additional PPV fights will air pending time restraints.

Fights and fighters subject to change.

INFORMATION:
www.integratedsportsnet.com, www.protocolsports.com

Twitter: @IntegratedPPV
ABOUT INTEGRATED SPORTS MEDIA: North America’s leading distributor of International Pay-Per-View and Closed-Circuit sports events has presented World Championship and world-class boxing matches featuring Ricky Hatton, Christian Mijares, Evander Holyfield, Roy Jones, Jr., Ivan Calderon, Rocky Martinez, Nicolai Valuev, Amir Kahn, Marco Antonio Barrera, Arthur Abraham, David Haye, John Ruiz, and Ruslan Chagaev. In addition, Integrated Sports Media distributed numerous International soccer matches showcasing teams like Club America of Mexico and the National Teams of Argentina, Honduras, El Salvador and the USA, as well as World Championship and world-class mixed martial arts shows featuring Fedor Emelianenko, Tim Sylvia, Bobby Lashley, Bob Sapp, Jeff Monson, and Roy Nelson. For more information on upcoming Integrated Sports events visit www.integratedsportsnet.com.

ABOUT PROTOCOL SPORTS MARKETING LTD.: Protocol Sports Marketing is the world’s leading distributor of live-via-satellite and tape delayed boxing events. Since marketing its first live broadcast in 2009, the company has developed a strong, transparent and integrity-driven bond with rights holders, promoters and other Boxing stakeholders. Fuelling Protocol’s success has been its singular passion to re-establish Boxing to past heights, and its efforts have successfully increased both the number of international broadcasters who license Boxing and the amount of Boxing telecasts that they license. The hundreds of live and taped telecasts that Protocol Sports has historically distributed to broadcasters contain a vast majority of the fan-friendly fighters of the past decade, and the company prides itself on identifying and presenting emerging Boxing stars, early in their careers, to TV channels around the world. For more information on events distributed by Protocol Sports Marketing, visit www.protocolsports.com.

TORONTO – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents an action-packed weekend of live combat sports, including tonight’s live presentation of the prelims for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: Saint Preux vs. Okami from Saitama, Japan at 8:00 p.m. ET. The live action kicks off today, Friday, Sept. 22 at 4:00 p.m. ET with Phoenix Fighting Championship 3: UK vs. The World from London, England.

Immediately following tonight’s live broadcast of the UFC FIGHT NIGHT PRELIMS, Fight Network will live broadcast LFA 23: Krantz vs. Nakashima from Bossier City, Louisiana at 10:00 p.m. ET. And on Saturday, Sept. 23, M-1 Challenge 83: Ragozin vs. Halsey emanates from Kazan, Russia at 12:30 p.m. ET. But first, the M-1 Selection 15 undercard will air live at 10:00 a.m. ET.

Tonight’s two-hour UFC FIGHT NIGHT PRELIMS from Saitama, Japan at 8:00 p.m. ET will feature four exciting matchups, as welterweights Keita Nakamura (32-8-2, 1NC) and Alex Morono (13-4) collide, No. 5-ranked flyweight Jussier Formiga (19-5) fights Ulka Sasaki (20-4-2), undefeated strawweight Syuri Kondo (5-0) faces Chan-Mi Jeon (5-1), while Shinsho Anzai (9-2) and Luke Jumeau (12-3) open the telecast with a thrilling welterweight bout.

Ahead of tonight’s live PRELIMS, Fight Network will live broadcast the UFC FIGHT NIGHT PREFIGHT SHOW, featuring coverage from the industry’s premier mixed martial arts analysts, as UFC welterweight Alan Jouban makes his desk analyst debut with champions Daniel Cormier and Michael Bisping, along with host Karyn Bryant and reporter Megan Olivi conducting on-site fighter interviews. At the conclusion of Saturday’s live main card on TSN2, the live UFC FIGHT NIGHT POSTFIGHT SHOW airs at approximately 1:00 a.m. ET, recapping all the exciting action.

Today’s live broadcast of Phoenix Fighting Championship 3: UK vs. The World from London, England at 4:00 p.m. ET will feature world championship Muay Thai bouts, as Stephen Wakeling battles Cheick Sidibe, while Artur Saladiak clashes with Youssef Boughanem. The mixed martial arts portion of the card includes several intriguing bouts, as Pavel Doroftei (18-4) meets Brazilian kickboxing star Saulo Cavalari (0-0), Antonina Shevchenko (1-0), the sister of UFC women’s bantamweight contender Valentina Shevchenko, takes on Anissa Haddaoui (0-1), and British prospect Bola Omoyele (8-4) faces well-travelled French veteran Moise Rimbon (23-11-3). The card airs live on Fight Network in Canada and over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Tonight’s live presentation of LFA 23: Krantz vs. Nakashima at 10:00 p.m. ET features a championship doubleheader, as Derrick Krantz (20-9) tangles with James Nakashima (7-0) for the LFA welterweight title, while Andrea Lee (7-2) throws down with Jamie Thorton (4-3) for the LFA women’s flyweight title. In other featured bouts, Ryan Spann (10-5) takes on fellow light heavyweight Lemarcus Tucker (5-2), undefeated lightweights Brandon Shavers (4-0) and Bryan Billiot (5-0) collide, plus Sabina Mazo Isaza (3-0) fights Linsey Williams (1-1) in a women’s flyweight tilt. The card airs live on Fight Network in Canada and over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Airing live on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 12:30 p.m. ET, M-1 Challenge 83: Ragozin vs. Halsey is headlined by a light heavyweight bout pitting former Bellator champion Brandon Halsey (9-3) against Russia’s Mikhail Ragozin (8-2). The M-1 flyweight title will also be on the line, as Vadim Malygin (11-2-1) battles Aleksander Doskalchuk (7-2). Also on tap is a lightweight bout between Raul Tutarauli (17-4) and Vladimir Kanunnikov (8-0), a featherweight bout between Nate Landwehr (8-2) and Mikhail Korobkov (13-2-1) and a bantamweight bout between Luan Fernandes (7-2) and Sergey Morozov (9-2). The main card will be live broadcast on Fight Network exclusively in Canada.

The M-1 Selection 15 prelims at 10:00 a.m. ET will be live broadcast on Fight Network in the U.S., Canada and over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East, highlighted by a lightweight showdown between Brian Hooi (14-5) and Viktor Kolesnik (11-2-1). In other action, Ali Albagachiev (0-0) makes his first professional appearance opposite lightweight Ruslan Khisamutdinov (4-3), Brazilian featherweight Diego D’Avila (18-6) takes on Kyrgyzstan’s Busurmankul Abdibait Uulu (6-4), Ukrainian light heavyweight Vadim Shabadash (4-2) battles newcomer Kirill Kuzmin (0-0), and Aleksandr Osetrov (1-v0) faces Lenar Suleymanov (0-0) in a showcase of Russian bantamweight prospects.

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

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 22, 2017) Jesus “Renuente” Soto Karass (28-12-4, 18 KOs), the welterweight warrior of Los Mochis, Sinaloa, Mexico, will return to the ring against fellow veteran Juan Carlos “Merengue” Abreu (19-3-1, 18 KOs) in the 10-round main event of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN on November 2 from Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Ariz. ESPN and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT. ESPN3 live coverage of the undercard fights will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.

Soto Karass has faced a who’s who of welterweight
champions and contenders, including tough fights against two-division champion Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, current unified welterweight champion Keith “One Time” Thurman, and a pair of all-out wars against Yoshihiro “El Maestrito” Kamegai. Soto Karass also possesses a spectacular 12th-round technical knockout victory against former WBC Welterweight Champion Andre Berto. Soto Karass is coming off a back-and-forth war against former WBA Interim Super Lightweight champion Mauricio “El Maestro” Herrera and is guaranteed to bring fireworks every time he steps into the ring.

“I have faced the best, I have beaten the best, and I am looking forward to adding Abreu to my list of victories,” Soto Karass said. “My goal is to get back in the mix of the welterweight title picture and a big win on November 2 will show the fans that I can beat anyone.”

Abreu himself has also faced tough competitors, including WBA Interim Super Lightweight Champion Pablo “El Demoledor” Cesar Cano and former two-division world champion Humberto “La Zorrita” Soto. The 30-year-old native of the Dominican Republic will look to take another chance at rising in the welterweight rankings, but only if he can defeat his toughest challenge yet against Soto Karass.

“Of my 19 victories, I have knocked out 18 opponents and Soto Karass is next,” Abreu said. “He hasn’t won in five fights, and there’s no way he’s getting back on the winning track against me.”

Tickets for the show currently on sale and range from $45.00-$125.00 (includes convenience fee). Tickets are available for purchase at the Casino Del Sol gift shop and online at casinodelsol.com.

Soto Karass vs. Abreu, a 10-round welterweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Showdown Promotions and sponsored by Tecate, Born BOLD and Hennessy “Never Stop, Never Settle” takes place Nov. 2 at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Ariz. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. ESPN and ESPN Deportes will transmit the fights at 11:00 p.m. ET/8:00 p.m. PT. ESPN3 live coverage of the undercard fights will begin at approximately 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT.

Videos and images are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link: http://bit.ly/SotoKarassAbreu. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for any photos/video.

Media interested in attending Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN: Karass vs. Abreu must be pre-approved for credentials. Credential applications are due Friday, Oct. 27, 2017 at 5:00 p.m., and can be found here. Submitting an application does not guarantee approval for a credential. You cannot transfer your credentials to someone else. Media will not be credentialed on-site, no exceptions.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @ESPN and @ESPNBoxeo; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/espn.fnf, and www.facebook.com/ESPNBoxeo; and follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @ESPNBoxeo. Follow the conversation using #GBPonESPN.

About Casino Del Sol:
Located in southwest metropolitan Tucson, Ariz., the Pascua Yaqui Tribe is a federally recognized tribe with nearly 20,000 enrolled members. The Tribe owns and operates several enterprises including Casino Del Sol, Arizona’s only Forbes Four Star and AAA Four Diamond casino resort, one of the Best Hotels in Arizona named by U.S. News & World Report; Casino of the Sun; AVA Amphitheater, a 5,000-seat open-air concert venue named Casino Arena/Amphitheater of the Year by Casino Entertainment Awards; Sewailo Golf Club, a par-72 championship course designed by Notah Begay III; and the Del Sol Marketplace. For more information, call 1-855-SOL-STAY (765-7829) or visit www.CasinoDelSol.com. Follow Casino Del Sol on Facebook and Twitter.

ORANGE, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2017) – Weights for Friday night’s card promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions, that takes place at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.

The undercard features Ruben Villa vs Ernesto Guerrero in a six-round bout, and Michael Dutchover taking on Carlos Flores in a four-round bout. Villa and Dutchover are promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing

Ruben Villa 127 – Ernesto Guerrero 126.5

Michael Dutchover 133 – Carlos Flores 131

All five fights will be livestreamed on TB Presents: New Blood via Thompson Boxing Facebook page and ThompsonBoxing.com.

The livestream starts at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET with Beto Duran as the blow-by-blow announcer and Steve Kim providing expert color commentary.

Tickets for “New Blood” are priced at $40, $60, & $100 and are available for purchase by calling 714-935-0900, or visiting ThompsonBoxing.com.

Photos by Carlos Baeza / Thompson Boxing
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For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check Banner Promotions Facebook Page , and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @BannerBoxing.

Tonight (September 22), at the SugarHouse Casino in Philadelphia, a young prospect being called “the future of boxing” by some important people will have the toughest fight of his career.

In one of the main supporting bouts of Hard Hitting Promotions’ (in association with Greg Cohen Promotions & Devin Haney Promotions) “Fight Night at The Sugarhouse” event, WBC Youth World Lightweight Champion and top-ranked amateur, Devin “The Dream” Haney (16-0, 11 KOs), will face Mexico’s Enrique Tinoco (16-4-3, 12 KOs) in an eight-round showcase.

The event is topped by Philadelphia heavyweight Joey “The Tank” Dawejko (17-4-4, 10 KOs) taking on Detroit’s Demetrius Banks (9-1, 4 KOs) in an eight-round battle. Tickets are priced at Front row VIP: $150, VIP: $100, Ringside: $65 and General Admission: $45 and can be purchased at www.hardhittingpromotions.com.

So advanced in skills at a young age was Haney, a Mayweather family associate, that he turned pro in Mexico at 16 and, at age 18, is undefeated in 16 fights. He is trained by well-respected former world champion Mike McCallum.

Haney also has the distinction of being the youngest promoter in boxing, as he also operates Devin Haney Promotions.

This is the toughest fight of your career; did you do anything differently in training?

I did the same stuff I always do. This is what I’ve prepared for my whole life, so I’m always ready.”

Tell me about working with an all-time great like Mike McCallum as your trainer.

I’ve been working with Mike for about three fights and it’s going great. I’ve learned a lot of things from him.

What do you think of your opponent, Enrique Tinoco?

I saw him fight a while back. Watched him live. He looks rugged and put some pressure on his opponent. He comes to fight, but I definitely know what to do with him. I had a lot of experience in the amateurs and have sparred a lot of great pros. I’m ready for whatever he has to bring to the able.

What’s it feel like when someone like Floyd Mayweather calls you the ‘future of the sport?’

It feels great. I worked hard for people to acknowledge me in the sport and compare me to the top fighters in boxing right now. Floyd is like a mentor to me. Both Floyds are. I just want to keep training hard an showing everybody that I really am the future of boxing. I don’t feel any pressure to perform perfectly every time though. I don’t believe in pressure. That’s all in the head. I’m just going to go in there and showcase my skills.

Tonight, doors open at 6PM and the first bout is at 7PM. The Sugarhouse casino is located at 1001 N Delaware Avenue in Philadelphia.
About Greg Cohen Promotions
One of boxing’s premier promotional outfits, Greg Cohen Promotions (GCP) is a well-respected name for staging world-class professional boxing events and promoting elite professional fighters throughout the world.

Founder and CEO Greg Cohen has been involved with professional boxing in various capacities since the late 1980s, honing his craft and establishing himself as a shrewd international boxing businessman.

Distinguished by his ability to spot and develop raw talent, Cohen first made promotional headlines for his expert guidance of, among many others, former WBA Junior Middleweight Champion Austin “No Doubt” Trout, who Cohen helped guide from unknown New Mexico prospect to elite pay-per-view level superstar.

In addition to Trout, Greg Cohen Promotions has worked with established names such as former unified and two-time heavyweight champion Hasim “The Rock” Rahman and all-time-great multiple-weight class world champion James “Lights Out” Toney.

Cohen currently promotes Undefeated WBO NABO Heavyweight Champion and top 10 world-rated contender Jarrell Miller, Undefeated WBA NABA Middleweight Champion and top 5 world-rated contender Robert Brant, WBO NABO Lightweight Champion and top 5 world-rated contender Mason Menard, former WBA Interim World Lightweight Champion and top 10 world-rated contender Ismael Barroso, top 10 world-rated contender Rico Mueller, undefeated WBA International Bantamweight Champion and world-rated contender Mzuvukile Magwaca, WBO Oriental Super Welterweight Champion and world-rated contender Dennis Hogan, IBO World Featherweight Champion Lusanda Komanisi, former WBO Super Lightweight World Champion Kendall Holt, as well as current top 10 world-rated contenders cruiserweight Olanrewaju Durodola, Filipino Jr. Lightweight star Harmonito Dela Torre, Filipino Super Lightweight Czar Amonsot, and top 15 world-rated contenders featherweight world title challenger Eric Hunter and Guyanese bantamweight Elton Dharry.

Greg Cohen Promotions has hosted world-class boxing events in the finest venues throughout the United States and the world and has also proudly provided talent and/or content for several television networks including CBS Sports Network, HBO, Showtime, ESPN, NBC Sports Network, CBS Sports Network, MSG and FOX Sports Net.

For more information, visit gcpboxing.com. Find us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GCPBoxing. Twitter: @GCPBoxing.

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 21, 2017): Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) and Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) hosted their final press conference today ahead of their 12-round fight for Linares’ WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Titles. The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23 at the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT/ 7:00 p.m. ET.

Below is what participants of HBO World Championship Boxing® had to say:

JORGE “EL NIÑO DE ORO” LINARES, WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion:
“I’m very grateful to Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy Promotions because they are presenting the best of the best. I am very happy about this big fight. Saturday is two days away, and we have trained well and are right on track with weight. I also want to give my condolences to all the people of Mexico who are going through an extremely tough time, and to Puerto Rico because I have family over there as well. I am more than ready for this big fight.”

LUKE CAMPBELL, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and Lightweight Contender:
“I’m very excited to make my debut on HBO. Thank you to Jorge Linares for giving me this opportunity with Golden Boy Promotions. I’ve had a great camp. I’m focused. I can’t remember the last time I was as focused as this, and I’ll need it against such a great champion as Linares. It’s a great challenge. It’s a challenge I’m really up for. It’s a challenge I believe I can overcome Saturday night. It’s going to be a great fight.”

ANTONIO “RELENTELESS” OROZCO, WBC USNBC Super Lightweight Champion:
“I want to thank God, Golden Boy Promotions, HBO, and everyone that’s involved here. It’s been said, Roberto ‘Massa’ Ortiz brings everything to the table. These are styles that make fights. We don’t want to disappoint anyone. As much as he’s here to win, I’m here to win. This is a fight for my career. If I want my career to move forward and presented with these opportunities, then I will not want to disappoint.”

ROBERTO “MASSA” ORTIZ, Super Lightweight Contender:
“I’m very happy with Golden Boy. I want to thank Eric Gomez, Robert Diaz and my manager Guillermo Rocha who has always supported me. I know the responsibility that this fight brings to me. I know what I have in front of me, and how talented my opponent is. But that’s what I’ve trained two and a half months for. I know how important this fight is, and I know what the fight can do for me. A win here will bring bigger and better things, and that’s what I prepared for. It will be a war. Those of you who show up to the Forum this Saturday will leave happy.”

ROMERO “RUTHLESS” DUNO, Lightweight Prospect:
“First of all I would like to thank God and Golden Boy Promotions. I want to thank my team and all of the media right here and now. Thank you all for the warm welcome.”

AZAT “ATTACK” HOVHANNISYAN, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
“I’m every happy to be on the undercard of Linares. I’m very excited. I’m going to show everybody how good and well prepared I am. I will be victorious and have a lot of success in the future as well.”

ABRAHAM “CHAMACO” LOPEZ, Featherweight Contender:
“I’d like to thank God. I’d like to thank Golden Boy Promotions for giving this great opportunity to be on an amazing undercard with great champions. I’m coming back. I’m going to do my best to have a great comeback and to give it my all until I get to the top.”

MANUEL “TINO” AVILA, Featherweight Contender:
“I’d like to thank God first, for without him I wouldn’t be in this place. I also want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for the opportunity. I had some problems in my last fight. But I’m back in the ring, and I’m back to prove a point. I deserve to be in the ring. I deserve to be with the next world champions.”

RAFAEL “EL ALIKIN” GRAMAJO, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
“First of all, I want to thank Golden Boy Promotions for allowing me this opportunity on such a great card. I’m just happy to be back because I’ve been off for a while. I’m excited to give the fans a great fight, which is what I’m going to do this Saturday. I’m a 122-pound fighter, so expect a lot of action.”

ERIC GOMEZ, President of Golden Boy Promotions:
“We’re very excited for this world title fight, and believe the action will be in full swing between Linares and Campbell who have a lot to gain if they win on Saturday. We have an exciting co-feature as well with Antonio Orozco and Roberto Ortiz plus a great undercard with a bunch of Golden Boy Prospects. Some of these talented undercard fighters will become future world champions.”

FRANK SMITH, Matchroom Boxing:
“Luke is fresh. He’s young. People have written Luke off for this fight. But he’s been active. He’s had a strong camp for the last year and a half. Luke is really looking forward to it, and he understands the challenge ahead. But I think he’s ready for it, and on Saturday night he’ll be ready to take the belts back to the U.K.”

ISMAEL SALAS, Trainer of Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares:
“We’ve had a very good camp. We’ve been in camp for almost three months in London, then we finished it up in the U.S.A. For sure, we will bring the best of Jorge. He has been growing day by day. Everyone is saying that since he has lost, which was five or six years ago, he has become a different fighter. It’s time to prove it, and he is ready for that.”

GUILLERMO ROCHA, Manager of Roberto “Massa” Ortiz:
“We’re very happy and motivated to be on such a great card where we have tremendous fighters like Linares and Campbell. We know our opponent. We know he’s very talented, aggressive and does really good work to the body. But that’s what ‘Massa’ trained for. That’s what he’s prepared for. He knows that in order to make it further he has to face these types of opponents and these types of challenges. And if we want to continue being on these big cards, these are the types of opponents that we need to face.”

PETER NELSON, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports:
“I want to thank Oscar De La Hoya, Eric Gomez, everyone at Golden Boy for helping us to put together this great show, as well as Mr. Honda [of Teiken Promotions], Eddie Hearn, all the folks at Matchroom Boxing for all you do. They are responsible for the great contributions to this sport, and for continually developing the best fighters we have today.”

BERNARD HOPKINS, Golden Boy Promotions Business Partner:
“I’d like to thank everyone who is not only supporting Golden Boy, but boxing. Whether it’s HBO Pay-Per-View or HBO Boxing After Dark, we continue work with those who want to put good shows on. And you need a network that wants to do that, and HBO wants to do that. The fighters have an opportunity to get their names out there, and it is so important to do so. This Saturday is the opportunity. So if you keep that in your mind, you will realize that people will pay attention. Not only do your best, be your best. Execute this Saturday, people will pay attention.”

Linares vs. Campbell is a 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC Diamond and
Ring Magazine Lightweight World Championships, to be held Saturday, September 23 at the ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Inglewood, California. The championship event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, in association with Teiken Promotions. Orozco vs. Ortiz is a 10-round fight for the WBC USNBC super lightweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event is sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, Casa Mexico Tequila, Thor: Ragnarok and Fred Loya Insurance and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/ 4:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $75 and $125, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday 11:00 a.m. PST to 7:00 p.m. PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.fabulousforum.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Photos and videos are available to download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/LinaresCampbell into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing:
follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @hboboxing, and @JorgeLinares; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing; follow on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing and @JorgeLinares; and follow the conversation using #LinaresCampbell.

LAS VEGAS (Sept. 21, 2017) Gabriel “King” Rosado (23-11, 13 KOs) and Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-4, 15 KOs) are set to collide in a battle between two experienced middleweights in the 10-round main event of the October 19 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN at Park Theater at Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas. The ESPN 3 livestream of the undercard bouts begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET. The ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes transmission will begin at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET.

Rosado is a native of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania known for his willingness to fight anyone and anywhere. The 31-year-old has taken on a who’s who of middleweight champions and contenders, including unified middleweight champion Gennady “GGG” Golovkin, former IBF middleweight titlist David Lemieux and former WBO 160-pound champion Peter “Kid Chocolate” Quillin. Rosado will look to get another chance at the middleweight rankings against a dangerous opponent with power in both hands.

Tapia, of Passaic, New Jersey, has also faced top competitors in two divisions, including tough fights against James “Mandingo Warrior” Kirkland, David Lemieux and Jason “El Animal” Quigley. Both men are eager for another defining win in their careers, which promises for an exciting battle with years of hard work on the line.

In the co-main event scheduled for 10 rounds, Alejandro “El Elegido” Barrera (27-3, 17 KOs), of Nuevo Leon, Mexico, will take on KeAndre “The Truth” Gibson (17-1-1, 7 KOs) in a welterweight fight. Barrera was last seen beating Eddie “E-Boy” Gomez via upset split decision on the July 29 edition of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN and will look to do the same against Gibson, a native of St. Louis, Missouri whose only lost was against the top super lightweight contender Antonio “Relentless” Orozco.

Las Vegas featherweight prospect Francisco Esparza (6-0, 2 KOs) will battle against a soon-to-be announced opponent in a six-round featherweight swing bout. Opponents for Israel Duffus (15-4, 12 KOs), a Los Angeles native who will compete in a six-round super middleweight bout, and Bekman Soylybayev (11-0, 4 KOs), who will defend his WBC International Super Featherweight title in a ten-round fight, will be announced shortly.

Opening the night’s festivities will be Randy Moreno (9-1, 8 KOs) of Las Vegas who will face Jesus Aguinaga (5-5-2) of Phoenix, Ariz. in six-round super featherweight fight.

Rosado vs. Tapia is a 10-round middleweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD and Hennessy, Never Stop, Never Settle. The event will be held at Park Theater at Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. The ESPN 3 livestream of the undercard bouts begins at approximately 6:30 p.m. PT/9:30 p.m. ET. The ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes transmission will begin at 8:00 p.m. PT/11:00 p.m. ET.

Tickets priced at $25, $45, $65 and $85, not including taxes or fees, for Rosado vs. Tapia will go on sale, Friday Sept. 22 at 10:00 a.m. PT. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call the Ticketmaster Contact Center at (800) 745-3000. Tickets will also be available for purchase online at www.ticketmaster.com, www.ParkTheaterLV.com, or visiting any MGM Resorts Ticket Office.

Media interested in attending Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN: Rosado vs. Tapia must be pre-approved for credentials. Credential applications are due Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 at 5:00 p.m., and can be found here. Submitting an application does not guarantee approval for a credential. You cannot transfer your credentials to someone else. Media will not be credentialed on-site, no exceptions.

Videos and images are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link: http://bit.ly/RosadoTapia. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @ESPN and @ESPNBoxeo; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/espn.fnf, and www.facebook.com/ESPNBoxeo; and follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing, @OscarDeLaHoya, @ESPNBoxeo. Follow the conversation using #GBPonESPN.

NEW YORK – September 21, 2017 – SHOWTIME Sports® will close out a banner year of world-class boxing with back-to-back Saturdays featuring heavyweight world championship fights live on SHOWTIME. The network announced today coverage of unified heavyweight world champion Anthony Joshua’s upcoming WBA and IBF world title defense against top-rated mandatory challenger Kubrat Pulev on Saturday, October 28 live on SHOWTIME from Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.

The October 28 SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will be the first of two heavyweight world title fights airing live on SHOWTIME on consecutive Saturdays, with WBC World Champion Deontay Wilder set to defend his title against undefeated contender Luis Ortiz on Saturday, November 4. Both main event bouts will air live on SHOWTIME as the network concludes a robust 2017 boxing campaign that will have featured 22 world championship fights, 16 bouts matching fellow undefeated fighters, three world title unifications, three world title rematches and the emergence of three bright young stars (Errol Spence Jr., Gervonta Davis and David Benavidez) as they earned their first world titles.

With the addition of Joshua vs. Pulev, four of the consensus top-five heavyweights in the world will compete on SHOWTIME in consecutive weeks. Joshua vs. Pulev and Wilder vs. Ortiz will be the ninth and 10th heavyweight world championship bouts to air live on SHOWTIME in the last two years.

“There’s so much to be excited about in the sport of boxing, and it all comes to a fever pitch on consecutive Saturdays this fall on SHOWTIME,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager of SHOWTIME Sports. “This has been a great year for boxing. More specifically, it has been a great year for SHOWTIME boxing. There’s no better way to end it than with two major heavyweight world championship events. We are proud to be in business with the two biggest punchers in the sport, Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder, and the rest of the talented and hungry heavyweight challengers of today.”

Joshua, the undefeated British superstar (19-0, 19 KOs), exploded onto the world stage in April when he defeated heavyweight legend Wladimir Klitschko via a spectacular come-from-behind knockout. In the year’s leading Fight of the Year candidate, a bout that aired live on SHOWTIME, Joshua picked up the vacant WBA heavyweight title to go along with his IBF belt. Now, Joshua returns to take on the top-ranked IBF challenger in Pulev (25-1, 13 KOs) at the 70,000 seat national stadium in Wales.

Joshua, 27, has remarkably knocked out all of his opponents since turning pro shortly after winning gold in the 2012 Olympics. The Watford, England native won his first title with a second-round KO of defending IBF Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin in April 2016, earning a heavyweight belt in the fewest number of fights in more than 20 years. He has since successfully defended the title three times – against Dominic Breazeale in June of 2016, Eric Molina in December and Klitschko in April.

Pulev, of Sofia, Bulgaria, will be making his second attempt at winning the IBF world championship, having lost to Klitschko in his first try in November 2014. After that, his lone loss, Pulev quickly rebounded and became a two-time European champion with a win over Dereck Chisora. He also holds wins over two former world title foes of Klitschko in Samuel Peter and Kevin Johnson.

Joshua vs. Pulev is promoted by Matchroom Sport. Fewer than 200 tickets remain on sale via www.StubHub.co.uk priced at £300.

For more information, visit www.sho.com/sports, follow us on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CBS Corporation, owns and operates the premium television networks SHOWTIME®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ and FLIX®, and also offers SHOWTIME ON DEMAND®, THE MOVIE CHANNEL™ ON DEMAND and FLIX ON DEMAND®, and the network’s authentication service SHOWTIME ANYTIME®. Showtime Digital Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of SNI, operates the stand-alone streaming service SHOWTIME®. SHOWTIME is currently available to subscribers via cable, DBS and telco providers, and as a stand-alone streaming service through Apple®, Roku®, Amazon, Google, Xbox One and Samsung. Consumers can also subscribe to SHOWTIME via Hulu, YouTube TV, Sling TV, DirecTV Now, Sony PlayStation™ Vue and Amazon Channels. SNI also manages Smithsonian Networks™, a joint venture between SNI and the Smithsonian Institution, which offers Smithsonian Channel™, and offers Smithsonian Earth™ through SN Digital LLC. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV. For more information, go to www.SHO.com.

Nutley, NJ (September 21, 2017)–Vito Mielnicki’s GH3 Promotions is gearing up for a busy fall schedule.

Middleweight Antoine Douglas (22-1-1, 16 KO’s) has won three in a row since his lone defeat, and that has catapulted him to world rankings of number-8 by the WBC, Number-9 by the WBA and Number-8 by the WBO. Douglas will be back in action on November 11th in Atlanta.

Undefeated Super Middleweight Ronald Ellis (14-0-1, 10 KOs) will meet Taneal Goyco on November 4th in Springfield, Virginia.

Super Bantamweight Adam Lopez (16-1-2, 8 KOs) next bout will take place on November 18th, which will be announced in the next week.

Newly signed lightweight Thomas Mattice (9-0, 7 KO’s) will make his GH3 Promotions debut on November 11th in Atlanta on the same card as Douglas.

For more information on GH3 Promotions, Contact:

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 21, 2017) Lightweight knockout artist Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (17-1, 15 KOs) will seek to confirm that he is one of the brightest prospects of the exclusive Golden Boy stable when he headlines LA FIGHT CLUB for an unprecedented third time against a soon-to-be announced opponent in a scheduled eight-round main event on the Oct. 6 edition of Estrella TV’s Boxeo Estelar.

Gonzalez, the promising young prospect with dynamite in both fists, will appear on LA FIGHT CLUB for the ninth time, making the Belasco Theater stage home for his spectacular performances. Though suffering defeat against Golden Boy lightweight prospect Romero Duno in March 2017, Gonzalez quickly bounced back in August with a third-round knockout victory against Daniel Perales. The native of Buena Park, California will look for yet another knockout win before a legion of fans that always attend his fights.

In the co-main event, hard-hitting prospect Edgar “Kid Neza” Valerio (11-0, 6 KOs) will return in his second fight scheduled for eight rounds in the featherweight division. Valerio, of Los Angeles, California, will return after an exciting eight-round unanimous decision victory against Jairo Ochoa in which both men hit the canvas.

Opponents for North Hollywood, California’s Ferdinand Kerobyan (5-0, 2 KOs), who will open the Estrella TV transmission in a six-round super welterweight fight, and Jousce Gonzalez (5-0, 5 KOs),who will initiate the boxing evening in a scheduled six-round lightweight fight, will be announced shortly.

Gonzalez vs. TBA is an eight-round lightweight fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Tecate “Born BOLD” and Casa Mexico Tequila. The event will be held at the Belasco Theater on Friday, October 6. Doors open at 6:00 p.m. PT and the first fight and Ring TV livestream begins at 6:15 p.m. PT. The Boxeo Estelar broadcast will air on Estrella TV and will begin at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT and also be livestreamed on EstrellaTV.com and on YouTube via LBI Media, Inc.’s Fenomeno Studios. Mark your calendars and buy your tickets for the upcoming shows on November 3 and December 1.

Tickets for LA FIGHT CLUB are starting at only $20 with Flex Passes for multiple fight packages. Group Tickets and BOLD Experience upgrade are available for purchase now at www.goldenboypromotions.com, the Golden Boy Promotions Facebook page, by calling 213-233-2957.

Videos and images are available for download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link: http://bit.ly/LAFightClubOct6. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for any photos/video.

Media interested in attending the October 6 installment of LA FIGHT CLUB must be pre-approved for credentials. Credential applications are due Friday, September 29, 2017 at 5 p.m., and can be found here. Submitting an application does not guarantee approval for a credential. You cannot transfer your credentials to someone else. Media will not be credentialed on-site, no exceptions.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com, www.belascous.com, www.estrellatv.com, follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @EstrellaTV and become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.facebook.com/TheBelascoLA, www.facebook.com/EstrellaTVNetwork, visit us on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @belascola and @EstrellaTV, follow the conversation using #LAFIGHTCLUB and #BoxeoEstelar.

SAN ANTONIO (September 21, 2017) – World Boxing Super Series and Ringstar Sports announced Thursday that 10 percent of the gate for Saturday’s Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov WBSS quarter-final taking place at the Alamodome in San Antonio will be donated to the San Antonio Food Bank to aid the ongoing relief effort after Hurricane Harvey.

Every dollar donated creates seven meals for those in need. Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports in association with World Boxing Super Series, are priced at $250, $125, $100, $50, and $30, and are on sale now. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.

“San Antonio is a fantastic fight city and now fans will have the chance to catch world class boxing while also helping a great cause,” said Richard Schaefer, Chairman and CEO of Ringstar Sports. “The relief efforts after Hurricane Harvey are ongoing and World Boxing Super Series and Ringstar Sports are proud to be able to help wherever we can. I hope that the tremendous fight fans in San Antonio will show up in full force so that we can raise a lot of money and help a lot of people in need.”

“The San Antonio Food Bank is proud to benefit from the ticket sales for the World Boxing Super Series and Ringstar Sports event this Saturday,” said Chloe Palacios, Corporate Giving Manager for the San Antonio Food Bank. “Every dollar raised will allow us to provide support to those affected by Hurricane Harvey. We greatly appreciate the opportunity provided by World Boxing Super Series and Ringstar Sports and look forward to this exciting event!”

The September 23 event will also feature a reserve match between once-beaten cruiserweights Keith Tapia and Lateef Kayode, while former world champion Nonito Donaire returns to take on Mexico’s Ruben Garcia Hernandez.

*To apply for media credentials visit http://www.swansonpr.com/credentials.

***
Fans in the U.S. can stream the WBSS action live by signing up at WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com on fight night. Make sure to follow the WBSS on all of your social platforms for updates from fight week and fight night.

For more information visit worldboxingsuperseries.com or www.ringstar.com

Follow on Twitter @WBsuperSeries, @Ringstar and become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/WBSuperSeries and facebook.com/RingstarSports

Photos are free to use, but please credit World Boxing Super Series.

WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES FIXTURES

23/09/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov (WBA World)
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, USA

30/09/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez (WBC World)
Riga Arena, Riga, Latvia

07/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
Chris Eubank Jr vs. Avni Yildirim (IBO World)
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle, Stuttgart, Germany

14/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
George Groves vs. Jamie Cox (WBA Super)
The SSE Arena, Wembley, London, United Kingdom

21/10/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Murat Gassiev vs. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (IBF World)
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

27/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
Juergen Braehmer vs. Rob Brant
Kongresshalle in Schwerin, Germany

WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES AT A GLANCE
Number of participants: 16
Number of belts: 7
Number of world champions: 6
Number of former world champions: 3
Number of undefeated fighters: 9
Combined Record of participants: 423 wins, 17 losses, 294 KOs

ABOUT THE WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES
Organized by Comosa AG, the World Boxing Super Series will kick off in September 2017, featuring the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight divisions. In each weight class, eight elite boxers will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament, with four quarter-finals (fall 2017), two semi-finals (early 2018) and one final (May 2018). This makes for seven top fights per weight class, and a total of 14 fights in Season One to be staged in premier venues around the globe. The winners of the World Boxing Super Series will rightfully receive The Greatest Prize in Boxing, the Muhammad Ali Trophy. Please visit our website WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com for more information or follow @WBSuperSeries on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.

ORANGE, Calif. (Sept. 21, 2017) – Top junior lightweight prospect Michael Dutchover (5-0, 4 KOs) marks his return to the ring this Friday night against Carlos Flores (4-5-1, 3 KOs) in a featured 6-round bout on the “New Blood” undercard.

The five-fight show, promoted by Thompson Boxing Promotions, takes place at the
Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.

Tickets for “New Blood” are priced at $40, $60, & $100 and are available for purchase by calling 714-935-0900, or visiting ThompsonBoxing.com.

Dutchover, an accomplished amateur who earned a bronze medal at the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2015 and a runner-up finish at the National Golden Gloves competition a year later, turned professional last year and already possesses a fan friendly style.

Thompson Boxing caught up the with Midland, Tex. native and got his take on relocating to the Los Angeles area, what it was like to spar with two world champions, and his outlook on Friday’s fight.

Your training camp was unlike any other in that you sparred against world champions Oscar Valdez and Jessie Magdaleno, as well as blue-chip prospect Michael Conlan. What was it like going against such high-level talent?

“Sparring against world champions elevates your game and boosts your confidence tremendously. I held my own the first few sessions with Oscar and Jessie and they called me back for other sessions. These guys expect solid work so I was glad that they brought me back. I’m gaining experience from some of the best so it’s awesome. It was also great sparring with Michael. With those three I was able to see different styles that will help me in my development.”

Your opponent Carlos Flores has had an uneven career. How do you get up for a fight where you are the clear favorite?

“You can’t think that every fight is going to be easy. If you’re not ready for a fight then anyone can make you look bad. This sport is unforgiving in that way. I’m going to be on my “A” game and it will show Friday.”

Earlier this year you made the decision to relocate to the Los Angeles area and leave your hometown of Midland, Tex. What has been the toughest part of this move?

“I’m doing what I love to do and that always involves sacrifices. The most difficult part is being away from friends and family and being far from home. I knew moving to Los Angeles was the right choice because if you want to get better, especially in the lower weight classes, this area is the place to be. On any given day you can spar with contenders and world champions so it’s been great for me.”

How do you see Friday’s fight going down?

“I can predict a solid win for me and my team. I’m going to let my punches go and just be active. I’ll work off the jab to open things up and I’m going to show an improved defense. I’m going to look the best I’ve looked so far. That much I know.”

Dutchover is promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing.

All five fights will be livestreamed on TB Presents: New Blood via our Facebook page and ThompsonBoxing.com.

The livestream starts at 8:00 p.m. PT / 11:00 p.m. ET with Beto Duran as the blow-by-blow announcer and Steve Kim providing expert color commentary.

————————————————————————————————————-

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check Banner Promotions Facebook Page , and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @BannerBoxing.

Danish amateur star Kem Ljungquist has joined Team Sauerland. The 27 year-old heavyweight has signed professional terms with Europe’s leading boxing stable.

Ljungquist is a former three-time national champion and two-time Nordic Champion, who has represented Denmark at both the World and European Amateur Championships.

Having opted to join the paid ranks, the 195cm Dane says he is looking forward to starting his professional journey and has already set his sights on World domination.

‘’I’m very happy to have signed with Team Sauerland,’’ he said. ‘’I think the time is right for me, and I’m very proud to have got a contract with Europe’s largest boxing promoter.

‘’As an amateur my ambition was always to meet the best, and it is the same for me as a professional. I think it’s realistic for me to go up against the best in the World at some point.

‘’I want to fight for titles and I want to test myself against the very best. I have already proved my worth against other Danish fighters and have beaten them all. Now, I want to meet the best from other countries on my way to becoming World Champion.”

Ljungquist will be training out of Herlev Boxing Club under the tutelage of former professional fighter Rachid Idrissi. “Rachid himself has been professional so I know he has the tools to lead me to the next step, and I can’t wait to get started,’’ he says.

Promoter Nisse Sauerland is expecting big things from his latest heavyweight signing and hopes Ljungquist can prove as popular as his countryman Brian Nielsen.

“It has always been our goal to have a Danish heavyweight, and in Kem we think we have the chance to create the next Brian Nielsen,” says Sauerland. ‘’We plan to keep him as busy as possible as he learns the professional game, but with his amateur experience and pedigree it shouldn’t be too long before he is ready to challenge for titles.’’

LAS VEGAS (September 21, 2017) – Promoter Sampson Lewkowicz is proud to announce he will be donating $1 from every ticket sold to his upcoming event in Las Vegas to help victims of the recent Mexico City Earthquake.

The donated funds, to be distributed by Mauricio Sulaiman of the World Boxing Council, will be matched X5 by world-renowned philanthropist and Mexican business man Carlos Slim’s Foundation.

Tickets, starting at $29, are available by visiting www.ticketmaster.com or calling 800-745-3000.

Lewkowicz and Sampson Boxing, in association with Pochiro Boxing and the Cannery Hotel & Casino in North Las Vegas, are presenting a “Cuba vs. Mexico” instalment of Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes on Tuesday, September 26.

Televised live on FS1 and FOX Deportes beginning at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT, in the night’s 10-round featherweight main event, undefeated Leduan Barthelemy (13-0, 7 KOs) takes on also undefeated Eduardo Ramirez (20-0-2, 7 KOs). In the other televised bouts, hard-hitting prospect Alejandro Salinas (8-1, 8 KOs) matching up against unbeaten Duarn Vue (12-0, 4 KOs) in an eight-round super featherweight attraction plus a six-round showdown between unbeaten lightweight prospects Bryan Figueroa (12-0, 5 KOs) and Ivan Jimenez (7-0-1, 4 KOs).

Tuesday’s 7.1 magnitude quake killed at least 230 people in total, including at least 21 children and five adults at a primary school which collapsed in Mexico City.

Carlos Slim is one of the worlds most important philanthropists. He owns stock in more than 200 companies that employ more than 200,000 people in Latin America and beyond. He has used his resources to help develop the communities where his businesses are located. In his own country, Mexico, he has personally supported more than 165,000 young people in attending university, paid for numerous surgeries, provided equipment for rural schools and covered surety bonds for 50,000 people who were entitled to their freedom but could not afford. He recently created the Carso Institute for Health, and designed it to provide a new approach to health care in Mexico. He has four billion dollars of investments ready to promote education, health and other great challenges, and has recently announced an additional six-billion-dollar investment in several programs, including his Telmex Foundation.

Newly crowned WBC Super Middleweight Champion David Benavidez will be at the fight to support this endeavor and be part of the PBC broadcast team, together with announcer Ray Flores and former world champion Robert “The Ghost” Guerrero.

# # #

Fans can live stream the fights on FOX Sports GO, available in English or Spanish through the FS1 or FOX Deportes feeds. The fights are available on desktop at FOXSportsGO.com and through the app store, or connected devices including Apple TV, Android TV, Fire TV, Xbox One and Roku. In addition, all programs are also available on FOX Sports on SiriusXM channel 83 on satellite radios and on the SiriusXM app.

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.comhttp://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com.
Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @FS1, @FOXDeportes and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, and www.facebook.com/foxdeportes. Highlights available at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions.PBC on FS1 & FOX Deportes is sponsored by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

CONTACTS:
Swanson Communications: (202) 783-5500
Tim Smith Premier Boxing Champions: (702) 843-3400
John Stouffer, FS1: john.stouffer@fox.com
Claudia Martinez, FOX Deportes: claudia.martinez@fox.com
Credentials: bigmediabuzz@msn.com
About Sampson Boxing
After a very successful run as a matchmaker and adviser, Sampson Lewkowicz switched over to the promotional side of professional boxing in January 2008.

Sampson Boxing has grown into one of the world’s most prestigious promotional firms, representing many of the world’s best fighters and most promising young contenders.

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America and Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, VS. and several international networks.

“Andre Ward ends his boxing career as he only knew how to live it — as a champion at the top,” says Peter Nelson, Executive Vice President, HBO Sports. “To watch Ward was to marvel at constant mastery of craft in the ring, to say nothing of his being the consummate role model outside it. The Hall of Fame will be lucky to have him.

“We wish Andre and his family much success and happiness as he explores new opportunities, including with our own HBO family as one of the expert analysts on our broadcast team.

“It was a privilege for HBO to serve as the television platform for many of his landmark achievements in the sport he loves.”

“KO Night Boxing: Step Up!” Fact Sheet
This Saturday night At Hartman Arena in Park City, KS
Featuring 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Nico Hernandez
FACT SHEET
WHAT: “KO Night Boxing: Step Up”

WHO: Main Event – Flyweights (6) — CBSSN
Nico Hernandez (2-0, 2 KOs), Wichita, KS
Basyzbek Baratov (2-1-2,), Philadelphia, PA by way of Kyrgyzstan

Co-Feature – Featherweights — (10) — CBSSN
Tramaine “The Mighty Midget” Williams (12-0, 5 KOs), New Haven, CT
Derrick Murray (13-2, 5 KOs), St. Louis, MO

Heavyweights (10) — CBSSN
Zhilei “Big Bang” Zhang (17-0, 13 KOs), Las Vegas, NV by way of China
Byron “The Bear” Polley (30-21-1 (13 KOs), Saint Joseph, MO

Welterweights (10) — CBSSN
Armando “The Gentleman” Alvarez (16-0, 11 KOs), Key West, FL
Gabor “Squirrel” Gorbics (23-7, 14 KOs), Budapest, Hungary

Heavyweights (8)
Scott Alexander (12-2-2, 6 KOs), Los Angeles, CA
Richard “Silverback” Carmack (15-11-1, 12 KOs), Kansas City, MO

Junior Middleweights (4)
Akeem Black (2-1, 1 KO), Milwaukee, WI
Marcus Neal (2-1, 2 KOs), Kansas City, MO

Light Heavyweights (4)
Jeff Strum (pro debut), Wichita, KS
Chris Ortega (3-0-1), Topeka, KS

Junior Welterweights (4)
Brian Clements (0-0-1), Topeka, KS
Archie Weah (1-7), Norcross, OH by way of Liberia

WHEN: Saturday, September 23, 2017

WHERE: Hartman Arena, Palm City, KS

PROMOTER: KO Night Boxing LLC in association with Roc Nation Sports and Hartman Arena

SPONSORS: Mort’s Cigar Bar, Jimmy Egg and Twister City Harley-Davidson

TELEVISION: Taped live for future airing (TBD) on CBS Sports Network

DOORS OPEN: 6:00 p.m. CT

FIRST BOUT: 7:00 p.m. CT

TICKETS: Tickets are on sale at the Hartman Arena box office and
http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/06005308B32459E5 Prices are $115.00
(VIP), $75.00, $75.00, $50.00, $30.00 and $25.00.

This is an all-ages show.

OFFICIAL WEIGH IN: Friday, Sept. 22, 2017 @ 5 p.m. CT
Best Western Wichita North Hotel & Suites
The South Atrium
915 East 53rd St.
North Wichita, Kansas

INFORMATION:

https://www.hartmanarena.com/events/upcoming-events/1.html

Twitter: @KONightBoxing

Facebook: www.facebook.com/NeonStarSE

Follow @Nicomhernandez on Twitter and Instagram
About Neon Star Sports & Entertainment (NSSE)
NSSE is a content company whose focus is creating original and joint venter media properties – unscripted, scripted, events and digital programming – for cross-platform distribution. Visit us on Twitter @NeonstarSE or Facebook www.facebook.com/NeonStarSE. KO Night Boxing, LLC, is a subsidiary company of Neon Star Sports & Entertainment Inc.

About Hartman Arena
Hartman Arena, with a total seating capacity of 6,750, is the home to great live entertainment, indoor sports and community events, and is managed by VenuWorks, America’s emerging leader in venue management.

About VenuWorks
VenuWorks is a leader in venue management, providing customized solutions for multi-purpose sports, entertainment and recreation facilities, theatres and conference and convention centers throughout the country, offering full service management services including operations, event booking and marketing. VenuWorks is headquartered in Ames, IA and was founded in 1996. For more information, please visit www.venuworks.com.

Fighters from around the globe do battle when WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING: JORGE LINARES VS. LUKE CAMPBELL AND ANTONIO OROZCO VS. ROBERTO ORTIZ is seen SATURDAY, SEPT. 23 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT) from The Forum in Inglewood, Cal. The HBO Sports team will call all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.

The fights will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO HBO On Demand and affiliate portals.

In the main event, Venezuela’s Jorge Linares (42-3, 27 KOs), who calls Tokyo home, puts his lightweight title on the line against 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and top contender Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) from the UK in a scheduled 12-round contest.

Linares, 32, is a three-division champion, having also won featherweight and super featherweight titles. Returning to the U.S. after a three-year stretch fighting abroad, he’s on an 11-bout win streak and making the second defense of his lightweight crown. With only one blemish on his professional record, Campbell, 29, has steadily risen in the rankings and is making his first bid for a title in his U.S. debut. Turning pro in 2013, Campbell has fought his entire career to date in Great Britain.

The opening bout pits San Diego’s undefeated Antonio Orozco (26-0, 17 KOs) against ring veteran Roberto Ortiz (35-1-2, 26 KOs) from Torreón, Mexico in a scheduled ten-round super lightweight contest. Orozco, 29, is a rising star in the 140-pound division thanks to speed and counter-punching. With one controversial loss, Ortiz, 31, will rely on his experience and punching power.

Leading off the telecast with the replay of the highly-charged middleweight championship fight from Sept. 16 when superstar Canelo Alvarez challenged the undefeated Gennady “GGG” Golovkin for his crown. The sport’s top matchup of 2017, produced a classic 12-round battle that had the capacity crowd at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas buzzing throughout.

Follow HBO boxing news at hbo.com/boxing, on Facebook at facebook.com/hboboxing and on Twitter at twitter.com/hboboxing.

All HBO boxing events are presented in HDTV. HBO viewers must have access to the HBO HDTV channel to watch HBO programming in high definition.

The executive producer of WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is Rick Bernstein; producer, Thomas Odelfelt; director, Johnathan Evans.

® WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING is a registered service mark of Home Box Office, Inc.

Luke Campbell MBE believes the time is right for him to rule the world as he prepares to challenge Jorge Linares for the WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine World Lightweight titles at the Forum in Inglewood, California on Saturday, live on Sky Sports and HBO.

Campbell is gearing up for his first World title fight and the 29 year old is relishing taking on the outstanding Venezuelan star who dazzled in three fights on UK soil against Kevin Mitchell and Anthony Crolla.

The London 2012 Olympic Gold medal hero knows he’s up against a great fighter on away turf, but the Hull ace is embracing the challenge and says he always steps up to the task on the big occasion.

“This is why I turned professional, for big nights like this to test myself,” said Campbell. “I’ve had a great camp, preparation has been spot on. We’ve worked hard and we’ve worked smart. I’m physically and mentally ready for this, I believe in my own ability.

“He’s strong and durable with plenty of experience but this is my time. It would be incredible to bring home the World title. I’ve made history in Hull before, a couple of times as an amateur so let’s go for it again.

“Fighting on such a big stage doesn’t change the preparation. Motivation is a massive thing. It’s a fantastic way to introduce myself to the American market and this is my opportunity to show what I’ve got.”

TUCSON, AZ (September 21, 2017) — Undefeated World Boxing Organization (WBO) world champions ÓSCAR VALDEZ and GILBERTO “Zurdo” RAMIREZ will headline and exciting world championship event This Friday! September 22, at Tucson Arena (260 South Church Ave., Tucson, AZ 85701.) Valdez (22-0, 19 KOs), a two-time Mexican Olympian with strong roots in Tucson, will be defending his WBO featherweight title against the WBO’s No. 4 world-rated contender GENESIS SERVANIA (29-0, 12 KOs), of Bacolod City, Philippines. WBO super middleweight champion Ramirez (35-0, 24 KOs), from Mazatlan Mexico, will take on No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger JESSE “Hard Work” HART (22-0, 18 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA, in the grudge match of the year. The four warriors boast a perfect combined record of 108-0 (73 KOs) with nearly 70% of their victories coming by way of knockout. Here is what they had to say at today’s media workout:

BOB ARUM: I am looking forward to a great show Friday night. Two undefeated world champions – Oscar Valdez, the featherweight champion; and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, the super middleweight champion, are in two tough title defenses; Mick Conlan is on the card. It should be a great night for boxing in Tucson and the whole world will be seeing this event thanks to our partners at ESPN.

OSCAR VALDEZ: I am feeling good and I’m very excited about this fight. We had a tremendous camp – my trainers and me and now I’m ready to get in that ring and show my people a good fight. I’m pretty excited that all my friends and all my family get to come it is only thirty minutes away from Nogales, all the people will be here in Tucson, so I’m pretty excited for this.

FRANK ESPINOZA: Like Oscar said – he’s put in a lot of hard work coming to Tucson and we are excited to be back at the Tucson Convention Center Arena and looking forward to a great fight. Servania is a volume puncher and I think it’s going to be a fan-friendly fight but I think Oscar will showcase his talent. I’ve been telling everybody all along that he has the Mexican style – he has that super style that I think he’s going to show his skills that evening.

BOB ARUM: The Mexican style maybe now will be called the Kazakhstan Style because last Saturday, one guy fought as a Mexican and the Mexican didn’t fight like a Mexican.

It’s been kind of a quick turn-around since your last fight . . .

OSCAR VALDEZ: Yes it was a pretty tough fight against Marriaga and I was a little sore but I only took a week off then I went back to run and hit the gym. It only took a week then I was good to go. I always stay active. Not train too hard in between but just enough – give it a thirty-minute run, hit the gym, shadow box, hit the bag – casual to maintain myself not to get inactive.

What do you know about Servania – he has a great record but it a bit of an unknown being from the Philippines?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I’ve seen him fight before and he is a tough fighter and he has a tough style. Not a lot of people know him. There was a point when no one knew who Manny Pacquiao and they come to America as an unknown and show their skills. I had the same questions about Marriaga because a lot of people didn’t know who he was and they found out Marriaga is a tough fighter. It was a tough fight and everyone saw he was a good fighter. Servania is a tough fighter and I definitely am not taking him lightly.

When did you live in Tucson?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I lived in Tucson and went to elementary school there they my father and I moved back to Nogales – from when I was 4 to about 9. My mother still lives there. I have some long-time friends that I played with when I was a kid and I have a lot of uncles here, cousins and uncles. My family is actually very big – I have family in Ohio, I have family in Arizona, I have family in Mexico and I have a lot of family here in Tucson as well.

Is it fair to say that Tucson is your second home?

OSCAR VALDEZ: Yes I consider Tucson my second home – I lived here for a while. Having the privilege of coming back and forth – coming back to Tucson when I live in Nogales.

OSCAR VALDEZ: I fought here two years ago but I wasn’t a champion in front of my fans and my people then but I was always going to bring back a title and now I get a chance to do it and I am very excited. I am always excited but for this a lot of my family is going to be there and support me in this fight.

Do you have plans for Oscar to fight regularly in Tucson?

BOB ARUM: Tucson is a great city and I really love it there and they have very enthusiastic boxing fans. We are going to do well at the gate – tickets are really flying out of the box office, so yes, why not use Tucson as a base, but we have big plans for Oscar. He is on the road, we believe, to superstardom. There will be a lot of places – Los Angeles and Las Vegas – clamoring for Oscar and his fights. We expect to have some really major fights for Oscar in the near term against guys who are big names in the featherweight division.

After last weekend are you concerned about the judging of the fight?

OSCAR VALDEZ: Not at all that is never on my mind. I don’t worry about my opponent. I don’t worry about judges. I don’t worry about the referee. All I care about is me and how I am doing. I am confident about the work we did in the gym, we had a tremendous camp and I am confident about how everything will go on Friday night.

What did you think about the Canelo – Triple G fight and do you think Canelo made a mistake going backward in the fight?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I think Canelo actually did a good job. A lot of people thought he lost. My personal opinion I thought he won the fight. He went back but a lot of the punches Golovkin was throwing were not landing. I think Canelo landed the stronger punches and that’s really what I think.

Do you feel you are fighting for that – to keep on proving that we belong in the United States?

OSCAR VALDEZ: If I get any chance to keep on proving that we belong in the United States – we come to this country not to rape or to be criminals – we only come to this country to do good things – to get a better life than we didn’t have back in our country.

How important is having a series such as this for a young fighter?

BOB ARUM: I think it’s very important for ESPN who is now going to be able to showcase Oscar on the worldwide leading sports network at least three times a year. We are going to have him matched against top-top featherweights and junior lightweights and the audience that we’ll be attracting starting September 22nd will be absolutely huge and so Oscar will go in the same realm as the other superstars in boxing. This development we have with ESPN is really a breakthrough and the guys that benefit most are talented young men like Oscar Valdez.

You had a streak of knockouts that ended with Marriaga – is a KO something you want to do?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I would love to get the knockout. It’s not something I look to do in the first or second round but if I hurt I would do my best to stop him but my mindset is always 12 rounds. If I don’t knock him out I am 100% ready to go 12 rounds, whether that’s going toe-to-toe or boxing, whatever. If I have the opportunity to give the crowd what they want – a knockout – I will try my best to do it if I hurt him but that’s not always the case. I will fight hard every singe round.

How do you feel about a lot more people being able to follow your career now?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I think it’s great and I am ready for this. I think it’s a great opportunity and a lot more people are going to be able to watch me now. That’s what I want. I want to be recognized and being on ESPN is going to be a great opportunity and I’m excited for that.

OSCAR VALDEZ: I think this division is a very tight division and there are a lot of great challenges out there – there are a lot of good fights to be made. Servania is no walk in the park that’s for sure. He is ranked #4 in the WBO and he has that typical Filipino style – he comes from different angles and it’s always going to be a hard fight. It’s not going to be easy for me. I know I have to be at my best to come out victorious that night and that’s what I’m planning to do.

Would the winner of Mares/Santa Cruz be on your radar?

OSCAR VALDEZ: I’m sure it would be on my radar. If everything goes well I will fight anybody and if were to be them I would gladly take the fight. Whoever it is I will gladly fight them. Whoever they put in front of me.

BOB ARUM: This is insane, the policy that we now have. These Dreamer kids are as American as my grandkids. They were raised in this country. They speak English. They go to American schools. The idea that we would send them back to other countries is ludicrous. Americans are supposedly held to higher ethical standards than this. I will fight to the last breath in my body for these kids. They belong in the United States, they can contribute to this country and we have to open our hearts to them because they deserve it. They came here – does it matter if their parents came legally or illegally? They were kids when they came here and I think every American has the moral obligation to stand up for these dreams

Would you like to unify the titles?

OSCAR VALDEZ: Yes of course

BOB ARUM: And also I read today that Carl Frampton, who is a tremendous featherweight, has signed on with Matthew Macklin’s group and Matthew manages Michael Conlan who will be on the card Friday night so there is a possible fight against Frampton that now becomes relatively easy to arrange.

Would you fight Frampton?

OSCAR VALDEZ: Of course, I am not looking ahead of this fight but I would definitely love to fight Frampton. After this fight I can think about that. I always have to think about this fight. I have confidence in my team that we did a great job in the gym and that we are 100% for Friday’s fight.

BOB ARUM: And also don’t forget the Puerto Rican kid who will be on the Lomachenko-Rigondeaux card at the Garden on December 9th – Christopher Diaz – a terrific young featherweight from Puerto Rico and as you know the great rivalries in boxing very often center around the Mexican kid against a Puerto Rican

ZURDO RAMIREZ

Jesse Hart has been talking a lot – how do you feel about that?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: I only hope that he comes in really prepared because he’s been talking a lot and it’s good because I am really prepared for this fight and very confident in my preparation.

BOB ARUM: Jesse has a very good punch – his father, Cyclone Hart, could knock down walls. He was the hardest punching middleweight of his time and he was a tremendous draw in Philadelphia during the heydays of the middleweights.

What does this fight mean to you?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: It’s a big fight and really exciting for me because he’s the number one contender and I want to put on a great show for all of the Mexican people.

Bob, assuming Zurdo is successful, what do you see moving forward?

BOB ARUM: The future for all of these guys is bright because of the alliance we have with ESPN so now he no longer waits six months before he gets in the ring again to defend his title, assuming he is successful he will fight regularly on ESPN. Maybe we will do a fight in Mexico – I think that would be a great idea. I know he has wanted to fight in Mexico. There are a lot of super middleweights around that we can match him with. There are guys like DeGale and Dirrell who are terrific fighters and David Benavidez who is the brother of Jose who fights for Top Rank – he just won the WBC super middleweight title. Zurdo is not going to lack for really good opponents.

Prior to the fight being made, there was a lot of talk from Hart’s side – do you have any bad blood with this guy?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: No, no, like I said he has been talking and talking a lot but I don’t like to talk too much. I let my fists do the talking in the ring. I talk in the ring and I come to keep my belt, keep my undefeated record and to prove to everybody that Zurdo Ramirez is a top pound-for-pound fighter.

You seem to have fought better competition that Hart – do you feel you are more ready than him for this fight?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: Yes I am ready, always ready and my team is making me feel very confident because we have been working very hard for this fight. We have been working in Mazatlan to do the hard training and the hardest part is done. Now we enjoy this fight week and everybody is going to see a great Zurdo Ramirez on Friday night.

Do you feel that he is ready for this fight? You are obviously the best opponent he has had today.

ZURDO RAMIREZ: He said he is ready. So let’s see if he’s ready.

Do you think the fact that Zurdo speaks English will make him a bigger star keeping in mind that Canelo does not?

BOB ARUM: Essentially his fan base will be the Mexicans so it is our obligation to make him fan friendly with the Mexican public which is big supporters of the sport of boxing – they certainly have rallied behind Canelo over the last few years and we hope that they will rally behind Zurdo if he continues to be victorious.

You said you want to be pound-for pound #1 – what do you think you need to do to get there?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: Keep winning every fight and beat every rival and opponents and keep doing my job.

Who did you have winning the Canelo-Golovkin fight?

ZURDO RAMIREZ: I had it a draw. The people were really surprised about Canelo because they expected Golovkin to destroy him but that was good.

BOB ARUM: Golovkin won the fight easy, EASY. I had the fight 8-4. I didn’t think there would be any controversy, and let me tell you as bad a Adelaide Byrd was that fight, what the hell was Trella watching in that 7th round when Golovkin beat the hell out of Canelo and he gave the round to Canelo – what the hell was that?

JESSE HART
JESSE HART: I am just ready to fight at this point. I really don’t have anything bad to say about the guy. I think he is a fine champion. He’s been doing a great job holding the belt. Now it is time to give it up. I am prepared to not only do 12 rounds; I am prepared to do 15 rounds. Training camp has been. Training camp has been the most, hardest of my whole life. Not just in the ring. There have been near death experiences in that gym. It was war. It was war. This training itself, you ask me about being ready for Ramirez, he will be nothing compared to the training that I have been through in this fight.

Your dad had all of these tremendous fights in the Philadelphia area for a number of years and never got a title shot – but here you are – what does it mean to get that opportunity with your dad at your side?

JESSE HART: It means a lot because of what you just said — we never had a belt in our household. My dad said, “Everything I didn’t do in boxing, I want my son to do” so he is pushing me to greatness. This is personal for my family. This is business but it is personal to bring the belt home – a world championship

Your father was tremendous for years but never got a title shot – can you tell me what that is like for you to get one with him at your side?

JESSE HART: Absolutely – When I go in there my dad’s heart is going in there with me. My dad started me at the age of 6 years old. We had to recognize the goal and how do we get there. The goal was to be a world champion. When I first saw all the great fighters of the past that my dad showed me – Henry Armstrong, Willie Pep, Sugar Ray Robinson, who was his favorite fighter – all of these great fighters that I just named, Joe Louis, all the great fighters of the past, when I was a kid my dad used to sit me by the TV and watch these guys day in and day out – that’s who I studied when I was a kid, that’s where it all came from. That’s what I wished for – for one day to become a world champion and that’s what my dad’s dream always was but he never got a title shot, so it definitely means a lot to him. He said everything I didn’t do in boxing I want my son to do. That’s why he is pushing me

How familiar are you with the great match-ups that your dad had? Do you know about your father when he fought? There had to be ten top contenders – Have you watched tapes?

JESSE HART: I think my dad was a tremendous boxer, puncher. He was a converted southpaw but he really fought on the right hand side so people didn’t really expect him to be as devastating as he was. People never expected that and they always say that the most dangerous punch in boxing is the one that you don’t see – the one you don’t expect. They didn’t expect that because like I said, he fought right-handed – he fought orthodox but he was really a southpaw. He was really left-handed – a converted southpaw. The great fighters that he fought – my dad fought a tremendous amount of great talent on his record – It was much tougher back then than it is now because back then you go 15 rounds – you go in the gym and you go 15 round wars and I like to say that the greatest fighters are from Philadelphia.

You have been waiting for years for a title shot and now it is upon you – how do you remain patient?

JESSE HART: I’d like to acknowledge Bob Arum regarding that. Bob always said ‘you’ve got to be patient.’ He said to me when I first turned pro, he said ‘there are boxing stars and there are superstars. Superstars sell themselves inside the ring and outside the ring. Boxing stars just sell themselves in the ring – they don’t know how to speak and they don’t know what to say. Box said I have all of the qualities to be a superstar because I talk well, I speak well, I have a smile and all of these things come into play to become a superstar. Things that Oscar De La Hoya had – and Bob built that. Things like the Floyd Mayweather smile. Bob builds superstars – don’t limit yourself. I have been waiting patiently to become a superstar not just to be a boxing star. I have more quality. I can fight as well but I can sell outside the ring as well.

You have been fighting the smaller titles for a while – you had a tough fight with Johnson – you hit the canvas – what do you learn from a fight like that?

JESSE HART: I took away little tricks of the trade – when to put weight on my punches and when not to put weight on my punches, when to step around a guy instead of throwing a combination. When to get a guy out of there – don’t always think about getting a guy out of there. When you look at a guy’s record like that the first thing that went thru my mind was I’m going to get this guy out of here. When I put something in my mind – that’s what I believe. Certain people’s mind are not set because they don’t have that belief – I believed that I was going to get that guy out of there. There was not a Plan B or a Plan C. I believed that I was going to get that kid out of their and that was immature – I was just looking at his record. Now I am more mature to see everything – when to box, when to move, when to tie a guy up, when to go to the body, when to throw a combination, when to step around – different things very second of every minute of every round. I had a strong belief in myself to get this kid out. Like Muhammad Ali said to Joe Frazier “you will fall, God said you will fall,’ and Joe said, “Well God ain’t here today.” That’s the belief I had in myself in that fight.

There is a lot of Philly history around you – does that mean anything to do this for the town as well?

JESSE HART: Absolutely – that means you have an upbringing – you have something behind you – you have to uphold and live up to. That means a lot of preparation. That means a lot of pride. People from Philadelphia take pride in this sport. We fight kids that are defending the neighborhood – there is a pride that we have about boxing that you have to live up to. There is a legacy and my dad always told me the best fights you fight are in the gym – there are a lot of gym fights in Philadelphia – we grew in the gym.

You were talking about being near death in the gym, Jesse?

JESSE HART: Yea, damn – Coach Jenkins pushed me a little bit to near death. Sometimes I thought, ‘Yo, am I still alive?’

How do you fill the void of no champions from Philly?

JESSE HART: Friday I become champion of the world and my team – everyone around me is keeping me focused. I just have to go out there and execute the game plan and I’ll be out there giving it my all. To become champion of the world I was told that you have to do things you have never done. You have to get to heights you have never been to, go up mountains you never thought you could climb, and I climbed that and I am here now. I have to put it all together Friday.

You were talking about becoming a superstar – how do you think you will separate?

JESSE HART: Bob Arum – he is the man with the plan. He is the guy that got me here. He is the guy that put me in position to fight, to be here. I listen to Bob so much, it’s not just about boxing, We can talk about my family he give me different advice – you want to do that you want to do this. Muhammad Ali was a superstar. Oscar De La Hoya was a superstar – Bob builds superstars. To be a champion, that’s OK but to be a superstar? How many superstars are over there with the PBC? We can’t say that but we can say that Manny Pacquiao is an international superstar. We can say that, that’s safe to say. Terence Crawford is becoming a superstar – we can say that. Felix Verdejo is becoming a superstar in this sport. Myself, I am becoming a superstar in this sport. Bob Arum builds superstars. And a lot of credit goes to him. Even for this title shot I want to thank Bob Arum for that – without him I would have never got this shot or in position to get this shot.

Your father never won a title – if you win the title Friday night what will that mean?

JESSE HART: My dad always said when I started, “I want you to be a world champion.” I was born to be a world champion. That was always my calling and I really believe that. I have dedicated my life since I was a kid I never gave up on it. Ya’ll have different things that drive you, but I was born to be a champion.

BOB ARUM: Jesse was very flattering. I have always had a real fondness for Jesse and his family – he knows that and if he comes through on Friday night, the sky is the limit because Jesse is very, very right. I am not going to be satisfied with him just being a world champion; I want to make him a world superstar in the sport of boxing. I have in my mind plans on how to do that. Jesse, one thing you can say about him is that he listens, so the sky is the limit. This is going to be a hell of a fight – two great, great young men – Ramirez representing Mexico and Jesse Hart the United States and Philadelphia. I can’t wait for this fight, I really can’t – talk about a competitive real interesting fight. That fight – the super middleweight championship Friday night is going to be something special.

BOB ARUM: By the way – the show will be televised starting at 10:30 p.m. EDT / 7:30 p.m. on the west coast and in Arizona – I am so excited for this car. I think that this card will demonstrate, as did first with the Lomachenko fight and the Crawford fight, what boxing has to offer with the help of ESPN we are going to make this sport back to where it was fwhen I first started, it was one of the leading sports in the world.

********************************

The event will be further enhanced with the addition of Irish Olympic hero MICHAEL “MICK” CONLAN, 2016 U.S. Olympian MIKAELA MAYER and the battle for the vacant NABF welterweight title between EGIS KAVALIAUSKAS and MAHONRI MONTES. Conlan (3-0, 3 KOs) will rumble in six-round featherweight bout against Kenny Guzman (3-0, 1 KO), Kalispell, Montana, and Mayer (1-0, 1 KO) will take on Allison Martinez (1-2, 1 KO) from Spring, Texas, in a four-round lightweight bout.

Both world championship fights and Conlan’s six-round featherweight battle against Kenny Guzman (3-0, 1 KO), of Kalispell, Montana, will be televised live and exclusively at 10:30 p.m. EDT on ESPN and ESPN Deportes and stream live on the ESPN app. The entire card will be available via the ESPN app beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank® and Peltz Boxing, remaining tickets to this world championship doubleheader are priced at $102, $77, $52 and $27. They may be purchased at any Ticketmaster outlet, online at www.Ticketmaster.com, by phone at (800) 745-3000, or by visiting the Tucson Convention Center ticket office.

For more information visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook facebook.com/trboxing, facebook.com/trboxeo, facebook.com/espndeportes; Twitter twitter.com/trboxing, twitter.com/trboxeo, @ESPN @ESPNBoxeo
@ESPNDeportes. Use the hashtags #ValdezServania and #RamirezHart to join the conversation on Twitter.

21 September 2017 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced its blockbuster 2018 calendar featuring 24 massive events taking place in iconic cities across Asia. The promotion continues to set the bar for authentic world-class martial arts, bringing a unique experience to fans all over the region. Apart from events previously held in major Asian cities, ONE Championship also introduces inaugural events in new markets South Korea and Japan.

Chatri Sityodtong, Chairman and CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “We are thrilled to announce our incredible 2018 calendar of events for ONE Championship. We have 24 massive shows planned for all sports fans in Asia and will continue to showcase the absolute best in martial arts, delivered by our homegrown martial arts superheroes. 2018 is going to be an epic year of action and I can’t wait to get things started.”

ONE Championship is experiencing a phenomenal 2017, featuring historic matchups across the board, especially in the second half of the calendar year. With six huge events lined up in the coming months, ONE promises to close the year out with a bang.

So far, three titles have changed hands as new champions Aung La N Sang, Martin Nguyen, and Adriano Moraes were crowned. Some of the promotion’s biggest stars such as Ben Askren and Angela Lee have continued to stamp their dominance in their respective divisions. Authentic martial arts matches were introduced in live events, including traditional Lethwei and Silat bouts, as well as the first ever Grappling Super-Match in ONE Championship history featuring martial arts legend Shinya Aoki of Japan and Brazilian jiu-jitsu star Garry Tonon of the United States.

Furthermore, ONE Championship has posted unprecedented statistical increases in social media and television reach as well as new monumental partnerships with some of the world’s biggest global brands. While 2017 certainly continues to be spectacular for the promotion, 2018 already promises to be even better as ONE Championship pulls out all the stops to become the global leader in martial arts and sports entertainment.

ONE Championship 2018 Calendar of Events

Jakarta, Indonesia
20 January

Manila, Philippines
26 January

Yangon, Myanmar
24 February

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
9 March

Bangkok, Thailand
24 March

Manila, Philippines
20 April

Jakarta, Indonesia
12 May

Singapore
18 May

Shanghai, China
26 May

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
8 June

Beijing, China
June

Manila, Philippines
27 July

Seoul, South Korea
July

Bangkok, Thailand
11 August

Shanghai, China
18 August

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
15 September

Jakarta, Indonesia
22 September

Tokyo, Japan
September

Bangkok, Thailand
6 October

Manila, Philippines
16 November

Singapore
23 November

Jakarta, Indonesia
8 December

Shanghai, China
15 December

Bangkok, Thailand
22 December

For more updates on ONE Championship, please visit www.onefc.com, follow us on Twitter and Instagram @ONEChampionship, and like us on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/ONEChampionship.

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, ONE Championship is the home of martial arts. The world’s most exciting martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia, featuring some of the world’s best martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. In addition to its digital platforms, ONE Championship broadcasts to over 1 billion potential viewers across 128+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

https://www.facebook.com/MainEventsBoxing/videos/10154547476676324/

By Norm Frauenheim-

TUCSON, Ariz. – Father and son both wore black caps made specially for a mission that has been underway for a couple of generations. War, it said in bright white stitching.

It’s a familiar message, one made famously by Marvin Hagler, who wore it on a red cap before his legendary victory over Thomas Hearns more than three decades ago.

Eugene “Cyclone” Hart and son Jesse Hart borrowed the message, a declaration that this time they intend to bring home a title to hang alongside those caps in the Hart household. There always has been an empty hook in the family closet. A belt is missing

Dad never got the opportunity to fight for one during an era when there were fewer of them.

But that chance is there Friday when Jesse (22-0, 18 KOs) attempts to take the World Boxing Organization’s super-middleweight crown from Gilberto ‘Zurdo” Ramirez (35-0, 24 KOs) in the arena at Tucson Community Center on a ESPN-televised card (7:30 p.m. PT/10:30 pm ET) that features featherweight Oscar Valdez in a WBO title defense against Filipino Genesis Servania.

“He gave me a shot,’’ the 66-year-old Eugene Hart said Wednesday at a news conference in rhetorical tip of that back cap to a 28-year-old son determined to give his dad a title he was denied so long ago.

If there were a rating in a ratings-crazy sport for the best fighters who never got a title shot, Eugene Hart would have to be there. There’s no one he didn’t fight, including Hagler, who won their war in 1976 with an eighth-round stoppage at the old Spectrum in Philadelphia. He was a Philly fighter, which meant ducking anyone was simply out of the question.

He lost to Vito Antuofermo. He got knocked out by Bennie Briscoe. He also fought Briscoe to a draw. He beat Sugar Ray Seales. He lost to Willie “The Worm” Monroe, Bobby “Boogaloo” Watts and Eddie Mustafa Muhammad.

Hart’s 30-9 record, including an astonishing 28 knockouts, is full of legendary names, nicknames and lessons about how much the game has changed. These days, some kind of title — from acronym to interim — would be at stake.

But not in his day. There were only scars and the pride to fight on. Turns out, those scars and pride are lot more memorable than some shiny tin on a cheap plastic strap. But that belt is part of today’s business. You need at least one, and Jesse Hart figures he can fill that vacancy on his resume while also filling that empty corner in his dad’s closet.

“Mentally, I feel like this is the time, my time,’’ he said a couple of days before what might be the best fight on the Top Rank-promoted card. “I’ve never been more ready, never more prepared to do what I have to.

“I’m ready, but I’m calm.’’

Call it the calm before the storm. Jesse Hart stirred up some pre-fight flak with trash talk on his twitter account. He promised to do this, that and who-knows-what-all to Ramirez, a likable soft-spoken Mexican from Mazatlan.

“But that’s business,’’ he says.

In person instead of within 140 characters, Jesse Hart is as likeable as Ramirez.

“I think he’s a good fighter and a fine champion,’’ the good son said while wearing the hat with the three-letter word that suggests he won’t be so polite at opening bell.

In terms of civic pride, Hart has as much to fight for as Ramirez does. For Ramirez, there is the pressure that every Mexican champ has. Mexico’s pride in its fighters has deep roots, including an uncompromising set of demands for courage and sometimes blood.

For Jesse Hart, there’s the Philly tradition, which his father embodies, even without a title. Jesse Hart says that even Bernard Hopkins, the recently retired face of Philly boxing, talked to him about how important Friday night’s fight is.

“I want to be part of those great names,’’ Jesse Hart said just days before a fight about family and Philly and everything that makes them inseparable.

LOS ANGELES (Sept. 20, 2017) Jorge “El Niño de Oro” Linares (42-3, 27 KOs) and
Luke Campbell (17-1, 14 KOs) hosted a media workout today in Los Angeles ahead of their 12-round fight for Linares’ WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight World Titles.

The event will take place on Saturday, Sept. 23 at the “Fabulous” Forum in Inglewood, Calif., and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT/ 7:00 p.m. ET.

In the televised co-main event, Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (26-0, 17 KOs) of San Diego, Calif. will make the first defense of his WBC USNBC Super Lightweight title against veteran Roberto “Massa” Ortiz (35-1-2, 26 KOs). Topping the non-televised portion of the card, Filipino lightweight sensation Romero “Ruthless” Duno (14-1, 13 KOs) will take on Juan Sanchez (29-13, 14 KOs) of Tabasco, Mexico in an eight-round lightweight fight. Azat “Attack” Hovhannisyan (12-2, 10 KOs) will return in a 10-round fight for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Super Bantamweight title against Sergio Frias (19-7-2, 10 KOs) of Guadalajara, Mexico.Contender Abraham “Chamaco” Lopez (22-1-1, 15 KOs) of La Puente, Calif. will fight in an eight-round featherweight bout against Isao Carranza (15-9-1, 9 KOs) of Mexico City. Manuel “Tino” Avila (22-1, 8 KOs) of Fairfield, Calif. will also return to the ring in an eight-round featherweight bout against Ramiro Robles (14-6-1, 9 KOs) of Queretaro, Mexico. Rafael “El Alikin” Gramajo (8-1-1, 2 KOs) of Los Angeles’ Westside Boxing Club will open the night of boxing in his return after more than a year away from the ring in a six-round super bantamweight fight against Pedro Melo (17-15-2, 8 KOs) of Tijuana, Mexico.

Here’s what the fighters had to say regarding their respective fights at today’s media workout:

JORGE “EL NIÑO DE ORO” LINARES, WBA, WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine Lightweight Champion:
“This is a great fight for me, I am the first Venezuelan boxer to headline an HBO show and it is a huge privilege. I hope that with this fight, I leave a big enough impression and make Golden Boy Promotions, Teiken Promotions, and HBO proud.

“Luke Campbell is a young hungry fighter, and that can be a critical difference in the ring. Being a former Olympic fighter, the big lights and cameras won’t scare him off and neither does being the ‘underdog’. My experience and my mentality for this fight is what sets me apart. I have trained all over the world – from Japan, to Panamá, to the UK. I have a well-rounded boxing curriculum. Since my loss to Antonio DeMarco at Staples Center. I am a completely different fighter. I am ready more than ever to capture the fans here in the U.S.”

LUKE CAMPBELL, 2012 Olympic Gold Medalist and Lightweight Contender:
“Fighting on such a big stage doesn’t change the preparation. Motivation is a massive thing. I’m fighting on the biggest network out there. It’s a fantastic way to introduce myself to the American market. I’m excited to watch. I don’t know much about Linares. Obviously he’s a 3-division world champion. This is my opportunity to show what I’ve got.”

ANTONIO “RELENTELESS” OROZCO, WBC USNBC Super Lightweight Champion:
“The time off was wonderful, the opportunity to be on ESPN was great. You always want to work harder than the last training camp. We needed the professional help from a nutritionist, it gave us great results last time, and it’ll give us great results this time. I wasn’t looking for a knock out, but it felt great. It was because of the way we worked out, we just want to put on a great show. This is our opportunity to showcase our talent.”

ROBERTO “MASSA” ORTIZ, Super Lightweight Contender:
“I’m very happy, I’m very motivated. I appreciate the opportunity to be back on the team. I want to thank Golden Boy and my managers. I had a chance and it didn’t go well, but I’m very motivated to do well. I know he’s a good fighter. He comes forward. I’ve prepared mentally and physically, and I know a win will bring bigger and better fights for me. They can expect to see a fighter who comes forward. Let them know. I’m very well prepared for Saturday night. This a fight the fans don’t want to miss. We’re two tremendous warriors.”

ROMERO “RUTHLESS” DUNO, Lightweight Prospect:
“After I won against Chimpa, I trained harder and harder so my next fight would come easy. This coming Saturday, I’ll show how much I practiced. There is always focus on me, that’s why I’m always confident. I’m so excited to get back in the ring.”

AZAT “ATTACK” HOVHANNISYAN, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
“I’m very happy, I’m very well prepared. I’m ready for the fight. I’ve been training for 3 months and have been focused. I’m very excited to face a challenge. It’s a big show. I haven’t fought on a big show like this. It’s a big card, and I want to be the best.”

ABRAHAM “CHAMACO” LOPEZ, Featherweight Contender:
“I’m super excited and ready to go. The last fight was a little slip up — no more nice Abe! When I’m in the ring, I’ve got to be an animal. I’m ready to show the world a new type of Abraham. I had a lost day in my last fight, this is my comeback, and I’ve been training harder, and I am a lot hungrier. My last fight left a bitter taste, and I’d like to get my opponent again, but if not, I’ll see him soon. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get that victory.”

MANUEL “TINO” AVILA, Featherweight Contender:
“I’m really excited to be back in the ring, coming out of a loss. My opponent is a straight forward fighter, he’s left handed. I learned a lot about myself in the last fight, I haven’t trained any different, and our team based training our game plan off another left hander. I’m putting myself back on the map, I’m going to be a defensive fighter.”

RAFAEL “EL ALIKIN” GRAMAJO, Super Bantamweight Prospect:
It’s really exciting to be fighting at the forum, I want to thank Golden Boy for that. It’s been a really big fight, another month and a half added to our camp. I know little about my opponent, he’s got a little boxing style, but that won’t matter come fight night cause we have what it takes. We’re going to do what we have to do to take this fight.”

Linares vs. Campbell is a 12-round fight for the WBA, WBC Diamond and
Ring Magazine Lightweight World Championships, to be held Saturday, September 23 at the ‘Fabulous’ Forum in Inglewood, California. The championship event is presented by Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, in association with Teiken Promotions. Orozco vs. Ortiz is a 10-round fight for the WBC USNBC super lightweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Cancun Boxing. The event is sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, Casa Mexico Tequila, Thor: Ragnarok and Fred Loya Insurance and will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 11:00 p.m. ET/PT. The Linares vs. Campbell non-televised undercard action will be live streamed on RingTV.com beginning at 4:00 p.m. PT/ 7:00 p.m. ET.

Tickets are priced at $25, $50, $75 and $125, not including applicable service charges and taxes, with a total ticket limit of 12 per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 or the Forum Box Office (Monday through Friday 11:00 a.m. PST to 7:00 p.m. PST) at (310) 330-7300. Tickets are also available for purchase at www.fabulousforum.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Photos and videos are available to download by clicking here or copying and pasting the link http://bit.ly/LinaresCampbell into a browser. Credit must be given to Golden Boy Promotions for photos and videos used.

For more information visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and www.hbo.com/boxing;
follow on Twitter at @GoldenBoyBoxing, @hboboxing, and @JorgeLinares; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing; follow on Instagram at @GoldenBoyBoxing and @JorgeLinares; and follow the conversation using #LinaresCampbell.

SAN ANTONIO (September 20, 2017) – Fight week in San Antonio officially kicked-off as Yunier Dorticos and Dmitry Kudryashov went face-to-face Wednesday at the final press conference before their Saturday, September 23 World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight quarterfinal showdown taking place at the Alamodome.

Also in attendance Wednesday were once-beaten cruiserweights Keith Tapia and Lateef Kayode, who meet in a WBSS reserve match, plus former world champion Nonito Donaire, who battles Mexico’s Ruben Garcia Hernandez.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports in association with World Boxing Super Series, are priced at $250, $125, $100, $50, and $30, and are on sale now. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster.com.

Fans in the U.S. can stream the WBSS action live by signing up at WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com on fight night. Make sure to follow the WBSS on all of your social media platforms for updates from fight week and fight night.

Prior to the press conference, local undercard fighters participated in a media workout at Rumble Gym by Jesse James Leija in downtown San Antonio before they enter the ring on Saturday night.

Here is what the press conference participants had to say Wednesday:

YUNIER DORTICOS

“I’m happy to be a part of this great event. On Saturday night you will see what I’m all about. Saturday is going to be an explosive matchup and I will leave with my belt.

“This is definitely going to be an exciting fight but I have to focus on my game plan and being at the very top of my game on Saturday.

“I’ve trained really hard for this fight. None of the storms in Miami have slowed me down at all. There will be no excuses on fight night.

“To be a part of this tournament is truly an honor and I know that it’s going to put me at the top of this division. I’ve always believed in my abilities and now I can go prove myself against the best.

“Winning the Muhammad Ali Trophy would mean so much to me because he is the fighter that everyone looks up to and tries to be like. Saturday night is my first step toward that goal.

“The fans in San Antonio are in for a great show. That’s on my mind every time I step into the ring and this is really a great opportunity to give the fans something memorable.”

DMITRY KUDRYASHOV

“I am excited to see all the fans on Saturday night. We both have a lot of knockouts so this is going to be a great fight. I will have my hand raised on Saturday.

“This chance to become a world champion for the first time is something that I have worked towards for many years. This is my dream and the fact that it brings me closer to the Ali Trophy adds even more excitement.

“I know that I have a very tough opponent in front of me. We’ve worked so hard to prepare my body and mind for 12 rounds of war. There is no way I can lose this fight.

“My training camp has been very strong. I’ve been more focused than ever on winning this fight. I knew that I would need to have a great training camp to advance and leave here with the title.

“I always train to deliver a knockout. That is my goal for myself. But I will definitely also be ready to go the full 12 rounds. I’m going to leave it all in the ring on Saturday.

“Being a part of this tournament brings me a lot of joy because it gives me the chance to fight the best. That is why I started boxing and now it is time for me to prove that I’m the best in the world.”

KEITH TAPIA

“I’m hyped to fight and do what I have to do. I have a really tough opponent and I respect him 100 percent. I’m ready to rock and roll and show off all my skills.

“This is a great chance for me to prove that I am an elite fighter in this division. I’m going to keep working hard until I get my chance at the best.

“We’ll see what happens when we step into the ring but it’ll be a lot of action for all of the fans. I’m ready to show off the ‘Machine Gun’ and get this win.

“I want to shout out to Puerto Rico because they’re going through a lot right now with the storms and they’re always in my heart.”

LATEEF KAYODE

“I’m ready to fight. On Saturday everyone is going to see a good show and a great fight with two warriors.

“This fight is going to be fought hard all the way until the end. I am going to leave everything in the ring and get this victory any way that I can.

“I’m ready to show that I still have what it takes to be the best in the world and I’m planning on getting this win on Saturday.”

NONITO DONAIRE

“I’m thankful to Ringstar Sports for believing in me. The second half of my career is going to be an explosion. It’s going to be an amazing ride and everyone is going to see great fights. You know I’ll get in there with anybody.

“I think that people take things for granted in this life. I want to enjoy this time in my career and make the best of it. I know that I have a lot left in the tank.

“I’m thrilled to be here in one of the best cities for boxing in the world. I trained in Las Vegas for this fight so I will be able to handle the heat all week.

“I’m ready to destroy everybody in my path. That’s the game plan. I want to get back to that world title shot. I will happily fight anybody for that shot to reclaim my place at the top of the division.

“This is very exciting for me. To be on the card with the World Boxing Super Series is a great honor for me. Having the best fighting the best is exciting for everyone and I’m glad to be here for it.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, Chairman & CEO of Ringstar Sports

“San Antonio is a fight town. In my opinion it is one of the best fight towns in the United States. The fans can remember countless great fights with awesome crowds and I think we will have that again on Saturday.

“I made a commitment to San Antonio and the fight fans here that if they showed up, I would bring them more fights. That’s what I hope will happen on Saturday. If you show up, I will continue to bring big fights here.

“The World Boxing Super Series cruiserweight tournament features eight fighters, including four world champions and four of the number one ranked challengers for each title. This shows the hunger that all of these fighters have to prove that they are the best in this division.

“This is the second quarter-final matchup of the cruiserweights and I have to say that all of the major U.S. boxing media and around the world are calling Dorticos vs. Kudryashov the best fight of the tournament.

“I am going to guarantee that on Saturday night, you will see a knockout. That’s the only thing these two fighters know how to do. I don’t know who or when, but I’m very comfortable saying this will end in a knockout. These are two guys who know that this is their opportunity to elevate themselves to the forefront of this sport.

“Nonito Donaire is a legend who doesn’t need much introduction. He’s one of the biggest names in the sport because he’s one of those guys you will never see a boring fight from. He always brings excitement and he always gives it his all.

“The reserve match between Keith Tapia and Lateef Kayode is a very even matchup with two once-beaten fighters. You will see fireworks for this fantastic matchup as both men know that this win could get them into the WBSS.”

***

For more information visit worldboxingsuperseries.com or www.ringstar.com

Follow on Twitter @WBsuperSeries, @Ringstar and become a fan on Facebook at facebook.com/WBSuperSeries and facebook.com/RingstarSports

Photos are free to use, but please credit World Boxing Super Series.

WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES FIXTURES

23/09/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Yunier Dorticos vs. Dmitry Kudryashov (WBA World)
Alamodome, San Antonio, Texas, USA

30/09/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Mairis Briedis vs. Mike Perez (WBC World)
Riga Arena, Riga, Latvia

07/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
Chris Eubank Jr vs. Avni Yildirim (IBO World)
Hanns-Martin-Schleyer Halle, Stuttgart, Germany

14/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
George Groves vs. Jamie Cox (WBA Super)
The SSE Arena, Wembley, London, United Kingdom

21/10/17 – Cruiserweight Quarter-Final:
Murat Gassiev vs. Krzysztof Wlodarczyk (IBF World)
Prudential Center, Newark, New Jersey, USA

27/10/17 – Super Middleweight Quarter-Final:
Juergen Braehmer vs. Rob Brant
Kongresshalle in Schwerin, Germany

WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES AT A GLANCE
Number of participants: 16
Number of belts: 7
Number of world champions: 6
Number of former world champions: 3
Number of undefeated fighters: 9
Combined Record of participants: 423 wins, 17 losses, 294 KOs

ABOUT THE WORLD BOXING SUPER SERIES
Organized by Comosa AG, the World Boxing Super Series will kick off in September 2017, featuring the Cruiserweight and Super Middleweight divisions. In each weight class, eight elite boxers will battle it out in a bracket-style elimination tournament, with four quarter-finals (fall 2017), two semi-finals (early 2018) and one final (May 2018). This makes for seven top fights per weight class, and a total of 14 fights in Season One to be staged in premier venues around the globe. The winners of the World Boxing Super Series will rightfully receive The Greatest Prize in Boxing, the Muhammad Ali Trophy. Please visit our website WorldBoxingSuperSeries.com for more information or follow @WBSuperSeries on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram.