LOS ANGELES (March 28, 2017) – A group of newly-signed Ringstar Sports talent was on display at the Wild Card Boxing Club in Hollywood Tuesday, as the young fighters participated in a media workout in advance of their respective pro debuts taking place Sunday, April 9 from The Novo at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Participating in Tuesday’s workout was 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas of Santa Maria, Calif., who will make his pro debut in a six-round super featherweight contest featured on the Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes telecast.

Also working out for the media was 2016 Team Mexico Olympic Bronze medalist Misael Rodriguez, who is trained by Robert Garcia and managed by Abner Mares, 2016 Lithuanian Olympian Eimantas Stanionis, who is trained by Freddie Roach and 2016 Mexican Olympian Lindolfo Delgado.

Televised coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT and is headlined by former world title challenger Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez battling Mexico’s Saul Corral in a 10-round showdown, plus unbeaten lightweight Alejandro “El Charro” Luna facing former title challenger Andrey Klimov.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports, are priced at $30 general admission, $60 balcony reserved, $100 VIP balcony reserved and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased through AXS.com HERE.

Here is what the participants had to say Tuesday:

KARLOS BALDERAS

“I’ve improved a lot working in the gym. I’m doing a lot of good sparring and strength and conditioning work. We’re training harder but also a lot smarter than ever.

“I’m really looking forward to this fight. I’ve prepared well. I’m taking this as seriously as a championship fight. You’re going to see a new Karlos Balderas on April 9.

“I definitely want to make Los Angeles my home for as many fights as possible. That’s where everything is happening. I want to make Los Angeles mine.

“I want to be in exciting fights as a professional. I’m proud of what I did in the amateurs and the Olympics, but I know this is an entirely different game. I’m looking to do even bigger and better things.

“I’m going to take it one fight at a time. I want to build a perfect record and build my fan base. I hope to be fighting for a world title in a few years. I know that I have the right team to get me there.

“I’m going to try to stay busy and get a fight every two months or so. My last fight was at the Olympics in Rio, but after this one I’ll be ready to stay in training throughout the year.

“I’ve known a lot of these other fighters here for a long time from all of the amateur tournaments. It’s nice to see us all coming together now as professionals. In the amateurs people pretty much stay with their own team, but this is the time for us to come together and learn from each other. It’s a great feeling to be a part this.

“Everyone knows a Carlos with a ‘C,’ so I wanted to stand out. As a professional and from here on out, I am going to be known as Karlos with a ‘K’.”

MISAEL RODRIGUEZ

“I feel very strong and I’m excited to get back in the ring. I’m hungry to fight and prove myself in this sport.

“I’m looking forward to being in big fights. I know that it takes time. I will get there eventually and become a world champion.

“I’ve known Abner Mares for a long time because he was a Mexican Olympian as well and it was an easy decision to have him help me with my career.

“I knew after the Olympics that it was time to turn pro. Growing up as a Mexican child, all I wanted was to be a world champion. I want to be a fan-favorite for Mexicans.

“Los Angeles is like a second Mexico. It will feel like Mexico to me. I know that I will have a lot of fans coming from my hometown [Chihuahua, Mexico] to support me. I’m excited to work with Richard and put on more great fights.”

EIMANTAS STANIONIS

“I was very excited and eager when I first heard about the opportunity to train with Freddie Roach. I came out to California as soon as I could to start training.

“I’m working very hard. I give it my all in training and I leave everything in the gym every single day. I’m just going to keep doing my best.

“The Olympics were a very good experience for me. I won a lot of tournaments to get there and that road has led me to this moment.

“I met Richard Schaefer at the Olympics and that’s what led to me signing with Ringstar. I’m very happy to be with Richard and I’m excited for this first step.

“I want to start making my mark in the welterweight division. This is a division with big stars that I’d love to face one day.

“I never thought I would live in Hollywood, but here I am and I love Los Angeles.”

LINDOLFO DELGADO

“I had an awesome experience in the Olympics and it gave me a lot of confidence heading into my pro career. I’m excited to finally be able to enter the ring and I hope all of us Olympians give spectacular performances.

“It’s an honor to be turning pro on this same card with my Mexican teammate, Misael Rodriguez. I’m very happy for Karlos and Eimantas too and I look forward to being on more shows with them.

“I can’t wait to compete and show off my talent to all the fans. I’m going to keep improving my skills and I believe one day I’ll be able to become another Mexican world champion.

“Signing with Ringstar was the best choice that I could have made and I think there will be a lot of success for Ringstar and for me. This will be a great first step.”

RICHARD SCHAEFER, Chairman & CEO of Ringstar Sports

“With Karlos Balderas you have someone with the skills in the ring, the personality and the character outside of the ring as well. The combination of all of this will ultimately, make him the new face of the sport.

“There always has to be somebody who carries the Southern California boxing scene. Right now there is a void. I see Karlos very quickly becoming the King of L.A. and become a star in the sport.

“This will be a big night for Mexican boxing. Both Misael and Lindolfo have a lot of discipline and worked very hard to earn the opportunity to represent their country and they will bring that work ethic into the pros.

“Lindolfo Delgado is the ‘Pretty Boy’ and I expect him to bring a lot of female fans, while Misael is the first Mexican boxer in 16 years to bring a medal back from the Olympics, which I think is very significant.

“Freddie told me that the only other time he saw someone walk through the door with as much natural talent as Stanionis, is when Manny Pacquiao came through that door.

“I’m excited for opening night on April 9. It’s the beginning of the next generation of stars. To see them all in one night is going to be very special.”

FREDDIE ROACH, Stanionis’ Trainer

“This is a great show for the future of boxing. You have four talented Olympians on this show. I can’t wait for Stanionis to show his skills to the world.

“Stanionis sparred with five of Miguel Cotto’s sparring partners and he knocked down three of them if that tells you anything about his power.

“I just want him to go out there and have some fun and do his job. We’re not going to go out there looking for a first round knockout, but if it comes, that’s a bonus. We’re going to show our skills and win every minute of every round.”

ROBERT GARCIA, Rodriguez’s Trainer

“I’ve been working with Misael for about three months after Abner brought him to me. With Mexico behind him and winning a bronze medal, that’s huge already. We have a game plan with this kid that we’re going to execute.

“Misael was only on the Mexican team for two years. He was the least experienced member of the team. He’s going to get a lot of experience while fighting as a pro.

“We’re going to keep him busy and definitely want him fighting in Mexico. He’s going to keep gaining more confidence each time he enters the ring.”

ABNER MARES, Rodriguez’s Manager

“I just wanted to help out Misael on the business side of the sport and that’s why I got involved in his career. I brought him to Robert’s gym to spar and everyone saw that he has a lot of skills.

“Being a bronze medalist from Mexico is a big thing to bring into the pros and I think it’s something the Mexican fans can get behind. Misael has room to grow but I believe the skills are there to be a world champion.

“I’m hoping to use my experience and my relationships to get him the right fights and put him in a position to reach his full potential.”

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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.com, www.ringstar.com,http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com.
Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @Ringstar, @FS1, @FOXDeportes and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/RingstarSports 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.

Madrid Spain (March 28, 2017)–WBO Lightweight world title challenger arrived in his hometown of Madrid, Spain to finish up preparations for his April 8th world title bout with undefeated world champion Terry Flanagen at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Petrov arrived Sunday, and has been hard at work with head trainer Danny Zamora. To prove that Petrov is clearly only focused on winning this world title,, he put in two hard workout’s on Tuesday, which just happens to be his 34th birthday.

“I am so focused and I can’t wait for this fight,” said Petrov. “There is no time for parties and cake now. That will come after the fight, as I will have plenty of reasons to celebrate, one would be my birthday and the other will be for winning the world championship.”

Petrov will continue to train in his homeland until he leaves for Manchester early next week. Petrov finished up the California leg of his training camp this past Friday before leaving for Madrid.

Nutley, NJ (March 28, 2017) – World ranked middleweight Antoine Douglas scored his 2nd knockout in 2 weeks as he took out Eduardo Mercedes at 1:45 of round two to capture the WBC Fedelatin title in a bout that took place in the Domincan Republic.

Douglas (21-1-1, 15 KO’s) of Washington, DC, dropped Mercedes with a body shot and the fight was stopped.

Douglas is ranked number-12 by the WBC, and will look to be back in action in late April.

“Antoine is getting back to where he needs to be,” said GH3 Promotions CEO Vito Mielnicki.

“I want to thank Felipe Gomez for putting this all together for Antoine to fight in the Domincan Republic. We are going to keep him busy, as we want to have three more fights between now and September. Me and his trainers Dennis Porter and Kevin Smalls believe with these two wins plus the three more that we have in mind, it will make five fights after taking a year off, and then he will be ready for a big fight.”

Douglas is managed my William Mielnicki.

Yuriorkis Gamboa has confirmed that he will appear and have a booth to Meet & Greet his fans at the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 3rd edition of Box Fan Expo that will take place Saturday May 6, 2017 during Cinco De Mayo weekend. The Boxing Expo will also coincide with the mega fight between Canelo Alvarez vs Julio Cesar Chavez jr, that will take place later that evening.

Gamboa will appear for the first time at this years’ Expo and will be signing gloves, photos and selling merchandise. Fans will have an opportunity to take pictures with the former world champion and Olympic Gold medalist.

He will be raising money for an amazing woman named Ivonne Lugo, who suffers from PKD, an inherited chronic kidney disease. She is in urgent need of a liver and kidney transplant. Gamboa is generously using his time and effort to fundraise in hoping to save her life. Please go to Https://ivonnes.fund and help out this great cause.

Gamboa joins the list of over 50 current and past World Champions boxers who have appeared at the Expo, meeting their fans in person.

Gamboa is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a former unified featherweight world champion, having held the WBA title from 2009 to 2011, and the IBF title from 2010 to 2011. As an amateur he won a gold medal in the flyweight division at the 2004 Olympics, and bronze in the featherweight division at the 2005 World Championships.

Gamboa joins Al Bernstein, Thomas Hearns, Kronk Boxing, WBC, Christy Martin, Mia St.John, Fernando Vargas and Joel Casamayor among early commitments to this year’s Box Fan Expo.

Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with fans and boxing industry people. Many boxing stars have attended the last two Expo’s such as Mike Tyson, Roberto Duran, Tommy Hearns, Roy Jones Jr., Sergio Martinez, Keith Thurman, Danny Garcia, Tim Bradley, Deontay Wilder, Amir Khan, Shawn Porter, Fernando Vargas, Zab Judah, James Toney, Vinny Pazienza, Mikey Garcia , Mia St.Johns, Leo Santa Cruz, Badou Jack, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks and many more…

Exhibitors such as boxing gear, apparel, new equipments, energy drinks, alcohol, supplement products, broadcasting media, sanctioning bodies and other companies who wish to participate will once again have a chance to showcase their brand to fans, media and the boxing industry.

Tickets to the Box Fan Expo are available online
http://www.boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com

Box Fan Expo is the ultimate boxing fan experience event, which allows fans to Meet and Greet Boxing Superstars of today, current and former world champions, Legends of the sport and other boxing Celebrities at their booth. On Site, fans will experience different activities from Autograph Sessions, Photo Sessions, FaceOff with your favorite boxers, as well as a chance to purchase merchandise and memorabilia from their booth, plus so much more… you won’t want to miss this must-attend Expo!

Box Fan Expo will also feature top boxing organizations, promoters, ring card girls, famous trainers and commentators as well as boxing gear companies “ALL UNDER ONE ROOF”.

Throughout the next 6 weeks leading up to the Event, there will be weekly updates on the many stars that will commit their appearance at the Boxing Expo. And for anyone in the Boxing industry or other Exhibitors (non-industry), who would like more information on sponsorships opportunities or reserve a Booth, contact Box Fan Expo:

Telephone number: (514) 572-7222 or Las Vegas Number (702) 997-1927

For any inquiries please email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

More information on the Box Fan Expo is available at: http://www.boxfanexpo.com

You can follow Box Fan Expo on Twitter at: https://www.twitter.com/BoxFanExpo\

and on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/BoxFanExpo

Oxon Hill, Md. (March 28, 2017) -Highly regarded and undefeated prospects, Ruben Villa and Michael Dutchover will make their East Coast debuts as part of the non-televised undercard before a championship tripleheader on Friday night, April 14th at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

Villa and Dutchover will fight on the non-televised undercard portion of an event that features the live SHOWTIME telecast of undefeated Dmitry Bivol defending his interim WBA Light Heavyweight title against Samuel Clarkson in the 12-round main event of a ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader (10 p.m. ET/PT). In the co-feature, unbeaten welterweight prospects Juan Ruiz and Malik Hawkins will square off in an eight-round bout, and Baltimore’s undefeated featherweight Glenn Dezurn will open the telecast.

Tickets for the event, which is co-promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions and Banner Promotions in association with World of Boxing and Uprising Promotions, are priced at $103, $73 and $48 and can be purchased at www.TicketMaster.com.

Villa of Salinas, California will see action in a six-round featherweight bout, while Dutchover of Santa Fe Springs, California will compete in a six -round junior lightweight contest.

Villa has a record of 4-0 with two knockouts and will be looking to continue his winning ways on April 14th.

The two-time National Golden Glove winner, turned professional on July 29th with a 1st round stoppage over Gerardo Molina, and his young career has been highlighted by a four-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Aaron Lopez (4-0).

The 19 year-old Villa had a steller amateur career, which consisted of the aforementioned Golden Gloves wins, but also he was a champion of the Desert Showdown, National PAL, Silver Gloves and two-time National Silver Gloves champion. He finished 2nd in the 2015 Olympic Trials and finished up his amateur career with an astonishing 164-17 record. Ruben split four amateur contests with eventual 2016 Olympic Silver medal winner Shakur Stevenson.

“I am pretty excited to be on this card. I trained three weeks in Big Bear, California. I have had great sparring, and this has been a really good camp,’ said Villa.

“This is a real exciting opportunity. I am just going in there and do what I do best, and look good in front of the East Coast fans.”

“I have been working very hard, I have been working with a new coach named Max Garcia to go along with my head trainer Danny Zamora, and I feel real strong.”

Dutchover, 19 years-old was 130-17 as an amateur and was a runner up in the 2016 National Golden Gloves tournament at 132 pounds.

Dutchover began his career by stopping previously undefeated Cesar Partida in three rounds on October 21st . He has stopped all three of his opponents, which includes a devastating 1st round stoppage over Jose Mora on February 10th.

“I am excited for this opportunity to fight on the East Coast. I am looking forward to showing my skill set to a new audience,” said Dutchover.

“This is my first big card where there will be a world title on the card and I will be prepared more then I ever have. I am in great condition and I am ready to show my talent on the other side of the country.”

“It is most important that I get this win, and if I can get my 4th straight knockout, that would be great. I am just looking to set up my shots and put on a great performance.”

“We are really looking forward to showcasing these two fine young fighters on April 14th,” said Banner Promotions President, Arthur Pelullo.

“They have thrilled fans in California over their first handful of fights, and now fans on the East Coast will get to see why we are very high on Ruben and Michael. Fighting in different parts of the country will help raise their profiles, and we expect them to have terrific performances on April 14th.”

Villa and Dutchover are promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing.

Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

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For more information visit www.sho.com/sports follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, and @GCPBoxing or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.facebook.com/GCPBoxing/ and www.facebook.com/BannerPromotions/.

Uncasville, CT: Sullivan Barrera (18-1, 13 KOs), the exciting Miami-based light heavyweight from Cuba, will return to HBO Latino Boxing on Saturday, April 15 at Mohegan Sun’s Uncas Ballroom against Toledo, OH native Paul “Pay Per View” Parker (8-1, 4 KOs). Barrera will look to build on his thrilling knockout victory on HBO Latino® Boxing in Decemberover previously unbeaten prospect Vyacheslav Shabranskyy, while the prospect Parker looks to make a statement in the biggest challenge of his career to date. The HBO Latino Boxing telecast begins at 11:00 p.m. ET (live ET/tape-delayed PT).

Barrera, 35, of Guantanamo Bay, Cuba made his professional debut in 2009 after defecting to the United States. His career began with five straight knockouts and nearly seven-year undefeated streak until he suffered his first defeat against current WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Andre “SOG” Ward in March of last year. Barrera bounced back in late 2016 with his upset KO over Shabranskyy in his most-recent appearance on HBO Latino.

Parker, 32, has had an impressive career thus far since his professional debut in 2012. His only loss was a third-round TKO against Shabranskyy in June of 2015. He rebounded in early 2016 with an eight-round split decision victory over Lionell “Lonnie B” Thompson.

When asked about the fight Sullivan Barrera said, “I’m excited to be back on HBO. I want to thank my team, my promoter Main Events and HBO for putting this all together. It has been a tough start to the year for me but I’ve been in the gym working and ready for this opportunity. It is another step towards the ultimate goal of contending for a world title. My opponent is a very good boxer we have studied him in the gym and are ready for everything he will bring come April 15th.”

Parker added, “Well everyone thinks it’s a risky fight but where other see risk I see opportunity and I plan to capitalize on this opportunity!”

In the televised co-feature, Russian slugger Arif “The Predator” Magomedov (18-1, 11 KOs) will take on Mexican prospect Elias “Latin Kid” Espadas (13-3, 8 KOs) in a ten-round middleweight showdown. Magomedov, 24, last appeared on HBO Latino in May of last year when he last a hard-fought battle to Andrew Hernandez in Las Vegas. In his most recent bout he stopped Chris Herrmann in the second round in his home country of Russia.

Espadas, 26, is from Merida, Yucatan, Mexico and made his professional debut nearly five years ago in his home country of Mexico. He has fought several times in the US in both California and Florida but this will be his first time fighting in New England. He has won his last four fights in a row with three of those wins coming by way of knockout.

The event is part of the “Mohegan Sun’s Rising Stars Boxing Series” presented by Mohegan Sun and Main Events. The exciting joint-venture, which features boxing prospect from New England and around the world, met with rave reviews after the debut event in November. As part of the untelevised undercard, the latest installment of “Rising Stars” will feature the return of local fighters Cassius Chaney from New London, CT, Reinaldo Graceski from Springfield, Mass., Kevin Asmat from Union City, NJ, and Shawn Cameron from Brooklyn, NY. Also returning to Mohegan Sun are highly-touted middleweight prospect Vaughan Alexander and international talents Enriko Gogokhia, a junior middleweight from Ukraine, Madiyar Ashkeyev, a junior middleweight from Kazakhstan, and Meiirim Nursultanov a middleweight also from Kazakhstan. Tickets, which are priced at $50 and $75, are available now through Ticketmaster and the Mohegan Sun box office.

According to Main Events’ CEO Kathy Duva, “The first Rising Stars was a great night of fights and a great success. I’m very pleased that we are coming back so quickly for the second installment and get a chance to build on the momentum of the debut. Bringing in HBO Latino Boxing to televise these really fun fights – Sullivan Barrera vs. Paul Park and Arif Magomedov vs. Elias Espadas – is just icing on the cake.”

“I am looking forward to some great fights on April 15, 2017. HBO has not been in the building for many years and with them teaming up with Main Events, it will be an exciting night”, said Michael Mazzulli, Director of Athletic Regulations for the Mohegan Tribe.

Sullivan Barrera vs. Paul Parker is a 10-round light heavyweight bout presented by Main Events and Mohegan Sun as part of the Mohegan Sun’s Rising Stars Boxing Series. Doors open at 7:00 p.m. ET. The HBO Latino Boxing telecast begins at 11:00 p.m. (live ET/tape-delayed PT) with a ten-round middleweight match-up between Arif “The Predator” Magomedov and Elias “Latin Kid” Espadas. Tickets, which are priced at $50 and $75, are available now through Ticketmaster, the Mohegan Sun box office or the Main Events’ office. The card is presented by Main Events in association with Shamo Boxing and A&T Events and Promotions.

Tickets for the IBF Welterweight World title blockbuster between champion Kell Brook and unbeaten mandatory challenger Errol Spence at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on May 27 go on sale at 10am on Thursday to Matchroom Fight Pass members and on general sale at 10am on Friday.

Brook and Spence clash at the home of Sheffield United live on Sky Sports Box Office in the UK and on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING in the US in one of the most mouth-watering fights in world boxing.

A packed undercard is expected in support of the main event, and tickets for the night are priced as follows: tiered seating at £40, £60 and £80 and pitch seats at £100, £150 and £200.

The £400 VIP Package includes – Inner Ringside Seating (Rows 5-10), Access to VIP Bar from 17:00 – 20:00 including Complimentary Beer, Wine, Soft Drinks and Canapés

The £600 VIP Package Includes – Inner Ringside Seating (Rows 3 and 4), Champagne Reception, access to VIP Bar from 17:00 – 21:00 including Complimentary Beer, Wine, Soft Drinks and Buffet. Plus souvenir event programme.

Tickets go on sale at 10am on Thursday to Matchroom Fight Pass members from www.stubhub.co.uk

Tickets then go on general sale at 10am on Friday from Sheffield United’s Box Office at http://www.sufc.co.uk/tickets/, on 0114 253 7200 and in person from the box office at Bramall Lane – all tickets purchased from Sheffield United are subject to a 10 per cent booking fee.

VIP tickets are exclusively available from Matchroom Boxing at www.matchroomboxing.com

‘Dangerous’ Daniel Dubois will make his highly-anticipated professional debut against Sheffield’s David Howe at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 8th April, live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

The former Team GB Super-Heavyweight star has been enjoying World class sparring with former Undisputed Heavyweight Champion of the World Tyson Fury and WBO World Title challenger Hughie Fury in preparation for his big night.

Dubois, 19, gained invaluable experience from sparring both Fury’s and is already being tipped for stardom by his Hall of Fame promoter Frank Warren, who is predicting the Peacock Gym fighter will be the future of Heavyweight boxing.

Great Britain’s amateur boxing officials were pinning their hopes on Dubois winning Super-Heavyweight Gold at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, but the 6ft 5ins powerhouse instead chose to pursue his dream of becoming England’s youngest ever Heavyweight World Champion.

Howe, 36, stands at 6ft 8ins and has won 12 of his 17 career fights, six coming via knockout, since turning professional in 2008. The Yorkshire giant has been in with the likes of Ricky Hatton Heavyweight protege Nathan Gorman (8-0, 7 KO’s) and most recently Doncaster ‘White Rhino’ Dave Allen.

“I’m itching to get under those lights and put in a big performance on my debut” said Dubois. “I’ve been training long and hard for April 8th and I want to kick-off my career with a bang. David Howe has a good record and has been in with some tough guys, he is a good test for me.

“To be fighting in an Arena and live on BT Sport and BoxNation in my very first fight is going to be a great experience for me. I can’t wait to get in there and perform for my team and my family. If the knockout comes, it comes.

“Getting a win is the priority. For now it is all about improving with every fight and learning my trade in the gym. Make sure you all get a ticket or tune in next week; this is going to be the start of something special!”

Dubois’ eagerly-anticipated debut lands on the undercard of undefeated Terry Flanagan’s fifth WBO World Lightweight Title defence against dangerous Russian Petr Petrov; fierce Super-Welterweight rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams battle it out for the WBO Interim World Title and double Olympic Gold Medallist and women’s boxing icon Nicola Adams OBE fights for the first time as a professional.

Tickets for April 8 priced £50, £70, £100, £150, £200, £300 and VIP £500 are available from eventim at www.eventim.co.uk and 0844 249 1000 and the Manchester Arena at www.manchester-arena.com and 0844 847 8000.

Quigg boxes at Featherweight for the second time having landed the WBA International title in his first fight at his new weight in December in Manchester with a ninth round stoppage.

Wembley Stadium represents another first for Quigg as he has future hall of fame trainer Freddie Roach in his corner for the first time as he takes on Simion.

The Romanian has just the one blemish on the record from his last trip to the UK, where he severely tested Lee Selby over 12 rounds in Hull in 2013, and the 35 year old is ranked number five in the IBF having picked up and defended the International title last year.

Former WBA Super-Bantamweight king Quigg is gunning for a shot at becoming a two-weight World champion, and he believes that a big win in his first ever stadium fight will put him at the front of the queue.

“This is a fight I’m really looking forward to,” said Quigg. “It’s my first fight working with Freddie and training team and it’s a fight that will catapult me right in the mix for a World title fight.

“Simion is an experienced, skilful and strong fighter and his only blemish on his record is against the current IBF champion Lee Selby, who he pushed all the way. I’m expecting and preparing for a very tough fight but one I’m very confident in and expect to put in the best performance of my career and put myself in line for shot at one of the champions.

“Training camp couldn’t be going any better. The switch out to L.A has been a breath of fresh air. The change of environment working with Freddie and the quality of sparring has really freshened things up and I’m excited to show the improvements made on such a massive platform at Wembley Stadium.”

Quigg’s desire to box for world honours at 126lbs could be boosted ahead of the fight as his promoter Eddie Hearn is looking to get the bout official eliminator status.

“This is a great fight for Scott and the last hurdle before he hunts his second World title,” said Hearn. “Simion gave Selby a great fight on our Hull show a few years back and is an all action fighter that will bring the heat on April 29.

“Because of both fighters’ rankings, we are looking to apply to the WBA or the IBF to make this fight an official eliminator for the World title and if victorious I expect Scott’s next fight to be for a Featherweight World crown.”

Quigg’s clash with Simion is the first undercard fight confirmed for the sold-out blockbuster battle between IBF king Joshua and former lineal World ruler Klitschko, with the WBA and IBO straps also up for grabs.

After watching Anthony Crolla lose for the second time against Jorge Linares; Steve Wood is backing Terry Flanagan to win his WBO World lightweight title defence against Spanish-based Russian Petr Petrov on April 8, and then pursue revenge for the Manchester fans by aiming for a unification bout with Linares.

Crolla, who lost his WBA World lightweight belt to Linares last September, was soundly beaten again on Saturday (March 25) by the classy Venezuelan and Wood, who was ringside to witness Crolla’s demise, is more convinced than ever that Manchester has been ‘backing the wrong horse’.

“Anthony is a lovely lad,” stated Wood, who manages Flanagan, “and you can’t help but admire what he’s achieved in the sport. But I knew Linares would be too much for him again. Linares is excellent; he’s had a long career but at 31 is not on the up, and he still had far too much for Anthony.

“I manage the best lightweight in the world, and Terry will show that against Petrov and put a smile back on the faces of all those Manchester fans who were left disappointed last weekend. Just like Crolla, Terry is a really top lad. He’s very understated and doesn’t shout his mouth off, which can go against him in this sport. But the most important thing is that he can really fight.

“Petrov is the best lightweight outside of the current champions and will be an excellent test, but Terry is determined to put on a spectacular performance and give the fans at the Manchester Arena something to cheer about.

“Both Crolla and Linares had options to face Terry but they chose to swerve him and fight each other again, and that’s because they know he’d beat them. Styles make fights and I strongly believe Terry would not just beat Linares, but stop him. There is an offer on the desk of ‘Golden Boy’, so that when Terry beats Petrov, Linares can return to Manchester for the unification.

“Manchester should now get behind their only lightweight world champion, who at 32-0 has the best record in the country. Terry Flanagan is the fighter to make Manchester proud again, and the man to unify the lightweight world titles.

“There are some tickets still available for Terry’s fight against Petrov, starting from £50 and available from Manchester Arena. Manchester should get down and support Terry on April 8th, and then follow him next time when he gets revenge for the city.”

Tickets for April 8 priced £50, £70, £100, £150, £200, £300 and VIP £500 are available from eventim at www.eventim.co.uk and 0844 249 1000 and the Manchester Arena at www.manchester-arena.com and 0844 847 8000.

28 March 2017 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced that Olympic gold medalist swimmer Joseph Schooling will accompany ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee to the cage as part of her entourage during the main event of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES. The youngest world champion in mixed martial arts history, Lee is scheduled to face Brazil’s Istela Nunes in a five-round bout which will headline a stacked fight card. ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES is set to hit the Singapore Indoor Stadium on 26 May.

Ticket information for ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES is available at www.onefc.com

Angela Lee, ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion, stated: “I am very happy to be including Olympic gold medalist Joseph Schooling in my walkout as I defend my world title for the second time, this time right here in Singapore. I can’t wait to hear the roar of the crowd as their two world champions walk out to the cage, one holding the ONE Championship belt and the other with the Singapore national flag!”

Joseph Schooling, world champion swimmer, stated: “When ONE Championship approached me last November, I was definitely keen to show my support for my fellow Singaporean athletes by walking alongside them. However, it was not possible due to school commitments. This time around, I definitely do not want to miss the chance to walk alongside ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela Lee, as she defends her title against Istela Nunes. I am looking forward to the event on 26 May. It will definitely be spectacular.”

20-year-old Angela “Unstoppable” Lee of Singapore is one of the promotion’s most outstanding athletes regardless of gender or weight class. She captured the inaugural ONE Women’s Atomweight World Championship with an awe-inspiring victory over Mei Yamaguchi in 2016, and has since then defended the title successfully. Lee’s beautiful combination of elite striking and grappling skills has proven to be a potent formula for success, as she has remained unbeaten inside the ONE Championship cage. In her last bout, Lee dominated top contender Jenny Huang with a masterful display of striking. She is now set to defend her title against Istela Nunes of Brazil.

Joseph Schooling is a 21-year-old world champion swimmer, born and raised in Singapore and is a third-generation Singaporean. In 2016, Schooling became an Olympic gold medalist, defeating the legendary American swimmer Michael Phelps and setting a world record for the 100m butterfly event at the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is currently studying at the University of Texas at Austin where he is a prominent member of the Texas Longhorns swimming team. He will accompany ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee during her cage walk at the main event of ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES.

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, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ 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.

According to Dan Rafael of espn.com, the March 18th fight between middleweight kingpin Gennady Golovkin and Daniel Jacobs did around 170,000 buys on Pay Per View.

“The projection we are now getting is in the 170,000 range, which we feel is a good improvement over GGG’s first pay-per-view show and many recent pay-per-views,” K2 Promotions Tom Loeffler said.

“Going against the NCAA tournament wasn’t easy, but that was the date that worked for Madison Square Garden and TV and it was a great boxing weekend in New York,” Loeffler said.

Former WBA Featherweight and Super Featherweight Champion Javier “El Abejon” Fortuna (31-1-1, 22 KOs) has renewed his long-term promotional agreement with promoter Sampson Lewkowicz and Sampson Boxing.

From La Romana, Dominican Republic, the 27-year-old Fortuna has won two straight since dropping his super featherweight belt in a shocker against Jason Sosa in June 2016. He came back with an impressive two-round blowout of fellow Dominican Marlyn Cabrera in September 2016 and then, in November took the undefeated record of Delaware’s Omar “Super O” Douglas by unanimous decision.

“Sampson Lewkowicz is and always will be my promoter,” said Fortuna. “He has done right by me and my career at every turn. I will be world champion again with Sampson in my corner.”

Lewkowicz, who says he’s working on a big fight for Fortuna, says Fortuna has become like family.

“Javier is a son to me. I am honored to be his promoter and look forward to continuing to work for him. He is a great champion with many great fights left. After he won his first title, he told me we would work together for his entire career and he has kept his word. I will do everything to make him a champion again.”
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.

Oxon Hill, Md. (March 27, 2017) – When promoter Greg Cohen announced he had finalized arrangements for his next event, the decision to delay his promising heavyweight hopeful, Hasim Rahman Jr.’s, professional boxing debut two more weeks became an easy one.

Originally scheduled to turn professional on March 23, Baltimore native Rahman will now have his first four-round fight in front of a huge contingent of hometown family and friends on Friday, April 14, at MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Md.

Rahman will face Kansas City’s Brian Imes (1-4, 1 KO) on the non-televised undercard portion of an event that features the live telecast of undefeated Dmitry Bivol defending his interim WBA Light Heavyweight title against Samuel Clarkson in the 12-round main event of a ShoBox: The New Generation tripleheader (10 p.m. ET/PT). In the co-feature, unbeaten welterweight prospects Juan Ruiz and Malik Hawkins will square off in an eight-round bout, and Baltimore’s undefeated featherweight Glenn Dezurn will open the telecast.

Tickets for the event, which is co-promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions and Banner Promotions in association with World of Boxing and Uprising Promotions, are priced at $103, $73 and $48 and can be purchased at www.TicketMaster.com.

“You only get one pro debut, so when Greg announced this show, he and I thought it would be a great idea for me to turn pro on this show instead, in front of my hometown friends and family,” explained Rahman.

The 25-year-old, son of Hasim “The Rock” Rahman, who famously knocked out Lennox Lewis in April 2001 to win the WBC and IBF Heavyweight Championships, says to being at home is a very important part of his mission.

“I’m doing this for my family and my friends and my city, so I think I should start right in front of them,” Rahman continued. “And someday I’ll bring them back the heavyweight championship. I can’t wait to fight on the same show as my brother with all my loved ones watching. It’s going to be a very big night.”

“We didn’t get the final word we were doing the Maryland show until a few days ago,” said Greg Cohen. “But once we knew it was happening, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to let Hasim Jr. turn pro at home. It just worked out perfectly.”

Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

# # #

For more information visit www.sho.com/sports follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, and @GCPBoxing or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.facebook.com/GCPBoxing/ and www.facebook.com/BannerPromotions/.

LOS ANGELES (March 27, 2017) – Less than two months after delivering the top knockout of 2017, Canadian knockout artist David Lemieux (37-3, 33 KOs) will return in a 10-round fight against Marco “Dorado” Reyes (35-4, 26 KOs) as the chief support to the highly anticipated battle between Canelo Álvarez and Julio Cesar Chávez, Jr. on Saturday, May 6. The mega-event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Opening up the stacked Cinco de Mayo weekend card at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, former U.S. Olympian and current undefeated NABF Featherweight champion Joseph “JoJo” Diaz, Jr. (23-0, 13 KOs) will face perhaps his toughest challenge to date when he defends his title against the undefeated Manuel “Tino” Avila (22-0, 8 KOs) in a 10-round battle.

These two fights along with the main event and the previously announced brawl between Argentinian slugger Lucas “La Maquina” Matthysse (37-4, 34 KOs) and Emmanuel “Tranzformer” Taylor (20-4, 14 KOs) will round out the pay-per-view telecast on Saturday May 6.

“With three of Golden Boy Promotions’ most exciting contenders appearing on the pay-per-view, as well as the biggest star in the sport, Canelo Álvarez, the Cinco de Mayo card can be described in one word, ‘stacked’,” said Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “I fully expect four action-packed fights that will have fans out of their seats for the entire evening.”

The hard-hitting Lemieux is riding a three-fight winning streak and was last seen delivering a thunderous third-round knockout of the highly touted Curtis “Cerebral Assassin” Stevens that has put the Canadian directly back into the title picture.

“I’m thankful to have the opportunity of being part of this event during the Cinco de Mayo celebrations,” Lemieux said. “I think I was able to send a clear message on March 11 with my performance against Stevens and I intend to do the same on May 6. I want to make sure that everyone understands that David Lemieux is making his way towards the top and that he intends to stay there.”

Reyes, a 29-year-old former WBC FECOMBOX middleweight champion, has knocked out 25 opponents and went toe-to-toe with Chavez, Jr., in a unanimous decision defeat that many spectators had closer than what came up on the scorecards.

“I know everyone is talking about the Lemieux knockout, but I’m ready to take him out,” Reyes said. “With my Mexican fans supporting me on Cinco de Mayo weekend, I’m ready to turn Lemieux’s lights out.”

“Following his performance against Curtis ‘The Cerebral Assassin’ Stevens at Turning Stone Resort Casino, fight fans wanted to see David in the ring again as soon as possible,” said Eye of the Tiger Management President Camille Estephan. “Being part of such a tremendous card that will be featured on May 6 with eyes on us from all around the world represents an incredible showcase opportunity. We are convinced that David will shine. He is in great shape and is more motivated than ever to conquer the top of the middleweight division.”

In the opening battle of the HBO Pay-Per-View telecast, two undefeated fighters will go toe-to-toe with both Joseph Diaz, Jr. and Manuel Avila risking their undefeated records for a chance at greater glory.

“I’m excited to return for the first time in 2017 and put my title on the line against such a tough competitor,” Diaz, Jr. said. “This fight will put me one step closer to a world title shot.”

“This is a golden opportunity to move myself into world title contention, and I’m not planning to let that chance slip away,” Avila said. “I know all about JoJo’s undefeated record, but he’s never faced anyone like me, and at the end of the night, my hand will be raised in victory.”

Preliminary bouts for the May 6 show will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets for a closed circuit viewing of the fights at the Grand Ballroom at MGM Grand Hotel & Casino are on sale for $75, not including applicable fees. All seats are general admission and can be purchased at the MGM Grand box office or by phone with a major credit card at 800-745-3000.

Canelo vs. Chávez, Jr. is a 12-round fight presented by Golden Boy Promotions and sponsored by Tecate, BORN BOLD, O’Reilly Auto Parts, Adriana’s Insurance and Interjet. Lemieux vs. Reyes is a 10-round bout presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Eye of the Tiger Management. Matthysse vs. Taylor is a 10-round fight present by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Arano Boxing and Star Boxing. The event will take place on Saturday, May 6 at T-Mobile Arena and will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 27th, 2017) — Sidney Maccow isn’t coming to Rhode Island next week to mince words or shake off ring rust. He’s coming to steal the show.

The confident New Yorker ends a 16-month layoff Friday, April 7th, 2017 at Twin River Casino in a four-round bout against unbeaten New London, Conn., prospect Cristobal Marrero, a fight he’s certain won’t go the distance.

“Marrero hasn’t fought anyone. Come April 7th, he’s getting stopped,” Maccow said. “I’m not letting the judges save him from taking that ‘L.’ I’m not coming to ‘test’ him. I’m coming to stop him. Period.”

The scheduled bout has been considered a step up in class for Marrero, who boasts a 3-0 record with a pair of knockouts, but the 24-year-old Maccow (4-4, 3 KOs) views it as an opportunity to reassert himself in the 140-pound weight class after losing to Marrero’s stable mate, Freddy Sanchez, at Twin River in December of 2015. The durable Maccow has never been stopped in eight professional bouts.

While Marrero could benefit from picking Sanchez’s brain on what to expect from Maccow, or simply go back and watch the film, his days of extensive film study and scouting are behind him. He’s been in the gym nonstop since his December win over veteran Isaiah Robinson and is itching to get back in the ring next Friday.

“I had more than 80 amateur fights. There’s nothing new,” Marrero said. “I’ve got to test him out. I’ve got to see how I feel with him in the ring. I can’t just do what everyone else tells me.”

The energetic Maccow figures to provide more resistance than Robinson. Marrero dominated the latter, winning every second of every round en route to a 40-36 decision across the board, the first time in his pro career he fought past the opening round.

“It was great. I felt good,” said Marrero, who also fought out of Worcester, Mass., as an amateur. “I’m happy I went four rounds. He was a tough guy. He wasn’t easy to catch.”

Though it’s only been four months since his last fight, it’s felt like an eternity for Marrero, who not only wants to be pushed to the limit, but is looking to come out firing from the opening bell knowing he only has four rounds to assert himself.

“I’ve been training every day,” he said. “I want this fight. I want to get tested. I want someone tough. It’s tough being in the gym. I’m a tough guy by myself, so I want something good. I’m anxious.

“I feel like four rounds isn’t enough for me to show everything I’ve got. I feel like I start warming up after the fourth. Four rounds is still like an amateur fight. I’ve got to come out like, ‘Pow, pow, pow!'”

Tickets for April 7th are priced at $47.00, $102.00, $127.00 (VIP) and $152.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com or www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Cranston, R.I., vet Nick DeLomba (11-1, 2 KOs) faces Jimmy Williams (12-0-1, 5 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., in the 10-round main event for the vacant World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC Welterweight Title.

The April 7th card features 11 bouts with 22 fighters boasting a staggering combined record of 105-16-8. Thirteen of those 22 enter with undefeated records, not including debut fighters Philip Davis of Worcester and Ricky Delossantos of Providence, R.I., who face one another in a four-round super featherweight bout.

Two of those aforementioned undefeated fighters, junior middleweight Ray Oliveira Jr. (7-0, 1 KO) and Portland, Maine native Casey Kramlich (6-0-1, 3 KOs), face one another in the six-round co-feature.

Worcester, Mass., lightweight Jamaine Ortiz (3-0, 2 KOs) battles Glenn Mitchell (2-0, 2 KOs) of Steubenville, Ohio, and Junior welterweight Jonathan Figueroa (2-0, 1 KO) of Hartford, Conn., returns to face Springfield, Mass., vet Miguel Ortiz (1-0, 1 KO), both in four-round bouts. Worcester super middleweight Kendrick Ball Jr. (5-0-2, 4 KOs) puts his unbeaten record on the line against Rhode Islander and U.S. Air Force vet Zachary Christy (1-0-1) in a six-round bout.

April 7th also features an eight-round female welterweight showdown between Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes (16-4-2, 1 KO) of Marshfield, Mass., and Mexican challenger Paty Ramirez (11-3, 5 KOs), in addition to a six-round New England Lightweight Title bout between Springfield, Mass., vet Zack Ramsey (7-1, 3 KOs) and unbeaten Augusta, Ga., native Divante Jones (9-0, 6 KOs). Lynn, Mass., welterweight Khiry Todd (2-0, 2 KOs) battles Philadelphia’s Vincent Floyd (2-2-1, 1 KO) in a four-round bout.

Joining Aleksandra Lopes on April 7th is her stepson, Arturo Lopes (1-0), who ends an eight-year layoff in his return bout against Taunton, Mass., welterweight Marqus Bates (1-1, 1 KO). The Lopeses fight April 7th in honor of the late Manny Lopes, a former CES standout who passed away in December and will be inducted into the CES Ring of Honor.

Visit www.cesboxing.com, www.twitter.com/cesboxing or www.facebook.com/cesboxing for more information, or follow CES Boxing on Instagram at @CESBOXING.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (March 27th, 2017) — Luis Felix knows he can’t fight forever, so as long as he can physically compete, he wants to step inside that cage as often as possible.

There’s no concern of another catastrophic injury or devastating setback. The Providence, R.I., lightweight, who turns 33 in October, understands the journey back to the top of his division must start now.

“This is what I love to do and I don’t want to do it forever,” said Felix (14-9, 5 KOs), who faces Dawond Pickney (10-6, 7 KOs) at Twin River Casino Friday night on the main card of “CES MMA 42” on AXS TV, his first fight in 14 months.

“The time I spend doing it over the next couple of years, I want to do it as often as possible. Then I have the rest of my life to heal up or for whatever other adventure life has in store.”

Though Felix hasn’t put a timetable on the final stretch of his career – “I think you know when it’s your time,” he said – he admits he doesn’t see himself fighting past 35 or 36, which is usually the age when most fighters begin to pursue other interests.

There’s no doubt Felix, when healthy, is one of the region’s top lightweights; he won six of seven fights during a four-year stretch from 2010 to 2014, going from journeyman to legitimate title contender, and showed poise in rebounding from a loss to Julian Lane on national television by beating Lane one year later in the rematch to capture the CES MMA World Lightweight Title.

The affable, fan-favorite appeared poised for a long title until a knee injury during a non-title defense against Ryan Sanders in January of 2016 forced him to submit. He planned on officially defending the title against Sanders five months later, but simply wasn’t ready physically, so he withdrew from the fight.

Felix spent more than a year on the shelf rehabilitating, waiting until he was 100 percent – or close enough to it – before resuming a career that showed so much promise heading into 2016.

While taking time away from the sport, Felix began thinking about life after MMA. He began volunteering with the non-profit Arts, Sports and Technology Resource Organization (ASTRO), aimed toward providing underprivileged youth in urban communities the chance to learn mixed martial arts in hopes of creating a culture that promotes equality while inspiring social change.

He also teamed with Social Sparks in Lincoln, R.I., a social learning center for children with autism that teaches a weekly Teen Rockin’ Boxing class on Saturdays. In addition, Felix works as an assistant wrestling coach for Johnson & Wales University in Providence, which recently placed a school-record five All-Americans at the NCAA Division III Championships and finished fourth in the country overall.

To further his cause, Felix is donating a portion of his earnings from March 31st to ASTRO, which hopes to raise $65,000 by the fall.

“For me, fighting is something I don’t consider work because it’s fun for me. I want to be able to enjoy the things I do, and working with these kids is the same way,” Felix said.

“Growing up, my coaches in sports where the ones who kept me out of trouble and kept me on the path where I am today. It’s a way out for a lot of kids. Sports has been my life and I know how much it’s helped a lot of kids I grew up with. For me to able to give back and do something I love, it’s a no-brainer for me.

“I’ve seen a lot of change in some of the kids who’ve gone through the program. MMA is not an interscholastic sport, so we’re giving them an opportunity to do something they wouldn’t be able to do if it weren’t for the organization offering it for free.”

Now that he’s less than a week from returning to the cage, Felix can further use his platform to promote his work within the community. Fighting, however, remains his No. 1 priority as long as he stays healthy and shows no side effects from his time away from the sport.

“I want to fifth every couple of months. I just don’t want the injuries,” Felix said. “It’s not a fear of getting hurt. I just literally haven’t been able to do what I want to do.

“It’s crazy because even after the injury happened and I took some time off, it never went away. It’s always kind of there. I had to take so much time off doing nothing and going back to basics healing my body from within to finally get to where I am now where I feel physically strong and ready to let loose.

“As far as those injuries from before, if I’m good to go, I have no fear of what can happen. Once you start fighting with the fear, you should probably start letting it go.”

Friday’s fight against Pickney, an Arkansas native, could be the first of many for Felix in 2017 as he looks to rejoin the conversation in the 155-pound weight class. He knows his career won’t last forever, so he must give everything he has physically and mentally while he still can. No reservations. No fear.

“Sometimes fighters stay in the game too long. It affects you later in life,” he said. “As much as I love fighting, it’s not everything. You can only be a savage and have this mentality for so long and then you have to move on and do something else in life.

“Fighting won’t be there forever. You can pass on the knowledge to people coming up, but, as far as being able to do it physically, there’s a window. I don’t think about it too much, but it’s there.”

“CES MMA 42” airs live on AXS TV’s AXS TV Fights beginning at 9 p.m. ET. Doors open at 6 and the preliminary card begins at 7.

Tickets are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.cagetix.com/ces by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Ohio’s Chris Curtis (14-5, 5 KOs), the reigning CES MMA World Welterweight Champion, defends his title against Lawrence, Mass., vet Wilfredo Santiago (7-3, 6 KOs) in the five-round main event, one of seven televised bouts on the main card.

Also starring on the televised main card, Fall River, Mass., ligthweight Josh LaBerge (11-5, 5 KOs) steps up to face longtime CES MMA vet Saul Almeida (18-8, 1 KO) of Framingham, Mass., and Woonsocket, R.I., flyweight Kody Nordby (8-4) aims for his third consecutive win in his ninth appearance with CES MMA when he faces Bellingham, Mass., native David Baxter (4-1, 1 KO), who recently earned his second win in a row by submitting Dan Cormier at “CES MMA 41” in January.

Johnston, R.I., featherweight Joe Pingitore (7-3, 2 KOs) also returns to the CES MMA cage in a featured bout against Cortland, N.Y., vet Kenny Foster (11-11, 1 KO). A former CES MMA world-title challenger, Pingitore made quick work of Spencer Higa at “CES MMA 40,” submitting his opponent at 4:54 of the opening round via guillotine. Foster last fought at “CES MMA 34” in a narrow, split-decision loss to Calvin Kattar.

Stoughton, Mass., cruiserweight and former Ultimate Fighting Championships (UFC) vet Pat Walsh (10-2, 4 KOs) makes his sixth appearance with CES MMA in a showdown against Brazilian Dirlei Broenstrup (14-4, 5 KOs), a winner in eight of his last nine bouts. Walsh has won his last five, including back-to-back victories with CES MMA, most recently in January via submission against Kevin Haley.

Rounding out the main card, Milford, Mass., bantamweight Kris Moutinho (3-0, 1 KO) makes his network television debut in just his fourth fight with CES MMA when he battles Ontario’s Lloyd Reyes (4-3, 2 KOs). Moutinho fights for the fourth time since September, a run that includes his first knockout win at “CES MMA 41” via head kick against Jason Rine. The red-hot Reyes has won four of his last five – three by stoppage – after suffering losses in his first two professional bouts.

The return of Cranston, R.I., welterweight prospect Gary Balletto Jr. (2-1, 1 KO) and unbeaten Providence bantamweight Marquis Brewster (2-0) highlights the preliminary card. Balletto Jr. aims for his third consecutive win against Syracuse native Chris Torres (0-0) while Brewster battles newcomer Cody Hier of Philadelphia.

Fresh off her debut win at “CES MMA 41” female flyweight Maria Rivera (1-0) of Framingham, Mass., battles Hot Springs newcomer Jessica Sotack and unbeaten bantamweight Richie Santiago (3-0) battles Winchendon, Mass., native Chad Kelly (3-3, 1 KO). Santiago is undefeated under the guidance of CES MMA with all three wins by submission.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.

MOSCOW (March 27, 2017) – Russian heavyweight Sergei “The Paratrooper” Kharitonov has committed to fighting June 15 on the M-1 Challenge 80 card in Harbin, China. Kharitonov will square-off against veteran Brazilian MMA fighter Marcus Viniciuds “Montanha” Lopes in the main event.

Kharitonov (23-6-0, M-1: 3-0-0) is undefeated in three M-1 Challenge events having defeated former M-1 Challenge heavyweight champion Kenny “Deuce” Garner twice, at M-1 Challenge 59 in 2015 at Kazakhstan (WKO/TKO4 – punches) and M-1 Challenge 43 in 2013 at China, (KO/TKO3 – injury), and to Alexei Kudin at M-1 Challenge 53 in 2014 Russia (KO2).

Kharitonov, who has also fought in Strikeforce and PRIDE, has defeated some of the greatest heavyweight MMA fighters of all-time, including Allister Overeem, Andrei Arlovski, Fabricio Werdum and Pedro Rizzo.

Lopes (15-0-0, M-1: 2-1-0) defeated Evgeni Myakinkin by three-round unanimous decision this past February at M-1 Challenge 74. Lopes won a three-round unanimous decision over Kurban Ibragimov in his M-1 debut last July. His lone M-1 loss came at M-1 Challenge 71 this past October to former M-1 Challenge light heavyweight champion Stephan Puetz, who used a choke hold for a third-round submission victory.

A pressure fighter and solid striker, Lopes is a jiu-jitsu champion in his native Brazil, where most of his MMA fights have been held during his 6 1/2-years professional career.

In a recent interview with M-1 Global News, Kharitonov said, “I received a lot of offers but I prefer to fight in M-1 Global.” Below is the complete Q & A with Kharitonov:

Do you know who your opponent will be at M-1 Challenge and, if not, what are your expectations?

SK: “I don’t not know anything yet. I received an offer from M-1 to fight in China. Since I have been talking with (M-1 Global president) Vadim Finkelchtein for a long time and understand each other, I gave my consent Vadim said I am popular in China and that he wanted me to represent Russia in this tournament. At this moment, I have no thoughts or assumptions about this fight because I’m focused on my upcoming Bellator fight. This is my main objective right now and after that fight I will think about the M-1 fight.”

Bellator did not give permission for a fight last December in Russia. What changed this time and was it difficult to get permission to fight again in M-1?

SK: “There were no problems. I do not want to comment on how we came to an agreement, bit one thing is for sure, I’ve received permission and after my next Bellator fight I will fight at M-1 Challenge 80 in China.”

You fought in China at M-1 Challenge 53. How do you like the local audience there and what are your overall impressions of the tournament?

SK: “Everything was fine. I liked the level of organization, fans’ attitude toward the athletes, and the response from the public. I think M-1 has good experience in terms of holding tournaments in China, so this time they can make it an even bigger show.”

Do you accept offers to fight from other Russian organizations and why did you decided to fight in M-1?

SK: “Yes, I received a lot of offers, especially recently. I won’t say specifically but they were from major Russian MMA organizations. But I have a long relationship with M-1 and me and Vadim know each other well. We get along well and trust each other. Therefore, O prefer to fight in M-1 Global.”

INFORMATION:

www.M1Global.tv
www.mixfight.ru
www.wmmaa.org

Twitter & Instagram:

@M1GlobalNews
@VFinkelchtein
@M1Global

Facebook:

www.facebook.com/M-1-GlobalNews
(MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2016 was been another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

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

Lawrence Okolie will fight for the second time as a pro at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow on April 15, live on Sky Sports.

The Team GB Rio Olympian joined the paid ranks on Saturday night with a brutal KO win over Geoffrey Cave inside 20 seconds at the Manchester Arena on the undercard of Jorge Linares’ stunning display in his rematch with Anthony Crolla.

Okolie’s fearsome KO can be seen here: http://www.skysports.com/boxing/news/12183/10814455/lawrence-okolie-takes-20-seconds-to-win-professional-debut

The 24 year old impressed with his showreel stoppage but the Hackney talent believes that the whole occasion of his debut has stood him in good stead for his future endeavours, from the big press conference before the fight to his wait to get in the ring as a live float on the night.

“The whole experience was invaluable,” said Okolie. “In the pros, sometimes you don’t have a scheduled time so you have to stay warm and get ready to be switched on so I have ticked that box already.

“I managed to keep my focus and not get overawed by the situation, that’s important to me. It’s not just go in and fight, there’s so much more to boxing in the build-up and on the night, and I need to learn about all of it.

“I just relaxed and caught him with a right hand, I wasn’t sure if he was going down or not so I threw another right hand and that ended it.

“It’s about fighting as often as possible so it’s great to be going up to Scotland on another big bill in front of the great fans up there.”

Okolie’s second pro fight is part of a huge night of action in Glasgow as WBA World Super-Lightweight champion Ricky Burns looks to unify against IBF king Julius Indongo.

Scotty Cardle looks to land the British Lightweight title outright when he faces Robbie Barrett, Cardle’s gym-mate Callum Johnson defends his Commonwealth Light-Heavyweight title against Schiller Hyppolite and Charlie Edwards and Iain Butcher clash for the vacant British Super-Flyweight title.

Charlie Flynn fights for his first pro title as he faces Ryan Collins for the Celtic Lightweight title, Joe Ham takes on Scott McCormack for the Scottish Super-Bantamweight title and Team GB Olympian Josh Kelly makes his pro debut.

Tickets for April 15 are on general sale priced £40, £60 and £100 from www.thessehydro.com and £200 VIP exclusively at www.matchroomboxing.com

St. Nick,s Arena, The Hippodrome, Eastern Parkway, Ridgewood Grove, these were the legendary fight clubs that made New York the mecca of Boxing back in the day and last night before a SOLD OUT and wild SRO crowd at The Paramount in Huntington, NY, promoter Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing put on a show that brought back the glory days of boxing.

In a night that highlighted loss of ‘club shows’ in NY, Joe DeGuardia became the first promoter to run a such a professional boxing show in NY since August of last year. DeGuardia did so in spite of the tremendous increase in costs due to the law passed at the end of the summer which crippled NY boxing for the past 7 months. DeGuardia was out to make a point how vital these types of shows are in providing starving New York fighters and local fans with activity. It was like DeGuardia put back on the gloves he used when he became a NY Golden Gloves champion in 1988 as DeGuardia took on the new outrageous Insurance rules and costs that were implemented by the State of New York. DeGuardia scored a knockout by delivering a show to remember.

MAIN EVENT CAPS A SENSATIONAL SHOW

The main event saw Hicksville’s NY Anthony “Showtime” Karperis ironically defend his NY Jr. Welterweight title against Brooklyn’s Scott “Bang Bang” Burrell in a scheduled 10 round bout. The bout electrified the crowd which had already witnessed a thrilling nigh of undercard action.

Both fighters fought extremely well over the first 3 rounds with Burrell being the aggressor while Karperis moved smartly while landing crisp counter punches. The action was fast and furious and the SRO was so loud you couldn’t hear yourself talk.

After 3 rounds the fight was still up for grabs but that all changed at the 2:00 mark of round 4 when Karperis landed a clean right left combination which clearly had Burrell wobbled. Burrell stood his ground and fought back bravely but Karperis seized the moment and went for the knockout pinning Burrell against the ropes. At this point the crowd was in a frenzy as the 2 warriors exchanged fiercely. Then Karperis landed a monstrous right hand followed by a blistering barrage of punches on Burrell which caused referee Pat Sullivan to step in at 2:58 of the 4th round. It was a thrilling finish. Burrell and his corner, to their credit wanted to continue the fight, exhibiting the warrior desire that all fighters had in this thrilling show. Karperis improves to 14-2-1 5KO’s while Burrell drops to 12-3 8KO’s.

With a sold-out crowd and Karperis’ electric performance, DeGuardia is one step closer to developing his next local star as Karperis ticket appeal is rivaling that of other graduates of Star Boxing’s famous Rockin’ Fights series at the Paramount, including Chris Algieri, Joe Smith Jr. and Cletus Seldin.

The sold out crowd also saw a star-studded audience including conqueror of the legend Bernard Hopkins, Joe Smith Jr. who was there to support his Star Boxing team and home base. Joe Smith Jr., who is becoming a celebrity in NY, even though embracing the ‘Common Man’ moniker, received a special watch from Star Boxing and Icelink for his tremendous 2016 where he was considered by many to be Fighter of Year. The Hebrew Hammer, Cletus Seldin, another Star Boxing banger and Paramount favorite was also in attendance.

Doing the commentary was former Golden Gloves champion and star of ‘the biggest loser’ tv show Cara Castronuova and Showtime commentator and former world champion Paulie Malignaggi and Hall of Fame HBO commentator, the lovable Harold Lederman.

UNDERCARD ALSO THRILLS SOLD-OUT SRO CROWD

The semi final 8 round Jr. Welterweight matchup saw Woodhaven’s Danny Gonzalez keep his undefeated record intact by defeating a tough Jerome Rodriguez who hails from Allentown, PA. Gonzalez fought his usual non stop action fight and dominated the tough Allentown fighter. Gonzalez swept the scorecards of all 3 judges by margins of 80-72, 79-73, 79-73 and improved to 13-0-1 5KO’S while Rodriguez drops to 7-6-3 2KO’s.

Dean “Bad Newz” Burrell, twin brother of Scott, scored a shocking and clean knockout of local favorite Johnny “Hitman” Hernadez in a Lightweight bout that was scheduled for 6 rounds. The southpaw Burrell landed a crushing straight left to the Huntington native dropping him in vicious fashion for the 10 count. Burrell improves to 12-1 9KO’s while Hernandez drops to 8-2 1KO.

Welterweight Tyrone James, 4-0 2KO’s, Elmont, NY had a tougher than expected time with Alabama’s Quincy Brown, 1-5 1KO but prevailed on the judges scorecards over 4 rounds by scores on 40-36, and 39-37 twice.

The opening bout set the tone for the night as Wyandanch, NY Lightweight Terrell Bostic improved to 3-0 with a hard fought victory over Staten Island’s Grashino Yancy, 2-2 1KO by scores of 39-37 on two cards and an even 38-38 on the third securing the majority decision for Bostic in the 4 round Lightweight contest.

DEGUARDIA HOPES TO IGNITE FIRE

Promoter Joe DeGuardia had this to say about the evening’s events: “This was our 26th show at The Paramount and despite the virtually impossible restrictions placed on all of us because of these new laws in NY, we pulled it off. This was a thrilling night of action, with an electric atmosphere and sensational matches. Every single fighter on the show came in tremendous shape and every one of them fought their hearts outs. I applaud every fighter that was on the show and they are all welcome back. I also thank our fans at The Paramount, who are the greatest fans anywhere and turned out in record numbers for this show. I love their enthusiasm. I made my point how important these types of shows are to our great sport and NYS. I am hopeful that Albany has taken notice and does something about this crippling and illogical law so that other promoters throughout New York will be able to also resume doing these types of shows. I am also glad we had the support of many of our fighters, including Paramount stars such as Joe Smith Jr and Cletus Seldin and other boxing luminaries including Paulie and Harold, both of whom contributed their sensational broadcasting skills to our taped show”.

STAR BOXING NEXT LOCAL EVENT
“SLUGFEST AT THE SUN”
MAY 11, 2017 (Thursday Night)
MOHEGAN SUN CASINO
(at the MOHEGAN SUN ARENA)

CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS
GET TICKETS for MAY 11 FIGHT NIGHT NOW!!!
FIGHTS: THURSDAY, MAY 11, 2017 AT
MOHEGAN SUN CASINO
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

ABOUT STAR BOXING ®
For a quarter century, Star Boxing keeps on swinging! Star Boxing has consistently delivered boxing events of the highest caliber and attracts loyal fans from all corners of the globe. From the Antonio Tarver – Roy Jones trilogy to the meteoric rise of Chris Algieri and Joe Smith Jr. from the Rockin’ Fights Paramount Series, Star Boxing continues to work with and develop world rated contenders and red hot prospects into future world champions. Star Boxing is revered worldwide throughout the industry for its credibility, integrity, and exciting fights.

For more information on Star Boxing, visit official website: www.StarBoxing.com

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2016 Olympic Bronze medal winner, Nico Hernandez stopped Pat Gutierrez in round four of a scheduled six round super flyweight bout at the Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.

Hernandez dominated the action, and Gutierrez hurt his and the fight was stopped at 2:39 of round four.

Tramaine Williams remained undefeated by winning an eight-round unanimous decision over Eduardo Garza in a featherweight bout.

Williams scored a knockdown in round one from a left hand and dropped Garza again in round four.

Williams won by scores of 79-71 twice and 78-72, and is now 10-0. Garza is 6-2.

Neeco Macias won a eight round unanimous decision over Cesar Soriano in a junior middleweight bout.

Soriano was deducted a point in round four four for a low blow.

Macias, 154 lbs of Palm Desert, CA won by scores of 80-71, 79-72 ans 78-73 and is now 15-0. Soriano, 154 lbs of Mexico City is 26-35-1.

Jorge Linares retained his WBA Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Anthony Crolla in a rematch of their September fight (also won won by Linares) at the Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

Linares mixed up his body attack and landed some good straight rights.  Linares was spot on with his uppercut over the first half of the fight.  In round six, Crolla was cut over his left eye from a right eye.

In round seven, Linares landed a blistering uppercut that sent Crolla to the canvas.  Crolla showed his champions mettle and heart and made a stand offense over the end of round seven and eight, but that was all he could muster as Linares was the class in this fight as he won by scores of 118-109 on all cards.

Linares is now 42-3.  Crolla is now 31-6-3.

Follow all the action as Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla fight in a rematch of their terrific fight that took place last September.  The bout, which will be for Linares’ WBA/Ring Magazine Lightweight title will begin at 6 pm ET / 10 PM in Manchester

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED.  THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1: Crolla lands a body shot..Right hand..Linares lands a right to the body..Body shot..Right..

Round 2 Body shot from Crolla…Overhand right from Linares..

Round 3 Linares lands a right..uppercut

Round 4 Linares lands a good right..uppercut,,Good right..Left from Crolla..

Round 5 Body shot from Linares..Hard body shot..

Round 6 Uppercut from Linares..Right..Crolla is cut over his left eye..left from Linares..

Round 7 HUGE LEFT UPPERCUT AND DOWN GOES CROLLA…Big combination on the ropes..Right from Crolla

Round 8 Right from Crolla..3 big uppercuts from Linares..Body shots from Crolla..Body shot from Linares..Body and head from Crolla..Uppercut from Linares..

Round 9 Right over the top from Crolla..Hard uppercut from Linares..

Round 10 Combination from Crolla

Round 11 Good uppercut from Linares..Good right

Round 12 Linares boxing and moving

118-109 ON ALL CARDS FOR JORGE LINARES

2016 Olympic bronze medalist Nico Hernandez weighs in for his first time as a professional

(All pictures by Courtney Wells / Kansas Star)

Main Event – Super Bantamweights — (6) – CBSSN
Nico Hernandez (pro debut), Wichita, KS 115 lbs.
Patrick Gutierrez (0-2, Las Vegas, NV 116 lbs.

(L-R) Nico Hernandez, promoter John Andersen and Pat Gutierrez

Co-Feature — Featherweights (8) — CBSSN
Tremaine Williams (9-0, 3 KOs), New Haven, CT 125 lbs.
Eduardo Garza (6-1, 2 KOs), Palm View, TX 124 lbs.

(L-R) — Tramaine Williams, promoter John Andersen and Eduardo Garza

Junior Middleweights (8) — CBSSN
Neeco Macias (14-0, 8 KOs), Tehachapi, CA 154 lbs.
Cesar Soriano (26-34-1, 16 KOs), Mexico City, Mexico 154 lbs.

(L-R) — Neeco Macias, promoter John Andersen and Cesar Soriano

186-LBS. Catchweight (6) – CBSSN (Swing Bout)
Jeff Page, Jr. (17-3, 11 KOs), Andover, KS 186 lbs.
Steve Walker (26-33, 18 KOs), Hannibal, MO 184 lbs.

Junior Middleweights (4)
Efrain Morales (4-0, 1 KO), Garden City, KS 155 lbs.
Robert Alexander Seyam (2-5, 2 KOs), Wichita, KS 152 lbs.

Featherweights (4)
Eric Vargas (1-0, 1 KO), Garden City, KS 124 lbs.
Kevin Garcia (pro debut), Rio Rancho, NM 125 lbs.

Cruiserweights (4)
Juan Hollingsworth (pro debut), Winfield, KS 178 lbs.
Raymond Gray (1-1, 0 KOs), Columbia, MO 180 lbs.

WHAT: “KO Night Boxing: History Begins” professional boxing

WHEN: Saturday, March 25, 2017

WHERE: Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, KS

PROMOTER: KO Night Boxing LLC

TELEVISION: Live on CBS Sports Network

BROADCASTERS: Sean Wheelock & Joey Varner

RING ANNOUNCER: Justin Roberts

DOORS OPEN: 5:00 p.m. CT

FIRST BOUT: 6:00 p.m. CT

FIRST TV BOUT: 8:00 p.m. CT

TICKETS: $115.00 (ringside, rows 1 & 2), $75.00 (floor seats, rows 3-5), $60.00 (floor seats, floor rows after 1-5), $35.00 (lower bowl) and $25.00 (upper bowl). Suites seating up to 22 people are available to purchase for $2,500 (includes non-alcohol beverages and food). Tickets are available to purchase at www.kansasstarcasino.com/entertain/arena or www.ticketmaster.com. All ages show.

OTHER: TITLE Boxing is the official apparel and gloves partner for Knockout Night Boxing.

INFORMATION:

Websites: www.kansasstarcasino.com, www.konightboxing.com

Twitter: @Kansas_Star, @Neonstarmedia

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Neon-Star-Media

Follow Nico Hernandez on Twitter & Instagram @Nicomhernandez and ABT Films on Twitter @abtfilms
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. In this highly competitive digital age, NSSE specializes in the development and production of corporate branding designed with your target audience and accelerated consumer growth in mind. Visit us on Twitter @Neonstarmedia or Facebook www.facebook.com/Neon-Star-Media. REV Sports Entertainment Inc. (MAVTV Canada) and Neon Star Media LLC are subsidiary companies of Neon Star Sports & Entertainment Inc.

About Kansas Star Arena
The Kansas Star Arena, a Boyd Gaming facility, is located just off Exit 33 on the Kansas Turnpike and is adjacent to the Kansas Star Casino. The 42,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art Kansas Star Arena is south-central Kansas’ home for big-name national acts such as Journey, Pat Benatar, Championship Rodeo, mixed martial arts events and more. The Arena accommodates up to 6,500 guests for headliner events. In 2014, Midwest Gaming and Travel awarded the Kansas Star more than 25 honors in its annual Reader’s Choice Awards, including “Best Concert Venue” in the state of Kansas. For more information, visit kansasstarcasino.com. Connect with Kansas Star Arena at facebook.com/kansasstararena and www.kansasstarcasino.com/entertain/arena. Headquartered in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming is a leading diversified owner and operator of 24 gaming entertainment properties located in Nevada, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Louisiana and Mississippi. Boyd Gaming and Kansas Star Casino press releases are available at boydgaming.mediaroom.com.

BEVERLY, Mass. (March 24th, 2017) — One year following a sold-out Massachusetts debut at the North Shore Music Theatre, CES MMA returns to Beverly, Mass., to continue its reign as the preeminent mixed martial arts promotion in the northeast.

MMA’s most prolific promotion returns with “CES MMA 43,” scheduled for Saturday, April 15th, 2017, just eight days following its “CES MMA 42” showcase in Rhode Island.

Similar to its North Shore debut in 2016, CES MMA will feature a mix of professionals and amateurs on the “CES MMA 43” card, a tremendous opportunity for the region’s up-and-coming future stars. Unbeaten bantamweight Marquis Brewster earned a promotional contract with CES MMA by winning his amateur finale a year ago at “CES MMA 35” and is now 2-0 since June.

Tickets for “CES MMA 43” are priced at $45.00, $55.00 and $100.00 (VIP) and are available online at www.cesmma.com, www.nsmt.org, or www.cagetix.com/ces or by phone at 978-232-7200 or 401-724-2253/2254. Doors open at 6 p.m. ET and the first bout begins at 7. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Headlining “CES MMA 43” is featherweight Pedro Gonzalez (11-5) of Gloucester, Mass., who faces Brazilian Bruno Dias (19-9) of Woburn, Mass., in a three-round bout. The 30-year-old Dias makes his long-awaited United States debut in MMA while Gonzalez returns for the first time since CES MMA debuted in Beverly last year when he defeated Andres Jeudi by submission in the main event.

Gonzalez carries a four-fight win streak into his April 15th bout against Dias, but recent injuries have derailed his progress. Gonzalez was scheduled to face regional standout Matt Bessette on AXS TV for the then-vacant CES MMA World Featherweight Title at “CES MMA 37” in August, but was forced to withdraw in late July due to injury.

Bessette went on to defeat Joe Pingitore to capture the title and successfully defended it at “CES MMA 41” 11 months later. A win over Dias at “CES MMA 43” could put Gonzalez back into the conversation among elite 145-pounders and set the stage for the long-awaited showdown with Bessette sometime in 2017.

Another familiar face in the North Shore region of Massachusetts, bantamweight Rico DiSciullo (6-1, 2 KOs) of nearby Somerville returns to face former Bellator and CES MMA vet Matt Lozano (8-4, 1 KO) of Lancaster, Pa. Lozano debuted with the promotion at “CES MMA 34,” earning an impressive unanimous decision win over Johnny Campbell.

DiSciullo stole the show at “CES MMA 35” in Beverly last year with a knockout win over Jake Constant, finishing his opponent with a thunderous slam to the canvas. The Somerville native looks to rebound from his first career loss at “CES MMA 38” against David Garcia.

Boston lightweight Lewis Corapi (8-3, 3 KOs), whose scheduled bout a year ago at “CES MMA 35” fell through hours before the first bell, makes his long-awaited North Shore debut April 15th against Vince McGuinness (5-6, 1 KO) of Tampa, Fla. Corapi rebounded from his loss to Julian Lane at “CES MMA 36” with a win in November and aims for back-to-back wins for the first time since 2013.

The “CES MMA 43” main card also features unbeaten Massachusetts lightweight Connor Barry (3-0) of Holbrook making his third CES MMA appearance in a three-round bout against three-time CES MMA vet Andrew Osborne (7-10-1, 3 KOs) of Fayetteville, N.C.

Quincy, Mass., light heavyweight Mike Rodriguez (6-2, 4 KOs) returns following his record-setting 7-second knockout win over Hector Sanchez at “CES MMA 41” and Myrtle Beach middleweight Justin Sumter (2-1) makes his CES MMA debut in a separate three-round bout.

“CES MMA 43” concludes an impressive stretch of three events in 15 days for CES, which includes CES Boxing’s second show of 2017 on April 7th at Twin River Casino.

Kicking off the spring tripleheader is “CES MMA 42” on AXS TV, featuring reigning CES MMA World Welterweight Champion Chris Curtis (14-5, 5 KOs) of Ohio defending his title against Lawrence, Mass., vet Wilfredo Santiago (7-3, 6 KOs).

Tickets for “CES MMA 42” are priced at $40.00, $55.00, $100.00 and $125.00 (VIP) and can be purchased online at www.cesboxing.com, www.twinriver.com, www.ticketmaster.com or www.cagetix.com/ces by phone at 401-724-2253/2254 or at the Twin River Casino Players Club. All fights and fighters are subject to change.

“CES MMA 42” also features the return of fan-favorite Luis Felix (14-9, 5 KOs) of Providence, R.I., who faces Hot Springs, Ark., vet Dawond Pickney (10-6, 7 KOs), and Fall River, Mass., native Josh LaBerge (11-5, 5 KOs), who steps up to face 10-time CES MMA vet Saul Almeida (18-8, 1 KO) of Framingham, Mass.

Visit www.cesmma.com, www.twitter.com/cesmma or www.facebook.com/cesmma for more information on both events, or follow CES MMA on Instagram at @CESMMA.

LOS ANGELES, CA (March 24, 2017) – Featherweight prospect DANIEL “TWITCH” FRANCO, (15-1-3, 10 KO’s) suffered his first loss on Thursday night against veteran CHRISTOPHER “S.D. KID” MARTIN, (30-8-3, 9 KO’s), with the Rancho Cucamonga, CA native being stopped in the third round at the EXCHANGE LA Nightclub in Downtown Los Angeles.

The heavy handed Franco started fast dropping Martin in the first round and dominating the action in the second stanza.

However, Martin valiantly fought back in the third round, dropping Franco to the canvas. Although badly hurt from the knockdown, Franco displayed the heart of a champion before being knocked down again as the fight was stopped.

“No excuses, Martin did what he was supposed to do. I felt good in the first two rounds but got caught with a very good punch in the third. I congratulate him on his victory, he earned it,” said a disappointed Franco.

“This setback sets up a big comeback and I’ll be back in the gym as soon as possible to get better and learn from this experience.”

Said Ray Chaparro, “Daniel did fantastic the first two rounds and had Martin hurt. But he got caught with a great punch from a smart veteran and that changed the course of the fight,” about the third round stoppage in the scheduled eight rounder.

“We’ll regroup as a team, however and will be stronger going forward.”

BROOKLYN (March 24, 2017) – Unbeaten WBC Super Welterweight World Champion Jermell Charlo will defend his world title against No. 1-rated challenger Charles Hatley Saturday, April 22 live on SHOWTIME® from Barclays Center, the home of BROOKLYN BOXING™.

Televised coverage of SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING, presented by Premier Boxing Champions, begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and is headlined by former world champions Andre Berto and Shawn Porter meeting in a 12-round welterweight world title eliminator.

Charlo (28-0, 13 KOs) will face his mandatory challenger Hatley (26-1-1, 18 KOs) after winning the vacant world title with a sensational eighth-round knockout of John Jackson in May of 2016.

“I’m once again ready to get in the ring and continue to build my legacy,” said Charlo. “I’ve been training hard, I’m focused and I’m even hungrier now that I have my belt. Charles Hatley has never been in the ring with someone like me and I’m going to do what’s necessary to get that win. My brother had an outstanding performance against Julian Williams and I want to compete with that. It’s motivated me and I’m ready to get out there and show off my power and skills.”

“I’ve been training for a long time for this fight and I can’t wait to get in the ring,” said Hatley. “I never stopped training since my last fight and I’m going to be ready to win that world title on April 22. Jermell is a good fighter, but he’s got a big mouth. I know we’re both training hard and going for the win, but I’m going to come out victorious.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, start at $50 (not including applicable fees) and are on sale now. Tickets can be purchased online by visiting www.ticketmaster.com, www.barclayscenter.com or by calling 1-800-745-3000. Tickets are also available at the American Express Box Office at Barclays Center. Group discounts are available by calling 844-BKLYN-GP. The Charlo vs. Hatley fight is co-promoted by TGB Promotions and Don King Promotions.

“The 154-pound division is very hot right now, and Jermell Charlo is one of the best and most exciting fighters in the weight class,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “Charlo making the first defense of his WBC world title against a worthy challenger like Charles Hatley is a terrific addition to this card on April 22, at Barclays Center, televised by SHOWTIME. It’s also fun to have Hatley’s promoter Don King around. Only in America!”

“Jermell Charlo has demonstrated that he is a force in the 154-pound division and his confidence has only grown with winning the championship,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “This match against Hatley will further cement his place in the division. It’s the kind of challenge that will allow Jermell to display all of his power and boxing ability.”

“The silver champion will become the world champion on April 22 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn,” said Don King of Don King Promotions. “We’re looking at a great fight. I know that Charlo will do the best he can. But he’s got two chances against Hatley – slim and none and slim is out of town.”

One minute younger than his brother Jermall, Jermellwon his belt last year and made the Charlo brothers the first pair of twins to hold world title simultaneously in the same weight class.The 26-year-old from Houston trains in Dallas and is unbeaten since turning pro in December 2007. Charlo took on a steady slew of contenders on his way to a world title, including victories over Vanes Martirosyan, Gabriel Rosado and Joachim Alcine.

The first-time title challenger Hatley enters this fight on a nine-bout win streak after traveling to Australia to beat former two-time world champion Anthony Mundine by 11th round stoppage in 2015. The Dallas-native turned pro in 2008 after an impressive amateur career that saw him defeat Keith Thurman on his way to a U.S. National Amateur Championship. The 31-year-old won his first 14 fights and went his first 18 bouts without a defeat.

Charlo vs. Hatley becomes the eighth title fight or world title eliminator in the 154-pound weight class in the last 14 months on SHOWTIME or CBS, a roster featuring eight of the top-10 fighters in one of the deepest divisions in boxing.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @AndreBerto, @ShowtimeShawnP, @LouDiBella, @BarclaysCenter and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing, www.Facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment, www.Facebook.com/barclayscenter. PBC is sponsored by Corona, La Cerveza Mas Fina.