LAS VEGAS, NEV. (Nov. 21, 2016) — Two-division world champion and two-time Olympic gold medalist VASYL LOMACHENKO (6-1, 4 KOs), of Odessa, Ukariane, undefeated former World Boxing Association (WBA) world featherweight champion NICHOLAS “Axe Man” WALTERS (26-0-1, 21 KOs), of Montego Bay, Jamaica, and Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum began their Fight Week in Las Vegas with a Q & A today. Lomachenko will defend his World Boxing Organization (WBO) junior lightweight title against Walters This Saturday, Nov. 26, at The Chelsea inside The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. It will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing® beginning at 10:35 p.m. ET/PT. This will mark the 2,000th event Arum has promoted, dating back to March 29, 1966, when World Heavyweight Champion Muhammad Ali defended his title against George Chuvalo. The HBO® telecast will also feature the replay of last week’s controversial light heavyweight title fight between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.

Q & A

BOB ARUM: This is my 2000th event and this fight is worthy of being my 2,000th event. Nicholas Walters is the hardest puncher in these divisions — they don’t call him the “Axe Man” for nothing and he always give 100%. And Vasyl Lomachenko is an unbelievable technician who has done really the impossible, winning world titles in two divisions in a record-few seven professional fights. So I look for a Fight of the Year candidate on Saturday night at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas and everybody can watch it live on HBO in addition to the replay of the controversial fight from Saturday between Kovalev and Ward. And what I think is the Fight of the Year candidate Lomachenko vs. Walters. I’m a big fan of both guys. I think Walters is a tremendous fighter and I enjoy the way he fights.

LOMACHENKO: I would like to congratulate Bob Arum on his 2000th event and I am proud to be on his 2000th fight card. I wish him very good health and I hope he can make a 2,500th card so I can be on that also.

Why the interest in fighting Walters now when there were trepidations before?

LOMACHENKO: This is a very important bout for me because many boxing experts and many people in boxing rank Walters as the highest-rated fighter in our division. He is a very hard puncher and a very good boxer and for me it’s a very important thing to me to fight the best and it’s very important for me because everyone says he is a very good fighter.

How do you think this fight will go with Walters since he is a bigger boxer?

LOMACHENKO: I don’t know. I cannot answer that question. I can’t tell you exactly how it’s going to go or tell you what is going to happen in the ring. That will depend on how it begins in the ring. It is boxing and everything is going to happen very fast.

Where did you learn your creativity? Were there any boxers you watch while younger that you learned from?

LOMACHENKO: First of all, I would like you to know that everything that I have is what my father created in me and my father put everything together into me. Secondly I am a workaholic – I work hard. I do not cheat myself in training, I work very hard and somehow God has given me great balance that helps me put everything together.

There is a video on You Tube that compares Vasyl to The Matrix. Have you seen the video? What is your reaction? There are many people outside of boxing that have seen this video…

LOMACHENKO: This is exactly what I wanted to do. I wanted to let different people know, people outside of boxing, to know me. I think the boxing game is one that people have forgotten about and they are not enjoying it as much. I want to bring back and show how interesting boxing can be. I am the motherboard.

Do you have a plan for the future? What do you see as the endgame?

LOMACHENKO: For sure I was thinking about that, and my contract is over in six or seven months and that’s when I am thinking about finishing my career (laughing at his joke).

BOB ARUM: I would like to say this; that Vasyl Lomachenko is technically the best fighter that I have seen since the early Muhammad Ali. There is nobody that I have seen, and there have been a lot of great technical fighters that I have seen – Alexis Arguello was one, Floyd Mayweather certainly, Manny Pacquiao – but there has been nobody with the skills that Vasyl Lomachenko has.

You have fought a lot of amateurs – when you fight a fighter like Walters who sometimes swings for the fences, what typically has happened in those type fights?

LOMACHENKO: If we are talking about the amateurs – the punchers never got anywhere in their careers. Usually three rounds was not enough time to get ready for the fight. The punchers are professional boxers not amateur boxers.

How do you see this fight playing out?

I LOMACHENKO: I think it is going to be very, very hard for me in the first four rounds, then after that I will be trying to terminate the bout.

This is a big fight, but how do you see Lomachenko in the bigger fights in the larger arenas?

BOB ARUM: Lomachenko has a huge upside. This is the second world title in as many divisions in seven professional fights – that has never happened before, and he is going to win more world titles as he goes up in weight and there are going to be very interesting guys for him to fight. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that he and Manny [Pacquiao] could fight sometime next year. Lomachenko wants challenges and he is a tremendous talent. His upside is enormous and a lot of people are watching him — not just boxing fans — because he is an unbelievable talent. They see him on You Tube and on HBO and have said what an unbelievable talent he is.

Do you want to fight Manny Pacquiao?

LOMACHENKO: Yes, of course I would like to fight Pacquiao, but not in the next fight.

What makes this a can’t-miss fight?

BOB ARUM: They call Walters the Axe Man for a reason — he searches and destroys. He is a tremendous puncher and he is in with a technician who has enormous talent in boxing not only defensively but offensively, so this is a can’t-miss fight and I want the people to realize that not only do I believe that it will be a Fight of the Year candidate, I believe that if Vasyl Lomachenko is successful, he should be right up there for consideration for Fighter of the Year.

Do you feel like you may want to slow Lomachenko down a little bit?

BOB ARUM: From the first day I met him, when he sat down with me and we discussed his future, I was concerned because people were offering him large signing bonuses, he told me that he didn’t want a signing bonus; he wanted to earn his own money. All he wanted was challenges that I would present to him. That’s what I am going to do. He doesn’t want any gimmes – he wants every fight to be a challenge. So at 130-pounds, who is more of a challenge than Nicholas Walters? I am not going to slow him down. He knows his ability a lot more than I do. And you have to give his father credit – his father is probably the best trainer in boxing today and I say that without any question, because look what the father produced from the Ukrainian Olympic team in London. Oleksandr Usuyk who is now a cruiserweight champion, Alexandr Gvozdyk, a light heavyweight who you saw last week on the Ward-Kovalev pay-per-view, who is a future champion – they are all Ukrainians and they were all trained by Vasyl’s father. So he has a lot going for him.

How will you deal with the reach advantage that Walters has?

LOMACHENKO: Boxers always have an advantage over another, whether it is a longer reach or more weight or a taller guy. How I will use his reach advantage to my advantage, you will find out on Saturday.

What do you think when someone of Bob’s stature speaks so highly of you?

LOMACHENKO: It will give me another motivation because a lot of people may look at that or hear that and think that maybe it’s not true. When I hear that it gives me a lot of motivation to make me work harder in my training to prove that what Bob is saying. I don’t have the chance to make any mistakes. I have to prove that Bob is right.

NICHOLAS WALTERS

Do you think the layoff will affect you?

WALTERS: The layoff? I am in the motivation business, so the layoff is definitely part of the boxing business. As a fighter I have always been in the gym working out and everything so the layoff wouldn’t even bother me and I wouldn’t take the fight if I thought I wasn’t going to be ready for the fight. I don’t even think for a minute that I only want to please Nicholas. I want to please the fans and my country, both Panama and Jamaica and all of my fans in Mexico and all over the world. I am not just taking the fight for Nicholas. I am taking the fight for everybody and come Saturday I am going to be ready for the fight – just like all of the other fights.

How do you feel about taking on this fighter that is a two-division world champion in only seven pro fights and that everyone is saying is so great?

WALTERS: The achievement is good for him. And Bob knows what he is talking about since he has been in the business for 50 years. Even Muhammad Ali lost fights. I don’t think this is a different Lomachenko from the guy that lost to Salido – he is the same Lomachenko. They say a leopard cannot change his spots right? Since he did lose to Salido, he can be as technical all he wants, but I am in the hurt business – this is a gladiator sport and I fight all of my fights like that, I fight like a gladiator. He can come in with his technical fight on Saturday and I am going to be up for it and put on a helluva show on Saturday night.

You don’t see much development in Lomachenko and feel he is ripe for the taking with your power punching?

WALTERS: Each fight is different and I am not going to tell you that I am going to fight Lomachenko the same way that Salido fought him. Of course, only a fool doesn’t learn from his mistakes, doesn’t learn from his mistakes in the ring. He has been training and working out so I know he is a more complete fighter than his first fight. I am not even worried, so to speak, but I know that he has learned and is a better fighter from that loss. But it is still a blemish on his record that he lost. With that in mind he has tasted defeat and I have never tasted defeat. We have stayed undefeated and we are going to keep it that way this Saturday.

What would this victory mean to you and your career?

WALTERS: I don’t know. This fight for me is just as important as my last fight. Each fight I have I fight hard and I fight tough. In each fight for me I defend my undefeated record. Each fight for me I am defending my pride. This victory would be a big victory because we know that this guy is no easy fight. We are not saying that Lomachenko is an easy opponent. We know he is a top fighter and a tough fighter. We are just saying that this Saturday and this victory is going to put the Axe Man to where I want to be and hopefully next year I start making over $1 million per fight. That’s what we are aiming at. So we win Saturday then move on to other opponents.

In Closing…

WALTERS: I don’t have a lot to say, just that the Axe Man is going to show that he is the real Krusher on Saturday night. Not some softee, but the real Axe Man the real Krusher will be in the ring on Saturday night.

BOB ARUM: I am absolutely thrilled that this fight between Lomachenko and Walters will be my 2000th boxing event and will definitely be a candidate for Fight of the Year with two great fighters. The HBO telecast will begin at 10:35 p.m. ET / 10:30 p.m. PT. The Kovalev-Ward replay will also be part of the HBO telecast. That fight’s scoring was very controversial so if you haven’t seen it this is your chance. Then watch the Fight of the Year, I believe, between Lomachenko and Walters. There were only 60 tickets left this morning at The Cosmopolitan and it will probably be sold out by the end of today so the best way to see the fight, if you don’t have a ticket, is on HBO.

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Promoted by Top Rank®, in association with Tecate, the few remaining tickets to the Lomachenko vs. Walters world championship event, priced at $200, $150, $100, $75, and $50 (general admission), are available for purchase at www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/ or through Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000 and www.ticketmaster.com/. Room / ticket packages are also available.

Both fighters will host Media Workouts on Tuesday at the Top Rank Gym (3041 Business Lane, Las Vegas, Nev. 89103). Walters will be at 12:30 p.m., followed by Lomachenko at 1:00 p.m. PT. One-on-one interviews will take place before each workout.

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

ABOUT THE COSMOPOLITAN OF LAS VEGAS
The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas is a luxury casino and resort offering a decidedly different perspective from its commitment to integrating art into every experience to the world renowned Restaurant Collection and distinct entertainment venues. Located at the heart of The Strip, its unique vertical multi-tower design offers spectacular views of the vibrant city. The 3,005-room resort features oversized residential-style living spaces with expansive, one-of-a-kind private terraces. Luxurious amenities include a 100,000-square-foot-casino with the newly-added Race & Sports Book Powered by CG Technology and expanded high stakes gaming area, The Talon Club; Sahra Spa & Hammam and Violet Hour | Hair | Nails | Beauty; three unique pool experiences; Marquee Nightclub & Dayclub, a multi-level integrated indoor and outdoor nightclub; an intriguing mix of bars and lounges including The Chandelier, an iconic multi-level bar experience; 150,000 square feet of state-of-the-art convention and meeting space; 40,000-square-foot performance and event venue The Chelsea; and a modern supper club with live music and entertainment at Rose. Rabbit. Lie. An eclectic line-up of retailers include: AllSaints, CRSVR Sneaker Boutique, DNA2050, Jason of Beverly Hills, Molly Brown’s Swimwear, Rent the Runway, Retrospecs & Co, Skins 62 Cosmetics and STITCHED. Signature restaurants include: Blue Ribbon Sushi Bar & Grill by restaurateurs Bruce and Eric Bromberg; Estiatorio Milos, by international restaurateur Costas Spiliadis; Holsteins from Block 16 Hospitality; Jaleo and China Poblano restaurants by acclaimed Chef José Andrés; Scarpetta and D.O.C.G. by award-winning Chef Scott Conant; popular steakhouse STK from The ONE Group; Beauty & Essex from Chef Chris Santos and TAO Group; acclaimed Los Angeles eatery Eggslut by Chef Alvin Cailan; cold-pressed local juicery The Juice Standard; bustling culinary food hall Wicked Spoon; all-day dining concept The Henry; and Starbucks, which includes a one-of-a-kind art installation.
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LOS ANGELES (November 21, 2016) – An exciting night of undercard action comes to Los Angeles on Saturday, December 10 and is highlighted by hard-hitting unbeaten contender Sergey Lipinets (10-0, 8 KOs) in a 12-round junior welterweight world title eliminator against Australia’s Lenny Zappavigna (35-2, 25 KOs) from the Galen Center at USC.

The December 10 event is headlined by a featherweight world championship showdown between WBA titleholder Jesus Cuellar and former three-division world champion Abner Mares. The live SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXINGâ telecast begins at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT with junior middleweight world champion Jermall Charlo taking on undefeated top contender Julian Williams in a matchup of undefeated rising stars in their prime.

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Ringstar Sports and TGB Promotions, are on sale now and are priced at $35, $50, $75, $150 and $200. To purchase tickets go to www.galentix.com.

Also featured as part of the jam-packed night of fights are undefeated rising contenders Erickson “Hammer” Lubin (16-0, 11 KOs) in a junior middleweight bout and Mario Barrios (16-0, 8 KOs) battling Argentina’s Claudio Rosendo Tapia (24-18-4, 9 KOs) in junior lightweight action.

An array of talented fighters from the Los-Angeles area round out the evening as Oxnard’s Hugo “The Boss” Centeno Jr. (24-1, 12 KOs) competes in a middleweight attraction, former title challenger Josesito Lopez (33-7, 19 KOs) of Riverside in a six-round welterweight fight and Abner Mares’ younger brother, Adan Mares (14-1-3, 3 KOs) enters the ring in a lightweight bout.

An accomplished amateur who was born in Kazakhstan but fights out of Russia, Lipinets turned pro in April of 2014 with a decision victory over Franklin Varela. The 27-year-old recorded six knockouts in a row before stepping up in competition and impressing with a victory over Haskell Lydell Rhodes in March 2015 and a knockout of Levan Ghvamichava in March. He kept the momentum going in July when he stopped established contender Walter Castillo in the seventh round. He will challenge the 29-year-old Zappavigna out of New South Wales, Australia. He enters this fight the winner of his last 10 contests, including his most recent triumph, a sixth-round stoppage of Ik Yang in July.

A highly regarded prospect with an exciting style, the 21-year-old Lubin burst onto the scene looking to finish opponents early as he cements his status as an elite contender. Fighting out of Orlando, he has already taken down experienced veterans including Orlando Lora, Ayi Bruce, Michael Finney and Norberto Gonzalez. He was sensational in November 2015 when he knocked out Alexis Camacho and in January he headlined his first card and dominated Jose De Jesus Macias in his first 10-round bout. He has kept the hot streak going in June by stopping veteran Daniel Sandoval in the third round and dominating veteran Ivan Montero in July.

A tall junior lightweight at more than six feet, the 21-year-old Barrios picked up seven victories in a jam-packed 2015 in which he stopped five opponents inside the distance, including an uppercut left hook combo that ended the night for Manuel Vides last December. The San Antonio-native turned pro in 2013 and is on the fast track towards a world title shot as he most recently defeated Devis Boschiero in a title eliminator in July. Now he looks to stay unbeaten in a matchup against Tapia out of Mendoza, Argentina.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.premierboxingchampions.com,follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, @PremierBoxing, @JesusCuellarBOX, @AbnerMares, @FutureOfBoxing, @JRockBoxing, @TGBPromotions and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports and www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions.PBC is sponsored by Corona, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

Philadelphia, Penn./Ontario, Calif. (Nov. 21, 2016) -Junior lightweight Michael Dutchover (2-0, 2 KOs) kicked off this past Friday’s “New Blood” boxing event in Ontario, CA. with a devastating first round knockout of Sergio Campos (0-1). Dutchover bolted out of his corner with a fierce attack that put Campos, who was making his professional debut, on the defensive immediately. Dutchover unloaded power shots to the body and landed a left hook that dropped Campos for good at the :51 mark.

Dutchover fights out of Midland, Tex. and is trained by Danny Zamora. He is promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing.

PHOTO CREDIT: CARLOS BAEZA / THOMPSON BOXING PROMOTIONS

ORANGE, Calif. (Nov. 21, 2016) – Danny Roman (21-2-1, 7 KOs) pushed his winning streak to thirteen with a sweep of the scorecards against the previously unbeaten Marlon Olea (12-1, 11 KOs) Friday night in the “New Blood” main event from the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, Calif.

The Los Angeles based Roman was the aggressor from the start, and despite Olea’s quick movement, was able to dominate the fight from beginning to end. Roman had a bit of adversity to deal with as he suffered a cut on the top of his forehead at the closing seconds of the opening round. The accidental clash of heads would cause blood to stream down Roman’s face for much of the fight.

“The cut on my forehead was unfortunate, but that’s boxing,” said Roman, who entered Friday’s contest as the No. 5 challenger on the WBA rankings (122 lbs.). “I didn’t let it bother me. I had a job to do and I did it. On to the next one.”

In the early rounds, Roman found success landing heavy body shots, while Colombia’s Olea had a hard time landing anything of substance. Roman did an excellent job in cutting off the ring and making Olea engage on his terms. Scores: 80-72 all around.

In the “New Blood” co-feature, Giovani Santillan (20-0, 11 KOs) improved on his unbeaten record by knocking out veteran Miguel Angel Mendoza (23-10, 22 KOs) in the fourth round of their scheduled 8-rounder. The 24-year-old Santillan, who fights out of San Diego, was docked one point in the second for a low blow.

Santillan, undeterred, continued moving forward and backing up the shorter Mendoza. The lefty set up crushing upper cuts by moving inside and pressuring Mendoza onto the ropes.

“He had kind of an awkward style,” Santillan said. “He would crouch down to avoid getting hit. I think that’s why I got called for a low blow because he was trying to make himself smaller. It didn’t matter because I eventually figured out how to land whatever I wanted.”

In the fourth round, Santillan found his groove and was pouring it on until Mendoza’s corner threw in the towel at the 1:26 mark.

Heavyweight Johnny Rice (5-2-1, 3 KOs) out of Los Angeles dropped Mexico’s Mario Heredia (14-6, 12 KOs) three times on his way to a fifth round knockout victory. Rice connected in the second and fourth rounds with stiff right hands, which deposited the heavier Heredia on his back.

In the fifth, Rice produced another power shot that floored Heredia, prompting referee Raul Caiz, Jr. to stop the fight at the 1:31 mark. Rice controlled most of the fight with an active jab and quicker punching. Heredia had some nice moments of his own, but failed to capitalize on that momentum.

Fan favorite and Los Angeles native Rudy Garcia (4-0, 1 KO) garnered another win in his young career. The bantamweight prospect posted a unanimous decision win over the still winless Joel Cano-Castro (0-4). Garcia dominated the fight, landing a steady jab and power punches seemingly at will. The scorecards tell the story: 40-35, 40-36 twice.

Junior lightweight Michael Dutchover (2-0, 2 KOs) kicked off “New Blood” with a devastating first round knockout of Sergio Campos (0-1). Dutchover bolted out of his corner with a fierce attack that put Campos, who was making his pro debut, on the defensive immediately. Dutchover unloaded power shots to the body and landed a left hook that dropped Campos for good at the :51 mark.

Dutchover fights out of Midland, Tex. and is trained by Danny Zamora. He is promoted by Thompson Boxing and Banner Promotions.

“New Blood” was presented by Thompson Boxing Promotions and sponsored by Lucas Oil, in association with Everlast.

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com. To follow the conversation on social media, please use #NewBlood and #ThompsonBoxing.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, find us on Google+ and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

ORANGE, Calif. (Nov. 21, 2016) – Thompson Boxing Promotions signed rising lightweight prospect Manuel Mendez (13-1-2, 9 KOs) to an exclusive promotional deal, the Southern California-based promoter announced today.

The two sides, which had a tentative deal in place for several weeks, made it official by signing contracts Monday inside the corporate offices of Thompson Boxing in Orange, Calif.

“It’s a big load off my shoulders to sign with Thompson Boxing,” said Manuel Mendez, who is trained by Joel Diaz and managed by Ernesto Torres. “It was a proud moment for myself and my team.”

“Manuel has a fan friendly style,” said Ken Thompson, president and founder of Thompson Boxing Promotions. “Fans love watching him come forward and go after knockouts.”

Thompson Boxing began featuring Mendez on its monthly Southern California boxing cards beginning in August of 2015. He was matched against quality opposition and delivered on every occasion.

“He was knocking everyone out,” said Alex Camponovo, matchmaker and general manager at Thompson Boxing Promotions. “Manuel is an exceptional puncher that has the ability to wear down opponents.”

“I’m dedicated to the sport and Alex and Ken understand that,” said Mendez, nicknamed “La Tormenta,” which translates to “The Storm.” “They know every time I step into the ring that I’m going to be ready to win. I think that’s what got their attention. That and I stopped a lot of the opponents they put in front of me.”

Mendez, an Oregon native that resides in Indio, Calif., looked sensational in his last outing, which also happened to be his television debut. Mendez registered a one-punch, 2:32 first round knockout over the previously undefeated Vitor Jones Freitas on SHOWTIME (Friday, Nov. 4).

“I noticed he wasn’t covering up very well so I was patient with my punches,” Mendez, 26, said after the fight. “When I landed the body shot, I thought he would get up, but he was clearly hurt.”

For more information, please visit ThompsonBoxing.com.

For regular updates on our fighters, events, and promotions, please check our Facebook Page, find us on Google+ and follow us on Instagram and Twitter @ThompsonBoxing.

BROOKLYN (November 21, 2016) – In the spirit of the Thanksgiving holiday, super middleweight world champions Badou Jack and James DeGale,plus junior lightweight world champion Jose Pedraza and unbeaten challenger Gervonta Davis, donated and distributed Thanksgiving meals at the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger in Brooklyn before their press conference last Wednesday to discuss their respective January 14 showdowns taking place at Barclays Center and live on SHOWTIME.

(Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)

The fighters handed out 100 turkeys along with other Thanksgiving foods to help aid the organization that has provided millions of meals for people in the area. Hailing from countries all around the world, the fighters got together to give back in the borough that they will be competing in come January. To learn more about the Bed-Stuy Campaign Against Hunger visit www.bedstuyagainsthunger.org.

(Photo Credit: Tom Casino/Mayweather Promotions/DiBella Entertainment)

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by Mayweather Promotions and DiBella Entertainment, start at $25. Tickets are available now and 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.

(Photo Credit: Amanda Westcott/SHOWTIME)

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Barclays Center’s BROOKLYN BOXING™ programming platform is presented by AARP. For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports follow on Twitter @BadouJack, @JamesDegale1, @Sniper_Pedraza, @Gervontaa, @ShowtimeBoxing @SHOSports, @MayweatherPromo, @LouDiBella, @BarclaysCenter, and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, www.facebook.com/MayweatherPromotionswww.Facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment, www.Facebook.com/barclayscenter. This event is sponsored by Corona Extra, La Cerveza Mas Fina.

Bethlehem, PA (November 21, 2016) – David Peralta will take on Berlin Abreu in a scheduled 10-round bout for the WBC Latino Welterweight title on a massive card that will take place on Saturday, December 10th at the Sands Bethlehem Event Center.

The show, which is promoted by GH3 Promotions, King’s Promotions and Sampson Boxing, will be televised LIVE on ONE World Sports beginning at 9 PM ET.

Peralta of Cordoba, Argentina has a record of 26-2-1 with 14 knockouts and is coming off the biggest win of his career, when he upset former world champion Robert Guerrero on August 27th in Anaheim, California.

The 34 year-old is an 11 year professional, who won his first 20 fights. As the underdog, Peralta was able to outbox Guerrero and stun the former unanimous decision and the former cab driver was quickly hailed as a legitimate contender in the welterweight division.

Abreu of Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic has a record of 13-1 with 11 knockouts.

The 24 year-old is a six year professional and has knocked out his last six opponents, which includes a 1st round stoppage over Juan Carlos Contreras on October 22, 2015.

Seeing action in an 8-round bout will be undefeated super middleweight Ronald Ellis (12-0-1, 10 KO’s) of Lynn, Massachusetts taking on Oscar Riojas (10-6-1, 3 KO’s) of Monterrey, Mexico. Ellis, age 27 is a five year professional won his first 12 bouts. In his last outing, Ellis fought a draw with Jerry Odom on February 19th in Atlantic City.

Riojas, 33 years-old is a former WBC FECOMBOX Super Middleweight champion.

The three year professional, will be making his fifth appearance in 2016 and is coming off a stoppage defeat to Vyacheslav Shabranskyy on August 19th in Los Angeles.

Also appearing in televised action will be former two-time welterweight world champion, Kermit Cintron taking on Rosemberg Gomez in an eight-round battle. Cintron of Reading, Pa., has a record of 38-5-2 with 29 knockouts. The 37 year-old is a 16 year professional, who has reached the top of the mountain on two occasions. Cintron won his first 22 bouts, which included wins over Elio Ortiz (25-6), Luis Rosado (29-5), Ian Mackillop (14-1), Omar Davila (12-2), Said Ouali (7-0) and Leon Pearson (9-1-1)

On July 17, 2004, Cintron stopped Teddy Reid in 8 rounds to capture the WBO Interim Welterweight title.

After dropping his first contest in a fight with IBF champion Antonio Margarito, Cintron stopped 5 consecutive foes. Within that streak, Cintron captured the IBF Welterweight title with a 6th round stoppage over Mark Suarez on October 28, 2006. Cintron defended the title twice with stoppages over Walther Matthysse (26-1) and Jesse Feliciano, before being stopped for a 2nd time by Margarito.

Cintron then ran off an impressive four fight run which was highlighted with wins former world title challenger Lovemore N’Dou (46-10-1), former world champion Alfredo Angulo (15-0) and Juliano Ramos (15-2) as well as a draw with future hall of famer Sergio Martinez (44-1-1).

Cintron also defeated Antwone Smith (20-2-1). Cintronis on a 5 fight winning streak (6 straight unbeaten) with wins over Jonathan Batista (14-1), Ronald Cruz (20-2)m and his last outing when stopped Manny Woods in 7 rounds on September 9th in Reading, PA.

Gomez of Managua, Nicaragua, has a record of 19-5-1 with 15 knockouts.

The 30 year-old Gomez is an 11 year professional. He won the vacant WBA Fedecaribe Super Lightweight title with a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Danilio Solis (7-0). Gomez is riding a 2 fight winning streak, which includes a 3rd round stoppage over Elvin Perez on June 11th in Honduras.

In non-televised action:

In an 8-Round Bout:

Stephon Young (15-0-3, 6 KO’s) will fight Oscar Mojica (9-2, 1 KO) of Dallas, TX in a bantamweight bout.

In 6-round Bouts:

Chris Colbert (5-0, 2 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY will fight Gustavo Molina (23-13, 9 KO;s) of Tlaxcala, Mexico in a featherweight bout.

Erik Spring (8-1-1, 1 KO) of Reading, PA battles Grayson Blake (6-4, 2 KO) of State College, PA in a super welterweight bout.

Antowyan Aikens (10-2-1, 1 KO) of Atlantic City, NJ will take on Blake Mansfield (3-0-1, 2 KO’s) of Burlington, NC in a super middleweight bout.

Abraham Nova (3-0, 2 KO’s) of Braintree, MA will box Joshua Santos of San Juan, PR (2-1-1, 2 KOs) in a super featherweight bout.

In 4-Round Bouts:

LeRoy Davila (4-0, 2 KO’s) of New Brunswick, NJ will fight an opponent to be named in a bantamweight bout.

Pro debuting Jesus Perez of Reading, PA will square off with Jack Grady (0-4-1) of Buffalo, NY in a super lightweight bout.

Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com for $100, $75 and $50.

ONE World Sports is available on some of the country’s biggest cable providers which include DIRECTV, AT&T U-verse, Verizon Fios, Charter, fuboTv.com, SONY PlayStation Vue, among others. Visit ONE World Sports website for channel identification in your area or to demand the network from your provider.

About ONE World Sports
ONE World Sports is America’s Network for Global Sports, serving sports fans across all platforms with marquee, live and original, content from the U.S. and around the globe. With multi-platform capabilities and superior production quality, ONE World Sports is one of the fastest growing independent sports networks available throughout the United States. Available nationwide via broadband and to more than 43 million households on cable, telco and satellite, ONE World Sports delivers live and exclusive coverage of some of America’s most popular sports played both in and outside the USA including basketball, college football and ice hockey — plus sporting events with the largest global followings like soccer, rugby and cricket. ONE World Sports is distributed through DIRECTV, U-verse, Verizon Fios, Charter Communications, Sony PlayStation Vue, Cablevision’s Optimum TV, Frontier, CenturyLink, Mediacom Communications, Google Fiber, Suddenlink, RCN and a growing number of systems through the NCTC. In addition, the network’s mobile app, Watch ONE World Sports, features a live stream ofthe network for authenticated subscribers and on-demand content for all users. More information on ONE World Sports and its availability in particular markets can be found atwww.oneworldsports.com or consumers can call their television distributor. Watch ONE World Sports is available in the Apple and the Google Play stores.

Carson Jones says Ben Hall is taking a big risk fighting him on Saturday night at The SSE Arena, Wembley and the American says he’ll KO the Essex man as they clash for the WBC International Silver Super-Welterweight title, live on Sky Sports.

Jones has been a bogey-man for British fighters in the past having given Kell Brook a huge scare in the summer of 2012 and then returning to knock out Brian Rose in 2015.

The Oklahoma danger man now fights in England for the sixth time against the unbeaten but untested Hall, and he’s told the 23 year old that he’ll hand him a damaging first defeat this weekend.

“I’ve watched Ben fight and they’ve made a mistake choosing to fight me,” said Jones. “Ben is a young kid that Matchroom are trying to build up, but they he lacks the necessary experience to be in with someone as tough as me.

“I have more experience in my left pinky than he has in his whole body. I don’t get paid by the hour so hopefully I will get him out of there early and make light work of him.

“When we were approached about this fight, I sat with Abel Sanchez and we discussed it. We both went away and watched some footage, Abel bluntly told me that if I can’t beat him, then I should go find something else to do – as boxing is no longer for me.

“I had already been training hard for four or five weeks with a view that a fight will come along and it has. I wanted to get myself in shape in case anything came up – so we haven’t been training specifically for Ben Hall as it was offered mid-way through. This is easily the most focused I’ve been for years, I feel so sharp and everything is on point.

“How this fight is gonna go? You guys know me – I always predict a stoppage. I’ve got more KO’s than years he’s been on this planet! If he survives my pressure and power early on, I’ll take him in to deep water and it will be all over. But I’ll take the win anyway it comes, if he is a tough kid with plenty of heart and there till the end – it still won’t be enough as I will be the one getting my hand raised and getting the W!”

Jones’ clash with Hall is part of a huge night of action in London as Irish amateur sensation Katie Taylor face Karina Kopinska on her pro debut.

Ohara Davies faces a huge step-up as he challenges WBC Silver Super-Lightweight champion Andrea Scarpa, Martin J. Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Ronnie Clark, Reece Bellotti meets Ian Bailey in an eliminator for the English Featherweight crown, and unbeaten youngsters Jake Ball, Craig Richards and Ted Cheeseman look to end 2016 with a bang.

Tickets for November 26 are on general sale priced £40, £60 and £100 available from www.ssearena.co.uk or by calling 0844 815 0815. £150 VIP tickets are available exclusively via www.matchroomboxing.com

Face value tickets for November 26 are also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

Callum Smith will defend his British Super-Middleweight title against mandatory challenger Luke Blackledge at the Manchester Arena on December 10, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Smith makes a first defence of the title he won in spectacular fashion last November when he knocked out local rival Rocky Fielding in Liverpool inside a round.

The unbeaten 26 year old is looking to move to 22-0 and add to his 16 KO wins, and it represents a chance to showcase his ability ahead of a World title tilt in 2017.

‘Mundo’ is the mandatory for the winner of the unification battle between IBF champion James DeGale MBE and WBC king Badou Jack who meet in Brooklyn on January 14.

Blackledge will want to derail Smith’s plans and rip the British belt from him, and Smith expects a stiff test from the former Commonwealth champion as he awaits his World title shot.

“Luke is a good fighter, he comes to win, he’s game and durable and it promises to be a cracking fight,” said Smith. “I’m proud to be British champion and I’ll defend it until I can get a fight for a World title.

“It was good to see James and Badou finally get their fight signed. I was in Washington in April when they both defended their titles and agreed to meet in a unification and I didn’t think it would take this long for the fight to happen.

“I didn’t think I’d have three fights before getting my chance to fight for the World title but they’re ready to fight and while it’s been a bit frustrating, I’ve been active and learning all the time and it’s exciting that I will be fighting for a World title next year.

“It’s a win-win for me. If Jack wins it’ll probably be in Vegas and that’s every fighter’s dream to fight for a World title in Vegas, but if James wins, which I think he will, then that’s a massive domestic fight and we’ve seen that the British fans love those events.”

Smith’s clash with Blackledge is part of a huge night of action in Manchester as Anthony Joshua MBE defends his IBF World Heavyweight title against Eric Molina.

Dillian Whyte faces bitter London rival Dereck Chisora in an official eliminator for the WBC Heavyweight title, Scott Quigg returns to action after treatment on his broken jaw following his unification blockbuster with Carl Frampton, and the Bury star moves up to Featherweight as he looks to regain his status as a World champion.

Kal Yafai can become Birmingham’s first World champion but the unbeaten 27 year old faces a tough task to rip the WBA Super-Flyweight title against Luis Concepcion, the two-weight World champion that will enter the ring in his 11th World title outing.

Irish amateur sensation Katie Taylor boxes for the second time in the paid ranks after making her pro debut at The SSE Arena, Wembley on November 26, Heavyweight wrecking ball ‘King Kong’ Luis Ortiz fights in Europe for the second time after clashing with Malik Scott in Monte-Carlo on November 12 and Hosea Burton will defend his British Light-Heavyweight title against Frank Buglioni.

Limited tickets remain on from http://www.manchester-arena.com/ and on 0844 847 8000 VIP tickets are £800 and available exclusively from Matchroom Boxing www.matchroomboxing.com.

Face value tickets for December 10 are also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

New York, NY (11/20/16) – On Saturday night, DiBella Entertainment returned to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, with another action-packed installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series, presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House.

(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)

The main event featured heavyweight prospect Alexis Santos, 225, of Lawrence, MA, meeting local rival Jesse Barboza, 251, of Hyannis, MA, in a long-awaited scrap, with the vacant New England heavyweight championship at stake. What transpired was a thrilling slugfest that lasted all eight scheduled rounds, with fans cheering on their feet for much of the contest. Each dispensed with their jab and began throwing bombs from the outset. Santos found his target upstairs with straight rights and left hooks, while Barboza banged to the body. When Barboza did use his jab, he was able to keep Santos at bay, but he just did not use it enough. Despite the heavy artillery landing in both directions, neither fighter hit the canvas. Afterward, Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment, hailed the bout as the best heavyweight contest in the history of the Broadway Boxing series. Santos, who won the IBO International title in his last bout in April, added the New England heavyweight championship to his collection with two tallies at 78-74, and a third at 79-73, to improve his record to 17-1 (14 KOs). Barboza is now 11-3-1 (7 KOs). Both Santos and Barboza were New England Golden Gloves champions as amateurs.

Army Reserve Captain and middleweight southpaw Boyd Melson, 162, of White Plains, NY, ended an 18-month hiatus to return to the ring for one last bout. Though he was 35 years old and rusty, Melson felt compelled to fight again to help raise awareness about the heroin epidemic currently plaguing the borough of Staten Island in New York City. Throughout his pro career, Melson regularly donated his fight purses to stem cell research via the “Fight To Walk” foundation. However, he donated his purse for Saturday’s eight-round bout against Brooklyn’s Courtney Pennington, 161, to “Big Vision”, a nonprofit that helps those battling addiction. Pennington maintained control, though Melson had moments of success with right hook counters as well as double-left hooks when on the offensive. Dropped by a sharp right counter in the third and badly wobbled by an onslaught in the fifth, Melson somehow managed to survive. By this point, it was clear that Melson was tired and weakening, and in the seventh, Pennington secured a knockout with a right to the body at the 2:40 mark, improving his record to 9-3-1 (5 KOs).

At the conclusion of the bout, Melson announced his retirement from the ring as well as a bid to run for Congress in 2018. Melson, who graduated from West Point as a Lieutenant, made it to the Olympic trials in 2004 and 2008 as an amateur, and won the 2004 World Military Boxing Championships as well. As a pro, Melson won the WBC USNBC 154lb. title with a victory over Mike Ruiz in May 2015. He ends his career with a record of 15-2-1 (4 KOs).

“I have promoted better boxers,” said DiBella, “but never a better man than Boyd Melson, who has donated every single one of his boxing purses to charity.”

(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)

In just his fourth professional bout, Russian amateur prodigy Radzhab Butaev, 151, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc. and managed by Vadim Kornilov, dominated the experienced Hungarian Gabor Gorbics, 151, of Budapest, over eight one-sided rounds to seize the NABF junior middleweight title. Butaev stalked Gorbics each frame, landing jabs and thudding left hooks downstairs to weaken his adversary. Butaev’s punch output increased over the second half as he began to throw in combination. Given his experience, Gorbics, a former Hungarian junior welterweight and welterweight and Slovakian welterweight champion, who also had a 35-3 record as a kick boxer, was durable, but had little else to trouble Butaev. Gorbics was hurt twice in the seventh by left hooks and was in survival mode during the final three minutes of the contest. Three identical scores of 80-72 awarded Butaev a unanimous decision victory as his record rose to 4-0 (4 KOs), while Gorbics’ ledger dipped to 22-4 (13 KOs). The 22-year-old Butaev, born in Salsk, Russia, and now living in Los Angeles, was a highly accomplished amateur, having compiled an incredible 304-12 record, with 164 knockouts. He participated in the World Series of Boxing as well, finishing at 9-1.

In his fifth straight fight at Foxwoods since debuting in April, 18-year-old Mykquan Williams, 141, of East Hartford, CT, shut out Puerto Rican Jimmy Rosario, 141, over four stanzas. Williams applied pressure, employing his straight right to the body and head consistently. A strong left hook from Williams punctuated the opening round. The local fighter caught whatever leather was thrown his way with his own gloves then would fire back with his straight right. Adept at cutting off the ring, Williams punished Rosario with a sustained attack to end the third, then twice wobbled his foe in the fourth round. Scorecards of 40-36 twice, and 39-37, all for Williams, improved his record to 5-0 (3 KOs), while Rosario fell to 2-4 (1 KO). Williams was a decorated amateur with a 45-13 record, highlighted by three gold-medal performances at the Ringside World Championships, in addition to winning the PAL Tournament and Silver Gloves Championships.

(Photo Credit: Ed Diller/DiBella Entertainment)

Former Irish National champion Noel Murphy, 144, a native of County Cork, Ireland, now living and training in Yonkers, NY, impressively outboxed the tough Mohamed Allam, 145, of Holyoke, MA, over six dominant frames. The southpaw Murphy used his speed advantage to land stinging straight lefts upstairs. Though Allam began feverishly, Murphy was in full control halfway through round two. Focusing on landing counters, Murphy skillfully used Allam’s aggression against him, finding openings to land his straight left and right hook. A jab-straight left combination by Murphy dropped Allam in the third. Counter shots by Murphy in the fourth turned into power shots in the fifth followed by combinations in the sixth. A clean sweep for Murphy with three scores of 60-53 upped his record to 7-0 (2 KOs) via unanimous decision, while Allam fell to 3-2 (1 KO).

Middleweight Christopher Davis-Fogg, 160, of Framingham, MA, improved to 2-0 (1 KO) with a four-round unanimous decision over Quincy Brown, 158, of Milbrook, AL, in a battle of southpaws. Davis-Fogg kept his jab on Brown early on then began to add in his overhand left by round two. A game Brown did land his right hook in the second, though other attempts using the same punch were unsuccessful. Body shots proved effective for Davis-Fogg in the final two rounds. By round four, Davis-Fogg was landing in combination. All three judges tallied 39-37 for Davis-Fogg. Brown’s record dropped to 1-4. Davis-Fogg was a three-time Rocky Marciano Tournament winner and a Lowell Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.

The stacked card at Foxwoods began with six amateur bouts presented by the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) that included boxers from the United States Military Academy (West Point), United States Coast Guard Academy, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut and Trinity College.

At the conclusion of the live bouts, fans in attendance were treated to a closed circuit broadcast of the Kovalev-Ward light heavyweight championship contest from Las Vegas.

###

Also in action on Saturday night, junior welterweight prospect Joel Diaz Jr., from Palmdale, CA, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Jean Pascal Promotions, remained unbeaten with a second-round stoppage over Dominican Mario Beltre, at the Sosua Bay Grand Casino, in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. Currently ranked no. 1 by the USBA and trained by former heavyweight champion Chris Byrd, Diaz improved his record to 23-0 (19 KOs).

Follow all the action as Sergey Kovalev defends the IBF/WBA/WBO Light Heavyweight championships against fellow undefeated Andre Ward.  The action kicks off at 9 PM ET / 6 PM PT / 5 AM Sunday in Russia.  The action kicks off with a 3 fight undercard featuring Curtis Stevens taking on James De La Rosa in a middleweight bout; Isaac Chilemba fighting Oleksandr Gvozdyk in a light heavyweight bout and Maurice Hooker taking on former world champion Darleys Perez in a junior welterweight bout

NO BROWSER REFRESH NEEDED…THE PAGE WILL UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY

Round 1 Quick right from Ward and left to body…Hard jab drives Ward back…Hard right..Jab

Round 2 Jab from Ward…Left from Kovalev and another..right..Hard right..HUGE RIGHT AND DOWN GOES WARD,.Big right from

Round 3 Good jab from Ward..quick left,,,

Round 4 Kovalev lands a jab

Round 5 Good body shot from Ward,,Hook from Kovalev..Good jab from Ward..body shots in the clinch..Jab from Kovalv..Good right from Ward and jab,,

Round 6 Jab to body from Ward…Good right from Kovalev..Another right..Right..Body shot from Ward and another..

Round 7 Jab from Ward..hard jab ..another good jab…Kovalev lands a left..Right from Ward

Round 8 Good hook from Ward..Kovalev lands a jab..Right hand from ward..body from Ward

Round 9  Combo from Kovalev..Right from Ward,,,Hard right to body..Hard right..Straight right..Hard right from Kovalev..Combination from Kovalev…Hard right from Ward,

Round 10 Kovalev lands a hard counter..Hard right from Ward…Right from Kovalev..Hard right..Left from Ward..Kovalev belleding from nose…Hard right.

Round 11 Solid left hook from Ward..2 rights from Kovalev..Body and head from Ward..Kovalev lands a left..Good jab from Ward..

Round 12 Good left hook from Ward..Good hook from Kovalev..Body shot from Ward..Good body shot from Kovalev,..Jab..

114-113 on all cards…..FOR….WARD

PUNCHES:  Kovalev     Ward

Round 1 Right from Perez and left from Hooker…Left hook from Perez

Round 2 Good left from Hooker..Good right from Perez

Round 3 Hard right wobbles Hooker..

Round 4 Perez lands a right to the head

Round 5

Round 6 Looping right from Perez..

Round 7 Body shot from Perez…

Round 8 2 rights from Perez

Round 9 Good right from Perez…Left hook from Hooker..Left from Perez

Round 10 Hard right from Hooker…Left hook to the body..Good jab from Perez..2 shots from Perez..Right Hand.

97-93 PEREZ; 97-93 HOOKER…95-95 DRAW

PUNCHES:  Hooker 104-485    Perez 146-413

Round 1

Round 2 Body shot from Gvozdyk

Round 3 3 punch combo from Gvozdyk…quick left hook and another

Round 4 Quick left hook by Gvozdyk..Gvozdyl unloads a big combination on the ropes..Chilemba bleeding from the nose..Left hook from Chilemba..Good right hand to the body..Good right over the top..Gvozdyk lands a perfect uppercut..2 good body shots from Chilemba..

Round 5 Good right from Chilemba..uppercut..Good bidy shot..Gvozdyk lands a left to the head..

Round 6 Good left from Gvozdyk…Jab..left…Hard right to thehead..

Round 7 Gvozdyk pressuring

R0und 8 Right shakes Gvozdyk up..Hard right to head and body..CHILEMBA CANT CONTINUE AFTER THE ROUND IS COMPLETE

Round 1 Big lefts hurts De La Rosa..Right…Working in the corner..LEFT AND DOWN GOES DE LA ROSA…

Round 2 De La Rosa cut over left eye..Hard combination on the ropes By Stevens..De La Rosa pumping jab..

Round 3 Stevens landing hard body shots..Great exchange..Big left hook and hard right from Stevens..Big left hook..Good uppercut from De la Rosa..Left hook from Stevens..Hard left to body from De la Rosa..

Round 4 De La Rosa landing jabs in the corner…Body shot from Stevens…

Round 5 Stevens lands a body shot…De La Rosa lands some jabs a right

Round 6 Hard right from De La Rosa..

Round 7 Good Straight right from Stevens…

Round 8 1 POINT DEDUCTED FROM STEVENS FOR A LOW BLOW…Counter right from Stevens.

Round 9 Stevens has a hurt left hand…Right to body from Stevens

Round 10 Good right from Stevens..Right over the top…right to the body…

Punches:  Stevens  148-457   De La Rosa 123-672

98-90; 96-92 TWICE FOR CURTIS STEVENS

Thomas Almeida stopped Albert Moraes in the 1st round of their bantamweight fight.

Almeida landed 15 successive and the bout was stopped at

Almeida, 135 lbs of Sao Paulo, BRA is 22-1. Moraes, 136 lbs of Reseda, CA is 6-1-1.

Claudia Gadelha won a unanimous decision over Cortney Casey in a strawweight fight.

Gadelha, 116 lbs of Rio de Janeiro, BRA won y scores of 30-27 on all cards and is now 14-2. Casey, 116 lbs of Maui, HA is 6-4.

Krysztof Jotko won a unanimous decision over Thales Leites in a middleweight fight.

Jotko, 185 lbs of Oreta, POL won by scores of 30-27 twice and 29-27 and is now 19-1. Leites, 186 lbs of Rio de Janeiro, BRA is 26-7.

Kamru Usman won a three round unanimous decision over Warley Alves in a welterweight bout.

Usman, 169 lbs of Boca Raton, FL won by scores 30-26, 30-27 and 29-27 and is now 9-1. Alves, 171 lbs of Rio de Janeiro is 11-2.

Sergio Moraes won a split decision over Zak Ottow in a welterweight bout.

Moraes, 171 lbs of Cubita, BRA won by scores of 30-27 twice while Ottow took a card 29-28.

Moraes is now 11-3-1. Ottow, 171 lbs of Milwaukee, WI is 14-4.

Cezar Ferreira made Jack Hermansson tap in the 2nd round of their middleweight bout.

Ferrerira made Hermansson tap with a an arm triangle at 2:11 of round two.

Ferrerira, 185 lbs of Miami is 12-5. Hermansson, 186 lbs of Oslo, NOR is 14-3.

Ead Zahmurad Antigulov choked out Marcos Rogerio de Lima.

The time of the front choke was 1:07.

Antigulov, 203 lbs of Russia is 19-4. De Lima of Sao Paulo, BRA is 14-5-1.

Johnny Eduardo stopped Manval Gamburyan in the 2nd round of their bantamweight bout.

Eduardo took control of the fight early, and in round two, he knocked Ganburyan down with a jab, and then jumped on Gamburyan with relenteless punching and the bout was stopped at 46 seconds of round two.

Gamburyan announced his retirement after the fight.

Eduardo, 136 lbs of Rio de Jineiro, BRA is 28-10. Gamburyan, 136 lbs of Hollywood, CA is 18-11-1.

Luis Henrique submitted Christian Colombo in the 3rd round of their heavyweight fight.

Henrique made Colombo tape out from a front choke at 2:12 of round three.

Henrique, 252 lbs of Rio de Jinairo, BRA is 10-2-1. Colombo, 251 lbs of Copenhagen, DEN is 8-2-1.

Pedro Munhoz made Justin Scoggins tap at 1:55 of the 2nd round from a guillotine of their flyweight bout.

The day is finally here – Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev – I wanted to share with you a collection of notable social posts from premiere Roc Nation athletes and celebrities supporting Andre Ward in his quest for boxing immortality.

NBA megastar Kevin Durant, 7x All-Star Robinson Cano, popstar Nick Jonas and floor general Jeremy Lin all tweeted out their support for Andre as he approaches the fight of his life, as well as a multitude of other prominent sports and entertainment figures. See below!

In addition, there will be many athletes and celebrities in the crowd at Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound’ tonight at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas including: Dave Chappelle, Michael B Jordan, Pete Berg, Romeo Santos, Angie Martinez, E-40, Fabolous, Omar Miller, CC & Amber Sabathia, Wilson Chandler, Robinson Cano, Melvin Ingram, Dexter Fowler, Marshawn Lynch, Andre Johnson, Andre Berto, Gennady Golovkin, Vasyl Lomachenko, Terence Crawford, Danny Jacobs, Deontay Wilder, Lennox Lewis, Shawn Porter, Braden Shipley, DJ Peterson, Dustin Perterson, Memphis Bleek and Stephen A. Smith.

We will uploading photos from the D’USSE Lounge throughout the evening to this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/nqso5v0bfjxamrr/AACM2fTj_LfQ1mKEbJGeFzrRa?dl=0
PHOTO CREDIT: Roc Nation Sports

Warriors’ Kevin Durant: https://twitter.com/KDTrey5/status/796772305363988481 and https://twitter.com/KDTrey5/status/799641699370700800
Nick Jonas: https://twitter.com/nickjonas/status/798995953877327872
Chargers’ Melvin Ingram: https://twitter.com/MelvinIngram/status/796078125721341952
Nets’ Jeremy Lin: https://twitter.com/JLin7/status/796945599551696896
Kings’ Willie Cauley-Stein: https://twitter.com/THEwillieCS15/status/796860367502594048
Nuggets’ Wilson Chandler: https://twitter.com/wilsonchandler/status/796764277927505921
Gold Glove shortstop Erick Aybar: https://twitter.com/Erickaybar/status/797109077583294464
Ravens’ Ronnie Stanley: https://twitter.com/ronnie_stanley/status/798199831248465925
Texans’ Jaelen Strong: https://twitter.com/JaelenStrong/status/798983423360716801
Mariners’ Robinson Cano: https://twitter.com/RobinsonCano/status/798253988781166592
Seahawks’ CJ Prosise: https://twitter.com/Prosisely_22/status/798573235227029508
Nets’ Caris LeVert: https://twitter.com/CarisLeVert/status/799634818434813952
Twins’ Miguel Sano: https://twitter.com/SanoMiguel/status/799279920950218752
Red Sox Rusney Castillo: https://twitter.com/RusneyCastillo/status/799272522772426754
Miguel Cotto: https://twitter.com/RealMiguelCotto/status/799376693551054852
Jets’ Geno Smith: https://twitter.com/GenoSmith7/status/799346089073803265
Celtics’ James Young: https://twitter.com/realjamesyoung/status/799359523433672704
Mets’ Yoenis Cespedes: https://twitter.com/ynscspds/status/798603157207130112
Pistons’ Henry Ellenson: https://twitter.com/HenryEllenson13/status/798651946940801024

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux, Zappos, Jordan Brand and Shoe Palace. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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Los Angeles – Nov. 18, 2016 – Lion Fight Muay Thai’s last event of 2016 featured a historic three title fights on the main card, headlined by Super Welterweight champion Jo Nattawut (58-6-2) and Lightweight champion Antonina Shevchenko (38-1) who both defended their titles with dominant unanimous decision victories. In the third title fight, Regian Eersel (40-4) landed a flying knee to knock out Jake Purdy (27-7-1) and claim the Lion Fight Super Middleweight Title.

Full highlights from tonight’s event are available here: http://bit.ly/LionFight33

Lion Fight 33 was presented by AXS TV commentators Pat Miletich and “The Voice” Michael Schiavello, with ringside reporting by Ron Kruck, live from the Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket Connecticut

Official results for Lion Fight 33 are as follows:

Televised Main Card

Main Event – Super Welterweight Fight – Jo Nattawut (60-6-2) defeated Hasan Troy (19-9) via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

Lightweight Title Fight – Antonina Shevchenko (38-1) defeated Ilona Wijmans (45-6-1) via unanimous decision (50-45, 50-45, 50-45).

Super Middleweight Title Fight – Regian Eersel (44-4) defeated Jake Purdy (27-7-1) by TKO at 2:41 in round two.

Cruiserweight Fight – Chip Moraza-Pollard (2-0) defeated Brett Hlavacek (17-4) via split decision (47-48, 50-47, 48-47).

Lightweight Fight – Yeison Berdugo (2-2) defeated Anthony Craparo (0-1) via unanimous decision (50-45, 48-47, 48-47).

Middleweight Fight – P.J. Sweda (2-1) defeated Andres Jeudi (3-1) via split decision (47-48, 48-47, 48-47).

ABOUT AXS TV FIGHTS

AXS TV Fights presents more LIVE mixed martial arts and kickboxing events than any other television network with 45 scheduled LIVE world-class fight cards in 2017. “The Voice” Michael Schiavello and UFC Hall of Famer Pat Miletich call all the action and Ron Kruck reports from cageside as champions, challengers, and top prospects take center stage every Friday night at 10pE/7pP. AXS TV Fights can be found online, on Facebook and on Twitter. AXS TV is widely distributed in the U.S. via AT&T U-verse, Charter, Comcast/Xfinity, DIRECTV, DISH, Sling TV, Suddenlink, Verizon FiOS, and other cable, satellite, telco and streaming providers. The network is also carried in Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean.

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Christopher Diaz remained undefeated by scoring a 8-round unanimous decision over Fernando Vargas at the Osceola Heritage Center in Kissimmee, Florida.

Diaz, 128 1/2 lbs of Barranquitas, PR won by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-75 and is now 19-0. Vargas, 126 lbs of Tijuana, MEX is 31-13-3.

Julian Rodriguez won an 8-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Jerry Belmontes in a super lightweight bout.

In round one, Rodriguez landed a left that that buckled Belmontes into the ropes, which was ruled a knockdown. At the end of round two, Rodriguez dropped Belmontes with a left hook on the ropes.

Rodriguez, 141 1/2 lbs of Hasbrouck Heights, NJ won by scores of 80-70 twice and 78-72 and is now 15-0. Belmontes, 141 1/4 lbs of Corpus Christi, TX is 21-10.

Gadwin Rosa won a 4-round unanimous decision over Jonathan Irizarry in a battle of undefeated junior lightweights.

Scores were 40-36 and 39-37 twice for Rosa, 129 3/4 lbs of Vieques, PR and is now 2-0. Irizarry, 130.5 lbs of Puerto Rico is 3-1.

Despite two point deductions, Pablo Cesar Cano won a 10-round split decision over Mauricio herrera in a an ction filled welterweight bout at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California

In round three, Herrera was cut over his left eye. In round four, Cano was deducted a point for a low blow. Later in the round, Cano started to swell around his right eye.

In round eight, Cano was deducted another point for a low blow.

The fight had a lot of action, especially in round seven, where the two had several heated toe-to-toe exchanges with the younger Cano getting the better of the action.

Cano, 142.6 lbs of Tlainnepantia, MEX won by scores of 97-91 twice while Herrera took a 95-93 card/

Cano is now 30-5-1. Herrera, 143.4 lbs of Riverside, CA is 22-7.

“He had a distinct style that I had to adjust to,” Cano said. “I am satisfied with the result, and this is exactly what we wanted to get the next big fight. My team has been training for years, and we have come together cohesively to pull off this fight.”

“Cano had a length that we were not expecting,” Herrera said. “We had similar fighting styles, and we have a similar career trajectory. I could have done more to get in and break him down, but his reach really prevented me from doing that. He’s a great fighter, and I wish him the best.”

KeAndre Gibson won a 8-round unanimous decision over Mahonri Montes in a welterweight bout.

Gibson, 146.2 lbs of St. Louis, MO won by scores of 79-72, 78-73 and 77-74 and is now 16-0-1. Montes, 146.2 lbs of Los Mochis, MEX is 30-6-1.

“I’ve fought a lot of Mexican fighters in my career, but Montes was the toughest I have faced by far,” Gibson said. “I had to adjust to his head movement, and his way to maneuver through the ring. I felt like my hands were a lot looser, and I felt that my speed with my combinations were doing the work to break him down.”

Morgan Fitch win a 6-round majority decision over Travis Scott in a super middleweight bout.

Scott started to have swelling under his left eye in round four. Later in the round he started to bleed from the nose.

Fitch, 163.6 lbs of Pittsburgh, PA won by scores of 59-55, 58-56 and 57-57 and is now 18-0-1. Scott, 163.6 lbs of Baton Rouge, LA is 19-2.

“It was cool to fight this time around with someone who is from my hometown backwoods in Louisiana,” said Fitch. “I would have come forward as much as I did in my last couple of rounds compared to when I started and I wish I could have had more rounds to fight. Nonetheless, we got what we needed, which was this win.”

Las Vegas (November 18, 2016) – The Popular Box Fan Expo will have a booth at Saturday night’s much anticipated light heavyweight championship bout between Sergey Kovalev and Andre Ward.

The Box Fan Expo will return on Cinco de Mayo weekend, 2017.

The booth will be located in the T-Mobile Arena concourse between the Pedestrian Bridge, so fans can stop by and say hello.

Box Fan Expo has been a huge success with Boxing 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, Mikey Garcia , Leo Santa Cruz, Terry Norris , Riddick Bowe , Earnie Shavers, Leon Spinks and many more…

The third annual Box Fan Expo will take place in Las Vegas on May 6th, 2017 (Cinco De Mayo weekend) at the Las Vegas Convention Center, from 10a.m to 5pm. Box Fan Expo is the ultimate boxing fan experience event, it also coincides with a major fight event weekend.

The event allows fans to Meet and Greet Boxing Superstars of today, 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!

Tickets for the Box Fan Expo can be purchased at : https://boxfanexpo.eventbrite.com/

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 several months 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 to be involved and reserve a Booth, contact Box Fan Expo:

Tel: Las Vegas (702) 997-1927 or (514) 572-7222
Email: boxfanexpo@gmail.com

New York, NY (10/18/16) – DiBella Entertainment will return to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, tomorrow for the latest installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series, presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House. Super middleweight Boyd “The Rainmaker” Melson, of White Plains, NY, is coming out of retirement and will appear on the undercard in an exciting eight-round bout.

Melson last fought on May 8, 2015, impressively defeating Mike Ruiz via a 10-round unanimous decision to win the WBC USNBC junior middleweight championship. Having gone the 10-round distance for the first time and capturing a title, an aging Melson, saddled with ring injuries, told his family he was satisfied with his career and would retire. Over his four and a half years as a pro, beginning with a November 2010 debut, Melson built an excellent record of 15-1-1, with 4 KOs. His only loss came to the unbeaten Delen Parsley in a 2012 war, in which both boxers hit the canvas. Melson, who graduated from West Point as a Lieutenant, also had success as an amateur, making it to the Olympic trials in 2004 and 2008 and winning the 2004 World Military Boxing Championships as well.

Now an Army Reserve Captain, the happily retired 35-year-old Melson felt compelled to return to the ring one last time for a reason very important to him. Seeing fatal drug overdoses in New York City on the rise, particularly in the borough of Staten Island currently plagued by a spike in heroin addiction, Melson wanted to help raise awareness about this growing epidemic. Though he grew up in Brooklyn, Melson holds a deep connection to Staten Island, where he spent much of his youth visiting family and friends.

Throughout his pro career, Melson regularly donated his fight purses to stem cell research via the “Fight To Walk” foundation, for which he has helped raise over $400,000 to find cures for spinal cord injuries. However, his purse for tomorrow’s fight against Brooklyn’s Courtney Pennington (8-4-1, 4 KOs) will be donated to “Big Vision”, a nonprofit run by Eve Goldberg that assists those battling addiction.

“Shortly after I retired, Lou DiBella connected me with Eve as he knew I would be passionate about her ‘Big Vision’ project, which helps young adults suffering from addiction,” said Melson. “We spoke and immediately hit it off. Eve started ‘Big Vision’ when her son tragically passed away almost two years ago from an accidental heroin overdose at just 23 years old.

“As I got more involved with ‘Big Vision’ and doing research on drug abuse, I read an article stating that there had been 40 heroin-related deaths in Staten Island alone by May of this year. That number had risen to 76 deaths by September. This is an epidemic and I want to do my part to help raise awareness about this issue. Working with Eve, I have thus far held two boxing workshops at Mendez Gym in Manhattan, where we invited addicts to participate, followed by heartfelt discussions to motivate them to stay clean and healthy.

“I initially came to Lou with the idea of staging a Veterans appreciation fight night, with me in the main event and cadets on the undercard, that would also create awareness about drug addiction. Having learned about the recent changes to the health insurance laws for boxing in New York State that have currently placed the sport on hold here, I felt that tomorrow’s Broadway Boxing at Foxwoods was the next best opportunity for me to promote ‘Big Vision’.”

Opening up the event will be a six-bout amateur card presented by the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) featuring boxers from Melson’s alma mater, the United States Military Academy (West Point), as well as the United States Coast Guard Academy, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut and Trinity College.

As an added bonus, boxing fans in attendance will not have to worry about missing the highly anticipated Kovalev-Ward light heavyweight championship pay-per-view, as the event will be shown live on Foxwoods property that night as well.

Tickets for the November 19 Broadway Boxing event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Teiken Promotions and presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House, are priced at $125, $75 and $45. Tickets can be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-200-2882, or visiting the Foxwoods box office. Doors open at 6:30pm, with the first fight scheduled for 7:00pm.

Toronto – Fight Network, the world’s premier 24/7 multi-platform channel dedicated to complete coverage of combat sports, presents a blockbuster UFC FIGHT NIGHT® doubleheader this Saturday, November 19, beginning at 4 p.m. ET with the UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MOUSASI vs. HALL 2 main card live from Belfast, Northern Ireland. Later, at 7 p.m. ET, Fight Network presents the UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BADER vs. NOGUEIRA 2 prelims live from Sao Paulo, Brazil.

But first, Fight Network will televise live Muay Thai action from Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket, Connecticut tonight, Friday, November 18 at 9 p.m. ET, as LION FIGHT 33 features Jo Nattawut vs. Hasan Toy, Antonina Shevchenko vs. Ilona Wijmans and Regian Eersel vs. Jake Purdy in an explosive championship tripleheader. The LION FIGHT 33 broadcast will be televised live in Canada and over 30 countries across Europe, Africa and the Middle East.

Headlining the main card for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: MOUSASI vs. HALL 2 at 4 p.m. ET, No. 5-ranked middleweight Gegard Mousasi (40-6-2) seeks redemption against No. 10-ranked Uriah Hall (13-7). In other featured bouts, British veteran Ross “The Real” Pearson (21-11, 1NC) battles Scotland’s Stevie “Braveheart” Ray (19-7) in a lightweight matchup, No. 14-ranked heavyweight Timothy Johnson (10-2) welcomes Russia’s Alexander “Drago” Volkov (26-6) to the sport’s biggest stage, plus Conor McGregor training partner Artem “The Russian Hammer” Lobov (13-12-1, 1NC) meets Japanese fan favorite Teruto Ishihara (10-2-2) in featherweight action.

The prelims for UFC FIGHT NIGHT®: BADER vs. NOGUEIRA 2 will kick off at 7 p.m. ET, including a middleweight duel pitting Brazil’s Cezar “Mutante” Ferreira (11-5) against Sweden’s Jack “The Joker” Hermansson (14-2). In other action, Brazilian Marcos Rogerio de Lima (14-4-1) meets Russian Gadzhimurad Antigulov (18-4) in a light heavyweight bout, No. 13-ranked Brazilian bantamweight Johnny Eduardo (27-10) looks to continue his divisional ascent against well-travelled Armenian veteran Manny Gamburyan (18-10, 1NC) and Brazil’s Luis “KLB” Henrique (9-2, 1NC) kicks off the televised festivities in a heavyweight bout against Denmark’s Christian “Godzilla” Colombo (8-1-1).

Both live UFC events will air across Canada on Fight Network.

In addition to all the live events, Fight Network is the destination for UFC library content, specials and series, including The Ultimate Fighter, UFC Unleashed, UFC Now, UFC Ultimate Insider and classic UFC PPV, WEC and PRIDE events.

This Sunday, November 20 at 9 p.m. ET, Fight Network presents an encore of UFC 194: Aldo vs. McGregor, a star-studded card from December 2015, featuring Conor McGregor vs. Jose Aldo and Luke Rockhold vs. Chris Weidman in championship bouts, plus Yoel Romero vs. Ronaldo “Jacare” Souza, Demian Maia vs. Gunnar Nelson and Max Holloway vs. Jeremy Stephens.

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

Las Vegas, Nevada: On Saturday night, live on HBO Pay-Per-View the new pound-for-pound king will be crowned when WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev 30-0-1 (26 KOs) and Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward 30-0 (15 KOs) square off in their much-anticipated showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Below is the scouting report for this highly anticipated fight:

Category
Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev
Andre “S.O.G.” Ward
Age
33
32
Record
30-0-1 (26 KOs)
30-0 (15 KOs)
Strength
The Krusher has a stiff jab, devastating knockout power in both hands and a granite chin. He is a physically strong fighter who has also shown that he can cut the ring off.
Ward is a phenomenal defensive fighter who is incredibly difficult to hit. He is an effective counter-puncher with quick hands and moves well around the ring.
Weakness
Kovalev tends to leave openings in his guard, which causes him to get hit more than he should. He will have to tighten up his defense when facing a quick counter-puncher in Andre Ward.
He has not been nearly as active as his opponent; Ward has only fought three times over the last three years. He also lacks adequate knockout power, which could be an issue now that he has moved up to a higher weight-class to face the big puncher, Kovalev.
Experience
Sergey is well-seasoned at this point in his career. He put on a clinic in his win over future Hall-of-Famer Bernard Hopkins and has defended his titles on nine separate occasions.
Andre has profound amateur experience; he earned a gold medal at the 2004 Olympics. As a 168 lb contender, Ward cleaned out his division soundly. He defended his Super Middleweight strap on six separate occasions.
Power
The Krusher possesses tremendous power in both hands. He throws each punch with bad intentions and has the potential to end the fight with a single punch.
He will be at a disadvantage; Andre is a technically skilled fighter who relies more on his inside game and his defense, rather than power.
Speed
Kovalev has average speed but he tends turn it up a notch when his opponents go into survival mode.
S.O.G. will be the faster fighter, both with his hands and on his feet. His hand speed has posed a problem for the majority of his opponents thus far.
Endurance
Sergey has gone a full twelve rounds on two separate occasions; which were both unanimous decision wins: Bernard Hopkins and most recently in his win over Isaac Chilemba.
Andre’s endurance is one of his strengths; he has been a full twelve rounds on nine separate occasions, including his two recent bouts at light heavyweight.
Accuracy
Kovalev likes to utilize a long-range aggressive style that starts with a pinpoint accurate jab. He also delivers very accurate and powerful body shots.
Ward is an incredibly accurate puncher. He times his punches well and also uses a sharp jab to help set up his shots.
Defense
The Krusher will be at a disadvantage as his opponent specializes in defense. However, Sergey’s main strength is his offense, which he has established as his best defense thus far.
Andre’s defense may just be his most prominent strength. He has proved throughout the years that he is very difficult to hit. He utilizes an inside fighting style that his previous opponents failed to iron out.
Chin
Kovalev has proven many times he has a durable chin. He has been knocked down twice in his career, but he has risen to the occasion both times to finish the fight and remain undefeated.
Ward has a solid chin, he has been knocked down earlier in his career, but managed to get off of the canvas and earn a decision win.
Style
He utilizes a long-range aggressive style and never takes his foot off the gas. He has one goal in mind from start to finish, which is to knock his opponents out or inflict as much damage as possible.
Andre Ward is a technically sound boxer who has an effective inside fighting style. He utilizes good defense and picks his opponents apart with sharp counter-punching.
Intangibles
Kovalev cleaned out the light heavyweight division during his reign as champion. He has an old-school fighter mentality: he only wants to fight the best. Just four months after earning a hard-fought decision win over the previously top-ranked Isaac Chilemba, The Krusher will continue his quest to be the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world.
Ward spent most of his pro career successfully dominating the 168 lb division. After being out of action for some time, he has opted make the leap to the light heavyweight division to take on the best that the division has to offer. Many would have chosen to climb the ladder in a timely manner before taking on such a challenge, but Ward hopes to be the sport’s pound-for-pound best fighter.
Crowd Support
Kovalev’s aggressive style and decorated punching power may win him the crowd support by the time this fight is over.
Andre Ward is very well known by boxing fans. It is likely that he will have an even share of the crowd.
The Match-up
1. Will Kovalev be able to cut off the ring and catch Ward?
2. Will Ward’s inactivity get the best of him?
3. Will Kovalev get frustrated with Ward’s style?
4. Will Ward be able to handle the power of Kovalev?

Hall-of-Famer, Pernell “Sweet Pea” Whitaker, is no stranger to pound-for-pound match-ups. He faced both Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr. and Oscar De La Hoya in pound-for-pound battles during his 16-year professional career. When asked his thoughts on Kovalev-Ward, Pernell said, “The Krusher is much stronger and works the body well. He also has a good left hook. Ward has fast hands. He is quick and mixes it up with good combinations. However, I think the Russian wins. I am looking forward to this fight baby!”

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux, Zappos, Jordan Brand and Shoe Palace. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.
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LAS VEGAS, NV (November 18, 2016) – On Thursday, Nov. 17, WBO, WBA and IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (30-0-1, 26 KOs) and Two-Time World Champion Andre “S.O.G.” Ward (30-0, 15 KOs) participated in the final press conference for their Nov. 19 “Pound For Pound” showdown at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, NV. The final press conference was hosted by renowned ring announcer Michael Buffer. The event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.

Below is what the fighters, promoters and other dais guests had to say at the final press conference:

Sergey Kovalev, WBO, WBA & IBF Light Heavyweight World Champion:

“Hi everybody, I am very glad to be here. It is very nice. Maybe like two, three years ago, I can never imagine that I can get this level and fight Andre Ward, undefeated boxer and Olympic Gold Medalist. I have very big respect for him, for his success in the pro and amateur career. It is really great success but now we are facing each other and I should prove that I am better. Thanks a lot to HBO and personally to Peter Nelson, my promoter Kathy Duva and Main Events promotions, Egis Klimas and to my sponsor Hublot. I really hope that our fight will be very clear and honest. I am very excited for this fight and a little nervous because I never was on this level. HBO Pay-Per-View is the highest level in pro boxing and I am very happy to be here. Welcome to the TV screens on Nov. 19 and T-Mobile Arena where you will see very great fight. Thank you very much.”

Andre Ward, Two-Time World Champion:

“I want to thank everyone who is here today – the media, all my sponsors, MGM Grand, the great team that put this fight together and HBO. I was off to the side trying to mind my own business when Kathy Duva woke me up. She started talking, I don’t know why she keeps doing that, but it’s interesting that the ones that are not getting in that ring are the ones that are doing the most talking. They’re not feeling those punches, so she can keep doing what she’s doing. I love it, that’s what a big promotion is all about, what a big fight is all about; we’re not supposed to like each other. His side has been doing a lot of talking, and that’s fine, we love it. It’s not our first rodeo, we’ve been down this road before. We don’t always respond right away. Sometimes our silence is misinterpreted as us not getting it. We watch, we take notes, but in the meantime we keep working and we produce come fight night. That’s what we specialize in. So all the talking is great, I love it, but know one thing – I’m not taking no mess come Saturday night. Ima be there. Thank you very much”.

Kathy Duva, CEO, Main Events:

“Welcome everyone to the best, most significant and most anticipated fight of the year. Main Events’ journey with Sergey Kovalev began just four years ago. In the Fall of 2012, he made his first appearance in a U.S. televised co-feature on NBCSN. It was the first time he was ever on television in the United States. At the time, he told me he had three goals: 1. win title, 2. unify title, 3. become Pay-Per-View fighter. He made it very clear that this is what he wanted and that he would win fights. He made his first appearance on HBO less than a year later when he won the WBO title. His first appearance on HBO happened less than a year later, and he’s fought on HBO nine times in three years and now his first Pay-Per-View is finally here. I’m bringing this up now because there’s a storyline out there about what a shame it is that this fight isn’t as big as Mayweather-Pacquiao. As I tend to do when I try and solve problems, I did some research to try and gain some perspective. Floyd Mayweather fought on HBO nine times just like Sergey, and of course the four-year period where he headlined his first HBO PPV versus Arturo Gatti in June of 2005, Gatti was the big draw of that fight. Manny Pacquiao fought on HBO for two years before headlining his first HBO gig in January of 2005 with Eric Morales. Those events sold in hundreds of thousands of buys, it wasn’t until Floyd and Manny got the opportunity to defeat the already well-established superstar Oscar De La Hoya that they reached that million buy benchmark. They fought on parallel paths for 10 years on PPV to get to the place where they arrived last year, and that of course is where every fighter wants to be and that is where Kovalev and Ward want to go. And so they have to start somewhere. The fact that Manny’s first PPV opponent Morales had been on PPV before and had already attained legendary status with his trilogy with Mickey Ward and was well known to casual sports fans.

“Very few fighters ever get the chance to fight consistently in the rarified world of Pay-Per-View, and those are typically the same fighters who get to earn pound for pound status in the ring. In the past few months, I have watched Sergey work so far to promote this spectacular event. Sergey has shown me he has the chops to be the kind of star that has that rare ability to connect with each and every one of his fans, make new ones every time he’s out, and works very hard to convince them he’s worth paying to see. His boxing ability, his concussive punching power, his electrifying presence in the ring.

“Among Sergey’s goals, one that I added in was to be a big fighter in Las Vegas, so this is big. This is huge, we are so happy. I want to thank Bob Bennett of the Nevada State Athletic Commission, it’s such a pleasure to work with such professional people and you make our job a whole lot easier. I want to thank all of our sponsors. Finally, want to thank all of you for being here, and I just can’t wait until the bell rings.

“Our co-featured fight is NABF light heavyweight champion Alexander “The Nail” Roddick, who’s undefeated and making a lot of noise in the light heavyweight division, he’s from Ukraine. He’s going to be fighting Isaac “Golden Boy” Chilemba, who’s originally from Malawi and fighting out of Johannesburg, South Africa. They’re going to take part in a ten-round light heavyweight fight. A true crossroad-fight where I honestly have no idea who’s going to win. Obviously, Main Events is with Isaac, who put up a tremendous fight against Sergey a few months ago, I think he simply never gets the credit he deserves. He is quite possibly the second-best light heavyweight in the world, and I know Isaac has his eyes on coming back strong and impressing everyone Saturday night.

“Also opening the televised undercard, WBA continental middleweight champion, Curtis “The Cerebral Assassin” Stephens of Brownsville, Brooklyn. One of the most fun fighters in the whole business. Curtis, you brighten up our day, every day. He’s going to be facing James “The King” De La Rosa, 23-4 of San Benito, Texas in a ten-round middleweight bout. This has all the earmarks of a train wreck, but Curtis has his sight set on bigger and better things and I know he and James are going to be working very hard to impress because the middleweight division is hot, and there’s a lot of opportunity there.

“I don’t think I have to tell anybody in this room why this is a great fight or why you should be interested in it or why you should want to see it. You wouldn’t be here if you didn’t already know that but we do need you to go out and carry the word out to the rest of the world. This is the fight that you bring your friend over, the one who likes boxing a little bit but isn’t sure. This is the fight that you tell your friend, the one who says MMA is better than boxing. Get them to come over your house to see this one because Kovalev-Ward is going to make big fans out of a lot of people, Saturday night, and I’m looking forward to that and seeing all of you there.”

Michael Yormark, Roc Nation President & Chief of Branding and Strategy:

“Honesty is the best policy. So I’m going to start this off with a giant dose of honesty. For the next 48 hours, you’re probably going to hear a lot of respect and admiration between these two undefeated fighters. The simple fact is, we are just two days away from the biggest fight of the year, and I don’t expect them to admire one another. But who can blame them? The only thing standing between an undefeated record and boxing immortality is each other. That adds a layer of distaste and a very sharp edge to a fight that is already set to be an absolute classic. My perspective on this fight is pretty simple. Saturday night is going to be a tough night for Sergey, when he is systematically picked apart by the world’s best pound for pound boxer, Andre Ward.

“I’ve known Andre for quite a few years, and I’ve never seen him more focused, more determined, more motivated and more prepared for the biggest fight in his career. These moments are the ones that generational athletes live for and they dream about. This is an opportunity to make history, to write the latest chapter in Andre’s legend, and frankly, close the book on Sergey’s. Make no mistake about it, Team Ward has come to Vegas to win, and to walk out of Sin City with three—I repeat, three—new championship belts. Boxing needs a fight like this, two undefeated fighters in their prime. Edges sharpened by natural competitiveness, as well as an utter dislike. Fighting on the world’s biggest stage at T-Mobile Arena, and on HBO Pay-Per-View. It doesn’t get any better or bigger. Epic is the only word to describe it, and as a life-long boxing fan, I am thrilled to be a first-hand witness.

“I’d like to recognize the official fight partners we have secured for this event. Our presenting partner Corona as well as Monster Products, JetLux, Zappos, Jordan Brand and Shoe Palace. I’d also like to thank Andre’s fighting partners, including ProSupps and Lyft, Monster Products, BODYARMOUR and JetLux, as well as his long-standing partners Jordan Brand, POWERHANDZ and Shoe Palace. This support and the support from fans and media is a stark recognition of Andre as a true once-in-a-generation-athlete. His skill is matched only by his commitment to family and community. His competitiveness equal only by his charisma. At Roc Nation, we are honored to represent this man, an Olympic gold medalist, undefeated since he was 13 years old, the pride of Oakland, and of course, the next light heavyweight champion of the world.

“While our main event looks to be a fight for the ages, it is a deep and talented undercard that will make Saturday’s event a truly special one. Roc Nation is proud to work with a number of talented fighters on the card, starting with Dallas-native Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker, who is putting his undefeated record and NABO Junior Welterweight title on the line against Darleys Perez on HBO Pay-Per-View. We will also feature rising heavyweight superstar Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock of Philadelphia, as he looks to improve to 6-0 against Brice Ritani-Coe during his Las Vegas debut. Opening up the freeview telecast on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, will be an eight-round junior welterweight bout featuring undefeated rising prospect Sonny “Pretty Boi” Frederickson of Toledo, Ohio. The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel. Frederickson will take on Gabriel Deluc of Boston, Massachusetts. Another Toledo, Ohio native, with an unblemished record, Tyler “Golden Child” McCreary will go toe-to-toe with Vincent “Pooh Bear” Jennings of Grand Rapids, Michigan in an eight-round featherweight bout. Fans will be able to catch the matchup on the freeview portion of Kovalev-Ward as well. Meanwhile, National hero and two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields will make her much anticipated professional debut on the freeview broadcast. She will be taking on longtime rival Franchon Crews who will also be making her pro debut in a four-round middleweight bout. Simply put, boxing fans are in for a treat on Saturday evening and we are ecstatic to be a part of it.

“We’ve heard a lot of honesty today. But clearly Saturday is going to be an epic night. Kovalev-Ward is without a doubt going to be the fight of the year in boxing, we all know that. Roc Nation is proud to be a part of it, it’s in our DNA to promote big global events, and we are honored after working on this fight for the better part of last year, we have finally arrived at the moment of truth. There are a lot of organizations and people that have helped this event, and I’d like to thank all of them. First and foremost, Team Ward, including James Prince, Josh Dubin and Virgil Hunter. Peter Nelson and Tony Walker from HBO for bringing this fight to a global audience. Richard Sturm and Sid Greenfeig from MGM, as well as T-Mobile Arena GM Dan Quinn for hosting this event at a world class facility. Kathy Duva and her team at Main Events, who have been our partners on this fight from the very beginning. Last but certainly not least, the city of Las Vegas, the spiritual home of the biggest events in boxing, and the rightful setting for a fight that will change the face of the sport for many years to come.”

John David Jackson, Trainer of Sergey Kovalev:

“Thank you to all the press for being here. I want to thank two different groups. First, I want to thank Main Events promotions. These women at Main Events plus my man, Joe Rotonda, are truly some of the greatest people in the world. If you want to find a promotional company that will treat you fairly to all fighters and across the board and give you what you deserve in boxing, then go see them. Number two, I would like to thank all the press that is out here at this event. It is truly wonderful to see some of the people who, with their words, can help boxing swim or sink. Your words help a lot. Sometimes you don’t help us as much as we would like to be helped but I am so grateful to see all of you out here because we need this to keep boxing striving. This is a wonderful, beautiful sport that sometimes can get funky but all in all it is a wonderful, beautiful fight. I thank all of you that came out to support and write your words down for this wonderful sport.

“One fight does not define a fighter’s career. That last fight for both fighters it is what it truly was: a tune-up. They did what they were supposed to do. They both won convincingly in order to make this fight happen here. I don’t remember what reporter asked that but that is the answer to your question. One fight does not define a fighter’s career.

“Some of the things I say are to get into someone’s head but what it boils down to is that I do respect these people; they are very good people. The whole team is very good. They are very professional. To answer [Virgil’s] question which was a two-part question. He said in the last fight I was there for a week. I would love to tell you that wherever you got your information from was bad information. I was there longer than two weeks or three weeks. Whoever said I was there for a week I am glad they said that. It makes it look like we are a bad team. I love that. To answer your questions about the cohesiveness of our team, whatever goes on in camp, whatever disagreements that we may have or people say we have, I want you to remember this, all the writers out here, come fight night we will leave the same way that we came in – undefeated. Sergey wins every fight. He wins the way he is supposed to win and he did everything that I asked of him. With that said, I look forward to Nov. 19 and I will see you all there. Thank you very much.”

Egis Klimas, Manager of Sergey Kovalev:

“Thank you everybody for being here. Media, without you nobody will know where we’re going or what we’re doing, so thank you very much. Wanted to thank our promoter Main Events, Kathy Duva did a very good job bringing us to this stage to this very big fight. MGM Grand, very good host, thank you very much. HBO Pay-Per-View has brought the whole audience in America. I hope I didn’t miss anyone else. Of course I’m very, very proud to represent one of the best fighters in the world and hopefully, we’re going to see that Saturday night, who’s the pound for pound boxer. I hate when trainers, managers, promoters start talking about how it’s going to beat each other because they aren’t the ones stepping the in the ring. None of the promoters, trainers or managers can understand what’s going to happen in the ring. It’s only two warriors who will be in the ring. We have two best light heavyweight fighters in the world who are going to show on Saturday night who is the best pound-for-pound fighter. I hope it’s the best show that we’ve seen in years. Thank you very much”.

Virgil Hunter, Trainer of Andre Ward:

“I’ve been here for many fights and to see the media room filled for this fight, it really makes me feel good. I would like to thank Peter Nelson, the team at HBO, my Rap-A-Lot family, Richard Sturm and MGM. I would also like to thank the press, no matter who you choose to win.

“I turned 63, last Wednesday, and it’s no secret that I’ve worked with youths, all of my professional career. It does have an emotional effect on me when it comes to young men. Watching HBO’s My Fight touched me deeply. My heart goes out to Sergey Kovalev and everybody now knows Andre Ward’s background.

“I believe it’s going to be a great fight. I believe that Kovalev is everything that they say he is. He is a dangerous opponent; he’s coming intended to win. We’ve seen him do things to opponents that when they step into the ring, they shiver. Now, it’s just up to us to dilute that situation. I’m looking forward to Nov.
19.

“I would encourage all promoters to treat your fighters fairly, don’t hoodwink them. Don’t keep them robots. Encourage them and teach them how to be businessmen. If you have a champion, he deserves a champion’s ration.”

James Prince, Manager of Andre Ward:

“I’d like to thank God for this opportunity. HBO, the commitment and sacrifices that they made to bring this fight to us. MGM Grand and Richard Sturm. We appreciate Roc Nation, our promoter – JAY Z, all those in the background supporting Michael Yormark, who has been on the line of duty doing a great job. Antonio Leonard is in the house, we appreciate you Tony and all that you do. The list goes on and on. I feel really grateful for this opportunity, and I speak on behalf of Team Ward. We’ve been looking forward to this day, it’s here, and I’m going to deal with the elephant in the room: this is Russia vs. the United States of America. In my opinion, the best of Russia can’t beat the best of the United States of America in anything. I just needed that to be said. We have a Russian fighter over here, Kovalev; we respect your fight game, you’re a great fighter. You remind me of Goliath. We have my man Andre Ward, whom I consider David. I don’t know if you all understand David and Goliath but that’s what we’re dealing with here. Come Saturday night, we’re going to have an opportunity to see the modern-day David, which is Andre Ward, defeat Goliath. I mentioned this at the last press conference in New York, and Ms. Duva said to me that Andre Ward doesn’t have a sword. But she missed the real substance of the story, she missed the learning on David. His obedience and all of these different spiritual realms where David was concerned. He’s fixing to fight the S.O.G, that’s the Son of God, if you all didn’t know, that’s Andre Ward. So, no, we don’t have a sword, and we can’t cut his head off and raise it up as David did, but Andre Ward is going to raise the belt up come Saturday night.”

Bob Bennett, Nevada State Athletic Commission:

“It’s unequivocally a pleasure and an honor for the Nevada State Athletic Commission to regulate this very sensational championship fight. This event should be second to none. You should know we take our job very seriously, and we’ve done our homework and we’re ready to go to work. At this time, we would like to thank Kathy Duva and Main Events, and Michael Yormark from Roc Nation for having this electric championship fight in the fight capital of the world. We’d also like to recognize Richard Sturm and the MGM for hosting this event at the T-Mobile and HBO for broadcasting the event, and for the shows leading up to the event, which have definitely been entertaining and interesting. Last but not least, we want to recognize and thank the warriors, all the fighters, because without them, none of us would be here.”

Richard Sturm, President of Entertainment and Sports, MGM Resorts International:

“We are thrilled to once again host an international championship at the T-Mobile Arena. This weekend, we close our company’s boxing calendar as Russian Sergey Kovalev battles American Andre Ward. We look forward to this matchup of these two undefeated fighters. Kovalev returns to Las Vegas following his 2015 knockout win over Nadjib Mohammedi while Andre Ward and his team make their Las Vegas debut. As we have seen over the last seven months, T-Mobile Arena has quickly changed the landscape of entertainment and sports in Las Vegas, and we look forward to continuing that tradition. We’d like to give a special thanks to Kathy Duva and Main Events Team, and Michael Yormark and the Roc Nation staff. Both fight camps, Tony Walker with HBO Pay-Per-View and Bob Bennett of the Nevada State Athletic Commission.”

Tony Walker, Vice President, HBO Pay-Per- View:

“Thank you all for coming out today to talk about the great sport of boxing. I’d like to thank Roc Nation and Main Events and their staffs for putting together such a great main event, and also a fantastic undercard that we will televise on Saturday night. The wonderful thing about the main event is that it’s been a very, very long time since two elite fighters have made their Pay-Per-View debut against each other. Credit to Andre and Sergey for coming together and making this a big time event. All of the elements are there for it to be a big fight. Both fighters have applied their trade over several years fighting everyone who got in their way. Winning, their undefeated, all the pride in the world, and most importantly, the outcome is in doubt. Quite diverse group of opinions among you over who’s going to win the fight, and that’s what sells Pay-Per-View. For those of you who have not seen the HBO video pieces that were produced to showcase the fight and the fighters, I would encourage you to go to HBO On Demand, HBO GO or HBO.com and check out those shows. They’re provocative entertainment and I think they’re going to get you all primed for Saturday night. This month in November, there have been several high profile Pay-Per-View shows, and I have to give thanks to our distributors on the cable TV, satellite, Telco side, who have promoted this Pay-Per-View show and given us a great presence in the marketplace and really given it its due with all the other stuff going on. We have a great broadcast team on Saturday night, the telecast starts at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. The Pay-Per-View suggested retail price is a very attractive $54.95, and we look forward to seeing you there.”

Kovalev vs. Ward “Pound For Pound”, a 12-round mega-fight for the WBO/IBF/WBA light heavyweight title at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, is presented by Main Events, Roc Nation Sports, Krusher Promotions and Andre Ward Promotions and is sponsored by the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino, Corona Extra, Monster Products, JetLux, Zappos, Jordan Brand and Shoe Palace. The championship event will be produced and distributed live by HBO Pay-Per-View® beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT. Tickets are available on axs.com and the T-Mobile Arena box office.

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LONDON (18th November) – BoxNation will air the world title showdown between undefeated heavyweight titans Joseph Parker and Andy Ruiz Jr exclusively live next month.

The pair will collide for Tyson Fury’s recently vacated WBO title on December 10th at the Vector Arena in Auckland, New Zealand as the heavyweight division ushers in a new era.

Ruiz Jr is 29-0, with 19 KOs, and at 27 years old has been the top heavyweight prospect in promotional company Top Rank’s stable for several years.

Mexican-American Ruiz has already fought three times in 2016 and is coming off a 10-round unanimous points win over Franklin Lawrence in September.

6ft 4inch Parker has an equally impressive record, racking up 21 wins and 18 KOs since turning professional in 2012.

At 24 he is regarded as one of the top young prospects in the division and one of the most active having competed five times so far this year, his last outing an impressive third round knockout of Alexander Dimitrenko.

The heavyweight division is blossoming again with a number of talented fighters emerging as they look to establish their dominance in what has historically been boxing’s glamour weight class.

Both Parker and Ruiz Jr are well aware of what is at stake as they look to take the next step in their careers, with BoxNation the only place to see all the action.

A number of further top fights are set to be screened exclusively live on BoxNation over the coming weeks including Vasyl Lomachenko v Nicholas Walters, Terence Crawford v John Molina and the final fight of the legend Bernard Hopkins when he takes on Joe Smith Jr.

Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director, said: “Joseph Parker against Andy Ruiz Jr pits together two of the heavyweight division’s top undefeated contenders to determine which of them will be crowned the new king in the division. The heavyweight world title has long been one of the most glamorous accolades in all of sport and on December 10th BoxNation subscribers will get the chance to see two big-hitters go at it. For as long as it lasts it will be an enthralling encounter with the winner emerging as one of the very best in the division.”

Parker v Ruiz Jr is exclusively live on BoxNation (Sky/Freeview/Virgin/TalkTalk/EE/Apple TV/Online & App) on December 10th. Buy now at boxnation.com.

– ENDS –
About BoxNation

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

Previous highlights have included Haye vs Chisora, Mayweather vs Maidana, Saunders vs Eubank Jr and Khan vs Canelo.

The channel is available on Sky (Ch.437), Freeview (Ch.255), Virgin (Ch.546), TalkTalk (Ch.415), online at watch.boxnation.com and via apps (ios, Android, Amazon, Apple TV).

BoxNation is also available in high definition on Sky (Ch. 490), at no extra cost to Sky TV subscribers, providing they are already HD enabled.

Available on selected internet-connected Freeview products only, subject to coverage. Visit freeview.co.uk/availability.

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

For more information visit www.boxnation.com

*Plus £8 registration fee for Sky TV customers

Philadelphia, Penn./Ontario, Calif. (Nov.18, 2016) – Undefeated junior lightweight Michael Dutchover weighed in at a ready 131 lbs., while his opponent Sergio Campo checked in at 130.5 lbs for tonight’s 4-round bout at the Doubletree Hotel in Ontario, California.

Dutchover (1-0, 1 KO) of Santa Fe, Springs, California is promoted by Banner Promotions and Thompson Boxing.

“We are looking forward for Michael to put on another great performance tonight,” said Banner Promotions President, Artie Pelullo. “He has tremendous talent, and we expect him to thrill the crowd in Ontario. After tonight, we expect to bring Michael along at a good pace in 2017. Michael has all the skills to become a star.”

“We’re excited to see Michael back in the ring again,” said Ken Thompson, President of Thompson Boxing Promotions. “Our plan is to keep him active and build his skills so he’s ready to compete with the best when the time is right.”

“I last fought in October so I really never stopped training,” said Michael Dutchover. “It’s been fun to be in the gym everyday working to get better. I’m ready for another test and another win.”

New York, NY (11/18/16) – Tomorrow, DiBella Entertainment will return to the Fox Theater at Foxwoods Resort Casino, in Mashantucket, CT, for the latest installment of its popular Broadway Boxing series, presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House. New Haven’s undefeated Luis Rosa Jr. (22-0, 10 KOs) will headline the card facing Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa (22-2, 14 KOs), in an IBF junior featherweight world title eliminator scheduled for 12 rounds.

Opening up the event will be a six-bout amateur card presented by the National Collegiate Boxing Association (NCBA) featuring boxers from the United States Military Academy (West Point), United States Coast Guard Academy, University of Massachusetts, University of Connecticut and Trinity College.

As an added bonus, boxing fans in attendance will not have to worry about missing the highly anticipated Kovalev-Ward light heavyweight championship pay-per-view, as the event will be shown live on Foxwoods property that night as well.

Tickets for the November 19 Broadway Boxing event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Teiken Promotions and presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House, are priced at $125, $75 and $45. Tickets can be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-200-2882, or visiting the Foxwoods box office. Doors open at 6:30pm, with the first fight scheduled for 7:00pm.

“New Haven’s Luis Rosa Jr. headlines Saturday’s action-packed Broadway Boxing at Foxwoods Resort Casino against Japan’s Ryosuke Iwasa in an IBF junior featherweight world title eliminator,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “The loaded undercard features the New England heavyweight championship, Russian prodigy Radzhab Butaev vying for the NABF junior middleweight title in his fourth pro bout, Army Reserve Captain Boyd Melson fighting to raise awareness for Staten Island’s heroin epidemic, as well as other local prospects. The event will open with amateur bouts staged by the NCBA and fans in attendance will also be able to watch the Kovalev-Ward pay-per-view broadcast that will be shown live on-site.”

Trained by his father Luis Sr. and managed by his mother Marilyn and Mike Criscio, 25-year-old Puerto Rican Luis Rosa Jr. was an accomplished amateur who quickly built a local fan base upon turning pro. After establishing himself as a formidable prospect, Rosa burst onto the national scene in 2014 with signature victories over the highly regarded Jorge Diaz on ESPN and the top-rated Orlando Del Valle on HBO Latino. A perfect 4-0 last year, including a fifth-round stoppage over Jonathan Perez on ESPN, Rosa, now ranked no. 7 by the IBF, is determined to prove against Iwasa that he is ready to win a world title and conquer the junior featherweight division.

“I know Iwasa has faced good competition, but I’m looking to do damage quick and end the fight early,” said Rosa. “I’m going for the knockout. I know he’s a slick southpaw, but he’s a bit basic and I will take advantage of that. The world title is within my reach and there’s nothing that will stop me from achieving my ultimate goal. I am ready to take over the junior featherweight division.”

Japanese southpaw Ryosuke Iwasa, from Kashiwa, Chiba, rated no. 3 by the IBF, turned pro in 2008 at age 18 following a successful 60-6 amateur career that included winning the High School, Interscholastic and National Festival titles. As a pro, he has won the Japanese and OPBF bantamweight belts. After losing to Englishman Lee Haskins for the interim IBF world bantamweight championship in his only fight outside of Japan, Iwasa moved up to junior featherweight. He has earned three impressive wins since then and will be making his US debut against Rosa.

“I would like to thank DiBella Entertainment, Teiken Promotions and Celes Boxing for this opportunity,” said Iwasa. “I had a great training camp in Japan and am in the best condition of my career. I have been here in Mashantucket for a few days and am fully acclimated, no jet lag issues. I am excited to be fighting in the United States for the first time. It has been my dream to fight here and I am very motivated for this bout.”

Army Reserve Captain and middleweight Boyd Melson (15-1-1, 4 KOs), of White Plains, NY, last fought in May of 2015, seizing the WBC USNBC 154lb. title with a victory over Mike Ruiz. Though happy in retirement, Melson felt compelled to return to action for a very important cause. As fatal drug overdoses are on the rise, Melson is fighting to bring awareness to the heroin epidemic currently plaguing the borough of Staten Island. Throughout his pro career, Melson regularly donated his fight purses to stem cell research via the Fight To Walk foundation. However, his purse for Saturday’s eight-round bout against Brooklyn’s Courtney Pennington (8-4-1, 4 KOs) will be donated to Big Vision, a nonprofit that helps those battling addiction. Melson, who graduated from West Point as a Lieutenant, made it to the Olympic trials in 2004 and 2008 as an amateur, and won the 2004 World Military Boxing Championships as well. Turning pro in 2010, Melson’s only loss came in a 2012 war against the unbeaten Delen Parsley, in which both boxers hit the canvas.

Popular heavyweight prospect Alexis Santos (16-1, 14 KOs), of Lawrence, MA, will square off against local rival Jesse Barboza (11-2-1, 7 KOs), of Hyannis, MA, with the vacant New England heavyweight championship at stake, scheduled for eight rounds. Santos had a brief amateur career ending with an 18-2 record and two New England Golden Gloves titles. Barboza, also a successful amateur, was a three-time New England Golden Gloves champion. With a style better suited for the professional ranks, six of Santos’ 14 knockouts since his 2009 debut have come in the first round. His only loss came to Daniel Martz, having suffered a torn ACL in the opening round. However, Santos avenged that defeat on April 9, with a seventh-round knockout of Martz to win the IBO International heavyweight crown.

Russian amateur prodigy Radzhab Butaev (3-0, 3 KOs), co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment and Fight Promotions Inc. and managed by Vadim Kornilov, will challenge for the NABF junior middleweight title against the experienced Hungarian Gabor Gorbics (22-3, 13 KOs), of Budapest. The 22-year-old Butaev, born in Salsk, Russia, and now living in Los Angeles, was a highly accomplished amateur, having compiled an incredible 304-12 record, with 164 knockouts. He participated in the World Series of Boxing as well, finishing at 9-1. Gorbics is a former Hungarian junior welterweight and welterweight and Slovakian welterweight champion, who also has a 35-3 record as a kickboxer. Gorbics has wins over six undefeated opponents and has never been stopped in his three losses. Incredibly active, he has already fought 12 times this year.

Debuting in April, 18-year-old local favorite Mykquan Williams (4-0, 3 KOs), of East Hartford, CT, will seek his fifth straight victory at Foxwoods, in a four-round welterweight bout versus Puerto Rican Jimmy Rosario (2-3, 1 KO). Williams was a decorated amateur with a 45-13 record, highlighted by three gold-medal performances at the Ringside World Championships, in addition to winning the PAL Tournament and Silver Gloves Championships. Rosario has never been stopped and has a win over 3-0 Hector Rivera in his last bout in September.

A native of County Cork, Ireland, former Irish National champion Noel Murphy (6-0, 2 KOs), now living and training in Yonkers, NY, will box Mohamed Allam (3-1, 1 KO), of Holyoke, MA, in a junior middleweight bout scheduled for six rounds. Allam is coming off a six-round unanimous decision victory over 4-0 prospect Travis Demko in May.

Following a first-round stoppage victory in his July pro debut, middleweight Christopher Davis-Fogg (1-0, 1 KO), of Framingham, MA, will also be on the card in a four-round bout versus Quincy Brown (1-3), of Milbrook, AL. Davis-Fogg was a three-time Rocky Marciano Tournament winner and a Lowell Golden Gloves champion as an amateur.

Tickets for the November 19 Broadway Boxing event, which is promoted by DiBella Entertainment in association with Teiken Promotions and presented by Cedars Mediterranean Foods, Nissan of Queens, Azad Watches, OPTYX, and Christos Steak House, are priced at $125, $75 and $45. Tickets can be purchased online at Foxwoods.com, Ticketmaster.com, by calling 800-200-2882, or visiting the Foxwoods box office. Doors open at 6:30pm, with the first fight scheduled for 7:00pm.