FORMER AMATEUR SENSATION George Bance has signed a promotional contract with Frank Warren’s Queensberry.

The 18-year-old, who took up boxing at the age of six, built up a stellar CV during his time in the amateur code, amassing a record of 95-6 – over a third of his wins coming via stoppage – and a reputation for being explosive.

Hailing from Atherstone in North Warwickshire, Bance has represented England on many occasions and gathered significant international experience. He is a British ABA champion, multi-time National champion, Box Cup gold medallist and won the silver medal at two European championships.

Bance is trained by Richard Yeomans and his father Danny in Nuneaton at Lightweight.

“I am absolutely buzzing to have signed up with Frank and I just can’t wait to get in the ring and fight now,” said the pro newcomer. “I found out about it a month or two after my eighteenth birthday in August and now I want to show everyone what I am about.

“Fighting is in the family and I have just done it from a young age. I was doing it even earlier but not in the gym until I was six.

“I went to the Europeans three times – in Croatia, Russia and Bulgaria – and have travelled to lots of other nations and done everything really,” added the thick-set puncher with a liking for a speedy stoppage.

“Probably about 30-40, which sounds a lot, but it is quite easy to get stoppages in the amateurs.

“We’re hoping to fight as soon as possible now and I am ready for whenever. I am quite well known around where I live and I have a really big following already, so I hope it will get bigger and bigger now.”

Style-wise, Bance reports that all-out attack is his favoured tactic.

“Unorthodox and very much on the front foot – just attacking! I like getting in there, getting the job done, having a good tear-up and hopefully getting the stoppage or a knockout.

“I’ve taken shots as well like everyone does as part of the game and I would say I’ve got a mint chin, to be fair.

“I got a bit fed up in the amateurs and wanted to get in the pro game because I think it is more my style. I didn’t think about taking it further because I wanted to turn pro as soon as possible.

“You will always learn on the job so I will take everything as it comes and do my best to smash it.”

Promoter Frank Warren commented on his newest recruit: “George is an exciting addition to our ranks.

“George brings with him a big reputation and he is the sort of fighter the fans love to get behind because he will be entertaining and fun to watch.

“I am looking forward to getting him going and getting him the experience he needs to make a big impact in the professional game.”

LAS VEGAS (May 11, 2021) — Before Jose Ramirez and Josh Taylor clash for the undisputed junior welterweight world title Saturday, May 22 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, two featherweight firefights will get the action going.
 
Mexican contender Jose Enrique Vivas will battle the Robert Garcia-trained Louie Coria in a scheduled eight-rounder.
 
And, in an eight-rounder with a touch of gold, two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy Ramirez will face Juan Tapia, the fighting pride of Brownsville, Texas.
 
Vivas-Coria and Ramirez-Tapia are among the undercard fights scheduled to stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT.
 
Ramirez-Taylor headlines a junior welterweight tripleheader starting at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT on ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+. The main card will also showcase Jose “Chon” Zepeda in a 10-rounder versus “Hammerin” Hank Lundy and unbeaten sensation Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez against former U.S. amateur star Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. in an eight-rounder.
 
Vivas (20-1, 11 KOs) went 2-0 last year inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble, outlasting Carlos Jackson in a Fight of the Year contender and knocking out John Vincent Moralde in the opening round. A former Mexican amateur standout, Vivas has won three straight bouts since a points loss to Ruben Villa. Coria (12-4, 7 KOs), from Moreno Valley, California, hopes to break a two-bout losing skid, although both defeats came in brawls that could’ve easily gone his way. Last June, he dropped a majority decision to Adam Lopez, and four months later, he knocked down 2016 Olympic gold medalist Robson Conceicao en route to a disputed unanimous decision verdict.
 
Ramirez (6-1, 4 KOs) turned his career around following a shocking decision defeat to Adan Gonzales in his professional debut. He avenged that loss last July via shutout decision and most recently knocked out Brandon Valdes (13-1 at the time) in the sixth round. Ramirez makes his 2021 debut against Tapia (10-3, 3 KOs), a seven-year pro who has gone the distance against 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Vladimir Nikitin and pound-for-pound standout Shakur Stevenson.
 
In other undercard action:

• Las Vegas native Andres Cortes (13-0, 7 KOs) will make his 11^th consecutive hometown appearance, this time against Eduardo “Thunder” Garza (15-3-1, 8 KOs) in an eight-round junior lightweight tilt. Cortes made a memorable impression inside the MGM Grand Las Vegas Bubble last July, recovering from a fourth-round knockdown to outpoint Alejandro Salinas.
   
• Raymond “Danger” Muratalla (11-0, 9 KOs), the Robert Garcia-trained lightweight prospect from Fontana, California, will fight Jose Luis Gallegos (20-10, 15 KOs) in an eight-rounder. Muratalla is coming off a third-round stoppage win over Luis Porozo last November on the Terence Crawford-Kell Brook card, his sixth consecutive knockout win.
   
• Middleweight prospect Javier “Milwaukee Made” Martinez (3-0, 1 KO), who was once the top-ranked American amateur at 165 pounds, will fight veteran Calvin Metcalf (10-5-1, 3 KOs) in a six-rounder. Martinez last fought Feb. 20 and knocked out Billy Wagner in the first round.

About Ramirez vs. Taylor

Promoted by Top Rank, Ramirez vs. Taylor is a 12-round showdown for the undisputed junior welterweight world championship, which will take place Saturday, May 22 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (and simulcast on ESPN+) at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT. Undercard bouts will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ at 5:15 p.m. ET/2:15 p.m. PT.

The telecast will also feature a 10-round junior welterweight battle between Jose “Chon” Zepeda and “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, in addition to an eight-round junior welterweight tilt between knockout artist Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez and Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr. 

About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 12.1 million subscribers.
 
Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

LOS ANGELES AND MIAMI (May 11, 2021) – Triller Fight Club today announced that they will again make history by having men’s and women’s undisputed title fights on the same card for the first time ever, with an elite boxing Pay-Per-View card co-headlined by the title fight between ‘The Takeover’ Teófimo López and ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., which has four belts on the line—IBF, WBA, WBO, WBC and the prestigious Ring belt, and a four-belt title bout between Franchon ‘The Heavy-Hitting Diva’ Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos. The PPV event will be the first-ever boxing event held at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida, home of the Miami Marlins. PPV pre-sales are now underway.

“This is truly a historic moment having both the male and female undisputed title fights on the same card,” said Peter Kahn, Chief Boxing Officer, Triller Fight Club. “We are excited to have Franchon and Elin join a night of boxing that already has one of the most anticipated fights of the year, López and Kambosos, along with a strong undercard that will appeal to true boxing fans.”   

”We’re excited to bring boxing’s biggest event of the year to loanDepot park,” said Adam Jones, Miami Marlins Chief Revenue Officer. “This will be another milestone event for South Florida’s jewel venue, as we host one of the most exciting and unique experiences for boxing fans.”

Tickets to attend the event will go on sale Thursday, May 20. More info at TrillerFightClub.com.

The four-hour show, which will kick off at 8:00pm EDT with the live PPV main card starting at 9pm EDT, will also feature a WBA World Title Heavyweight Eliminator bout between Michael Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Mike Wilson (21-1, 10 KOs), as well as the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship matchup between Andy Vences (23-2-1, 12 KOs) and Ireland’s Jono Carroll (19-2-1, 5 KOs). Additional fights will be announced in the coming weeks.

López, 23, (16-0, 12 KOs) is the current undisputed lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title since 2019 and the WBA, WBO, WBC and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. López is considered to be one of, if not the, best active boxers, pound for pound, by ESPN and Boxing Writers Association of America, and The Ring. He is also ranked as the world’s best active lightweight by BoxRec, ESPN and the TBRB. The Australian Kambosos has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 2017. Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) became the IBF mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby by split decision in October.  

The co-main bout will feature a four-belt undisputed super middleweight championship between WBC/WBO titlist Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos, who holds the WBA and IBF belts. The winner will become a true women’s undisputed champion in the sport.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

iNDemand, the leading transactional video-on-demand and PPV programming provider in North America, will serve as the exclusive U.S. and Canadian cable, satellite, and telco PPV provider for the Lopez vs. Kambosos fight. Fans will be able to order the event on PPV through their existing cable, satellite, and telco PPV providers across the U.S. and Canada.

This marks the third time that FITE, iNDemand and Triller will have partnered to bring value-packed, world-class PPV events to boxing, music, and entertainment fans. iNDemand also served as the cable, satellite, and telco PPV distributor for Triller Fight Club’s November 2020 Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event (which landed as the 8th best PPV event of all time), as well as the April 17, 2021 Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event. FITE handled global digital sales for both events and powered the TysononTriller and TrillerFightClub sites.

Mark Boccardi, iNDemand’s SVP Programming & Marketing, said, “Pay Per View remains the king for monetizing premier fighting events. PPV is in the DNA of fight sports, and our alliance with Triller allows us to reach the widest possible audience by incorporating music and entertainment stars into the mix, along with top-notch boxing talent.” 

The PPV retail price for the event is $49.99 (U.S. & Canada) plus processing fee. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

**HOW TO WATCH THE June 19, 2021, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB PPV EVENT**

TV: Cable, satellite & telco PPV providers, including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, DirecTV, AT&T TV, Dish, Fios, and Optimum (U.S.), as well as Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Videotron, and Sasktel (Canada).

Worldwide Streaming: FITE.TV and all FITE mobile, Smart TV, game controller and OTT apps as well as the event microsite hub: TrillerFightClub.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About iNDemand:

iNDemand is an innovative partnership between three of the leading cable companies in the U.S.—Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. iNDemand is a company of trusted content aggregators and licensing experts, with unparalleled technical expertise and long-standing relationships with MVPDs, major sports leagues, Hollywood studios, and other entertainment and sports companies across North America. iNDemand delivers great content to more than 80 million homes and has distribution deals with more than 150 companies. For more information, go to indemand.com.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

Las Vegas – For the first time in over two years, UFC^® returns to Arizona and welcomes fans back at full capacity with a pair of highly anticipated championship rematches. Headlining the event will be middleweight champion Israel Adesanya, as he looks to fend off No. 3 ranked contender Marvin Vettori. In the co-main event, flyweight champion Deiveson Figueiredo and No. 1 contender Brandon Moreno seek to settle the score following their thrilling majority draw in December.

UFC 263: ADESANYA vs. VETTORI 2 will take place Saturday, June 12 at Gila River Arena in Glendale, Ariz. All bouts will be streamed on ESPN+ in English and Spanish. The early prelims begin at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT on ESPN+ and UFC Fight Pass. The prelims will be distributed on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT. The UFC 263 main card will stream exclusively on ESPN+ Pay-Per-View starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

UFC 263: ADESANYA vs. VETTORI 2 tickets will go on sale Friday, May 14 at 10 a.m. PT and are available for purchase at ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. UFC Fight Club^® members will have the opportunity to purchase tickets Wednesday, May 12 at 12 p.m. PT via the website www.ufcfightclub.com. A special Internet ticket pre-sale will be available to UFC newsletter subscribers Thursday, May 13 starting at 10 a.m. PT. To access this presale, users must register for the UFC newsletter through UFC.com.

UFC middleweight champion Adesanya (20-1, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) returns to his natural weight class looking to successfully defend his title for the third time. Since joining the UFC roster in 2018, Adesanya has developed into one of the top ranked pound-for-pound fighters in the world, a distinction he earned with impressive victories over Paulo Costa, Robert Whittaker and Anderson Silva. He now intends improve on his 2018 win over Vettori and continue his quest to become the greatest middleweight in UFC history.  

Vettori (17-4-1, fighting out of Huntington Beach, Calif. by way of Mezzocorona, Italy) plans to make the most of his first UFC title shot by becoming the first middleweight to defeat Adesanya. Undefeated since his split decision loss to the current middleweight champion in 2018, Vettori climbed through the ranks with dominant wins over Karl Roberson, Jack Hermansson and Kevin Holland. He now seeks to show off his evolution as a fighter and secure the biggest win of his career.

UFC flyweight champion Figueiredo (20-1-1, fighting out of Condor Belem, Para, Brazil) returns to action aiming to make a statement and show that he is the best 125-pounder in the world. A renowned finisher, he is currently tied for the most stoppages in UFC flyweight history with seven, a number he accumulated with victories over Alex Perez, Joseph Benavidez (twice) and Tim Elliott. Figueiredo now looks to continue his title reign with a record-breaking performance.

Top ranked Moreno (18-5-2, fighting out of Tijuana, Mexico) has his sights set on shocking the world in his second chance at UFC gold. A Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu black belt, Moreno secured his first shot at Figueiredo following notable wins over contenders Kai Kara-France, Jussier Formiga and Brandon Royval. He now hopes to leave no doubt that he is the true flyweight champion and begin building his own legacy at the top of the 125-pound ladder. 

Additional bouts on the card include:

• In a historic first non-main event, five-round fight, No. 3 ranked welterweightLeon Edwards (18-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Birmingham, England) welcomes back fan favorite Nate Diaz (21-12, fighting out of Stockton, Calif.)
• Ranked light heavyweights collide as No. 14 Paul Craig (14-4-1, fighting out of Coatbridge, Scotland) and No. 15 Jamahal Hill (8-0, fighting out of Kentwood, Mich.) vie to break into the top 10
• In a battle of welterweight contenders, No. 8 ranked Demian Maia (28-10, fighting out of Sao Paulo, Brazil) locks horns with No. 12 Belal Muhammad (18-3, 1 NC, fighting out of Chicago, Ill.)
• Drew Dober (23-10, 1 NC, fighting out of Denver, Colo.) and Brad Riddell (9-1, fighting out of Auckland, New Zealand) face off in an action-packed lightweight bout
• In a light heavyweight bout, Eryk Anders (13-5, 1 NC, fighting out of Birmingham, Ala.) meets Darren Stewart (12-6, fighting out of London, England)
• No. 3 ranked women’s flyweight Lauren Murphy (14-4, fighting out of Houston, Texas) seeks to secure her first UFC title shot by taking out No. 6 Joanne Calderwood (15-5, fighting out of Glasgow, Scotland)
• An intriguing featherweight bout sees undefeated No. 14 ranked Movsar Evloev (14-0, fighting out of Coconut Creek, Fla. by way of Ingushetia, Russia) take on No. 15 Hakeem Dawodu (12-1-1, fighting out of Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
• No. 11 ranked women’s bantamweight contender Pannie Kianzad (15-5, fighting out of Helsingborg, Skane County, Sweden) goes for the biggest win in her career against former title challenger Alexis Davis (20-10, fighting out of Port Colborne, Ontario, Canada)
• Frank Camacho (22-9, fighting out of Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands) and Matt Frevola (8-2-1, fighting out of Long Island, N.Y.) clash in a lightweight bout all but guaranteed to entertain
• No. 14 ranked women’s bantamweight Sijara Eubanks (7-6, fighting out of Toms River, N.J.) duels with No. 14 Karol Rosa (14-3, fighting out of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
• Featherweight prospect Chase Hooper (10-1-1, fighting out of Enumclaw, Wash.) plans to show off his evolving skillset when he battles veteran Steven Peterson (18-9, fighting out of Dallas, Texas)
• Fares Ziam (11-3, fighting out of Givors, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, France) and Luigi Vendramini (9-1, fighting out of Brasilia, Brazil) compete in an exciting lightweight bout
• Heavyweights Carlos Felipe (10-1, fighting out of State of Bahia, Brazil) and Jake Collier (12-5, fighting out of Cuba, Mo.) look to steal the show and climb the ranks

Visit the UFC.com for information and content to support your UFC coverage. Please click here to apply for the event.

###

About UFC^®

UFC^® is the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization (MMA), with more than 625 million fans and 155 million social media followers. The organization produces more than 40 live events annually in some of the most prestigious arenas around the world, while broadcasting to approximately 900M TV households across more than 175 countries. UFC’s athlete roster features the world’s best MMA athletes representing more than 70 countries. The organization’s digital offerings include UFC FIGHT PASS^®, one of the world’s leading streaming services for combat sports. UFC is owned by global entertainment, sports and content company Endeavor, and is headquartered in Las Vegas, Nevada. For more information, visit UFC.com and follow UFC at Facebook.com/UFC, Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram and TikTok: @UFC.

About Gila River Arena

Gila River Arena is a state-of-the-art, multi-purpose sports and entertainment facility situated on 13.5 acres in the City of Glendale, Arizona. The Arena is home to the Arizona Coyotes NHL Hockey team and entertains over one-million visitors annually through concerts, family shows and sporting events. The arena anchors the Westgate Entertainment District located on 223 acres for shopping, dining, entertainment and commercial offices. www.gilariverarena.com

About ESPN+

ESPN+ is the industry-leading sports streaming service that offers fans in the U.S. thousands of live sports events, original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks and exclusive editorial content from dozens of ESPN writers and reporters. Launched in April 2018, ESPN+ has grown to more than 12.5 million subscribers.

Fans sign up to ESPN+ for just $5.99 a month (or $59.99 per year) at ESPN.com, ESPNplus.com or on the ESPN App (mobile and connected devices). It is also available as part of The Disney Bundle offer that gives subscribers access to Disney+, ESPN+ and Hulu (ad-supported) — all for just $12.99/month.

About ESPN

ESPN, the world’s leading sports entertainment brand, features nine U.S. television networks, direct-to-consumer ESPN+, ESPN Radio, ESPN.com, endeavors on every continent around the world, and more.  ESPN is 80 percent owned by ABC, Inc. (an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company) and 20 percent by Hearst. 

After a whirlwind few days where young Heavyweight superstar Daniel Dubois has been unexpectedly thrust back into the media spotlight, ‘Dynamite’ has now said it is “time to move on”.

Daniel was last seen in the ring on November 28 when he suffered a horrific eye injury at the hands of Joe Joyce.

In the wake of that shock defeat internet trolls, and even some within boxing, were keen to put the boot in on Dubois by questioning his decision to take a knee and end the bout.

One such figure was Billy Joe Saunders, who was vociferous in his criticism of the 23-year-old mild-mannered bruiser.

Those remarks would come back to bite Bill, who would fall to Canelo Alvarez after suffering a very similar injury.

Daniel says he understands why the fans and press alike have jumped on this ironic twist of fate but has insisted it is time to move on.

The ever-classy Dubois said: “I understand why everyone has wanted to make comparisons between me and Billy, but it’s time to move on now.”

Saunders is currently awaiting treatment at a hospital in Dallas and Dubois says it’s time to give him space to recover and regroup.

“Billy has had his injury, people have said what they’ve had to say but now it’s time to let him rest, heal and be with his family.

“It’s important for me to move on too. I’ve got a fight on June 5^th with Bogdan Dinu that I need to get ready for.”

The Heavyweight collision with Romania’s Bogdan Dinu will be Dubois’ first taste of action since suffering his injury and he is keen to put the memories of that fateful night behind him.

“Over six months of frustrations are ready to come out. You are going to see the best version of Daniel Dubois in that ring on June 5^th. I will beat Bogdan Dinu up and knock him out.”

Some may have expected young ‘Dynamite’ to have taken an easier fight for his return, but Dubois was keen to jump back in the mix and take on #2 ranked WBA Heavyweight Dinu with the WBA Interim title on the line.

“Dinu is a decent test. He does some things very well. He has fast hands and can move. He’s ranked #2 for a reason, and he’ll see this as a chance to get a title.”

Whilst Dubois is keen to move on from both the events of this past weekend in Texas and his own defeat in November last year, he understands that the only way to truly do that is deliver something spectacular in the ring.

At just 23-years-old, he will be looking to add a 15^th career KO to his record and improve to 16-1 as a professional.

Dubois is fully aware of the question marks that surround him after the nature of his last defeat and he is confident he has all the answers.

“I need to do what I do, show people why they called me ‘Dynamite’ in the first place” Dubois said, “It’ll be a devastating performance, I promise you. A huge knockout to put myself back on the map.”

‘BACK STRONGER: DUBOIS vs DINU’ IS LIVE ON BT SPORT 1 HD ON SATURDAY JUNE 5^th

Fast-rising Super-Lightweight sensation Dalton Smith says he carries the power to knockout local rival Lee Appleyard when they clash for the vacant English Title at the AO Arena, Manchester this Saturday May 15, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories.

‘Thunder’ has finished six of his seven professional contests inside the distance, and the 24-year-old former Team GB star kept his six-fight KO streak running last time out when he retired Birmingham’s Ishmael Ellis in three rounds on the Josh Warrington vs. Mauricio Lara undercard. 

Smith, Sheffield’s most successful amateur boxer of all time, was originally scheduled to face Rotherham’s Appleyard in February before the Stefy Bull-trained 33-year-old was forced to withdraw after contracting COVID-19 a week out from the fight – but Smith believes now is the perfect time to take on the former English Champion.

“In my eighth fight, to be boxing for the English Title is great,” said Smith. “The belt has been around for so many years and when you look at the people that have won it – some have gone on to become greats. They all started off with the English Title. That’s the route I want to go down – English, British and European. I want to go the traditional route and pick up all of those belts along the way. 

“Lee Appleyard is a local derby and it’s the perfect matchup to have for the English Title. Each fight for me is a steppingstone. The English Title is not my end goal; it’s the start. The amateur days and the golds are in the past now; I’ve achieved those goals and now I’ve got new goals that I’ve set out. I work hard every single day because I want to achieve those goals. I’ll be happy when one day I can bring a World Title back to Sheffield.

“Take nothing away from Lee, he’s a very good fighter and he’s experienced. He’s got a very good engine. I think that’s what he’s going to be relying on in this fight. Just having a good engine isn’t enough. I’m maturing and I’m punching harder. I’ve always been able to carry power but now I feel like a different animal. I think it’s a perfect fight for me. 

“I think I can knock him out. We’ve both sparred, and we both know how those spars went. Don’t get me wrong, Lee is tough and he’s strong. He’s going to try and take me into the deep waters in those later rounds. No disrespect to Lee, I think he’s a great fighter in and out of the ring, but I feel confident that I can get him out of there. 

“The Nathan Bennett fight – top fighter. I had no footage on him whatsoever so when I was training, I didn’t really know what style I was preparing for. I went in there and showed whatever they bring to the table, I can adapt. It only took me a few rounds to get his number. I’ve sparred Lee, we’ve had lots of rounds together. I’ve been to shows where I’ve seen him fight live. I know a lot about Lee. If I can work somebody out without any footage, once I’ve got their blueprint it can be dangerous.”

Smith vs. Appleyard is part of a huge night of boxing in Manchester, Joshua Buatsi (13-0, 11 KOs) fights under Virgil Hunter for the first time against unbeaten Frenchman Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (15-0, 8 KOs), three European Title fights feature on the bill with Gamal Yafai (18-1, 10 KOs) defending his Super-Bantamweight Title for the first time against Jason Cunningham (28-6, 6 KOs), Tommy McCarthy (17-2, 18 KOs) defending his Cruiserweight crown against Romania’s Alexandru Jur (19-4, 7 KOs) and Lerrone Richards (14-0, 3 KOs) taking on Italy’s Giovanni De Carolis (28-9-1, 13 KOs) for the vacant Super-Middleweight strap, Birmingham Heavyweight Solomon Dacres makes his professional debut and Ellis Hopkins makes history when she becomes the first female from the traveller community to turn professional.

Super-Middleweight Zach Parker insists he will be more than up for the task of toppling Canelo when his shot comes around and says the Mexican superstar will never have been in with a ‘tank’ like him.

The 20-0 Derby banger burned the midnight oil in the early hours of Sunday morning taking in the unification battle between Canelo and British WBO belt holder Billy Joe Saunders, a clash which came to a close after eight rounds due to eye socket damage inflicted on the two-weight world champion.

The previously unbeaten Saunders was always going to have a big job on his hands against the supersized multi-weight champion and, as suspected, elusivity could not trump raw power in Texas.

However, Parker feels Saunders gave a good account of himself at the home of the Dallas Cowboys and exposed a few minor discomforts in his celebrated opponent.

“I thought it was a good fight and Billy did a lot better than I thought he would, but size was obviously against him at super middleweight,” considered the 26-year-old ranked at No.1 by the WBO. “He did show that Canelo still doesn’t like southpaws and movers.

“I had it at almost level before it was stopped. Hopefully he has a speedy recovery.

“I said to a lot of people that it would be a better fight than the Callum Smith one because Smith hasn’t got the movement or slickness. He stands there in front of you where he can hit and be hit. He waited for punches and tried to come back but you can’t do that with Canelo because you’ve got to have that movement and make it awkward for him.”

Parker confirmed that he viewed the fight through professional eyes with a focus on what he would do if he gets to share a ring with the mighty Mexican. He insists he would bring size and power to the party.

“I watched closely and if Billy Joe had a bit more size on him and a bit more punching power he could have done even better. With extra power he could have kept him off a bit and made it a different fight.

“You need that power at this weight. You can box, but that won’t take you the whole way, you need to hurt and push him back a bit.

“Billy’s punching power wasn’t bothering him at all and he was just walking through it. He got him in the end.

“That is what I am looking at myself. I am a lot bigger than both of them at 6ft 2” and I am still growing as a lad. I am a tank at super middleweight and when I punch I make sure it hurts them, I’m not gonna be tip-tapping or nothing like that.

“I have said it to a lot of people because they don’t know what I’ve done with coming under the radar a little bit, but my trainer will tell you I hit like a heavyweight.

“I am just going to keep getting my wins up, keep getting my name out there more so I can get in with these bigger names. If people don’t know who you are they will not put a lot of money up for fights, so I need to keep pushing my case.”

So is the key to overcoming Canelo throwing bombs and being prepared to go to war?

“Yeah and be slick with it, but when you do hit him you have to make it count. Every shot counts when you are in with Canelo. You have to have that bit of spite behind you and not just tap him.

“I am more confident over my chances, especially after the other night. Most super middleweights are not as slick as me and I’ve got a really awkward style with being a switch-hitter. Watching that made me a lot more confident because I could see holes. He doesn’t like people moving and likes people to stay in front of him like Callum Smith did.

“I ain’t gonna stand there and just trade with him, I can box and then trade when I want to trade. Stick and move, that is what you’ve got to do. Tactical warfare.”

Parker knows that, despite his top of the charts status with the WBO, his name is not in the frame and he is likely not head of the queue for a tilt at the 30-year-old veteran of 59 professional fights, who weighed in at under 10 stone for his debut back in 2005.

The now WBC, WBA and WBO champion wants to complete the jigsaw by adding the IBF belt to finalise his domination of the division, so Parker will have to bide his time and top up his experience for if Canelo retains possession of his titles.

“Yeah he wants the Caleb Plant fight, which will be a hard one as he’s not going to just stand there either because he is a slick boxer. I’m just gonna keep doing what I’m doing, keep getting my resume up against top fighters and wait for my time.

“They don’t want to put it on the line for nothing, they want the big name fights, so I’ve got to get my name bigger and keep making noise here in Britain.”

And when his time does come, Parker knows just the place where he would like it to happen and intends to avoid being the eighth Brit to take an ‘L’ to the same man.

“It would be amazing if he wants to fight in England and, if he did want that, Frank is the man to make it happen. Pride Park would be filled out and they would love it.

“He has beaten seven already, but he ain’t boxed Zach Parker yet! A different sort of boxer.

“I wouldn’t be towing the line wherever we fight. People think you’ve got to go over there and thank him, whereas I would go over to take what I have been working for all my life. I would be the same as Billy in that I wouldn’t go over and give him all this respect.

“I would respect him as a boxer but that is where it stops and you’ve got to do your own thing. You can’t be thankful for the opportunity, you’ve got to take it for yourself.”

JONATHAN KUMUTEO celebrated his successful professional debut by handing himself a social media ban.

The Finchley Super-Welterweight made a winning start to his professional career by easily outpointing Dale Arrowsmith last month, an experience he compared to being like a “video game”.

Kumuteo has over sixty thousand Instagram followers but decided on a temporary exile after his win on the Queensberry show televised live on BT Sport.

His battles beating a skin disease over the last six years that needed three surgeries and once left him bed bound for eight months threatened his boxing career, but Kumuteo defied the odds.

He said: “For the last few years my body has not been able to relax. I have been able to put my body to rest, shut my eyes and sleep but my mind is never at ease.

“For the first time I have ticked off every single box in terms of my aims and objectives in 2016 when I fell severely ill for the second time.

“In this generation that we live in when people achieve great things, good things, bad things the very first thing they do is go to social media and announce it to the world.

“In my case the last thing I wanted to be was on social media even though I have just achieved my childhood dream to become a professional fighter, win and box on one of the biggest platforms in the world.

“I have just wanted to spend time with my three little sisters and my Mum. They are why I do this.

“I couldn’t care less about social media right now. I know I won after three years out of the ring. I came out and beat a good opponent for my introduction to the world of professional boxing.

“Over the last few years I have had a lot of pressure from family to pursue a different career, but I stuck by my guns even though at times I may have looked stubborn, ignorant and naïve.”

Kumuteo is enjoying short break in Scotland, but returns to the gym next week and hopes promoter Frank Warren will give him a date for his second professional fight.

Even though his debut was on a behind closed doors show, Kumuteo was shocked when he stepped between the ropes at York Hall, Bethnal Green and saw Arrowsmith across the ring.

“I honestly thought I was in a video game,” explained the 25-year-old who arrived in London aged seven after escaping war-ravaged Democratic of Congo.

“I am not generally a nervous person because I have been through so much. It’s like they have been taken out of me.

“Doing my short ringwalk I was fine, but when I got in the ring and saw the bright lights around the venue. I thought I was in a video game.

“I saw the 32Red logo, a bright blue canvas and everything on point. I seriously thought I was in a game.

“Then it hit me, and I thought, ‘I’m in a fight.’ I still didn’t feel like I was actually in the fight — just the video game.

“As soon as we touched gloves it hit me that fight time had come.

“I believe I controlled the fight and everything was off my jab. The foundations were there, but next time I need to up the gears.”

BELL GARDENS, CALIF. (May 10, 2021) – Former unified super bantamweight world champion Danny Román will look to take one step closer to regaining his champion status when he takes on Ricardo Espinoza Franco in the co-main event of action live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT) this Saturday, May 15 in a Premier Boxing Champions event from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, California.

The 31-year-old Román (27-3-1, 10 KOs) made his ring return after losing his unified titles in January 2020 last September, when he bested former champion Juan Carlos Payano on his way to a unanimous decision. The Los Angeles-native captured his first title with a 2017 stoppage of Shun Kubo, before unifying belts with a triumph over T.J. Doheny in 2019, and eventually lost the belts via a narrow decision against Murodjon Akhmadaliev.

Here is what Román had to say about his training camp, his matchup Saturday and more:

On his recent training camp:
“The final days of camp are wrapping up now before we head to the bubble. As always, the sparring we got was top notch. My coach Eddie González and I have relentlessly been working every day to get me in the best shape of my life. These last two months have been demanding, but I know all the hard work will all pay off on fight night.”

On fighting in Southern California on SHOWTIME:
“Everyone knows Southern California is a breeding ground for boxers and the fans always show support for their hometown fighters. SHOWTIME has had some tremendous fights showcased out here and I plan to keep that tradition going strong. I plan to put on an entertaining fight for the fans by being explosive with my effort.”

On his matchup with Ricardo Espinoza Franco:
“This is not going to be an easy fight because I know my opponent is a tough fighter from Tijuana who is coming with everything he’s got. He’s got a lot of power, so I must be smart on how I throw my combinations. I believe my experience in big fights is going to be the difference on May 15. I’m expecting a rough fight and I’m ready for an intense battle.”

On his quest to become a world champion once again:
“Everything I do in boxing from here on out is to regain my status as a world champion. I’ll do whatever it takes to put me back in that position. A victory on May 15 will get me one step closer to that goal. I know in my heart I will become a world champion once again.”

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ABOUT NERY VS. FIGUEROA
Nery vs. Figueroa will see two elite undefeated 122-pound champions meet as Luis Nery defends his WBC Super Bantamweight World Championship against Brandon Figueroa in a 12-round showdown live on SHOWTIME Saturday, May 15 from Dignity Health Sports Park in Carson, Calif. in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-feature, former unified super bantamweight world champion Danny Román faces Ricardo Espinoza Franco in a 10-round battle at 122 pounds, while undefeated rising star Xavier Martínez meets former world title challenger Juan Carlos Burgos in a WBA Super Featherweight Title Eliminator scheduled for 12 rounds to open the telecast.

The event is promoted by TGB Promotions. Martinez vs. Burgos is promoted in association with Mayweather Promotions.

Tickets are on sale now and can be purchased at AXS.com. Dignity Health Sports Park will be open to fans in a limited capacity, with all guests remaining socially distanced and subject to local and state health guidelines throughout the event.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/sports, www.PremierBoxingChampions.com, follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing and @TGBPromotions on Instagram @ShowtimeBoxing, @PremierBoxing and @TGBPromotions or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOBoxing.

LAS VEGAS (May 10, 2021) — The countdown is on, and WBC/WBO junior welterweight world champion Jose Ramirez is 12 days away from a legacy-defining undisputed showdown against Josh Taylor, Scotland’s IBF/WBA/Ring Magazine kingpin.
 
It’s business as usual for Ramirez, the 2012 U.S. Olympian from California’s Central Valley who hopes to become the first four-belt undisputed champion of Mexican descent. He’s spent the better part of two months training in Riverside, California, with Robert Garcia, who has guided his career inside the ring since after his March 2018 title-winning effort over Amir Imam.
 
With fight week seven days away, Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) is the prohibitive underdog for the first time in his professional career, as Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) is a more than 2-to-1 favorite at most sportsbooks. Ramirez is aware of public perception, but it doesn’t faze him as he enters the sixth world title fight of his career. Taylor earned the prestigious Ring Magazine belt with his October 2019 decision over Regis Prograis, but on May 22, the sport’s loftiest prize will be on the line.
 
As training camp winds down, this is what Ramirez had to say:
 
“I’ve always been the underdog. That’s my mentality. I am fighting for my place in boxing history. No boxer of Mexican descent has ever held all four world title belts. I’m aware that most people are picking against me, but that only fuels me further.”

“In my mind, I’m supposed to win this fight. I don’t let the outside noise get to me. No matter what you do, or who you beat, there’s always going to be somebody else out there. At this moment, that person is Josh Taylor.”
 
“We both wanted the fight, and I respect him for taking on the challenge. Josh and I are out to make history, and I know I will be the better man on May 22.”

“The odds are what they are, but the best junior welterweight, the undisputed champion, will be crowned May 22.”
 
About Ramirez vs. Taylor

Promoted by Top Rank, Ramirez vs. Taylor is a 12-round showdown for the undisputed junior welterweight world championship, which will take place Saturday, May 22 at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The event will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN Deportes (and simulcast on ESPN+) at 8:30 p.m. ET/5:30 p.m. PT

The telecast will also feature a 10-round junior welterweight battle between Jose “Chon” Zepeda and “Hammerin” Hank Lundy, in addition to an eight-round junior welterweight tilt between knockout artist Elvis “The Dominican Kid” Rodriguez and Kenneth “Bossman” Sims Jr.

LOS ANGELES, CA (May 10, 2021) – Thompson Boxing Promotions’ super featherweight prospect, George “El Yuyu” Acosta (12-1, 1 KO), picked a career-defining win this past Friday, May 7, 2021, as he defeated Gadwin Rosa (11-2, 9 KOs), at the Osceola Heritage Park in Kissimmee, FL. With the win, Acosta captured the vacant WBA Fedecentro Super Featherweight title. The event was promoted by All-Star Boxing and televised by Telemundo.

“I ready to step up and challenge all the top contenders at 130 pounds,” said Acosta. “I have never been one to call out names, but I know that I am deserving of a high-profile fight. I have fought above my weight for most of my career and took this fight on late notice and got the victory. I am ready for anyone and anything and am grateful to Thompson Boxing for believing in me.”

“We’re so proud of George Acosta,” were the first words of promoter Ken Thompson, “Acosta has been in tough early in his career, and now has found a weight class he is supremely confident in. I see Acosta as a fighter who will be getting a big fights as he marches on at super featherweight.”

“George Acosta has grown as a boxer and is the perfect example of a Thompson Boxing fighter,” said Alex Camponovo, Thompson Boxing’s general manager. “George has faced tough competition and learned from a loss, and now he is one of the exciting up-and-comers of Thompson Boxing. We are immensely proud of George.”

“I know that it takes a team to get to the next level and it also takes experience,” concluded Acosta. “I am 24-years-old, and I am right where I need to be. I have never been a disrespectful fighter. I do not call people out, or disrespect them, but I want people to know I am ready to fight anyone. I believe in my team and my promoter, and know good things are coming my way.”

George Acosta won by the following scores 96-94, 97-93 and 98-92, as he defeated Gadwin Rosa by unanimous decision.

Philadelphia, PA (May 10, 2021)– A very special day and night of professional boxing will take place on Saturday, June 5th as King’s Promotions will present a stacked day/night doubleheader at The 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

The start times are 3 PM and 8 PM ET.

In the afternoon main event, undefeated Devar Ferhadi takes on Blake Mansfield in a super middleweight contest scheduled for eight-rounds.

Capping off the night portion of the card will be a fantastic eight-round super middleweight clash featuring Brandon Robinson and Genc Pllana in a bout scheduled for eight-rounds.

Ferhadi of Frederick, Maryland, has a perfect record of 8-0 with seven knockouts. Ferhadi came to the United States from Iraq, and is also a medical doctor. Ferhadi is coming off a fifth-round stoppage over previously undefeated Vincent Baccus (4-0-1) on December 6, 2019 at the 2300 Arena.

Mansfield of Burlington, North Carolina has a record of 7-3-1 with four-knockouts. The 32 year-old Mansfield is a six-year pro who has wins over Hakeem Atkinson (1-0) and Antowyan Aikens (10-2-1). In his last outing, Mansfield lost to Aaron Casper on November 7th in Rock Hill, South Carolina.

Filling out the rest of the matinee card:

In six-round bouts: Greg Outlaw (8-0, 3 KOs) of Bowie, Maryland takes on Andrew Rodgers (4-9-2, 2 KOs) of Elkhart, Indiana in a super lightweight bout; Joseph Jackson (16-0, 12 KOs) of Greensboro, NC fights Terrence Williams (5-4-1, 1 KO) of York, PA in a junior middleweight clash; Kashon Hutchinson (7-5, 1 KO) of Reading, PA fights undefeated Edgar Torres (8-0-1, 4 KOs) of Woodbridge, VA in a welterweight contest.

In four-round bouts: Yahu Gavriel Blackwell (3-1, 2 KOs) of Baltimore, MD fights Nicoy Clarke (2-6) of Jersey City, NJ in a heavyweight bout. Also seeing action against opponents to be named will be debuting fighters in super lightweight Quadir Albright of Chester, PA against an opponent to be announced, and bantamweight LeAnna Cruz of Allentown, PA. fights Marissa Messer Belenchia (1-1) of East Haven, Connecticut.

Robinson of Upper Darby, PA has a record of 15-2 with 10 knockouts. The 32 year-old Robinson is a five-year professional. Robinson has wins over Brandon Clark (2-0), Ernest Amuzu (25-3) and Martez McGregor (8-2). Robinson, who has won four in a row, is coming off a 2nd round stoppage over Josue Obando on March 7, 2020 at The 2300 Arena.

Pllana of Hagerstown, Maryland by way of Kosovo, has a record of 8-3-1 with four knockouts. Pllana, 27 years-old is a four-year professional known as “The Sexy Albanian” and has wins over Jason Bell (3-0) and Kevin Newman II (11-1-1). Pllana is coming off a loss to Raphael Igbokwe on November 28th in Houston, Texas.

In six-round bouts: Rasheed Johnson (7-3, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia fights Rafiq Muhammad (4-0, 2 KOs) of Richmond, VA in a welterweight clash; Jonathan Rodriguez (8-1, 3 KOs) of Bethlehem, PA takes on Sebastian Baltazar (1-4) of Tacoma, WA in a bantamweight fight; Khainell Wheeler (4-1, 4 KOs) of Bethlehem, PA will fight Vincent Baccus (4-2-1, 3 KOs) of Okmulgee, OK in a super middleweight fight.

In four-round bouts: In a battle of undefeated lightweights James Bernadin (3-0-1, 2 KOs) of Lancaster, PA fights Osvaldo Morales (4-0, 2 KOs) of Harrisburg, PA; Elijah Morales (7-0, 4 KOs) of Trenton, NJ fights Andres Abarca (2-4) of Normandy Park, WA in a welterweight contest; Eric Monroe of Philadelphia will make his pro debut against Roudly Lolo (0-0-1) of Camp Hill, PA in a super middleweight affair.

Both cards will be streamed live on BXNGTV.com

Tickets start at $50 (for General Admission), $75, $100, $150 for Table Seating of 6 (Matinee Show Tables are Sold out) and can be purchased by calling 610-587-5950 or at Pivott Boxing (2807 North 6th Street in Philadelphia, 215-398-5766)

CHEATHAM COUNTY, TN (May 10, 2021) – Undefeated lightweight prospect, Tyler “Short Fuse” Tomlin (10-0, 6 KOs), is scheduled to make his promotional debut with DiBella Entertainment on May 14, 2021, in Murfreesboro, TN, against Tyrone “Hands of Stone” Luckey.

With under a week left until fight night, Tomlin gives his thoughts on training camp, making his DiBella debut, fighting in front of this home state fans, and more.

On his recent training camp:

“All the hard work is done and now it’s time to get a lot of rest during this final week of training camp. This camp has been very vigorous, but after today, I’ll be in recovery mode till fight night. In sparring, my timing is right on, and I’m feeling strong. I got some good rounds in with Austin Dulay, and I’m in great shape.”

On his matchup with Tyrone Luckey:

“Luckey has been in the ring with some big names like Ryan Garcia and Tevin Farmer. He’s also fought a lot of guys with undefeated records, so I know he’s coming to fight. My father has a great game plan that we’ve been executing during camp. I’m going to stay disciplined to that strategy and make adjustments as the fight goes on. If I get him hurt, I’m taking him out.”

On making his DiBella Entertainment debut:

“This is a big deal for me and my family. All we wanted was a promoter to believe in us and help build my brand in our home state of Tennessee. Lou DiBella stepped up and presented a deal that we couldn’t refuse. As soon as we signed, he put me in as the main event bout for this upcoming card. I’m ready to take the next step in my career with a seasoned promoter who knows the business.”

On fighting in front of his home state fans:

“Because I’ll be the final bout of the evening, all my hometown fans will be able to see some good action fights from the ladies. This is going to be a fun event, a big party, and I’m happy to be the special attraction. I’m expecting a lot of family, friends and sponsors to be in attendance. I can’t wait to put on a great show.”

Matt Young of Tri-Star Boxing Promotions is the co-promoter of this event and Tomlin is advised by noted boxing manager Peter Fernandez, of Tampa, Florida.

Tomlin vs. Luckey is scheduled for eight-rounds and will be the main event on a “Broadway Boxing Presents: Ladies Fight” extravaganza. Tomlin’s bout will not be streamed on UFC Fight Pass®, which will be showcasing all the women’s fights, so local fans wishing to see his fight are encouraged to buy tickets well in advance to ensure entry.

Tickets, starting at $35, are On Sale Now and can be purchased online at Broadway Boxing Tickets. Fans wishing to support Team Short Fuse should purchase seats or tables labeled “Tomlin.” The event is co-promoted by Matt Young’s Tri-Star Boxing. Embassy Suites by Hilton Nashville SE is located at 1200 Conference Center Boulevard, Murfreesboro, TN 37129, just outside of Nashville, TN. Doors will open on the night of the event at 6:30 p.m. local time.

The remainder of the May 14 event will be streamed live and exclusively on UFC FIGHT PASS®, the world’s leading streaming service for combat sports, at 8:30 p.m. ET / 5:30 p.m. PT, and will feature a world class, historic evening of exclusively women’s boxing. Broadway Boxing Presents: Ladies Fight is headlined by an eight-round lightweight contest between popular, former WBO featherweight world champion Heather “The Heat” Hardy (22-1, 4 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY, and Montreal, Canada’s Jessica “The Cobra” Camara (7-2).

To sign up for UFC FIGHT PASS®, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com, or download the UFC app.

Social Media
DiBella Entertainment
Instagram: @DiBellaEnt
Twitter: @LouDiBella, @DiBellaEnt
Facebook: @DiBellaEntertainment

Tyler Tomlin
Instagram: @_TyTomlin
Twitter: @_TyTomlin
Facebook: @TyTomlin123

Ellis Hopkins is set to make history at the AO Arena, Manchester this Saturday May 15 after landing a last minute spot on the Joshua Buatsi vs. Daniel Blenda Dos Santos undercard. 

The former amateur standout from Coalville in Leicestershire will become the first woman from the traveller community to make the move from amateur to professional boxing when she clashes with Borislava Goranova on her highly-anticipated pro debut.

Hopkins represented England for a number of years and won numerous accolades such as the Youth National Championship and a Tri Nations Silver medal in 2017, and is now delighted to be making her pro debut on such a big stage.

“I’m really excited to make my professional debut,” said Hopkins. “It’s been a long time coming with delays due to COVID, but it’s been worth the wait as I now get to make my debut on a Matchroom show and you can’t really get any better than that, so a huge thanks to Matchroom and MTK Global for allowing it to happen.

“The last year has been so hard to keep focused, especially when I’ve had four or five fight dates that all got cancelled due to COVID, so now I can’t wait to get in the ring and get started.

“When I first started boxing, women’s boxing wasn’t really a thing. There weren’t any girls in the gym and now nearly every card has a women’s bout on. The women’s fights are usually more exciting than the men’s fights, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it.

“It’s a very proud achievement to be the first woman from the travelling community to turn professional. When you compare it to the amateurs, there isn’t a lot of traveller boys that turn over, so to be the first ever girl to do it is a massive thing for our community, and I hope more travelling girls can follow in my footsteps.

“I’d like to say I have an exciting style as I can box and I can fight too. Things move fast with female boxing so I want to be busy this year, and hopefully next year I’ll be boxing for titles.”

Hopkins vs. Goranova tops a huge night of boxing in Manchester, Joshua Buatsi (13-0, 11 KOs) fights under Virgil Hunter for the first time against unbeaten Frenchman Daniel Blenda Dos Santos (15-0, 8 KOs)three European Title fights feature on the bill with Gamal Yafai (18-1, 10 KOs) defending his Super-Bantamweight Title for the first time against Jason Cunningham (28-6, 6 KOs), Tommy McCarthy (17-2, 18 KOs) defending his Cruiserweight crown against Romania’s Alexandru Jur (19-4, 7 KOs) and Lerrone Richards (14-0, 3 KOs) taking on Italy’s Giovanni De Carolis (28-9-1, 13 KOs) for the vacant Super-Middleweight strap, Dalton Smith (7-0, 6 KOs) takes on Lee Appleyard (16-5-1, 5 KOs) for the vacant English Super-Lightweight Title after their February clash fell through at short notice and Birmingham Heavyweight Solomon Dacres makes his professional debut.

(Hoboken, NJ)–May 10, 2021– Silver Bow signs 18 year-old European amateur standout Valeriy Zagrafov to a multi-year promotional agreement. Zagrafov recently escaped war in Crimea to find a home in the birthplace of boxing, Athens Greece. Before he left Crimea, Zagrafov won gold medals at 56kg (123-pounds) in several tournaments in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria and now in Greece.

“It is my job and my hobby. It’s what I love to do. All I do is train and fight,” said Zagrafov.

“There really is something special about Valeriy. I feel he will do major things in the sport,” said Bill Halkias of Silver Bow.

“It is with great honor and joy that our athlete Valerios is about to commence his journey in the world of professional boxing. After a great amateur career, Valerios will take on the professional rankings with great ambition and aspirations to become a top contender in his division. As a manager, I am very proud and honored for him and for the agreement with the prestigious promotion of Bill Halkias,” stated Giannis Moustakas, the manager of Zagrafov

Said trainer, Nikos Gidakos,”After nine years of hard work, patience and dedication, we are delighted to have one of our best athletes Valerios Zagrafov on his way to the US, the Mecca of boxing and sports! Valerios is a virtuoso of the sport, with great fighting spirit and great character! I am extremely enthusiastic, and it means the world to me that Valerios will be given the chance to showcase his boxing ability on the world boxing stage. I am also honored, and I’d like to warmly thank Bill Halkias for his contribution to the agreement, and we are looking forward to our cooperation! It is a great feeling as a coach to see our athlete achieving his goals and fulfilling his dreams and we will be beside him always!”

Zagrafov plans to come to the USA this summer for sparring and to discuss his pro debut on Silver Bow’s ChampBox Boxing Series.

Joshua Buatsi says he is excited to showcase his improvements under new trainer Virgil Hunter when he defends his WBA International Light-Heavyweight Title against unbeaten Frenchman Daniel Blenda Dos Santos at the AO Arena, Manchester this Saturday May 15, live on Sky Sports in the UK and on DAZN in the US and more than 200 countries and territories.

Croydon’s Buatsi (13-0, 11 KOs) came through the toughest test of his career as he stopped brave Croatian Marko Calic in seven brutal rounds to retain his WBA ranking belt in the main event at the Marshall Arena in Milton Keynes last October.

The 28-year-old has since travelled to San Francisco in the US to team up with renowned coach Hunter, who guided the career of pound-for-pound star Andre Ward – and former Olympian ‘JB’ is confident the move will strengthen his pursuit of a World Title fight. 

“In my last fight I found out that if I have to dig deep because it’s not going my way, I’m capable of doing it,” said Buatsi. “That’s in the bank now. Before that fight I thought it was in the bank, I was convinced it was in the bank, but I’d never been tested. Now that I have been tested and I had to show a bit of guts, I know it’s there.

“I met Virgil Hunter at the first Joshua vs. Ruiz fight in New York in 2019. I went over to him to introduce myself and he told me he knew who I was. I told him I was going to come and train with him one day, and he said the door to his gym was open whenever I was ready. After my last fight in October I said, ‘I’m out of here’. I’ve come out here to learn more and add things to my game. 

“It’s totally different living out here. It’s great, it’s nice and the views are amazing, I’ve never seen anything like it, but I’m here just for boxing. The main goal is purely to come out here to gain experience and learn as much as I can. It’s going really well so far. 

“I wasn’t really watching a lot of professional boxing in the amateurs. I started to watch it when I was about 17 or 18. I came across Andre Ward and started watching his fights, listening out for what he was being told in the corner and stuff like that. I knew then Virgil was a good trainer. I said at the time I’d love to be trained by Virgil, but I didn’t ever think in a million years I’d be in the States training with him. 

“Sometimes in the corner, it’s not really even boxing advice that he’s giving me, it’s just something totally different. It’s linked to boxing, so I’ll do it and I’ll be like, ‘cool, that worked’. It’s a whole different spin and approach from him but I’m really enjoying it. 

“As always, I look to go in there, and I look to handle business. I don’t really go too much into reading about opponents and their previous fights, because how they boxed someone else is not how they’re going to box me. I’ll be there listening to the instructions that Virgil is going to give me. I’m very excited. I’m looking forward to showing people what I’ve been learning out here. 

“Ultimately, I’m fighting to win. However it looks, my primary goal is to always win. We’ll be stepping up. Whoever they put in front of me, I’ll look to get rid of them and to keep building and learning. I’ve got older heads around me to guide what I’m doing. You have to consider what they’ve got to say because they’ve been there and done it. 

Buatsi vs. Dos Santos tops a huge night of boxing in Manchester,three European Title fights feature on the bill with Gamal Yafai (18-1, 10 KOs) defending his Super-Bantamweight Title for the first time against Jason Cunningham (28-6, 6 KOs), Tommy McCarthy (17-2, 18 KOs) defending his Cruiserweight crown against Romania’s Alexandru Jur (19-4, 7 KOs) and Lerrone Richards (14-0, 3 KOs) taking on Italy’s Giovanni De Carolis (28-9-1, 13 KOs) for the vacant Super-Middleweight strap, Dalton Smith (7-0, 6 KOs) takes on Lee Appleyard (16-5-1, 5 KOs) for the vacant English Super-Lightweight Title after their February clash fell through at short notice, Birmingham Heavyweight Solomon Dacres makes his professional debut and Ellis Hopkins makes history when she becomes the first female from the traveller community to turn professional.

London, UK (10 May 2021) Sam Eggington’s shootout against Carlos Molina for the WBC Silver Middleweight Championship headlines the Hennessy Sports show on Saturday 22nd May at the Coventry Skydome Arena, live and free on Channel 5, but chief-support Kaisee Benjamin and Martin Harkin are promising to eclipse that and deliver the fight of the night in their hotly anticipated British Welterweight Title Eliminator*.

Birmingham talent Benjamin, 25, is known for his laid-back manner, but he’s fired up like never before for the biggest fight of his career against the granite Scotsman who is equally hyped up and intent on causing a major upset on the night.

Midland’s Area Champion Benjamin knows a victory over Harkin, the reigning Celtic Welterweight Champion, will put him within touching distance of the British title holder Chris Jenkins and a dream shot at the Lonsdale belt – and he’s going all out on the night.

It’s a ‘pick ‘em’ fight with both boxers quite evenly matched; both have 14 fights apiece, silky skilled Benjamin has slightly more Championship experience, whilst Harkin has a small edge in power with three more stoppages than Benjamin.

“I’ve been accused of being too ‘chilled’ in my fights, but this British Title Eliminator has got me really pumped up and you could see something special,” Said Benjamin.

“Maybe the fights before haven’t really excited me, don’t get me wrong, all fights are important but maybe I needed that something extra to lift me to the next level and knowing that a win over Harkin will lead to the British title has given me that extra ‘oomph’,”

“It’s a big show that I’m featuring on, Sam’s in the main event in a big fight and I’m the chief supporting bout with the Channel 5 cameras on me so the stakes are a lot higher this time. Maybe that has a lot to do with it, but I can feel the heat already and I really want to get out there and perform,”

“I can’t wait to get in there and start doing my thing. Let’s see what Harkin is like for real in the ring. I know that I’ve got a solid chin, great work-rate and skills, can he match that? I don’t believe he can,”

“Sam’s fight against Molina is going to be a cracker, but I believe that me and Harkin will also be a real fire fight, we both want it bad and the one who wants it most will come out on top.”

Harkin, 29, from Dumbarton, says he’s ready to go right now and has had ample time to prepare for Benjamin, with plenty of top quality sparring against O’Hara Davies, Lewis Ritson and Mason Cartwright in the build up.

He said, “This is a great opportunity on a massive platform on Channel 5 for me to break my way in and get in a prime position to get a British title shot and I’m not going to blow it,”

“I’ve had plenty of notice for this fight so I’ve prepared like never before. Usually fights get sprung on you a last minute to catch you off guard or not in full training, but I’m fight ready for Benjamin. I’ve had the best sparring with some of the leading names in Davies, Ritson and Cartwright so I’m leaving no stone unturned,”

“Benjamin is a good fighter, he’ll be ready and so will I, it will be real tasty, but I’m coming to win.”

*British Welterweight Title Eliminator awaiting approval by BBBofC.

Presented by Hennessy Sports in association with William Hill, Infinitum, Numan, Everlast and King Carlos Promotions, Eggington v Molina will headline the exciting nine-fight card exclusively live and free-to-air across the UK and Ireland on Channel 5.

Main event features Birmingham warrior Sam Eggington (29-7-0, 17 KO’s) against Mexico’s hard-as-nails Carlos Molina (37-11-2, 12 KO’s) for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship. Chief support features a cracking showdown between Birmingham’s Kaisee Benjamin (11-1-1, 2 KO’s) and Dumbarton’s Martin Harkin (13-1-0, 5 KO’s) in an Eliminator for the British Welterweight Championship (Subject to BBBofC approval).

Also on the card, Coventry sensation River Wilson-Bent (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) makes the first defence of his Midlands Area Middleweight title against Derby’s George Farrell (5-0-0, 1 KO). Former British Light-Heavyweight Champion Shakan Pitters (14-1-0, 4 KO’s) has his first back against Bradford’s Jermaine Springer (7-2-0, 1 KO) in an eight-rounder since losing his title to Craig Richards last December. County Monaghan super-lightweight dynamo Stephen ‘The Hitman’ McKenna (7-0-0, 7 KO’s) features in a six-rounder, but the undefeated red-hot 24-year-old prospect has not needed to go the distance yet with all his fights ending inside. Birmingham middleweight bombshell Idris ‘The Bodybreaker’ Virgo (9-0-1, 1 KO) goes in over six-rounds. Sevenoaks all-action super-welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr. (5-1-1) is in a six-rounder against Warminster’s Paul Cummings. Irish super-welterweight ace Brett McGinty (1-0) follows up his thrilling pro debut last December when he features in a four-rounder against Birmingham’s Josh Hodgins. Brighton heavyweight talent Tommy Welch (1-0-0, 1 KO), son of the former British, Commonwealth and World Heavyweight title challenger Scott, follow’s up his explosive debut last December when he stopped Matt Gordon in the second round and features in a four-round contest.

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports

JAMES HENEGHAN BELIEVES he thrived in the brightly lit environment of making his first appearance under the Frank Warren banner a couple of weeks back.

The Mersey middleweight – although he states an intention to make it down to super welter – took himself to 5-0 in the pro ranks with a decision victory over Dwain Grant at York Hall.

However, he acknowledges that his hands-low, snappy punching style will be far more ideally suited to taking on an ambitious opponent, rather than one focused on survival and employing a high, tight guard.

That, Heneghan suspects, is when the stoppages will be added to his armoury.

“I enjoyed it,” reflected the 22-year-old. “I would have liked an opponent who was more into coming forward and wanted a bit more of a fight with me, but that will come in the next few fights.

“It was different from what I’ve been used to, it was a lot more high production and there was all the media, weigh-ins and stuff. I am just looking forward to doing it again.

“I think you have got to take it all in your stride because it is all part of it, so enjoying it is the main thing. Some fighters let it faze them a bit but you have got to go out there and take it all in.”

The stylish southpaw from the Wirral quite literally shoots from the hip when trading leather, a tactic less pleasing on the eye when an opponent is reluctant to return fire.

“It is definitely not,” concurred the John Gillies-trained puncher who was having his first pro fight outside of Liverpool. “My style looks the most effective when people are throwing at me and I’m making them miss. When they stop throwing at me it becomes less effective and I’ve got to go looking for it a bit more, which I can do, but prefer not to.

“We weren’t expecting it from him because he has taken rounds off good fighters and has even beaten an unbeaten one. We heard in the build-up he was coming to win so we were expecting a bit more from him, but people expect me not to hit hard because of my style and when I hit them I can see it in their faces that they are hurt and then they cover up.

“Maybe that is a factor,” added Heneghan, who now wants to get cracking onto more meaningful assignments with potentially titles on the table.

“Yeah definitely, I have said from the beginning that I am not in it just to build up a record that looks good. It will be hard, tough fights that bring the best out of me and you will see how effective my style is against people who come to win.

“I think being in competitive fights is the only way to show people how good I am. What I would like is to fight people of a similar age with a similar record and I have said that from the start. I want someone who will come to fight, another good prospect.”

Meanwhile, Heneghan went on to explain why the stage name of ‘The Wizard’ has been added to his ring moniker.

“When I first joined up with Warren Boxing Management they started calling me the ‘Whizz Kid’ but that one didn’t stick. I’ve changed it to ‘The Wizard’ now and hopefully it is because I am doing good things in the ring, so we will see how we go.”

FULL LINE UP

Alejandro Paulino vs. Earnest Walls
4 Rounds, Lightweights

Danny Robles vs. Michael Gaxiola
4 Rounds, Super Featherweights

Harry Gigliotti vs. Jader Oliveria
4 Rounds, Welterweights

Brandon Higgins vs. Calvin Glover
4 Rounds, Welterweights

Kris Jacobs vs. Robert Bricks
4 Rounds, Welterweights

Travis Gambardella vs. Antonio Chavez Fernandez
6 Rounds, Middleweights

Matt Doherty vs. Paulo De Souza
4 Rounds, Welterweights

Joshua Raineri vs. Montoyia Swilling
4 Rounds, Super Middleweights

Nick Molina vs. Bruno Dias
4 Rounds, Super Featherweights

James Perkins vs. Jesus Cintron
4 Rounds, Cruiserweights

Rico Depaolis vs.Francisco Neto
4 Rounds, Light Heavyweights

Laquan Lewis vs. Nate Charles
4 Rounds, Welterweights

Michael Bulger vs. Jay Gregory
4 Rounds, Middleweights

Kevin Walsh vs. Henry Garcia
4 Rounds, Lightweights

Christian Andrade vs. Kyle Massoth
4 Rounds, Bantamweights

Aaron Bernardo vs. Andrew Nolan
4 Rounds, Heavyweights
ABOUT BOSTON BOXING PROMOTIONS

Boston Boxing Promotions was founded in 2013 and is dedicated to the resurgence of professional boxing at the regional level, particularly in the New England area. Since that time, it has presented professional boxing events in places like Boston, Cape Cod, New Bedford and New Hampshire. Boston Boxing Promotions was the first independent boxing promoter on the east coast to hold an event during the pandemic, last August when they held an empty venue show in Windham, New Hampshire that was broadcast for free on YouTube and watched live by thousands of boxing fans worldwide. After the successful event, that featured numerous safety protocols including Covid-19 testing, Boston Boxing Promotions returned with 2 more matinee events again for free and broadcast online at www.youtube.com/bostonboxing. May 8th will be Boston Boxing’s final empty venue event before returning this July with back to back weekend shows with fans back in attendance.

Follow Boston Boxing Promotions on Social Media!

First Bell – 4.35pm CT

LIVE ON BEFORE THE BELL ON THE MATCHROOM YOUTUBE CHANNEL 

4 x 3 mins Super-Lightweight contest

Kelvin Davis 143.8lbs  vs      Jan Marsalek 140.4lbs
Norfolk, VA                              Pardubice, Czech Republic

Followed by

8 x 3 mins Welterweight contest

Christian Alan Gomez Duran 146.4lbs    vs.     Xavier Wilson 147.8lbs
Guadalajara, Mexico                                            San Antonio, TX

Followed by

6 x 3 mins Lightweight contest

Keyshawn Davis 138lbs        vs.     Jose Antonio Meza 138lbs
Norfolk, VA                                        Gomez Palacio, Mexico

Followed by

6 x 3 mins Super-Featherweight contest

Marc Castro 132.4lbs  vs.     Irving Macias Castillo 127.6lbs
Fresno, CA                             Monterrey, Mexico

MAIN CARD LIVE ON DAZN FROM 7PM CT

10 x 3 mins Heavyweight contest

Frank Sanchez 237.6lbs        vs. Nagy Aguilera 238.2lbs
Guantanamo, Cuba                       Houston, TX

Followed by

10 x 3 mins WBA Intercontinental Super-Welterweight title

Kieron Conway 154lbs          vs.     Souleymane Cissokho 153.6lbs
Northampton, UK                               Bagnolet, France

Followed by

12 x 3 mins WBO World Light-Flyweight title

Elwin Soto 107.8lbs     vs.     Katsunari Takayama 107.6lbs
Baja California, Mexico            Osaka, Japan

Followed by

12 x 3 mins WBC, WBA Super, WBO and Ring Magazine World Super-Middleweight unification

Canelo Alvarez   167.4lbs    vs.     Billy Joe Saunders 167.8lbs
Guadalajara, Mexico                        Hatfield, UK

PHILADELPHIA (MAY 7, 2021)–Weights for Saturday night’s RDR Promotions at the 2300 Arena

Rashiem Jefferson Jr. 127 lbs – Diuhl Olguin 127.9
Edgar Cortes 117.9 – Alexander Castellano 119.6
Shinard Bunch 142.2 – Diego Vicente Perez 142.7
Donald Smith 127.2 – Jonathan Lecona Ramos 127.3
Mark Dawson 147.5 – Rodrigo Solis 147.8
Rasheen Brown 129 – Nathan Benichou 129.8
Tahmir Smalls 148.2 – David Veras Pena 154
Christian Bermudez – 141.3 – Joseph Santana 135.2

PROMOTER: RDR Promotions
Venue: 2300 Arena
1st Bell: 7:30 PM ET
STREAM: BXNGTV.COM

PHILADELPHIA (MAY 7, 2021)–TOMORROW NIGHT, undefeated featherweight prospect Rashiem Jefferson Jr. takes a step up in competition when he takes on upset-specialist Diuhl Olguin in a six-round bout that will headline a big night of boxing at the 2300 Arena in Philadelphia.

The eight-bout show is promoted by RDR Promotions and be streamed live on BXNGTV.com

Jefferson, still just 19 years-old, has been a professional for one year, and defeated undefeated Nathan Benichou in pro debut on March 7, 2020.

Jefferson is 5-0 with one knockout and is coming off a 2nd round stoppage over Darel Harris on March 6th in Feasterville, Pa.

Olguin of Guadalajara, Mexico has a record of 15-16-4 with 10 knockouts.

The 32 year-old is in his 13th year of a professional career, and has upset wins over Horacio Garcia (32-2-1), Kevin Rivers Jr. (14-1) and his last bout when he stopped top-rated prospect David Navarro in six-rounds on March 10th in Uncasville, Connecticut.

In a co-feature bout, Edgar Cortes of Millville, New Jersey takes on undefeated Alexander Castellano in a bantamweight fight.

Cortes is 7-6-1 with one knockout. The 26 year-old is an eight-year professional, and is coming off his 1st stoppage win as he got Michael Stoute out of there in five rounds on March 6th in Feasterville, Pa.

Castellano of Tornawanda, New York is 4-0 with two knockouts.

The 28 year-old is a two year professional and is coming off a first-round stoppage over Raymond Locker on February 20th in Shelbyville, Kentucky.

In six-round bouts:

Donald Smith (11-1, 7 KOs) of Philadelphia takes on Jonathan Lecona Ramos (18-20-5, 6 KOs) of Mexico City in a featherweight bout.

Shinard Bunch (14-1, 12 KOs) of Trenton, NJ takes on Diego Vicente Perez (13-12-1, 12 KOs) of Buenos Aires, Argentina in a junior welterweight bout.

Mark Dawson (7-0-1, 3 KOs) of Philadelphia battles Rodrigo Solis (4-6-1, 2 KOs) of Cancun, Mexico in a welterweight bout.

Also seeing action in a four-round bout will be undefeated featherweight Rasheen Brown (7-0, 4 KOs) of Philadelphia against Nathan Benichou (2-3, 2 KOs) of Pueblo, MEX.

In four-round bouts:

Christian Bermudez (1-0, 1 KO) of Brooklyn, NY takes on Joseph Santana (0-3) of Providence, Rhode Island in a junior welterweight contest.

Welterweight Tahmir Smalls (3-0, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia, against David Vera Pena (0-4-1) of Annapolis, MD

Tickets are $50, $75, $100, $150 and $250 and can be purchased from the fighters or emailing rricerivew@yahoo.com

1st Bell is at 7 PM

All Covid-19 Protocols will be followed, and masks must be worn at all times.

LAS VEGAS (May 7, 2021) — There can be only one junior welterweight world champion. WBC/WBO champion Jose Ramirez (26-0, 17 KOs) will battle IBF/WBA king Josh Taylor (17-0, 13 KOs) for division supremacy Saturday, May 22 (ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 8:30 p.m. ET) at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
 
Before they go toe-to-toe, go behind the scenes of both fighters’ training camps with “Blood Sweat & Tears: Ramirez vs. Taylor,” a two-part docuseries chronicling the buildup to this cross-continental showdown. Part 1 premieres this Sunday, May 9 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT on ESPN2, while Part 2 drops on ESPN2 the following Sunday, May 16 at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
 
Immediately after the debut of each episode, they will be available for replay on-demand in the ESPN App and on ESPN.com.
 
Ramirez, the pride of California’s Central Valley, has been a world champion since March 2018. He unified world titles in July 2019 with a sensational knockout over Maurice Hooker and is coming off last August’s majority decision over former world champion Viktor Postol. The all-access cameras caught Ramirez at training camp in Riverside, California, and in the Central Valley as he led the charge with community leaders to make the COVID-19 vaccination readily available to the region’s agricultural workers.
 
Taylor, from Edinburgh, Scotland, hopes to become only the second undisputed champion in Scottish boxing history, following lightweight legend Ken Buchanan. “The Tartan Tornado” reached the division’s apex with title-winning efforts in 2019 over Ivan Baranchyk and Regis Prograis. The cameras followed Taylor from the start of training camp in London to the finishing touches in Las Vegas. Taylor’s head trainer, Ben Davison, helped guide heavyweight champion Tyson Fury’s return to the ring in 2018 after a prolonged absence.

LENNOX CLARKE has revealed that he only became a boxer after getting bashed up when he was challenged to spar.

The British and Commonwealth Super-Middleweight champion trained every day after clocking off from his job as an apprentice mechanic at his Dad’s garage.

Although Clarke trained in a boxing gym, fighting wasn’t on the agenda and he preferred to pump iron.

Clarke who upset Willy Hutchinson to win the vacant titles in March explained: “Straight from work I’d go to a gym where a few Travellers trained.

“I was lifting weights there. One day, a Traveller called Isaac asked me to spar so I got in the ring with him.

“The first time he blacked my eye and I vowed I would get him back for that.

“Every day I would go to the gym and spar with Isaac. After three weeks I was smashing him about.

“After I started getting the better of him he didn’t want to spar again and used to hide round the back of the lockers.

“I’d ask, ‘Where’s Isaac gone?’ but he would be hiding.”

Clarke had the bug and moved into white collar boxing before deciding to turn professional after being told he could crack it in the toughest sport of them all.

The Halesowen man said: “I started sparring Kevin McCauley who is a professional and he used to beat me up even though I was a much bigger lump.

“Eventually he said he wouldn’t be able to spar me because I was learning so much. I was bigger and a bit too heavy-handed.

“Kev sent me to Errol Johnson and we have been together ever since. It was a case of me learning on the job and sparring the pros.”

Clarke toiled on the small hall circuit for six years before promoter Frank Warren offered him a crack at Lerrone Richards for the vacant British and Commonwealth titles in November 2019.

He just fell short that night, dropping a split decision. But, when Warren gave him a chance to face Hutchinson when those belts were vacated, Clarke made the most of the opportunity in devastating fashion.

He added: “I’ve been on the small halls and it is hard what we go through at grass roots level by selling tickets.

“Sometimes I have thought; ‘Is it ever gonna happen for me? Is it ever gonna be worth it? Am I ever gonna get on telly? There are always a lot of questions.

“Now I have had my chance. I’ve been able to level my loss to Lerrone by knocking out Willy.

“I did a video chat with Frank after the fight with Willy and it was nice to speak with him. He accepted I was right when I said I would win. I know Frank is behind me.”

Warren has told Clarke he hopes to give him a defence of his titles this summer and the double champion is more than ready for the best in Britain before switching his attention even higher.

“Frank is looking at getting me out soon. There have been a few names mentioned, but I will fight anyone,” insisted Clarke who still helps out at his Dad’s garage.

“I am a white collar kid so all the pressure is on them. I just go in the ring, give my all and hopefully my best is enough.

“Who knows what is next. It’s nice to be the wanted man, but at British level I will knock them all out and I am being honest.”

London, UK (7 May 2021) Red hot Irish prospect Stephen McKenna has just completed the most beneficial sparring camp of his career with IBF & WBA Super World Super Lightweight Champion Josh Taylor ahead of the Scotsman’s mega fight with the WBC & WBO World Champion Jose Ramirez.

The undefeated young talent from Smithborough, County Monaghan, has been racking up the rounds with Taylor this last week in Las Vegas before the two unified World Champions collide in one of the biggest fights of the year on Saturday 22nd May.

‘The Hitman’ has previously shared two training camps with Ramirez where he sparred nearly 100 rounds in total with the American, which has given the fast-rising young star plenty of crucial and valuable learning experiences as he makes rapid progress in his own career.

McKenna won’t be at the fight, though, as he has his own fight lined up on the same night back in the UK when he features on his promoter Mick Hennessy’s big show at the Coventry Skydome Arena, headlined with the all-out war between Sam Eggington and Carlos Molina for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship, live and free on Channel 5.

Along with father and trainer Fergal and younger brother and top undefeated super-welterweight prospect Aaron, the fighting family first went to Mexico to train before heading to Los Angeles and then finishing off in Las Vegas.

McKenna is now desperate to get back in the ring with his last fight in December ending in a third round knockout of Devon’s durable Des Newton and hopes to show off what he’s learnt and the improvements made from his sparring with Taylor.

He said, “It’s great to be a part of Josh’s preparations for his fight with Jose Ramirez and it’s fantastic work for me to get in there with someone of Josh’s calibre, a man who’s a unified World champion and going for all the titles. It’s brilliant experience for me and I couldn’t be getting any better work in the gym than with him and I’m really in top form for my fight on May 22nd,”

“I’ve also sparred with Ramirez for a few training camps so I’ve been in the ring with the both of them. They’re two different style of fighters and its going to be a cracking fight and a fight of the year contender, no doubt about it, I’m really looking forward to it. It’s hard to say who’s going to win it but all I know is that it’s going to be a great, great, fight.”

“With Josh I’ve done nearly forty rounds and with the two training camps with Ramirez, nearly eighty rounds, so I I did a lot of work with Ramirez also, he’s a great fighter, the same with Josh. I know that I can go in and mix it with these guys and I’m up there at that level, I’m just really looking forward to getting up to the next level and then fighting for world titles.”

The 24-year-old has raised eyebrows with his ice-cold demeanour and frightening display of power-punching that has seen him establish a perfect seven fight record with seven knockouts. All of his wins have come inside five rounds with four of those in the opening round that has singled him out as one of the best and most exciting young fighters to keep an eye on in 2021.

McKenna continued, “I’m getting all the experience I need in the gym, when I go into a fight I go in there to knock people out and get the job done. I’m not really interested in going rounds in fights because I’m getting it in the gym sparring with world class fighters and I have been for the last couple of years to really learn the the game. Anytime I go into fight I’m going in for the knockout,”

“Just sharing the ring with Josh, he’s a different style of fighter to Ramirez, he’s a southpaw and very sharp. It’s about adapting to change my style of fighting, I can box on the front foot, I can stand off, I can change. I have many different ways of fighting different guys, southpaw or orthodox, I can box when I need to box and fight when I need to fight, it’s just about learning from Josh and seeing what level I’m at to be sharing a ring with him,”

“I’ll be heading back to Ireland on Sunday. On this trip we’ve been to Mexico, LA and finished in Vegas. I’m in the best shape of my career, I’ve improved so much, I just can’t wait to be back in the ring and live on Channel 5.”

Fergal is delighted with the trip and believes the experience will have benefitted his son no end as Stephen’s career steps up towards Championship contention. He said, “Stephen has been a benefit to Josh, he’s similar to Ramirez with his aggressive nature. When you bear in mind he helped Ramirez prepare, Stephen’s in a unique position to know both fighters, Ramirez is rough and rugged whereas Josh is very technical and has the speed,”

“It has given Josh a good opportunity to practice for the fight. It’s really interesting to see how Josh prepares and handles things and it’s another learning experience for Stephen to be mixing in this calibre. It’s only a matter of time until Stephen’s there at the top,”

“This was a real good move for us to come down to Vegas to get Josh. It was getting a bit stale in LA, no one wanted to spar and they were asking for money to spar with Stephen. When we got the offer to come down and spar with Josh, we said we’ll take it as it will fix the problem we have and we tied in with another gym to accommodate Aaron,”

“It’s the confidence the fighter gains for mixing at that level and it is what someone like Steven gets out of this training camp so he’s coming away knowing that in his next fight he’s been in Josh Taylor’s training camp. Stephen’s in tremendous shape, he’s probably in the best shape I’ve ever seen him in and probably at the fittest I’ve ever seen him in.”

Presented by Hennessy Sports in association with William Hill, Infinitum, Numan, Everlast and King Carlos Promotions, Eggington v Molina will headline the exciting nine-fight card exclusively live and free-to-air across the UK and Ireland on Channel 5.

Main event features Birmingham warrior Sam Eggington (29-7-0, 17 KO’s) against Mexico’s hard-as-nails Carlos Molina (37-11-2, 12 KO’s) for the Vacant WBC Silver Middleweight Championship. Chief support features a cracking showdown between Birmingham’s Kaisee Benjamin (11-1-1, 2 KO’s) and Dumbarton’s Martin Harkin (13-1-0, 5 KO’s) in an Eliminator for the British Welterweight Championship (Subject to BBBofC approval).

Also on the card, Coventry sensation River Wilson-Bent (8-0-0, 4 KO’s) makes the first defence of his Midlands Area Middleweight title against Derby’s George Farrell (5-0-0, 1 KO). Former British Light-Heavyweight Champion Shakan Pitters (14-1-0, 4 KO’s) has his first back against Bradford’s Jermaine Springer (7-2-0, 1 KO) in an eight-rounder since losing his title to Craig Richards last December. County Monaghan super-lightweight dynamo Stephen ‘The Hitman’ McKenna (7-0-0, 7 KO’s) features in a six-rounder, but the undefeated red-hot 24-year-old prospect has not needed to go the distance yet with all his fights ending inside. Birmingham middleweight bombshell Idris ‘The Bodybreaker’ Virgo (9-0-1, 1 KO) goes in over six-rounds. Sevenoaks all-action super-welterweight Michael Hennessy Jr. (5-1-1) is in a six-rounder against Warminster’s Paul Cummings. Irish super-welterweight ace Brett McGinty (1-0) follows up his thrilling pro debut last December when he features in a four-rounder against Birmingham’s Josh Hodgins. Brighton heavyweight talent Tommy Welch (1-0-0, 1 KO), son of the former British, Commonwealth and World Heavyweight title challenger Scott, follow’s up his explosive debut last December when he stopped Matt Gordon in the second round and features in a four-round contest.

For further information go to www.hennessysports.com or social media: Facebook @HennessySports, Twitter @HennessySports and Instagram @hennessysports

Canelo Alvarez and Billy Joe Saunders are set to smash the record for the biggest indoor attendance for a boxing event in America as they prepare to meet in a Super-Middleweight unification battle at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Saturday May 8, live worldwide on DAZN and distributed by TV Azteca in Mexico and Latin America.

LIMITED TICKETS REMAIN ON SALE AT SEATGEEK.COM

Alvarez and Saunders already broke the pre-sale records for their clash on Saturday night and with over 65,000 tickets now sold with limited remaining, their tasty battle is set to overtake the rematch between Muhammad Ali and Leon Spinks at the Superdome in New Orleans in 1978 that drew 63,352 fans.

Promoter Eddie Hearn has been the driving force behind some of the biggest crowds in British boxing history, starting with Carl Froch and George Groves at Wembley Stadium in London, and then Heavyweight ruler Anthony Joshua OBE filling the same stadium against Wladimir Klitschko and Alexander Povetkin and also the Principality Stadium in Cardiff against Joseph Parker and Carlos Takam – and Hearn is thrilled to be putting boxing under the best of spotlights on Cinco de Mayo weekend.

“It’s one of the biggest events I’ve ever been involved in and this morning, we officially broke the record for the biggest indoor crowd in American boxing history,” said Hearn.

“We will have 70,000 people in the AT&T Stadium on Saturday night – I am absolutely buzzing for this, I think this could be the best atmosphere we’ve ever seen.

“The numbers for this fight are tracking great, and I think that this is just great for everyone – the biggest live event since the pandemic struck, and boxing has done that. It just shows that when you get it right, we have a monstrous sport on our hands.

“Boxing is being showcased on Saturday. We can be as proud as peacocks on the night as everyone around the world will be watching, they will see the atmosphere and say ‘wow, this is boxing!’ People have to tune in to watch this atmosphere and product and say, ‘this is the place to be’. And everyone watching on Saturday will be in awe of it – the event, the fight, the ring walks, everything.  

“I’m excited for Billy to be able to go out there and show what he’s said he’s always been able to do, and I am excited for Saul because the atmosphere for him is going to be incredible – so may the best man win.”

Alvarez and Saunders clash on a huge night of action in Texas with a stacked undercard in support of the mammoth main event, with Elwin Soto (18-1 12 KOs) defending his WBO World Light-Flyweight title against Katsunari Takayama (32-8 12 KOs).

Kieron Conway (16-1-1 3 KOs) defends his WBA Intercontinental Super-Welterweight title against Souleymane Cissokho (12-0 8 KOs), Eddy Reynoso trained Cuban Heavyweight Frank Sanchez (17-0 13 KOs) meets Nagy Aguilera (21-10 14 KOs), Mexican-American talent Marc Castro (2-0 2 KOs) fights on his third Canelo undercard, Castro’s old amateur foe Keyshawn Davis (2-0 2 KOs) faces Jose Antonio Meza (6-4 1 KO) over six rounds and it’s a family affair on the night with Keyshawn’s brother Kelvin Davis (1-0 1 KO) fights for the second time in the paid ranks, with Mexican Welterweight Christian Alan Gomez Duran (19-2-1 17 KOs) celebrating Cinco De Mayo weekend over eight rounds against an opponent to be named soon.

MIAMI, FL. (May 6, 2021) – All-time boxing great and 2020 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Floyd “Money” Mayweather and social media sensation Logan “The Maverick” Paul met face-to-face Thursday at a media event to preview their special exhibition match that headlines a SHOWTIME PPV event on Sunday, June 6.

The event is presented by Mayweather Promotions, Fanmio and Mavathltcs and will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida.

Mayweather and Paul gave their initial thoughts on the showdown and traded trash talk during the event that took place at Hard Rock Stadium. After the formal portion of the press event, a scuffle between the two camps ensued following an incident between Mayweather and Logan’s brother, Jake Paul (watch HERE).

“It’s one thing to sell a fight, and people can say what they want, but one thing no one is going to do, is disrespect me,” said Mayweather.

“Floyd came out of retirement, just to get re-retired,” said Paul. “I’m about to beat the greatest fighter of all time.”

Thursday’s event also included former NFL star wide receiver Chad Johnson, who will be making his boxing debut in an exhibition match against an opponent to be announced on the pay-per-view undercard.

The pay-per-view begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will also include a pair of intriguing professional boxing showdowns, as WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal and two-division world champion Badou Jack meet in a 12-round rematch in the co-main event. Plus, former unified super welterweight champion “Swift” Jarrett Hurd returns to the ring to face Luis Arias in a 10-round bout.

For more information about ticket on-sale, please visit https://hardrockstadium.com/mayweather-v-paul/

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For more information visit www.SHO.com/sports, www.mayweatherpromotions.com and www.fanmio.com, the Official Digital PPV provider. Follow on Twitter @FloydMayweather, @LoganPaul, @SHOWTIMEBoxing, @MayweatherPromo and @Fanmio, and on Instagram @FloydMayweather, @LoganPaul, @ShowtimeBoxing, @MayweatherPromotions and @Fanmio.

Canelo Alvarez
 
“I feel really thankful with the response of the people and that boxing is a sport that brings everything back to normal. I’m ready for this fight.”
 
“He’s a great fighter, he has a lot of ability and he’s a southpaw. I’m not the same fighter I was six or seven years ago, this Saturday I will show that.”
 
“I’ve been involved in a lot of big fights and this is just another day at the office. I come to win, like I said boxing is my life and I come here to win.”
 
Eddy Reynoso
 
“It’ll be a great fight, two of the best middleweight fighters in the world in front of 70,000 people – especially after the pandemic. It gives me a lot of joy and honour to be there as a Mexican in the ring.”
 
“He’s a great fighter, he’s a two-time champion for a reason. He has a good trainer, he knows how to defend, he moves around really well. We know it’s going to be a good fight on and off the ring.”
 
Billy Joe Saunders
 
“I’ve been boxing all my life, I’ve been boxing since I was five years old, I’ve dragged up – on the gypsy camps. We can all have the rough, tough talk growing up as kids. I’m here for a reason, there’s no other reasons for me to be here apart from to win. Not about fame or anything else, to win.
 
“I don’t think we’ve had somebody come to win for a very long time. We’ve had a lot of people turn up, collect cheques and fly out but we haven’t had the heart, soul and IQ that I’ll bring to the ring on Saturday night to win.
 
“I can’t talk what he’s done down, he’s done brilliant things for boxing. He’s a good champion but like I said, there’s a time in life where you get tested, sometimes when you forget where come from and forget all those hard things that’s brought you to where you’re at sometimes that can make it difficult on yourself. I think he’s going to be bumping into the wrong man Saturday night to be going home with titles. I’m looking forward to a very good fight but most definitely the win.
 
“I think I’ve been up against the crowds before; I’ve travelled as an amateur to the Olympics game at 18, there’s no bigger pressure on someone’s shoulders when they’re stepping in front of millions of people there.
 
“There’s added pressure coming for both of us for this fight because both of us don’t want to go home the loser. At the end of the day, half the Mexican people like him, half don’t, so hopefully half that don’t like him will be supporting the Gypsy boy, we’ll get it rocking and rolling. This is for all the Gypsies back home, everyone in the UK, plus half the Mexicans, get behind me.”
 
Tom Saunders
 
“He’s been boxing since he was five years old, he’s amateur pedigree is second to none. Everything is there and we’re ready for the job.
 
“This is what we’ve been waiting for, he’s trained all his life for it. We’ve left no stone unturned and on fight night you’re going to see something special. There’s only one winner, that’s Billy Joe Saunders.
 
“I’ve been speaking to a lot of people back home and the UK’s right behind him. There’s a lot of gypsy magic in this fight, there’s a spell been cast so we’ll definitely see something special.”
 
Elwin Soto
 
“I’m very happy for this opportunity, he’s a really good fighter and we’re going to come out here and try to do a good job.”
 
“It’s a great emotion inside, it’s a great opportunity that was given to be and I have to take advantage. I’m very happy inside.”
 
“I want to come out victorious this Saturday and after that maybe think about unify at 108 pounds and continue to move forward.”
 
Katsunari Takayama
 
“First of all, thank you for giving me this great opportunity. On Saturday, I look forward to giving back the title from two different divisions.
 
“Soto is a very angry and aggressive fighter, very strong punches. I’m ready to fight on Saturday.” 
 
Kieron Conway
 
“If I didn’t believe I could win I wouldn’t be here. It’s good to finally be here, it took a long time to get that visa – I didn’t think it was going to happen. If anything, it’s made it better for me, we’re getting the job done, looking to put in a decent performance on Saturday night and really impress.
 
“That’s what it’s all about, taking the opportunity. I’m not nervous yet, this is my job – it’s boxing. I’ve got nothing to be nervous about, this is what dreams are. I came from small hall boxing, making no money when I was fighting, sometimes even losing money to fight.
 
“Now I’m here, there’s no pressure on me, I’m here to put on a real solid performance on and come out with the win. I’m excited and ready to go.
 
“All those guys are looking for the right route, the easy route, the one they think is comfortable. Including Ted with Metcalfe, it is what it is with that fight. I’m here to test myself, Soule is a very good fighter, I’m here to show I’m the best of that division.”
 
Souleymane Cissokho
 
“I’m very excited, I take this fight very serious. I know he’s a good fighter, he’s confident so I’m ready to go.
 
“We had good preparation for this fight, a good camp, the sparring was good. Josh is ready, more than ready for his next fight. I’m ready to go for Saturday and next for Josh.
 
“In front of 70,000 people, that’s amazing. This is a big blessing for me, this is a huge card and I’m very happy to be here. My first international belt on the line, that’s very good for me – I’m more than ready.”
 
Marc Castro
 
“All I can say is, I’ve been blessed. I had a lot of major setbacks in 2020 but to be on my third Canelo card I feel like this is all God’s plan all along.
 
“I feel good with this opponent, it’s a major step up – I feel like we had lost ground from my last fight but I’m happy with this opponent. I work hard every fight so it’s going to show.”
 
Frank Sanchez
 
“Truth is, I’ve come to do my job. I want to show everything but I’m going to do my fight and if the knockout comes, it comes.
 
“I feel really happy with the preparation, everything come out okay and I’m happy with the work we’ve done.
 
“I feel ready to face them whenever that happens, whenever it is, when it happens, I’ll come out, do my job – I feel ready for anything right now.”
 
Nagy Aguilera
 
“It’s a huge opportunity for me, I’ve been training really hard. I was training for another fight, but it got cancelled twice. Three weeks out they call me, and I really liked this fight. I stayed in shape and accepted the fight – I really like this match.
 
“This is a good opportunity, he’s a good fighter – top of the world right now. This will change my whole career and life. I’m been training, I’ve been doing my thing, I’m healthy and I’ll have to do what I have to do.”
 
Keyshawn Davis
 
“I’m glad I’m back here, with DAZN, makes me feel like I’m at home for some reason. I appreciate the love you’ve been showing me and my brother – life is great right now.
 
“I feel like my major statement is going to be this Saturday. I want to show my comfortability in the ring, I want to show that I’m progressing each fight. I’m pretty sure I’m going to show that this Saturday.
 
“I want to start looking like a real professional fighter in there only going six rounds. I want to show these top guys right now that Keyshawn Davis is here, he’s coming and he’s on your heels.
 
“Kelvin’s a great fighter, he’s 1-0 fighting a fighter who’s 8-2. I feel like that speaks a lot about him, I feel like Kelvin is going to shock a lot of people. He’s 6’0, 140, southpaw, lengthy, power, strength, he really has everything I have except from the big opportunities that I had. Now he’s got one this Saturday and I feel like he’s going to show everything he can come to the table with.”
 
Kelvin Davis
 
“This is a really big for me. I’ve been fighting all my life for an opportunity like this, so I’m really blessed for the opportunity. This is my time to showcase my talent and what I can really do.
 
“We competed in any sport we played before we got into boxing. When we got into boxing and fighting, we pushed each other, competed at home, just got each other better – mentally stronger and physically stronger to be able to fight on a stage like this.”
 
Christian Alan Gomez Duran
 
“Truth is, it’s a great opportunity and I want to thank you for allowing me to be on this card. I’m going to give it my all on Saturday, show all the preparation that’s gone in and hopefully have a good result.
 
“The plan for me is to do as much as I can in boxing and if there’s something more than being the champion of the world, we’re going to work towards achieving that as well.”

NEW YORK – (May 6, 2021) – All-time boxing great and 2020 International Boxing Hall of Fame inductee Floyd “Money” Mayweather will make his return to the ring as the undefeated, 12-time, five-division world champion squares off in an exhibition bout against social media sensation and pro boxer Logan “The Maverick” Paul, headlining a blockbuster SHOWTIME PPV event on Sunday, June 6. The anticipated clash pits superstars from two different worlds in a must-see showdown for sports and entertainment fans around the globe.

The event is presented by Mayweather Promotions, Fanmio and Mavathltcs and will take place at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. The pay-per-view event also will feature a pair of intriguing professional boxing showdowns, as WBA Light Heavyweight Champion Jean Pascal and two-division world champion Badou Jack meet in a 12-round rematch in the co-main event. Plus, former unified super welterweight champion “Swift” Jarrett Hurd returns to the ring to face Luis Arias in a 10-round bout.

In a fourth PPV bout, former NFL star wide receiver Chad Johnson will make his boxing debut in an exhibition match against an opponent to be announced. After years of off-season training with Mayweather in Las Vegas, the man once named Chad Ochocinco will test his skills in the boxing ring and bring his unique brand of fan-friendly entertainment to the star-studded event.

The pay-per-view telecast will begin live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT on Sunday, June 6.  Tickets for the live event at Hard Rock Stadium will go on sale next week with additional details regarding tickets and the pay-per-view telecast to be announced shortly.

Mayweather, who was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020, has a perfect 50-0 record with 27 knockouts. He racked up 12 world titles in five weight divisions during his illustrious career that spanned three decades. His brilliant boxing resume includes 24 wins over world champions, including Manny Pacquiao, Oscar De La Hoya and Canelo Alvarez. During his career, he was named the world’s highest paid athlete multiple times by Forbes, Fortune and Sports Illustrated. Mayweather has accumulated numerous “Fighter of the Year” awards, including five ESPY Awards and two Boxing Writers Association of America awards. His 2015 showdown with Pacquiao shattered the all-time pay-per-view television record with 4.6 million buys, a record that still stands. Mayweather last fought in a boxing exhibition on New Year’s Eve 2018 in Japan. His last professional boxing match was his 2017 stoppage win over Conor McGregor, the second biggest pay-per-view event in television history. 

As Mayweather dominated boxing en route to a perfect professional record and international stardom, Paul rose to fame on the internet. Paul, 26, welcomed the world into his life on various social media platforms including YouTube, where he has amassed more than 20 million subscribers. His legions of devoted fans supported him as he stepped into professional boxing in 2019 and sold out the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles in his six-round debut against fellow YouTube star KSI. The Ohio native is a former high school wrestling standout and has been training for more than two years. Now, he readies himself to face an undefeated boxing legend. While Paul stands six inches taller than Mayweather and owns an 18-year age advantage, the social media sensation will be challenging the best boxer of his generation, in his arena.

Pascal (35-6-1, 20 KOs) earned a narrow split-decision victory over Jack in their December 2019 title showdown that saw both men hit the canvas. Prior to that fight, Pascal captured his interim title by handing Marcus Browne the first defeat of his professional career. Pascal scored four knockdowns in that fight, eventually earning a close technical decision when a cut suffered by Browne on an accidental head butt stopped the fight after eight rounds. The 38-year-old has been in the ring with the top fighters of his era during his brilliant career, including Bernard Hopkins, Sergey Kovalev, Carl Froch, Lucian Bute, and Chad Dawson. Pascal, who was born in Port-Au-Prince, Haiti and now lives in Laval, Quebec, won his first light heavyweight world title with a unanimous decision over Adrian Diaconu in 2009.

Jack (22-3-3, 13 KOs) will look to avenge the razor-thin defeat he suffered to Pascal in their first match. Jack mounted an impressive rally on the scorecards that nearly turned the match in his favor. Born in Stockholm, Jack (who represented his father’s home country of Gambia in the 2008 Olympics) now lives in Las Vegas. Jack won the 168-pound world title with a majority decision against Anthony Dirrell in 2015 and successfully defended the belt three times before being handed a hard-fought majority draw against James DeGale in one of 2017’s best fights. In his first bout at 175 pounds, Jack stopped Nathan Cleverly to pick up the WBA light heavyweight title before fighting to a majority draw against then WBC champion Adonis Stevenson in May 2018. In his most recent outing, Jack won a unanimous decision over Blake McKernan in November 2020.

The 30-year-old Hurd (24-1, 16 KOs) unified the WBA and IBF 154-pound titles in 2018, dropping longtime champion Erislandy Lara in the final round to win a close decision in a fight that was the unanimous 2018 Fight of the Year. The Accokeek, Maryland native lost the titles in one of 2019’s best fights, dropping a decision to Julian Williams. Hurd first became champion in February 2017 when he stopped former champion Tony Harrison in the ninth round, before going on to defend the title against another former champion in Austin Trout. Most recently, Hurd scored a unanimous decision victory over Francisco Santana in January 2020.

Born in Milwaukee, Arias (18-2-1, 9 KOs) will return to the ring for the first time since August 2019 when he takes on Hurd on June 6. The 30-year-old has faced some of the best in the middleweight division, including going the distance with former middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs in a 2017 duel. Arias racked up wins in his first 18 pro fights after turning pro in 2012 and is now training in Las Vegas as he prepares for this fight.

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For more information visit www.SHO.com/sports, www.mayweatherpromotions.com and www.fanmio.com, the Official Digital PPV provider. Follow on Twitter @FloydMayweather, @LoganPaul, @SHOWTIMEBoxing, @MayweatherPromo and @Fanmio, and on Instagram @FloydMayweather, @LoganPaul, @ShowtimeBoxing, @MayweatherPromotions and @Fanmio.

About Showtime Networks Inc.

Showtime Networks Inc. (SNI), a wholly owned subsidiary of ViacomCBS Inc., owns and operates the premium service SHOWTIME^®, which features critically acclaimed original series, provocative documentaries, box-office hit films, comedy and music specials and hard-hitting sports. SHOWTIME is available as a stand-alone streaming service across all major streaming devices and Showtime.com, as well as via cable, DBS, telco and streaming video providers. SNI also operates the premium services THE MOVIE CHANNEL^™ and FLIX^®, as well as on demand versions of all three brands. SNI markets and distributes sports and entertainment events for exhibition to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis through SHOWTIME PPV^®. For more information, go to www.SHO.com. 

About Mayweather Promotions

Based in the entertainment capital of the world, Las Vegas, Mayweather Promotions was established in 2007 by 12-time World Champion and undefeated boxing icon, Floyd “Money” Mayweather. Mayweather Promotions seamlessly promotes all forms of live entertainment. We are the past, present & future of sports & entertainment.

About Fanmio

Fanmio, an online platform that connects fans with celebrities by creating one-of-a-kind, online fan experiences, was founded in 2017 by its CEO Solomon Engel.  In 2020, Fanmio Boxing was born when Engel connected with 12-Time and Five-Division World Champion Floyd Mayweather and social media phenomenon Logan Paul to negotiate and sign their exhibition bout.  Now partnered with renowned boxing promoter Mayweather Promotions and leader in televised boxing SHOWTIME, Fanmio Boxing is the official digital pay-per-view provider of Mayweather vs. Logan Paul through its online platform www.fanmio.com as well as its mobile and smart TV apps which are available worldwide.

About Mavathltcs

MAV Athletics is an American multinational corporation that is engaged in the design, development, manufacturing, and worldwide marketing and sales of apparel, accessories, and services.

About Hard Rock Stadium

Hard Rock Stadium is a global entertainment destination that completed a $755 million, multi-year renovation privately funded by Managing General Partner & Chairman of the Board Stephen Ross to transform the iconic venue into the best Miami has to offer in world-class fare, art, culture and an elevated guest experience. Home to the Miami Dolphins, University of Miami college football, Formula 1 Miami Grand Prix, the Capital One Orange Bowl game, Jazz in the Gardens, Rolling Loud and the Miami Open presented by Itau, Hard Rock Stadium features world-class entertainment and demonstrates its versatility in hosting a wide variety of events. The stadium has hosted six Super Bowls (XXIII, XXIX, XXXIII, XLI, XLIV and LIV), the 2010 NFL Pro Bowl and five BCS National Championship Games (2001, 2005, 2009, 2013 and 2021). El Clasico Miami, the first meeting of soccer giants Real Madrid and Barcelona in North America, was hosted at the venue in 2017.

DENZEL BENTLEY IS banishing the demons of his bruising British title defeat against Felix Cash by quickly getting himself back to work at the new Peacock Gym in Epping.

Middleweight Bentley, 26, was parted from his treasured Lonsdale belt by Wokingham man Cash when referee Victor Loughlin stepped in to stop proceedings in the third round at York Hall 12 days ago.

While initially devastated over the loss of his belt and unbeaten record, Bentley is now able to look at the bigger picture and accept that in accepting highly competitive fights between unbeaten champions, something has to give.

“I’m alright, I’m good,” reflected the former champion. “I am just getting back to work and getting ready to go again, really. It would be nice and lovely to go through your career undefeated and stuff, but it is what it is.

“I am not one of these guys who has been boxing my whole life and I wasn’t expecting to go through my career without a defeat.

“He was big, but I still felt I could beat him, regardless of the size. I thought I could out-skill him but he made the decision to over-commit to his shots so when I was pulling out he could catch me.

“He obviously stunned me a bit and I do know when I pull out I do it with my hands down. It worked for him and there is nothing I can do about it now.”

Battersea boy Bentley now acknowledges that some sporting perspective is required in dealing with his disappointment.

“If I am being honest with you, I took that loss bad. Because of the way I lost and that I didn’t get to show what I can really do. Nowhere near did I show the best of myself and not even half of what I can do. I was in there, too over-reactive and didn’t get to settle.

“In my mind I thought as the rounds went on I would settle, but I didn’t get the chance to.

“That is probably what is most annoying and I took it really bad. After the fight my family and friends came over to the venue just to make sure I was okay and, at first, I didn’t want to see them. Martin and Ray (trainers) said I can’t do that so I went out and more people turned up.

“My brother said it, ‘you’d have thought someone had died – you lost a fight’, but I took it bad. One hundred per cent I need to put it in a sporting context, I get it, but it was my first loss and it was always going to be hard.

“I don’t plan on losing again and I will always put my all on the line, but I lost a 50-50 and somebody had to lose. A lot of people don’t take these fights. I’ve got to live with it and it doesn’t change my perspective because I still want to be in these fights.

“From the start I wanted to be one of the best in Britain and the only way I can do that is to be in these types of fights. Not by swerving guys and going different routes.”