LOS ANGELES (March 22, 2017) – Golden Boy Promotions today announced that it has signed WBC Youth Intercontinental Lightweight Champion and knockout artist Romero Duno (13-1, 12 KOs) to a multi-year promotional contract. Duno, of General Santos City, Phillipines, was last seen in the ring at the March 10 edition of LA FIGHT CLUB where he scored a second round knockout of Christian “Chimpa” Gonzalez (16-1, 14 KOs) to claim the WBC Youth Intercontinental Lightweight title in his U.S. debut before a sold out crowd at the Belasco Theater and televised live on Estrella TV’s Boxeo Estelar.

“I am very thankful to Golden Boy Promotions for giving me a chance to showcase my talent on the big stage,” said Duno. “I also want to thank my team Sanman Boxing for believing in me. I still cant believe that this is happening to me, God is good.”

“We saw Romero’s power in the ring-he is the real deal,” said Golden Boy Promotions Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “He has exceptional power, along with the talent and desire to be a great fighter. He could be the next big boxing star from the Phillipines as time is on his side, and I’m pleased he chose Golden Boy to introduce him to a wider audience in the U.S.”

At just the age of 21, Duno has accumulated an impressive record that represents his speed and skill as a knockout artist with three of his last four wins coming by way of stoppage. Having turned pro in July 2014, Duno has fought only twice outside in native Phillipines: Russia in May 2016 where he experienced his first career loss and March 2017 at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles. Duno received a hero’s welcome when he returned home to the Phillipines from Los Angeles on March 22, with hundreds greeting and cheering him at the airport.

For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com; follow on Twitter @GoldenBoyBoxing; become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing; and follow on Instagram @GoldenBoyBoxing.

Kell Brook will defend his IBF World Welterweight title against US star Errol Spence at Bramall Lane in Sheffield on Saturday May 27, live on Sky Sports Box Office and on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING in the US.

Brook makes the fourth defence of his beloved IBF strap he landed in the States in August 2014 with a career-best win over Shawn Porter, and blitzed Jo Jo Dan, Frankie Gavin and Kevin Bizier before stepping up to Middleweight to face fearsome Kazakh Gennady Golovkin at The O2 in September – and now the Sheffield star welcomes another unbeaten superstar into the ring.

Undefeated Spence became the mandatory challenger for Brook’s belt when he blasted Leonard Bundu inside six rounds in August, the eighth straight stoppage win for the Texas-based New Yorker who went into the fight after destroying Chris Algieri inside four rounds two months earlier.

Brook and Spence now clash in the biggest fight in the 147lbs division, and the elite pairing are promising to deliver an electric night at the home of Sheffield United FC.

“I’m so excited about this fight and also about making history in my city,” said Brook. “It’s long been a dream of mine to fight outdoors at Bramall Lane and I’m pleased to do that in the biggest fight in the Welterweight division. I saw many people talk about how I would avoid Errol Spence – they don’t know me, they don’t know what I’m about. All I’ve ever wanted to do is to give the fans the fights they want and they have it right here on May 27 – I’m going to show the world that I’m the best Welterweight on the planet and I’m going to do it right before my people’s eyes.”

“I’m happy I’m finally getting an opportunity to accomplish a lifelong dream of becoming a World champion,” said Spence. “I feel that this is one of the best and biggest fights in world boxing and I am 100 per cent focused and determined to bring the belt back home to the USA – on May 27 I will be more than ready.”

“This is one of the best fights in world boxing,” said Brook’s promoter Eddie Hearn. “Many believed that Kell Brook would look to avoid Errol Spence but he is a proud man who never ducks a challenge. Coming off the fight with GGG this is an extremely tough fight to come back to but I believe Kell Brook is the best Welterweight in the world and he will have the chance to prove it on May 27. It’s ‘The Special One’ vs ‘The Truth’, a historic event at Sheffield United’s Bramall Lane – we are planning an unforgettable night.”

“This is great news for Kell and Sheffield United,” said Sheffield United director Scott McCabe. “We have been working with Matchroom for some time to bring this high profile fight to our Bramall Lane stadium where we have exciting plans to stage further significant events utilising the high standard facilities that have been developed by the Club in recent years.”

Brook and Spence come face-to-face at a press conference this week where Hearn will announce the ticket details for the event.

NEW YORK (March 21, 2017) – Undefeated former Russian amateur standout Dmitry Bivol will defend his Interim WBA Light Heavyweight Title against Samuel Clarkson in the 12-round main event of ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, April 14 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) at MGM National Harbor in National Harbor, Md., j just outside of Washington, D.C.

Known for his aggressive style, Bivol (9-0, 7 KOs, 2-0 WSB) was a prominent amateur who is now determined to make his mark in one of boxing’s toughest weight classes. Clarkson (19-3, 12 KOs), of Cedar Hill, Texas, has won his last nine fights in a row and will make his third appearance on ShoBox.

In a co-featured matchup of undefeated welterweight prospects, former amateur standouts Juan Ruiz (18-0, 11 KOs) and Malik Hawkins (10-0, 7 KOs) will square off in an eight-round 147-pound bout.

In the telecast opener, Baltimore featherweight Glenn Dezurn (8-0, 6 KOs), who is trained by the renowned Barry Hunter, will take on an opponent to be named in an eight-round bout.

Tickets for the event, which is promoted by Greg Cohen Promotions and Banner Promotions in association with World of Boxing and Uprising Promotions, are priced at $103, $73 and $48 and can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com or by phone at 800.745.3000.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Samuel Clarkson – 12 Round Light Heavyweight Bout:
Bivol, who compiled an impressive amateur record of 285-15, is looking to break through in a division which features the likes of Adonis Stevenson, Andre Ward, Sergey Kovalev and Badou Jack. Last May in Moscow, the 26-year-old won the Interim WBA Light Heavyweight Title in only his seventh professional fight with a unanimous decision over previously undefeated Felix Valera.

Bivol has since won twice, both times on Russian soil, including a fourth-round knockout of Robert Berridge in defense of his interim belt.

“I am very glad that this will be my first fight televised in the U.S.,” said Bivol, who is fighting for the third time in America. “It’s great that this is main event because that motivates me. Clarkson is a good defensive fighter. He can be aggressive and I expect this to be a tough fight. I look forward to introducing myself to American fans with a great performance, and I plan to defend my title with an exciting victory.”

Clarkson has registered nine consecutive victories following a loss to the current unbeaten Jesse Hart (21-0). Clarkson moved up in weight to beat Cedric Agnew (27-1) in February 2015, and has ShoBox knockout wins over Jerry Odom (13-1) in July 2015 and Lavarn Harvell (15-1) in October 2015.

“This is a huge opportunity to prove my abilities to the world,” Clarkson said. “Bivol is a crafty fighter from Russia and had a very impressive amateur career, mostly at 165 pounds. He’s a good fighter and I definitely have to bring my A-game.

“I’m ready for the challenge because I do really well against European fighters. European fighters are slow and come forward a lot, and they’re not big on head movement. We are working hard and have a lot of guys in the gym who fight with a similar style. By fight time I’ll be ready for anything he has.

“I had to make up my mind if I wanted to be the lion or the lamb and, in the end, I decided I don’t like losing. I rededicated myself and now I can’t be stopped.”

Juan Ruiz vs. Malik Hawkins – Eight-Round Welterweight Bout:
The son of a former fighter, Ruiz is originally from Venezuela and fights out of Baja California, Mexico. He lost just eight times in 220 amateur fights, was a six-time Venezuela national champion and was part of the Venezuelan National Team. The undefeated Ruiz has won via knockout in seven of his last nine fights.

“This is a golden ticket for me to show what I’m capable of,” Ruiz said. “I will do my best to give the fans watching on TV and those attending the fight the best show possible.”

The 21-year-old Baltimore-resident Hawkins was 92-8 as an amateur and shares the same trainer – Calvin Ford – as stablemate and IBF Junior Lightweight Champion Gervonta Davis. Hawkins, who was the 2012 Bronze Medalist in the Junior Olympics, will face his toughest test to date in fellow undefeated Juan Ruiz.

“This is a huge chance for me to showcase my skills and show I belong among the best in the welterweight division,” Hawkins said. “There’s nothing he can bring I haven’t seen, and I plan on making him fight my fight.

“I get better when I fight talented fighters. To be honest, nobody I have fought so far has brought out the best in me, but I’m hoping that Ruiz does just that. A victory over him would put me in position to fight the opponents I need to fight to take that next step toward becoming a contender.”

Glenn Dezurn vs. TBD – Eight-Round Featherweight Bout:
The undefeated Dezurn, who was a three-sport star athlete in high school, was an amateur standout who compiled an 87-7 record in the unpaid ranks under the tutelage of Barry Hunter. The Baltimore native is married to female boxer and U.S. Olympic alternate Franchon Crews, who fought Claressa Shields in the amateurs and in her pro debut.

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

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

About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 68 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Omar Figueroa, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.

About MGM National Harbor
The newest addition to the MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM) portfolio, MGM National Harbor has an unrivaled setting offering stunning panoramic views of the eastern shore of the Potomac River in Maryland. The $1.4 billion LEED® Gold Certified resort, which opened December 8, 2016, sits a short distance from Washington, D.C. to the north and historic sites, including George Washington’s Mount Vernon estate across the river in Virginia. The 24-story, 308-room resort features premier amenities and experiences for locals as well as visitors from around the world including a dynamic casino with over 125,000 square feet of space that includes slots, table games and poker; a world-class spa and salon; an entertainment theater with flexible seating for up to 3,000; high-end branded retail; 50,000 square feet of meeting space; and restaurants from renowned local, national and international chefs. For more information, visit mgmnationalharbor.com or follow on Facebook and Twitter.

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in an action-packed battle last September in Manchester to capture the WBA crown. Crolla and Linares were neck-and-neck going into the sixth round until Linares rocked the hometown favorite with a series of shots that galvanized the Venezuelan toward a close 115-114, 115-113 and 117-111 unanimous decision.

The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares, who also holds the WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight belts, was pushed the 12-round distance in his career.

The WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face undefeated WBC Lightweight Champion Mikey Garcia, who will join host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi in New York for the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL presentation.

Below are fight week quotes from Linares and Crolla:

JORGE LINARES:

“Crolla could come better prepared than last time. Maybe he will throw more punches, maybe he will box more, I don’t really know. The most important thing is I hope he has worked really hard and comes in great condition so there are no excuses and no doubts after the fight.

“I can fight even better this time. Before the first fight I had a broken right hand and I hadn’t fought for a while. That’s always a factor, you know? Inactivity. I haven’t had any issues physically or mentally, so the preparation has been great. We did 129 rounds of sparring and everything has gone well up to this point.

“I know he has been quiet in the build-up, I don’t mind if he hasn’t spoken much lately. Let’s just hope it’s a clean fight like the first one.”

“The plans are in the future to get the biggest fights. Obviously the priority right now is to stay focused on Saturday but then I’ll look towards the big fights like against Mikey Garcia.

“I really think coming to train with Ismael Salas made the difference. It’s what helped me really establish myself as a professional fighter and to gain more experience. We learn ‘old school’ as Salas always says. It really has worked well for me in the two years I’ve been with him.”

“I feel really good because this time we had a lot more time to prepare. We did some of the training camp in Japan and then eight weeks in Las Vegas.

“I’m happy to be back here in England again and have another opportunity. I get treated very well, I feel comfortable fighting here. The fans here have a lot of boxing knowledge and they know me well. It’s nice, I feel at home.”

ANTHONY CROLLA:

“It will be another good fight, that’s for sure. Our styles gel really well and I don’t see how it can’t be another good fight, but this time I see a different winner. The key will be adapting. I might need to adapt a number of times in the fight but it is something I have trained for.

“I learned a lot from that fight. Linares has very good speed, very good ring craft and he used his big fight experience for when to take a rest, when to turn it on for the judges.

“This time I know I need to deal with the flashy combinations better, cut the ring off better and capitalize when he is open for shots.

“He has said he will come with another game plan but so will we. Last time I gave it everything, left it all in the ring, but I came up short. The right man won on the night and now I have a second chance at winning back the belt and beating a great fighter.

“I was disappointed I lost – you should never be happy with losing – but I was satisfied I gave everything on the night. When I watched it again there were things in the fight where I thought, ‘why didn’t I do this, why didn’t I do that’, but that is what I did do in the heat of the battle.

“You see people online saying Linares is a level above and that he outclassed me – he obviously didn’t outclass me because two of the judges only had a point in it. The right man won and now I need to show my improvements and make sure the result is different.

“Last time out in Manchester I lost a close fight but with the improvements I have been making in the gym I believe this time it will be a different result.

“The rematch was always top of my list. Linares is top of the pile in the lightweight division and if there was a chance of having a rematch that was always more important to me than any other fight. I want to fight the best and be involved in the big fights and that’s what this is.

“I want the chance to stake my claim as the best lightweight in the world by going out there and beating him.

“I wasn’t going to turn down a rematch to try and ease myself back into title contention. I want these big fights; these big nights in Manchester are what I thrive on.

“I feel better than I have ever felt. Camp has gone really well and there will certainly be no excuses. I have had no distractions outside of camp and everything is good. It is a matter now of showing in the ring tonight the improvements I have been showing in the gym.

“I have had no social life for the past few months and I will walk to the ring knowing that, knowing I have prepared in the best way I possibly can. There will be no ‘what if I had done this’, ‘what if I had done that’ – I have prepared the best I possibly can.”

MOSCOW (March 21, 2017) – M-1 Global has ordered an Interim M-1 Challenge bantamweight title fight, due to a long-term injury to reigning champion Pavel Vitruk, between top contenders Alexey Nevzorov and Movsar Evloev at M-1 Challenge 76, April 22, in Ingushetia, Russia.

Representing the famed Alexander Nevsky OEMK Team in Stary Oskol, Russia, the home gym for living legend Fedor Emelianenko, Nevsorov (12-2-0, M-1: 6-1-0) has won his last three fights, including a second-round stoppage of Andrey Lezhnev this past December at M-1 Challenge 73, and a three-round decision last September over Timur Nagibin at M-1 Challenge 70.

Nevorov (pictured above) will be dropping down in weight from featherweight to bantamweight to fight for the title.

Also Russian fighter, Evloev (6-0-0, M-1: 6-0-0) is coming off the best victory of his young career, positioning himself for this title shot with a three-round decision over his much more experienced foe, American opponent Lee Morrison (see pictured below), at M-1 Challenge 73.

Known for his tremendous physicality, coupled with an excellent grappling game and diverse striking skill set, Nevzorov has been tabbed as a future MMA star.

A featherweight match between Russian Timur Nagibin (8-2-0, M-1: 4-1-0) and Brazilian Diego D’Avila (18-5-0, M-1: 1-0-0) has also been announced for M-1 Challenge 76.

Nagibin is coming off an impressive third-round stoppage (punches) of Kurbanali Abdusalamov at M-1 Challenge 72 last November, while D’Avila won his M-1 Global debut last, choking out Zalimbeg Omarov for the M-1 Challenge 73 Submission of the Night.

INFORMATION:

www.M1Global.tv
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www.wmmaa.org

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@M1GlobalNews
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@M1Global

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ABOUT M-1 GLOBAL: Founded in 1997, M-1 Global has established itself in Mixed Martial Arts (MMA) as the premier entity for discovering and developing the world’s next-generation of superstar fighters. With its office in St Petersburg, Russia, the M-1 brand has staged more than 160 events worldwide, including M-1 Selection, M-1 Challenge, M-1 Global and M-1 Global HWGP events, in addition to co-promoting Strikeforce events and M-1 Global on the U.S. network, Showtime. Captivating live, television and broadband audiences with its superior production values and match-ups, M-1 Global events have featured some of the sport’s top names, including legendary heavyweight Fedor Emelianenko, Andrei Arlovski, Gegard Mousasi, Alistair Overeem, Keith Jardine, Ben Rothwell, Melvin Manhoef, Sergei Kharitonov, Aleksander Emelianenko, Roman Zentsov, Yushin Okami, Mike Pyle, Denis Kang, Martin Kampmann, Amar Suloev, Chalid Arrab and Stephan Struve. 2016 was been another sensational year of world-class competition, featuring a full calendar of Challenge events, fueled by a talent-rich contention system ranking M-1 Global Champions among the greatest fighters in the sport.

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

LOS ANGELES (March 21, 2017) – The long awaited debut of Golden Boy Boxing on ESPN is nearly here. On Thursday, March 23, Irish middleweight contender Jason “El Animal” Quigley (12-0, 10 KOs) will showcase his skills against the hard-punching Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia (23-3, 15 KOs) in a 10-round main event battle for the vacant NABF middleweight title. In the co-main event, Coachella’s Randy “El Matador” Caballero (23-0, 14 KOs) will campaign to become a two-division world champion as he combats for the NABF super bantamweight title against Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz (35-7-5, 24 KOs) in a 10-round affair; and making her pro-debut on the national TV broadcast, 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist and highly decorated amateur Marlen Esparza will participate in a four-round flyweight fight against Rachel Sazoff (0-2).

The fighters shared their final thoughts ahead the fights, which will air live from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino in Indio, California on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT.

Below is what the fighters had to say:

Jason “El Animal” Quigley, Middleweight Contender:

“I’m delighted to be headlining on ESPN on Thursday; it’s a great honor and opportunity. My camp has been amazing – all the hard work has been put in, and I’m ready. I plan on putting on a great show for my American audience and my friends, family and fans back home in Donegal, Ireland.

“If Tapia wants a war, I’ll give him a war…I’m prepared for anything. Winning this fight brings me one step closer to my dream, winning the NABF title will be fantastic, I still have a long way to go, and am dedicated to making my dream of being a world champion come true.”

Glen “Jersey Boy” Tapia, Former WBO NABO Super Welterweight Champion:

“I’m honestly really excited for this fight. Not only because it’s a televised ESPN fight for the NABF title but because it’s been a tough couple of years for my career. People are looking at this like this a make or break fight for me, and even though most people would hate to be in this position, I look at it as an opportunity to bounce back and show the world who Glen Tapia really is!

“I have a lot of fans that believe in me and have been waiting for my return, but I also have a lot of critics that question if I can do this, and that’s a challenge that I’m more than ready to take. My job is not to listen to the critics; my job is to handle my business in that ring and show them why I belong here.At the end of the day, I can sit here and talk about what I’m going to do to Quigley, but the truth is you guys don’t want to hear that. Actions speak louder than words so I’ll just show you guys on March 23rd.”

Randy “El Matador” Caballero,Former IBF World Bantamweight Champion:

“I’m excited to be back in the ring at Fantasy Springs Resort Casino. To make it even better I will be co-main event on ESPN. I am so grateful that Golden Boy Promotions is giving the opportunity to show my talents on ESPN.

“As for my opponent I know that he is a tough guy and is coming to win the NABF title. I’m sure this is a dream come true for him. That’s why I need to make sure that I’m 100%.”

Jesus “Estrella” Ruiz, Former WBC FECOMBOX Super Bantamweight Champion:

“I’m feeling very confident because we prepared well. I know we have a tough opponent but we’re ready to come and fight and be victorious come Thursday Night.”

Marlen Esparza, First Female Fighter Signed by Golden Boy Promotions and Former US Olympian:

“Honestly, I just want to get this fight over with! The first fight after a long period of time is the hardest, but my trainer Virgil Hunter has prepared me well to step back in. I know it won’t be the prettiest fight in terms of fighting style, but I need this fight to get back into the Marlen Esparza that was in the Olympics.”

“I feel pretty confident – come fight night, I will be wearing make-up, with my hair done because when I look good, I feel good which makes me fight well. I’m expecting an aggressive fighter, so I’m slowing down my training to just zone out and mentally be there.”

Quigley vs. Tapia is a 10-round battle for the vacant NABF Middleweight title presented by Golden Boy Promotions. The event is sponsored by Tecate “Born BOLD.” Doors open at 4:00 p.m. PT and the first fight begins at 4:00 p.m. PT. The ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes transmission begins live from Fantasy Springs Resort Casino at 10:00 p.m. ET/7:00 p.m. PT. The ESPN3 and WatchESPN App livestream of event will begin at approximately 5:30 p.m. PT through 7:00 p.m. PT.

Tickets priced starting at $25 are available for purchase at the Fantasy Springs Resort Casino box office, by calling 1-800-827-2946, or by purchasing online at www.FantasySprings.com.

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

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

OS ANGELES (March 21, 2017) – Former world title challenger Josesito “Riverside Rocky” Lopez (34-7, 19 KOs) will face Mexico’s Saul “Navajo” Corral (22-8, 13 KOs) in the 10-round main event of Premier Boxing Champions on FS1 and FOX Deportes Sunday, April 9 from The Novo at L.A. Live in downtown Los Angeles.

Televised coverage begins at 9:30 p.m. ET/6:30 p.m. PT and features unbeaten lightweight contender Alejandro “El Charro” Luna (21-0, 15 KOs) battling former title challenger Andrey Klimov (19-3, 9 KOs) in a 10-round bout plus the pro debut of 2016 U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas in a six-round super featherweight fight.

“I’m excited to get back in the ring as the main event and put on a show for the fans in Los Angeles,” said Lopez. “I’m looking for a world title shot and I believe I have the skills to beat any welterweight out there. This is going to be a great night of fights from start to finish. I’ve been training like never before and I can’t wait to show everybody.”

“I can’t wait to get in the ring and make the most of this opportunity to make a name for myself,” said Corral. “I’ve been training hard to be ready for anything Josesito brings. It’s going to be an exciting fight but I’m prepared to leave everything in the ring and get the victory.”

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

“I’m thrilled to be able to promote a great night of California-based PBC action here in Los Angeles headlined by the return of a local fan favorite, Josesito Lopez,” said Richard Schaefer, Chairman and CEO of RIngstar Sports. “Also we have Alejandro Luna, who is in a tough fight with his sights set on a world title and I can’t wait for U.S. Olympian Karlos Balderas to make his pro debut in what will be the start to a great career. This is a night at The Novo that you don’t want to miss.”

Always in action-packed fights and known for his exciting style and ability to triumph against the odds, Lopez is coming off of a dominant decision victory over Todd Manuel in December 2016. Proudly representing Riverside, California, Lopez has fought at the highest level of competition for years including challenges of Andre Berto, Canelo Alvarez and Marcos Maidana plus triumphs over Victor Ortiz, Mike Arnaoutis and Mike Dallas.

Representing Agua Prieta, Sonora, Mexico, Corral is the winner of 10 of his last twelve bouts entering April 9. The 30-year-old has fought professionally since 2006 and most recently went the distance in a 10-round decision loss to U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali. He won a Mexican title in July 2016 with a fifth-round stoppage of Francisco Medel and also challenged former champion Mike Alvarado amongst his 30 career bouts.

At just 25-years old, Luna has already put together an impressive 21 professional wins since turning pro in 2010. Fighting out of Bellflower, California he began his 2016 campaign by stopping veteran Alan Herrera before dominating previously once-beaten Naim Nelson on his way to a 10-round decision in August. He had previously defeated former world champion Cristobal Cruz and veteran Sergio Lopez on the way to amassing his perfect record.

Originally from Russia but now living and training in Beverly Hills, Klimov was unbeaten in his first 16 pro fights as he climbed up the world rankings. After dropping a decision to Terrence Crawford in 2013, he won three straight fights to earn his world title opportunity against Jose Pedraza. Klimov owns victories over John Molina Jr., Gabino Cota and Guillermo Avila.

Fighting out of Santa Maria, California, the 20-year-old Balderas is the son of Mexican parents who immigrated to the United States to give their children a better life. Balderas had an impressive amateur career that included a 2014 Youth National Championship, four National PAL championships and an impressive run in the World Series of Boxing. His amateur career culminated in a trip to the 2016 Olympic Games where he represented the U.S. and defeated fighters from Kazakhstan and Japan before a decision loss in the quarterfinals.

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

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

Katie Taylor will face former World title challenger Milena Kolena at the Manchester Arena on March 25, live on Sky Sports.

Taylor and Koleva were set to clash at The O2 in London on the undercard of Tony Bellew’s epic win over David Haye, but Koleva was forced out and replaced by Monica Gentili. Koleva comes into the bout having challenged for the IBF Super-Featherweight title in January and has boxed two more times for versions of a World strap, winning one in June 2015 at Featherweight.

Taylor stopped Gentili with a relentless barrage in the fifth round, and the Bray favourite is looking for a third stoppage in her first eight round contest since turning over in November, and Taylor believes the Bulgarian is the perfect yardstick to measure how close she is to fighting for honours.

“If I’m going to be targeting World title fights then I need to be progressing in every fight so I’m really excited about this weekend,” said Taylor. “I definitely think it will be a step up with the fight being scheduled for eight rounds and also the quality of the opponent.

“Koleva’s a good challenge for me at this point. I’ve watched some of her fights and she has been around the block, been in with some of the best girls in the world and always pushed them very hard so I’m expecting a tough fight.”

“I headed back to the US the day after the last fight and got straight back into training and sparring for this one. I definitely feel like I’ve made some adjustments and improvements again in the last few weeks. You have to improve all the time because as you progress the fights are only going to get tougher and tougher. It’s been a busy time but I’m feeling very good and it’s great to have these opportunities.”

Taylor’s fourth pro fight is part of a huge night of action in Manchester, topped by Linares and Crolla going toe-to-toe for the second time.

There’s a crossroads battle of Blackpool as Middleweights Brian Rose and Jack Arnfield lock horns and Martin J. Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Maxi Hughes in their third clash in the paid ranks.

Marcus Morrison defends his WBC International Middleweight strap against Jason Welborn, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni, Team GB Olympian Lawrence Okolie makes his pro debut, while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy, Nathan Wheatley and Sean McGoldrick.

Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.

Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

LAS VEGAS, NEV. (March 21, 2017) — Teiken Promotions and Top Rank®, have begun negotiations for the vacant World Boxing Association (WBA) middleweight world title between interim WBA middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam and undefeated No. 2 world-rated contender Ryota Murata.

“While N’Dam wants the fight to take place in France, Mr. Honda and I think this fight would do extremely well in Japan and we are pulling out all stops in trying to bring it there,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “Since winning Olympic gold in 2012, Ryota has developed a rabid fan base in Japan and we think those fans deserve to see their hero fight for his first professional world title. It would be a sensational event in Japan.”

N’Dam (35-2, 21 KOs), a native of Cameroon who fights out of Pantin,Seine-Saint-Denis, France, and a two-time world title challenger, regained the interim WBA middleweight crown for a second time on December 17, scoring a devastating first-round knockout of undefeated defending champion Alfonso Blanco in what many consider the Knockout of the Year for 2016.

Murata (12-0, 9 KOs), from Tokyo, Japan, won all four of his 2016 bouts by knockout in fights that took place in Shanghai, Hong Kong, Las Vegas and Tokyo. The six-foot fighter captured the Olympic gold medal in the middleweight division at the 2012 Olympics held in London. It was the first gold medal won by a Japanese boxer since Takao Sakurai in 1964, and also is the first-ever boxing medal in a weight class other than bantamweight or flyweight. Murata also became the 100th gold medalist in Japanese Olympic history.

Otto Wallin (17-0, 11 KOs) will get the chance to claim his first title when he makes his homecoming fight on April 22 against Italian Champion Gianluca Mandras (12-4, 5 KOs) for the WBA Continental Heavyweight Championship.

The 26 year-old from Sundsvall headlines the city’s first professional boxing event, which also features former two-time Olympian Kennedy Katende and female boxing star Mikaela Laurén, with more names to be announced shortly.

‘’I’m really looking forward to this fight,’’ says Wallin. ‘’Winning my first title would be a big step forward for me, and where better to do it than at home.

‘’Mandras is the current Italian Champion, and I’m sure he will provide me with a tough test, but I’m confident that my coach Joey Gamache will provide me with the right game plan to win.

‘’Fighting at home also gives me more motivation. No one is going to come into my backyard and beat me! I will have all my family and friends coming to support me, and I want put on a great show for the whole city to be proud of.

‘’I’ve always dreamed of fighting at home and I’ve always dreamed of winning titles. On April 22, I’m going to have the chance to achieve both of these things.

‘’This is a very important fight for me. Winning the Continental title will improve my rankings with the WBA and bring me closer to challenging for the World title. I’m still young and there is no need to rush, but it’s good to know I’m moving in the right direction.’’

‘’We’re happy to have secured this title opportunity for Otto,’’ said promoter Nisse Sauerland. ‘’And now, it’s up to him to deliver. Mandras is a solid opponent who will be coming to Sundsvall to win, but we believe Otto has what it takes to go all the way, and he can prove that my winning his first title on April 22.’’

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night are available online via www.biljettforum.se or by calling the ticket hotline on 0771-130 150. All the action will be shown live and exclusive across Scandinavia on Viaplay Fighting. For more information, please visit www.viaplay.se/fighting

NICE, CALIF. (March 21, 2017) – Unbeaten Cuban prospect Leduan Barthelemy (12-0, 6 KOs) will square-off against Reynaldo Blanco (14-3, 8 KOs) in a 10-round super featherweight contestthat headlines Premier Boxing Champions TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes, Tuesday, March 28 from Robinson Rancheria Resort and Casino in Nice, California.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and features exciting unbeaten Marcos Hernandez (9-0, 2 KOs) facing once-beaten Kyrone Davis (11-1, 5 KOs) in a 10-round super welterweight contest while undefeated prospect Malcolm McCallister (8-0, 8 KOs) competes in a six-round middleweight fight.

“I’m very grateful to be headlining on FS1 and FOX Deportes,” said Barthelemy. “My opponent is very durable and has never been stopped. I know he’s determined to win this fight, but so am I. I’m well prepared to go the distance if need be, but if I have him hurt, I’m going for the knockout. I’m going to dictate the pace with my game plan from the opening bell. Everyone should tune-in for a great night of fights!”

“I’m coming to get this win and ruin his record,” said Blanco. “I’m very grateful for the opportunity and I’m training hard in camp so that I’m ready for anything Barthelemy brings. I’ll leave it all in the ring and I believe I have what it takes to get the victory.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions, start at $20 and are on sale now. To purchase tickets, call the players club at (707) 262-4000.

The youngest brother of two-division world champion Rances and Olympic gold medalist Yan, Barthelemy picked up four victories in 2016 and started his 2017 campaign with a victory over Jesus Aguinaga. The 27-year-old fights out of Las Vegas by way of Cuba and will return to fight at the same venue where he defeated Ricardo Nunez last September and Pedro Melo last March.

Born in Nagua, Dominican Republic, Blanco lives and trains in Puerto Rico and most recently scored a second-round knockout of Gustavo Rodriguez in December 2016. The 29-year-old has fought professionally since 2012 and picked up a regional lightweight belt last January with a victory over previously unbeaten Angel Luis Ocasio and followed it up by winning the Dominican Republic lightweight title over previously undefeated Mario Beltre.

Unbeaten since turning pro in 2013, Hernandez has been triumphant in his last two appearances, both at the Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino. He defeated previously unbeaten Thomas Hill in an exciting brawl in July of last year and he followed that up with a dominant performance over once-beaten Antonio Urista in September. The 23-year-old fights out of Fresno, California and picked up three victories in 2015.

A two-time amateur National Champion fighting out of Wilmington, Delaware, Davis turned pro in 2014 after a stellar amateur career. Now 22-years-old, he earned wins in his first 10 starts before dropping a competitive contest to then unbeaten Junior Castillo in April. A two-time Pennsylvania Golden Gloves champion, Davis bounced back in his last outing with a dominant third-round stoppage of Carlos Gabriel Ozan in November.

Fighting out of Long Beach, California, McCallister turned pro in December 2014 and has knocked out every opponent he’s faced. The 26-year-old stayed busy in 2015 as he earned five victories before winning twice more in 2016. His last bout was also featured on FS1 and FOX Deportes as McCallister beat Gilberto Pereira dos Santos by seventh-round TKO at Robinson Rancheria Resort & Casino.

# # #

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

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

Star Boxing is bringing another exciting boxing show to the Paramount in Huntington, NY in spite of New York’s new insurance regulations which have otherwise destroyed pro boxing in New York.

In the main event, Hicksville, NY native Anthony Karperis (13-2 4KO’S) will be defending his New York State Jr. Welterweight title against Brooklyn, NY prospect Scott Burrell (12-2 8KO’S) in a 10 round contest at The Paramount in Huntington, NY on Friday, March 24, 2017.

The fight is expected to be an evenly matched local battle reminiscent of the glory days of local boxing in New York. Karperis a former martial arts second degree black-belt, was ranked #7 in North America before turning to boxing and winning the 2008 Golden Gloves.

Karperis has been thrilling fans at the Paramount where he has been working on becoming the next graduate of Star Boxing’s famous Rockin’ Fights series at the Paramount which has produced stars such as Chris Algieri, Joe Smith Jr. and Cletus Seldin.

BOTH MAIN EVENT FIGHTERS COLLEGE GRADUATES:

Karperis is a college graduate, receiving a Bachelor of Arts in film from Hofstra University. His opponent, Scott Burrell was born to Jamaican parents in Brooklyn NY, was raised in London, England.

Burrell graduated from Roehampton University in South London with bachelor of science in Business studies and Sports science. Scott’s twin brother, Dean Burrell, is a also fighting Friday at the Paramount, against another local favorite, Johnny Hernandez.
Both Scott and Dean Burrell were 5x London champions, Dean was national champion and 3x national finalist and Scott 2x national finalist. Both brothers won the Haringey International box-cup in 2009.

HELPING ATHLETES PLAN FUTURE

In keeping with the theme of highly educated gladiators, Star Boxing is pleased to announce it’s new sponsor, Legacy Advisors Financial Group. The advisory group which specializes in investment, protection and financial strategies has signed a multi-year agreement with Star Boxing which will include, among other aspects, assistance to Star Boxing fighters to help them maintain proper planning for their future.

Joe DeGuardia, (himself a former Golden Gloves Champion and Hofstra Law School Graduate) CEO of Star Boxing said: “I’m pleased to have Legacy Advisors as one of our new sponsors. They are dedicated to asset protection and we have always been interesting in linking our boxers with prudent advisors so we are happy to have them.

UNDERCARD BOUTS

The feature undercard bout will pit Woodhaven Jr. Welterweight Danny Gonzalez 12-0-1 (5 KO’s) in perhaps the toughest test of his career as he takes on experienced Allentown, PA brawler Jerome Rodriguez, 7-5-3 (2 KO’s), in an 8 round Jr. Welterweight match up. Both fighters are known for their fan friendly style which should make a heck of a battle come March 24th.

In another interesting local matchup, homegrown Huntington NY’s exciting Lightweight, Johnny “Hitman” Hernandez, 8-1 1KO takes on Dean “Badnewz” Burrell, 11-1 8KO’S, Brooklyn, NY in a 6 round contest.

Dean is the twin brother of main eventer Scott. Both Dean and Scott are highly educated college graduates. Johnny Hernandez has developed a large following at his hometown arena, but Dean and Scott expect to bring their loyal Brooklyn fans as well.

Also scheduled to appear are undefeated Welterweight Long Islanders Tyrone James, 3-0 (2 KO’s), of Elmont, NY taking on Alabama’s Quincy Brown, 1-4 in a 4 round Welterweight fight and Central Islip’s Terrell Bostic, 2-0 1KO squaring off against Brooklyn’s Grashino Yancy, 2-1 (1KO) in a 4 round Lightweight fight.

Promoter Joe DeGuardia had these comments about the undercard “I am pleased we are back at the Paramount. This is old school boxing, local fighters from the New York area stepping in the ring with each other. We have a fan-friendly main event with real local interest when Karperis and Scott Burrell battle for the NY Jr. Welter title. My matchmaker, Ron Katz, promises these 5 exciting match-ups will be ‘Paramount Punches in Bunches’, which is what our fans have become accustomed to at the Paramount. It will be another special night of fights at The Paramount on Friday night March 24th”.

Tickets may be purchased by calling Star Boxing 718 823-2000 or at www.starboxing.com, The Paramount box office 631 673-7300, or TICKETMASTER at ticketmaster.com 1 800 745-3000. Tickets are priced at $50 and up.

WEIGHIN: OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
Thursday, March 23, 2017 3pm
Modell’s Sporting Goods
www.modells.com
350 Walt Whitman Rd, Huntington Station, NY 11746
take pictures, meet fighters, get autographs

GET TICKETS FOR FIGHT NIGHT NOW!!!
FIGHTS: FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2016 AT
THE PARAMOUNT
CLICK HERE FOR TICKETS

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

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

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Jason Welborn says he’s the man to stop Marcus Morrison’s rise in the Middleweight division as they clash at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.

Welborn challenges Morrison for his WBC International title but for the Midlands man, there’s more than that on the line.

The 30 year old wants to get more outings on Matchroom shows having put on a great performance against Matthew Macklin on a recent Birmingham bill, and Welborn believes he may know too much for the unbeaten 24 year old, who is yet to go the ten-round distance that Welborn has done six times.

“No disrespect to Marcus, but he is somewhere I want to be,” said Welborn. “He has the support of Eddie Hearn and he is getting on these big bills. I am here now and I am coming to win. I am coming for him and I will go for it tonight. He will need to be switched on and I want him to come to me and give it what he has got.

“If he thinks he is the next up and coming he has got to get me out of the way and I am not going to let him.

“He is a stylish boxer but I know what I have to do to beat him and I will use my experience. In the last year I have been up and down so they probably think they have caught me at the right time but mentally everything is there now.

“I have MTK managing me so I am not doing things on my own, I have a team and sponsorship behind me. I have had a good eight-week camp where I have got stuck into my training.

“I have loads left in the tank. The times when I have had my shots have been last-minute notice and it has been hard. This time I have had a good eight-week camp like I should have been doing when I have had opportunities in the past.

“There is plenty left in me but I need to establish myself at this level. I can’t afford to be dropping back down to little shows now. After the Macklin fight I wanted to stay at that level and you would have seen the best of me but now is perfect timing. I have to prove myself at this weight.

“I am a strong Light-Middleweight so when I got the call for this fight at Middleweight I knew I would be strong there too. I just wanted to get into camp, enjoy it and get stuck in again.”

Welborn’s clash with Morrison is part of a huge night of action in Manchester as Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla meet in a World Lightweight unification rematch following their epic first encounter in September.

Martin J Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Maxi Hughes in their third meeting, Brian Rose and Jack Arnfield meet in the ‘Battle of Blackpool’ at Middleweight, Irish sensation Katie Taylor fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni.

Amateur standouts Lawrence Okolie and Sean McGoldrick make their pro debuts while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy and Nathan Wheatley.

Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.

Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

Kubrat Pulev (24-1, 13 KOs) will defend his WBA Intercontinental Heavyweight Championship against former World title challenger Kevin ‘Kingpin’ Johnson (30-7-1, 14 KOs) on Friday, April 28 at the Arena Armeec in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Pulev made a triumphant homecoming on December 3, 2016, fighting for the first time in his home country, and forcing former WBC World Champion Samuel Peter to retire after three rounds in front of a capacity crowd of 15,000 Bulgarian fans.

‘’It was an overwhelming experience for me to receive so much support from the crowd. I could feel the energy surging around the arena, and that gave me the power to win by stoppage,’’ said ‘The Cobra’, who is now looking forward to a second fight on home soil as he aims to secure a second shot at World honours.

‘’My number one goal is to fight for the World title, and on April 28, I will take another step towards achieving this goal. I’m already training hard to prove I am worthy to fight again for the heavyweight crown.

‘’Johnson is a tough opponent. You must only look at his resume to tell this will be a real challenge. He has shared the ring with many World-class fighters like Vitali Klitschko and Anthony Joshua.

‘’I know I will need to be at my best to beat him, but with the help of my coach Ulli Wegner and the support of the Bulgarian people, I’m confident my hand will be raised, and we will be able to celebrate another great night for Bulgarian boxing and another step towards me fulfilling my dream of becoming the Heavyweight Champion of the World.’’

‘’We’re delighted to be returning to the Arena Armeec for what promises to be another great night of boxing on April 28,’’ said promoter Kalle Sauerland. ‘’We have promoted shows all over the World, and I must say, the atmosphere in Sofia was second to none. The support that Kubrat receives from the Bulgarian people is special, and this will help him to reach the top.

‘’He faces a tough test against Kevin Johnson, who having fought many of the biggest names in the heavyweight division, has only been stopped once. Kubrat must prove himself once again, and show that he is ready for a World title challenge.’’

Further details including ticketing information will be announced shortly.

21 March 2017 – Singapore: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced a blockbuster Grappling Super-Match between former ONE Lightweight World Champion Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki and IBJJF World and Pan American Brazilian jiu-jitsu champion Garry Tonon. The matchup will be held at ONE: DYNASTY OF HEROES set for 26 May at the Singapore Indoor Stadium. The spectacular fight card is headlined by an exciting main event bout between ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion Angela “Unstoppable” Lee and top challenger Istela Nunes.

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

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “Shinya Aoki is considered probably the greatest grappler in all of mixed martial arts. His ability to scientifically break down opponents on the mat is nothing short of legendary in the industry. At the same time, Garry Tonon is known as one of the most exciting Brazilian jiu-jitsu competitors in the world. The Aoki-Tonon Grappling Super-Match is certainly a matchup that fans will not want to miss. Catch them in Singapore this May!”

Lightweight veteran Shinya “Tobikan Judan” Aoki of Shizuoka, Japan, is one of the world’s most decorated mixed martial artists. He is the DREAM Lightweight Champion, former Shooto Welterweight Champion, and the former ONE Lightweight World Champion. The 33-year-old Aoki is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Yuki Nakai and has won multiple grappling tournaments across the globe. He also holds a black belt in judo. A veteran in both MMA and the Brazilian jiu-jitsu scene, Aoki’s reputation as a grappling specialist is unrivaled.

Garry “The Lion Killer” Tonon of the United States is a Brazilian jiu-jitsu black belt under Tom deBlass and Ricardo Almeida. He is a No Gi specialist who has clinched multiple world titles at the IBJJF World and Pan American Championships. At age 14, Tonon fell in love with wrestling and grappling and has developed into a bonafide grappling superstar over the course of his career. He is a prominent fixture in submission-only format competitions such as Metamoris, Polaris and the Eddie Bravo Invitational.

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

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

By Jimmy Tobin-

Saturday night at Madison Square Garden, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez lost a majority decision to an unheralded if not entirely overlooked Thai fighter named Wisaksil “Srisaket Sor Rungvisai” Wangek in a fight that was not expected to confirm Gonzalez’ greatness yet did just that, judges’ appraisal of his performance be damned.

For those who have never been particularly enamoured with Gonzalez, those who find little intimidating about a prizefighter who barely meets the height requirements of a rollercoaster, or who are predisposed to antipathy whenever a collective enthusiasm swells too quickly and coincidently, too utterly, Gonzalez’ loss to a fighter likely to be remembered not by his name but by some strung together series of attributes like “That-Thai-Guy-Who-Beat-Chocolatito” must be satisfying. More so even, considering “The-Bum-That-Exposed-Roman” is Gonzalez’ fighting inferior in every way, owing any advantage he held Saturday night exclusively to size—which is to say, to little he could take much credit for. Nor does decrying the decision mitigate the defeat. Gonzalez was dropped in the first round and abused regularly, such that establishing his dominance in a manner that was convincing not simply in its craft but in the response that craft produced required every one of the 33 remaining minutes he had.

Gonzalez falling just short should not come as a complete surprise both because of the diminished returns Gonzalez has found as a super flyweight and because he has been pursuing defeat his entire career. In hindsight, it is easy to trace a fighter’s path to defeat, to see the harbingers of the inevitable often overlooked in victory. This applies to Gonzalez as well, who is still a near-perfect weapon but one now short on firepower (ever a problem for an undersized pressure fighter). Yet Gonzalez is special in the way that he willingly, consistently put himself in a position to encourage this induction.

There is a telling moment in HBO’s “2 Days: Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez” where, speaking of fighters who have fallen short of their dreams, Gonzalez says: “They don’t realize that the more you win, the tougher the fights.” What is first striking about this statement is how naive it sounds. Gonzalez envisions a sport where fighters are not regularly rewarded for victories with easier fights, where their reputations are not frequently established off little more than a noteworthy win or two and preserved via machinations meant to secure a narrative rather than sound out the truth. And what of his speaking of tougher fights when so many of his fraternity would have employed the word “bigger”? It implies that Gonzalez still trusts in the role of meritocracy in his sport. Charming that; rare too, and indicative perhaps of what influence a country’s fighting idol can have on its gloved hopefuls. America, then, should not expect to produce the next Gonzalez.

His words also reveal the psychology of a fighter who pursues defeat; that it took Gonzalez twelve years to find it had nothing to do with risk aversion, his unbeaten streak is not the product of culling a feeble herd. A singular talent, that people still assert otherwise of Gonzalez when so many fighters make their reputations off the eye-test is baffling. In his march through four divisions, Gonzalez has cut down plenty of deserving adversaries while treating any Dierry Jeans, Dominic Wades, Blake Camparellos, and Alexander Brands he met along the way as a fighter of his stock should.

But you need know none of that—you need only watch him to understand what a unique fighter Gonzalez is.

And has he ever been greater than he was in the twelfth round Saturday night? When, with cuts from headbutts accidental and otherwise left his right eye streaming blood, taxed from twelve rounds with an opponent he could crack but not shatter, an opponent whose physical presence alone made demands of him that smaller better fighters could not, Gonzalez stepped to center ring and left no doubt about what kind of fighter he is?

While Wangek punched and pushed, pushed and held, Gonzalez set about his work: weaving into and chopping away at an opponent who more and more seemed eager to simply survive, to take whatever punishment he need to find sanctuary in a clinch. Using angles that not only allowed him to find softer targets for his punches but left his opponent one-handed, how masterfully did Gonzalez make his final bid for victory. There would be no dramatic stoppage, that much was clear, yet Gonzalez continued his assault, forcing the bigger, stronger, harder punching man into a fight he wanted little to do with until, finally spent, Gonzalez had to simply catch Wangek’s closing flurry on his gloves and offer one last jab as the bell sounded.

Against this latest daunting opponent, that effort was not enough. And that is as it should be, considering Gonzalez has spent so much of his career tempting just such a night. It is entirely possible that a series of losses come in the wake of his first if only because it is hard to imagine Gonzalez taking anything but a difficult fight. But his losses will never define him: they will be expected, forgiven, perhaps even celebrated.

What does it mean to pursue defeat? In short, to pursue greatness. Gonzalez finally caught up to the former which is why the latter was his long ago.

Star Boxing undefeated Super Banatamweight Marc “El Gwapo” Pagcaliwangan improved to 10-0-1 (8 KO’s) with an impressive 3rd round KO of Mexico’s Emmanuel Villamar, 8-2 (1 KO) at the Powerade Center in Brampton, Ontario, Canada.

This was the first fight under the Star Boxing banner for Marc after being off from the ring for almost 2 years. The rust factor was not apparent as Marc roared out from the opening bell landing heavy combinations to his game opponent much to the delight of the large contingent of fans that supported Marc in his comeback fight. Marc continued his assault on Villamar throughout the fight finally forcing the referee to call a halt to the action at the 2:49 mark of round 3.

Promoter Joe DeGuardia had these comments after the fight “I am very pleased that Marc returned to action with such a dominant victory over this tough fighter from Mexico. Marc is a very talented fighter who has a huge following in his native Canada and I expect nothing but exciting things from Marc in the future”.

Zac Dunn shocked in upset in Australia

Previously Undefeated British Empire Commonwealth champion Zac Dunn 23-1 18KO’S Melbourne, AU lost his title fight this weekend against Scotland’s Dave Brophy 18-1-1 2KO’S at The Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington, Victoria. David Brophy claimed the Commonwealth super-middleweight title after a seventh-round stoppage of Zac Dunn in Australia in the scheduled 12 rounder.

Marc Pagcaliwangan

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

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

Brian Rose admits his career is on the line in the battle of Blackpool – but says he’ll prove against Jack Arnfield that he can still win major honours as they clash at the Manchester Arena on Saturday night, live on Sky Sports.

Rose challenges Arnfield for the WBA International Middleweight title, with his former gym-mate enjoying a purple patch after landing the strap against John Ryder in September and stopped Mick Hall in January in his first defence.

‘The Lion’ lost to Matthew Macklin in his first big fight at Middleweight last April, but the 32 year old believes he’s now grown into the weight and can become a force at 160lbs.

“There is more pressure on me because I have a lot more to lose,” said Rose. “My career is on the line, Jack’s isn’t – Jack will come again. It is quite easy for somebody young and up and coming to take a fight against somebody with a lot of experience who has done so much. For me, I have to think about my future.

“When I win it gets me higher up in the WBA rankings. He is coming off the back of three good wins so it was probably a bit disrespectful of me to say beating Jack doesn’t take me anywhere, because beating him does put me in good stead.

“I don’t think Jack would have ever dreamed of beating me two years ago – that isn’t me being disrespectful, just honest. This is a second coming for me.

“I feel better than when I had the World title fight, and that is the truth. For the Macklin fight I hadn’t had enough time to grow into the weight but this time I feel big around the arms, I feel a lot stronger, I am pushing people about in sparring and hurting people in sparring.

“I can only go off what I have done in training and since the Macklin fight a lot has changed. You will see a new Brian Rose with a different approach. People see me as a technical fighter but I am bringing something else tonight and I hope Jack is ready for it.”

Rose and Arnfield clash on a huge night of action in Manchester as Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla meet in a World Lightweight unification rematch following their epic first encounter in September.

Martin J. Ward defends his British Super-Featherweight title against Maxi Hughes in their third clash in the paid ranks, Irish sensation Katie Taylor fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks, Marcus Morrison defends his WBC International Middleweight strap against Jason Welborn, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni.

Amateur standouts Lawrence Okolie and Sean McGoldrick make their pro debuts while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy and Nathan Wheatley.

Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.

Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

Man City fanatic Terry Flanagan wants to emulate his boyhood hero Ricky Hatton by fighting at the home of the Manchester giants. Undefeated Turbo tops an unmissable evening of action when he defends his crown against Petr Petrov at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 8th April, live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

WBO Lightweight boss Flanagan, 32-0-0 13 KO’s, was a special guest at the Etihad yesterday, addressing the 54,000 strong crowd before City battled to an entertaining 1-1 draw with Premier League rivals Liverpool.

The 27-year-old from Ancoats became Manchester’s first World Champion since Hatton with his third-round TKO victory over Jose Zepeda back in 2015 and knows he must get past the dangerous Petrov if he is to secure huge unification showdowns with the likes of WBA Champion Jorge Linares and WBC kingpin Mikey Garcia.

“Fighting at the Etihad would be a dream come true,” said Flanagan. “I grew up as a huge Ricky Hatton fan and there was always a special atmosphere at his fights. The Manchester public bring that special atmosphere and I want those big nights that he had.

“Every time I’ve boxed in Manchester I’ve got a knockout win and I’m aiming to carry that on next month. It’s going to be a big test but one that I’m going to step-up to and deal with. If I’m not on my game he’s a potential banana skin. I have to win this if I want those big unification fights later in the year

“Having thousands of fans cheering me on gives me and real boost and I hope you can all turn out and get behind me on April 8th. I’m looking to make a big statement and I want as many of my fans in there to see it as possible.”

Flanagan vs. Petrov tops a mouth-watering night of action at the Manchester Arena; Super-Welterweight rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams clash in one of the most anticipated domestic dust-ups in recent times; double Olympic Gold Medallist and women’s boxing icon Nicola Adams OBE fights for the first time as a professional and former Team GB Heavyweight monster Daniel Dubois makes his highly-anticipated professional debut.

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

20 March 2017 – Manila, Philippines: The largest sports media property in Asian history, ONE Championship™ (ONE), has just announced a spectacular fight card for ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY, which takes place Friday, 21 April at the 20,000-capacity Mall of Asia Arena in Manila. The action-packed evening promises to feature the absolute best in local and international mixed martial arts talent. In the main event, ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of Baguio City, Philippines, will make the first defense of his title against top contender Ev “E.T.” Ting of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Ticket information for ONE: KINGS OF DESTINY is available at www.onefc.com

Victor Cui, CEO of ONE Championship, stated: “In addition to the highly-anticipated matchup between local hero Eduard Folayang and top lightweight Ev Ting, ONE Championship has confirmed a handful of compelling bouts between Asia’s top superstars set to take place inside the ONE cage on fight night. Fans will not want to miss all the action that goes down in Manila, as we are already gearing up for an absolutely electrifying evening of world-class mixed martial arts.”

Eduard “Landslide” Folayang of the legendary Team Lakay in Baguio City is one of the Philippines’ most experienced mixed martial artists. After nearly a decade of competing in various promotions, Folayang has amassed an impressive 17-5 professional MMA record. The 33-year-old veteran authored a career resurgence in 2016, winning three consecutive bouts against high-profile opponents while showcasing a highly-improved wrestling and grappling arsenal. In his last bout, Folayang shocked the world by capturing the ONE Lightweight World Championship with a sensational victory over Japanese MMA legend Shinya Aoki. Folayang will now put his title on the line against Ev Ting.

Ev “E.T.” Ting is a mixed martial artist with deep roots in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Living and training out of Auckland, New Zealand, Ting owns a stellar 13-3 professional record, including four wins by submission and four exciting knockouts. A winner of his last four bouts over top-caliber opponents, Ting is one of the most talented mixed martial artists to come out of Malaysia. In his most recent bout last February, Ting overcame a tough challenge from MMA veteran Kamal Shalorus to win by split decision. The victory earned him a date with ONE Lightweight World Champion Eduard Folayang in Manila.

Kevin “The Silencer” Belingon of the famed Team Lakay MMA in Baguio City, Philippines, is one of the country’s most talented mixed martial artists. With a professional record of 14-5, Belingon is known as a fierce competitor with the ability to finish opponents in a variety of methods. The 29-year-old wushu stalwart owns five knockouts on his resume and is one of the most feared strikers in his division. In his last bout, Belingon defeated top Tajikistan prospect Muin Gafurov by decision. He now faces another tough task in Toni Tauru.

32-year-old Toni “Dynamite” Tauru of Utti, Finland, is a professional mixed martial artist competing in ONE Championship’s bantamweight division. He owns a record of 11 wins and four losses, including one draw, with eight of his wins coming impressively by submission. A feared grappling specialist, Tauru submitted former ONE title challenger Geje “Gravity” Eustaquio via first-round submission. Now, Tauru is tasked to take on Eustaquio’s Team Lakay stablemate Kevin Belingon.

18-year-old Christian “The Warrior” Lee, younger brother of reigning ONE Women’s Atomweight World Champion “Unstoppable” Angela Lee, began his professional mixed martial arts career on an absolute tear, railing off five straight victories by thrilling first-round finish while only encountering one setback. He has impressed fans with his ability to seek out stoppage wins over top-caliber opponents. Known as an unpredictable striker with unorthodox grappling technique, Lee is now set to return to the ONE Championship cage, this time against top Malaysian featherweight prospect Keanu Subba.

22-year-old Keanu Subba of Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, is a former amateur MMA champion and one of the most promising young talents in ONE Championship’s featherweight ranks. He is 5-2 as a professional mixed martial artist after making a name for himself as a former MIMMA featherweight champion. In his most recent bout, Subba trumped fellow top prospect Ahmed Mujtaba of Pakistan, winning impressively by first-round submission. Subba’s experience inside the ONE Championship cage as a young fighter has taught him great lessons that he says has helped him improve his overall game. He is set to face Christian Lee in a highly-anticipated clash of young stars.

Unbeaten flyweight contender from Team Lakay, Danny Kingad is a professional mixed martial artist with a perfect four win, no loss record. A true warrior from the mountains of the Cordilleras and one of the top prospects to come out of Baguio City, Philippines, Kingad is a tremendous striker, who also possesses solid grappling skills. In his most recent bout, Kingad needed just one round to impressively submit Filipino flyweight contender Eugene Toquero. He will take on Malaysia’s Muhammad Aiman next.

Former amateur standout and MIMMA featherweight champion, Muhammad Aiman of Malaysia is a professional mixed martial artist with a 2-1 record. Since encountering a setback in his first pro bout, Aiman has rallied to a two-fight win streak, defeating Hisyam Samsudin by unanimous decision in his first fight inside the ONE Championship cage while stopping Brazilian grappler Eduardo Novaes in his most recent bout. The 22-year-old is now considered one of Malaysia’s top featherweight prospects. He is set to take on his toughest test to date when he goes up against Danny Kingad.

Flyweight standout Eugene Toquero is a former celebrity mixed martial arts and fitness coach from Manila, Philippines. The 5’5” Filipino stalwart has a knack for executing highlight-reel striking techniques and is very unpredictable, operating at a pace opponents find hard to keep up with. In his most recent bout, Toquero fell to compatriot and rising star Danny Kingad, losing by first round submission in a tough contest. Now Toquero seeks to get back in contention when he takes on Stefer Rahardian.

Top Indonesian prospect Stefer Rahardian impressed in his ONE Championship debut by winning the ONE: TITLES & TITANS Flyweight Tournament in August of 2016. Rahardian finished both Yotha Hutagalung and Hendrick Wijaya by first round rear-naked choke to become the tournament winner. In his last outing, Rahardian outperformed Jerome S. Paye to win by unanimous decision in three rounds. Now unbeaten at five wins and no losses, Rahardian puts his unblemished record on the line against flamboyant Filipino striker Eugene Toquero.

Bantamweight fighter Chan Rothana of Phnom Penh, Cambodia is a 31-year-old former Khun Khmer practitioner who transitioned to mixed martial arts in 2014. He currently sports a 4-2 professional MMA record which includes one submission victory and three wins by knockout. Known as a devastating and relentless striker, Rothana is a winner of two of his last three bouts. He returns to the ONE Championship cage against Chinese standout Xie Bin.

19-year-old Xie Bin of China is one of the most talented young fighters to come out of Tianjin. He started off his mixed martial arts career with a victory over compatriot Ma Shuang and has since gone 2-2 as a professional. In his last fight, Xie outworked hard-hitting Indonesian fighter Mario Satya Wirawan to win via three-round unanimous decision. He now takes on Cambodia’s Chan Rothana next.

Top Filipino women’s mixed martial arts contender Gina “Conviction” Iniong has finally found her way to ONE Championship. The Baguio City native is a member of the renowned Team Lakay and owns a professional mixed martial arts record of four wins and two losses. Three of her four victories have come by thrilling finish, which includes two impressive submissions. In her last bout, Iniong submitted her opponent in another promotion. Now, Iniong is set to debut at atomweight, and will take on Natalie Gonzales Hills.

29-year-old Filipino-English fighter Natalie Gonzales Hills is a female mixed martial artist competing in the ONE Championship women’s atomweight division. Nicknamed “The Kilapino”, Hills has already appeared in two memorable bouts inside the ONE Championship cage. At her best, Hills is a well-rounded fighter with solid striking and grappling technique. She will once again put her skills on full display when she returns to competition, this time against ONE Championship newcomer Gina Iniong.

Women’s Brazilian jiu-jitsu legend Michelle Nicolini is a 35-year-old mixed martial artist competing in the ONE Championship women’s strawweight division. An eight-time BJJ world champion and Hall-of-Famer, Nicolini’s elite grappling skills have brought her great success since transitioning to MMA, as she now owns a solid 3-1 professional record which includes two impressive submission victories. Nicolini made her ONE Championship debut last November, figuring in a first-round submission victory over Mona Samir. An extremely technical grappler, Nicolini recently relocated to Singapore to join the Evolve Fight Team. She is scheduled to take on Irina Mazepa in her next appearance.

Unbeaten 33-year-old fighter Irina Mazepa of St. Petersburg, Russia, is on an incredible run inside the ONE Championship cage. In her first two fights for the promotion, Mazepa defeated two of the most talented fighters in the strawweight division, dominating both Ann Osman of Malaysia and former boxing world champion Ana Julaton of the Philippines. A six-time wushu world champion and a K1 world champion kickboxer, Mazepa is set to make her highly-anticipated return to the ONE Championship cage to once again show off her devastating striking skills, this time against Michelle Nicolini of Evolve MMA.

26-year-old Robin Catalan of the Philippines is a member of the Catalan fighting family and a professional mixed martial artist competing in the ONE Championship strawweight division. He currently owns a record of five wins and two losses, which includes two wins by submission and two by knockout. In his last bout, Catalan made his ONE Championship debut, going head-to-head with top grappler Alex Silva of Evolve MMA. Now, the Filipino is set to make his second appearance, this time against compatriot Jeremy Miado.

Unbeaten Filipino strawweight prospect Jeremy “The Jaguar” Miado of Manila is a professional mixed martial artist with an unblemished 6-0 record. After six straight victories, including two highlight-reel finishes, Miado is now ready to debut for Asia’s premier mixed martial arts organization. Excited to fight in front of his hometown crowd, Miado will step inside the ONE Championship cage for the first time against fellow Filipino warrior Robin Catalan.

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

About ONE Championship™
ONE Championship is the largest sports media property in Asian history. Headquartered in Singapore, the world’s most exciting mixed martial arts organization hosts the largest sports entertainment events across Asia featuring the best Asian mixed martial artists and world champions, all signed to exclusive contracts, on the largest media broadcast in Asia. ONE Championship is broadcast to over 1 billion viewers across 118+ countries around the world with some of the largest global broadcasters, including FOX Sports, Setanta, MNC, Astro, Thairath TV, ABS-CBN, TV5, MYTV, HTV, OSN and more.

NEW YORK (March 20, 2017) – WBC Lightweight World Champion Mikey Garcia will join the SHOWTIME announce team as a guest analyst for the rematch between WBA Lightweight World Champion Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla on Saturday, March 25 live on SHOWTIME at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.

Three-division world champion Garcia, (36-0, 30 KOs), will join host Brian Custer and analysts Al Bernstein and Paulie Malignaggi in New York for the SHOWTIME BOXING INTERNATIONAL® presentation of Crolla vs. Linares II, which will air live from Manchester Arena in Manchester, England.

“I’m excited to participate as guest analyst for this rematch,” said Garcia. “These are two of the most competitive boxers in my division. Jorge Linares won the first fight, but Crolla can create a different outcome.

“Linares has good hand speed, timing, reflexes and has power in both hands. Crolla has a good right hand and has shown some solid body work in his recent fights. While Crolla is getting better with each fight, Linares is likely still the better boxer, and should edge him out in a close fight.”

Linares (41-3, 27 KOs) dethroned Crolla (31-5-3, 13 KOs) in a thrilling battle last fall in Manchester to capture the WBA crown. The Sept. 24 match was the first time the three-division titlist Linares, who also holds the WBC Diamond and Ring Magazine lightweight belts, was pushed the 12-round distance in his career.

The WBC has mandated that the winner of Linares-Crolla II must face the hard-hitting Garcia, who knocked out defending champion Dejan Zlaticanin on Jan. 28 on SHOWTIME in just his second fight back following a 30-month layoff.

Linares-Crolla II is the second lightweight world title bout on SHOWTIME in 2017 and an important fight toward potentially unifying the resurgent 135-pound division.

MULVANE, Kansas (March 20, 2017) — 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Nico Hernandez will join an elite group this Saturday night as he makes his professional debut in the “KO Night Boxing: History Begins” main event, airing (9 p.m. ET / 6 p.m. PT) on CBS Sports Network live from Kansas Star Arena in Mulvane, Kansas.

“KO Night Boxing: History Begins” is presented by KO Night Boxing LLC, in association with Kansas Star Casino, and sponsored by Miller Lite, Mel Hambelton FORD and TITLE Boxing.

In his six-round bout against upset-minded Las Vegas (NV) flyweight Patrick Gutierrez (0-2), Wichita-native Hernandez will become only the fourth United States Olympic medalist in the last 40 years to make his pro debut at home in a nationally televised main event.
The other three members of this special quartet, all Olympic gold medalists and pro debut winners, include Hall of Famer “Sugar” Ray Leonard (Feb. 5, 1977, in Baltimore, MD, two-time world champion Mark Breland and world title challenger Paul “Super Fly” Gonzales.

“It’s a great feeling,” the 21-year-old Hernandez said from training camp. “I am feeling some pressure but, once I’m in the ring, everything goes away. There definitely is some pressure on me because I’m fighting where everybody knows me in my hometown. So, I can’t lose. At the Olympics, all the Americans there gave me more energy to win. I didn’t want to lose in front of my people. Fighting at home will push me to do my best.

“I’m not really focused on fighting on national television. I’m going out there to put on a boxing clinic and, if the knockout comes, it comes. If it happens, it happens, but not going in there looking for a knockout. I’m used to fighting only three rounds (as an amateur) but, as the fight goes on, I’ve always gotten better. Six rounds do give me more time to work on my opponent and do more damage.”

Picture gallery below from Nico Hernandez’
open workout/meet-and-greet this past Saturday in Wichita

Undefeated prospect Tramaine “The Mighty Midget” Williams (9-0, 3 KOs), a gifted southpaw from New Haven (CT), takes on Texas featherweight Eduardo Garza (6-1, 2 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature.

Opening the televised segment of the card, in an eight-round match, is a potentially explosive junior middleweight throw-down between unbeaten Neeco “Rooster” Macias (14-0, 8 KOs), of Palm Desert, California, and Mexican veteran Cesar Soriano (26-34-1, 16 KOs).

Andover (KS) cruiserweight Jeff Page, Jr. (17-3, 11 KOs) meets Steve “The Spoiler” Walker (26-33, 18 KOs), from Hannibal (MO), in the six-round television swing bout.

Also fighting on the undercard, in separate four-round bouts, are Kansas St. junior middleweight champion Efrain Morales (4-0, 1 KO), from Garden City (KS), vs. Wichita’s Robert Alexander Sevam (2-5, 2 KOs), Garden City featherweight Eric Vargas (1-0, 1 KO) vs. New Mexico’s pro-debuting Kevin “Indio” Garcia, and Winfield (KS) cruiserweight Juan Hollingsworth will make his pro debut vs. Raymond Gray, of Columbia, Missouri.

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Ticket prices are $115.00 (ringside, rows 1 & 2), $75.00 (floor seats, rows 3-5), $60.00 (floor seats, floor rows after 1-5), $35.00 (lower bowl) and $25.00 (upper bowl). Suites seating up to 22 people are available to purchase for $2,500 (includes non-alcohol beverages and food).

Tickets are available to purchase at www.kansasstarcasino.com/entertain/arena or www.ticketmaster.com. All ages show.

Doors open at 5:00 p.m. CT with the opening bout scheduled at 6:00 p.m. CT.

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

INFORMATION:

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

Twitter: @Kansas_Star, @Neonstarmedia

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

Follow on Twitter & Instagram: @Nicomhernandez & @Tramaine_Midget and ABT Films on Twitter @abtfilms

Martin J Ward wants to wrap up the Lord Lonsdale belt for keeps before moving onto bigger honours – and meets Maxi Hughes for the third time as he starts that journey on Saturday night at the Manchester Arena, live on Sky Sports.

Ward makes the second defence of his British Super-Featherweight title against Hughes, the unbeaten Essex talent wants to put in an impressive performance to prove that this is the year he will land more major titles.

“I’m going to go in there and smash him,” said Ward. “I want to be in big fights and the sooner they come, the better. I am ready to go now, I am ready to rock ‘n’ roll and the bigger the better now for me.

“I want to be getting up there for European titles, and onto the world stage. I want to get up there now this year. I have been pro since 2012, I have had 18 fights, I have matured and I am ready to take on some of the big boys.

“I want a big fight. I want to be in centre stage on a big fight night and to be involved in the really big fights now. I’ll be 26 this year and I am matured. I watched my last fight back and I didn’t perform well at all, so I have a point to prove against myself and I want to come back with a nice, dominant performance and move on.

“I won’t take Maxi for granted. I have trained and prepared for the best of Maxi. I feel stronger, better than ever and I have matured a lot lately – I can feel it in my body. We’ve got a nutritionist on board now as well and I can see little changes in the shape of my body. I feel strong as an ox and I am ready to do a good job on Maxi Hughes.

“Since our last meeting he has notched up a few wins. He will come with his own ambitions but it is not happening – I’m going to do a good, solid job on him, get his name out of the way, get it done in dusted and move on to bigger and better fight.

“I have all the tools to beat him no matter what he does. I’m just really, really looking forward to this fight on a big platform, a big show, I’ve had a great camp with no injuries so I’m looking to go out there and put a seriously dominant performance on and then step up the levels and get a big fight.

“I’m not looking past Maxi Hughes. I have trained as if I am training for a World title fight, I’ve been very, very disciplined, I have left no stone unturned as they say and if it comes down to a fight, I am the winner. I will hit him hard, hit him fast and I’ll be too fast, too sharp, too hard a hitter – I’m going to be too much for him.

“That is why I’ve done everything as it should’ve been done and more in this camp and I’m ready to put on a big performance and get people talking about me.”

Ward’s clash with Hughes is part of a huge night of action in Manchester as Jorge Linares and Anthony Crolla meet in a World Lightweight unification rematch following their epic first encounter in September.

Brian Rose and Jack Arnfield meet in the ‘Battle of Blackpool’ at Middleweight, Irish sensation Katie Taylor fights for the fourth time in the paid ranks, Marcus Morrison defends his WBC International Middleweight strap against Jason Welborn, while his Joe Gallagher gym-mate Hosea Burton looks to bounce back into title contention from his epic battle with Frank Buglioni.

Amateur standouts Lawrence Okolie and Sean McGoldrick make their pro debuts while there’s also action for Tomi Tatham, Ben Sheedy and Nathan Wheatley.

Tickets are on sale priced at £40, £60, £80, £100 and £150 and available from www.manchesterarena.com or by calling 0844 847 8000. VIPs tickets are exclusively available through www.matchroomboxing.com priced at £250.

Face value tickets for March 25 will also be available from http://www.stubhub.co.uk/matchroom-boxing-tickets/ . StubHub is the official ticket partner and marketplace of Matchroom Boxing and Anthony Joshua.

Former IBF Bantamweight World Champion Paul Butler is eyeing an all-British World Title showdown with Doncaster’s Jamie McDonnell. The Baby Faced Assassin fights for the third time under new trainer Joe Gallagher in an eight round contest at the Manchester Arena on April 8, live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

In June 2014 Butler lifted the IBF crown after defeating Darlington’s Stuart Hall, but vacated the belt a month later. After a spell at Super-Flyweight, the Ellesmere Port star is more determined than ever to land a second World Title at 118lbs.

“I’m hoping we can get this fight out of the way and then push on for another World Title,” said Butler. “It has been talked about for a while now and it’s what we’ve been working towards in the gym. I can’t wait to get in the ring and put in a top performance and move on.

“I’d take any of the Bantamweight Champions but I would hope it would be McDonnell or Zhanat Zhakiyanov. Zhanat has the WBA Super World Title but McDonnell is the name in the division – everyone knows Jamie McDonnell.

“I would like to box Jamie and take his title and then Zhanat would have to fight me as I would be the regular WBA Champion. We’re lucky enough to have two British Bantamweight World Champions and hopefully a fight with one of them can be made. I’m sure McDonnell would be a cracking fight.”

Terry Flanagan vs. Petr Petrov tops a mouth-watering night of action at the Manchester Arena; Super-Welterweight rivals Liam Smith and Liam Williams clash in one of the most anticipated domestic dust-ups in recent times; double Olympic Gold Medallist and women’s boxing icon Nicola Adams OBE fights for the first time as a professional and former Team GB Heavyweight monster Daniel Dubois makes his highly-anticipated professional debut.

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

WORCESTER, Mass. (March 20, 2017) – The long trip back begins April 1st for Matt
Sharp Shooter” Remillard, 12 years to the day from his professional debut, on the “New England’s Future 2” show at the Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Remillard (23-1, 13 KOs), fighting out of Manchester, Connecticut, hasn’t boxed for the six years, due to him serving a five-year prison sentence. He takes on Lawrence (MA) lightweight Augustine “Ruthless” Mauras (6-1-3, 3 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature. If their tense, near volatile stare-down at a recent press conference is a true indication, Remillard vs. Mauras is not going the distance, to put things mildly.

New England’s Future 2″ is presented by Rivera Promotions Entertainment (RPE), which is owned and operated by retired three-time, two division world champion Jose Antonio Rivera and his son, Anthonee (A.J.) Rivera.

“I am excited to have a boxer of Remillard’s caliber on our ‘New England’s Future 2’ boxing event,” promoter Jose Antonio Rivera remarked. “He has a tough match against August time Mauras for his first fight back. Knowing Remillard, though, he wouldn’t have it any other way. I want to thank Matt, Paul Cichon (head trainer) and their team for trusting Rivera Promotions Entertainment for Matt’s first boxing match back from his long layoff.”

Remillard is a former World Boxing Council (WBC) United States & Youth World, North American Boxing Federation (NABF) and World Boxing Organization (WBO) featherweight champion. His lone pro loss came in his last fight, March 23, 2011 in Atlantic City to then rising star Mikey Garcia (24-0), when Remillard retired after 11 rounds. He won’t make excuses; however, he never should have taken the fight with Garcia, facing the impending court case that sent him to prison and working with a new head trainer he’d only met two weeks prior to the fight.

“I’m confident I can get back to where I was in about a year,” the 30-year-old Remillard said. “A dream come true would be a rematch with Garcia, at any weight, but I have to earn that shot. Everybody wants a rematch with the guy who gave you the first loss. It seldom happens but, if not, in time I believe there will be other big fights out there for me.

“I’m fighting an opponent who fought by buddy, Chip Perez, three times (0-2-1), so I’m familiar with his style. He doesn’t back down. I don’t expect him to back down against me…until he feels my power. I’m going to take out those five years that I was away on him. I’ve been through so much the last six year but I’m most comfortable in the gym. The past is past and this is my last run. Paul and I have a lot of unfinished business to take care of.”

Seventeen years ago, Chicon first met Remillard at the Manchester PAL gym, but he made the 13-year-old aspiring boxer earn his opportunity to be trained. Paul made Matt clean the bathrooms, take care of spit buckets, etc. before he started training him.

“When he returned to the gym a few months back, I saw that his work ethic hadn’t faded,” Cichon commented. “I don’t believe he’s really that far away from where he was six years ago. He was idle five years but his first day back he sparred 12 rounds. He stayed in good physical shape and is hungrier than ever. He thinks he has something to prove after his last fight, but he really doesn’t have anything to prove to me or anybody else. He is fighting a tough kid but Matt’s going to be victorious. I think in four or five more fights he’ll be back where he was in boxing.”

Pembroke (MA) cruiserweight Vinnie “American Nightmare” Carita (15-1-1, 14 KOs will headline against Brazilian KO specialist Gilberto Matheus “El Magico” Domingos (22-6, 20 KOs), the former South American light heavyweight champion, in the eight-round main event.

Dorchester (MA) heavyweight Donnie “Big Nasty” Palmer (8-1-1, 7 KOs) faces unbeaten Quian Davis (4-0-2, 2 KOs), of Mays Landing (NJ), in a four-round bout.

2016 New England Golden Gloves champion Anthony Laureano (2-0, 1 KO), fighting out of East Hartford (CT), meets Schenectady (NY) veteran Bryan “The Brick” Abraham (6-23-1, 6 KOs) in a six-round match.

Fighting on the undercard in four round bouts are Worcester cruiserweight Bryan Daniels (3-0, 1 KO) vs. Mexican invader Jose Humberto “Olympico” Corall (19-23, 12 KOs), Worcester featherweight Ranse Andino (1-0) vs. Mike Hellenfinger (0-2), of Harrisburg (PA), three-time USA Boxing Nationals champion Elvis Figueroa, of New Haven (CT) makes his pro debut vs. Brazilian super middleweight Devision Robiero (0-3), Worcester welterweight Andy Gonzalez (5-1, 5 KOs) vs. Brockton’s Antonio Chavez Fernandes (7-30-4, 2 KOs), 2014 N.E. Golden Gloves champion, Lawrence junior welterweight Adrian Sosa (2-0, 1 KO) vs. TBA), Worcester’s pro-debuting super middleweights Neal Sullivan vs. Nathan Schulte, Springfield (MA) junior middleweight Derrick Whitley vs. Anthony Everett (104), of Lawrence, pro-debuting Springfield featherweight Luis “Pancho” Santiago vs. Alex Montes (1-2), of Lawrence, and unbeaten Manchester (CT) junior welterweight “Marvelous” Mykqyan Williams (5-0, 3 K0s) vs. TBA..

All fights and fighters are subject to change.

Tickets, priced at $65.00 (ringside) and $35.00 (general admission), are on sale and available to purchase at www.ThePalladium.net or the Palladium box office (general admission only), or by contacting Jose Rivera (elgallojar@gmail.com/508.864.6954), AJ Rivera (anthoneerivera@gmail.com/774.272.2269) or any of the fighters. A portion of the proceeds will go to Make A Change Inc.

Doors open at 6 p.m. ET, first bout 7 p.m. ET.

Sponsors include Lundgren Honda, Championsofhealth.usana.com, TKO Auto Repair, John Young Tree Service and Royal Cleanup.

2015 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year Joe Gallagher says Gary Lockett would rather be in Liam Smith’s corner if his mouth-watering showdown with undefeated British Champion Liam Williams descends into a war.

Former WBO Super-Welterweight Champion Smith and rising Welsh star Williams clash in one of the most eagerly-anticipated domestic dustups in recent times at the Manchester Arena on Saturday 8th April, live on BT Sport and BoxNation.

Liverpool’s Smith might have conceded his World Title strap and unbeaten tag to Mexican megastar ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in Texas last September, but his coach insists that ‘Beefy’ is still frothing to re-assert his domestic dominance at 154lbs.

“Gary was a good fighter as an amateur and a good fighter as a pro,” said Gallagher. “He’s a great young coach and is hungry for success. He is willing to learn and wanting to learn. I don’t see it as a rivalry between us.

“If they think they are going to be able to beat Liam Smith and become a Canelo Alvarez overnight – that isn’t going to happen. If they think Liam Smith is damaged goods and is unmotivated after a big pay day – they couldn’t be more wrong.

“We’ve got two fighters. I’m sure he’s very confident in Liam Williams – I’m very confident in Liam Smith. But I know deep down if we’re going into a war, Lockett would rather be in Smith’s corner than Williams’.”

Smith vs. Williams is part of an unmissable evening of action on April 8th; local hero Terry Flanagan makes the fifth defence of his WBO World Lightweight crown against dangerous Russian Petr Petrov; double Olympic Gold Medallist and women’s boxing icon Nicola Adams OBE fights for the first time as a professional and former Team GB Heavyweight monster Daniel Dubois makes his highly-anticipated professional debut.

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

By Bart Barry-

Saturday the Chocolatito Era concluded when Nicaraguan Roman Gonzalez got narrowly and perhaps unfairly split-decisioned by Thailand’s Wisaksil “Srisaket Sor Rungvisai” Wangek in a brutal 12-round affair. In the mainevent a different tradition of matching the world’s best middleweight against a fellow middleweight began, when Gennady “GGG” Golovkin decisioned Daniel Jacobs, and let us hope this new era endures fractionally long as the other one did.

Whosoever would be idiot enough to write something like this: “After the decade Chocolatito labored in obscurity it brings no joy to write a match of his does not belong on American television much less HBO PPV, but heavens to Murgatroyd, this one verily does not”?

Guilty, my friends, and decisively so.

Whether Sor Rungvisai deserved to become a champion Saturday he belonged in a ring with Chocolatito in a way no one before him has done and once there he made brutal combat – disrespectful, randyrough, unfair, despicable – till he was eligible for a title few gave him a chance at (even if no one publicly gave him less of a chance than this column’s agebadly effort).

It was inevitable: If a prizefighter moves upwards in weight as he moves upwards in age someday he gets beat by a man who is not good a prizefighter as he is but able to offset class with physicality by absorbing what punches smaller men cannot and damaging with less effort than smaller men can. Exactly that happened to Chocolatito, every bit Saturday his diminutive suffix -ito, who struck Sor Rungvisai with the same accurate shots he strikes everyone with and applied much of the same tactical originality he applies to every opponent’s head and body but the difference was Sor Rungvisai’s size and desire and apparent obliviousness of who was the man punching him. Whereas the mainevent saw a b-level middleweight will himself past an obvious consciousness about his opponent’s identity – and in so doing reveal quite a lot about the actual quality of the middleweight champion (and how about the postfight sparkle in Golovkin’s eyes when asked about a September return to a junior middleweight opponent!) – the comain saw a man who showed up for a world title fight against an anonymous smaller man and acted like it.

Wherever or however Sor Rungvisai hit Chocolatito in round 1 he dropped him true and it tolled Chocolatito’s psyche finding himself seated, a ref fingerflashing overhead. It portended still worse things for anyone who hoped to enjoy Chocolatito for more than another match or two, too: You don’t make a fight-of-the-year candidate with Sor Rungvisai and go on to enjoy a long pleasant stay in your new super flyweight division. Instead you cautiously win a wellpaying rematch then cash yourself out – making, as an aside, charismatic Carlos Cuadras Saturday’s biggest loser.

On a personal note the emotions went something like: Excitement (here we go) to surprise (Chocolatito’s on the blue mat) to shame (what did I write?) to sadness (Chocolatito looks so small) to elation (he’s spinning him gorgeously!) to indignation (that butt was intentional) to anger (he butted him again) to amusement (butting when in you’re in trouble is effective in its way, isn’t it?) to excitement (he’s spinning him again, yes!) to disappointment (the geometry’s wrong) to nervousness to sadness.

Whatever dudgeon happened in the moment and however much pain Chocolatito is in today and tomorrow and the rest of the week, fact remains Sor Rungvisai, as a large southpaw, sold accidental headbutts sufficiently to remain undisqualified while severely altering a championship match’s trajectory with his head. There was little if anything accidental about any but the first butt and it was apparent three ways: 1. The timing of the accidents, 2. Chocolatito’s evident disgust with the accidents, and 3. The asymmetry of their effect. When two fighters’ heads keep colliding whenever one fighter is hurt, and the other fighter is the only one buzzed and bleeding afresh after each collision, there’s no chance at the championship level anything accidental is happening.

There are ways to remedy these things and Chocolatito, who has gone below the belt plethoras of times in his career, did none of them, and one suspects he didn’t do them because he didn’t think them necessary. First time, shame on Sor Rungvisai; second time . . . expect Chocolatito to go low early and often in a rematch the Nicaraguan’ll take personally and more seriously than their first match – and expect the new champion to be looking refereewards in the rematch more than his challenger.

While the damage suffered in the comain was asymmetrical the card itself did conclude with a symmetric quality of sorts: Chocolatito nearing the end of a career marked by increasing weightclasses and challenges; GGG beginning what one hopes is a career of fighting men large enough to hurt him – and looking only a touch better than average in so doing. While ESPN scrambles to revise its bro-science feature on Golovkin’s otherworldly power (something about Daniel Jacobs’ episode with cancer making his chin exponents more resilient than it was before both cancer and Dmitry Pirog) and HBO manufactures demand enough for Canelo-GGG to put this uncomfortable Jacobs episode behind us all, aficionados can use what they saw Saturday to temper, once more, their opinions of undefeated records.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

HBO Sports presents WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®: GENNADY GOLOVKIN VS. DANIEL JACOBS AND ROMAN “CHOCOLATITO GONZALEZ VS. SRISAKET SOR RUNGVISAI, the exclusive replay of their highly anticipated world championship title fights, SATURDAY, MARCH 25 at 10:00 p.m. (ET/PT). The HBO Sports team, which was ringside at New York’s Madison Square Garden on March 18, called all the action, which will be available in HDTV, closed-captioned for the hearing-impaired and presented in Spanish on HBO Latino.
Other HBO playdates: March 26 (10:30 a.m.) and 28 (11:00 p.m.)
HBO2 playdate: March 26 (3:45 p.m.) and 27 (11:20 p.m.)
The two-fight combo will also be available on HBO NOW, HBO GO® and HBO On Demand®.
Among the sport’s top pound-for-pound performers, Golovkin put his undefeated mark, extraordinary ring record and collection of 160-pound world title belts on the line against hometown hero Daniel Jacobs of Brooklyn in a fight originally carried live on HBO Pay-Per-View®. The co-feature marked a super flyweight title bout between reigning champ and pound-for-pound ace Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez and challenger Srisaket Sor Rungvisai of Thailand.