Boxing

 

Virgil Hill Vies For IBC Title Against Joey DeGrandis Nov 17

01.11 - Former three-time world champion Virgil Hill of Bismarck, N.D., meets Joey DeGrandis of Boston for the vacant International Boxing Council cruiserweight title Sunday, Nov. 17, in Grand Forks, N.D., on the monthly “Everlast Heavyweight Explosion” card promoted by Cedric Kushner Promotions and televised live nationally by Fox Sports Net.

Also on the card is undefeated heavyweight Jean-Francois Bergeron of St. Jerome, Que., in the semi-main event and bronze medalist in the super heavyweight division at the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Paolo Vidoz of Italy.

The world championship card, co-promoted by Quicksilver Productions of Bismarck, N.D., is in the 11,406-seat Ralph Engelstad Arena on the University of North Dakota campus.

Hill, a former World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation light heavyweight and WBA cruiserweight champion, has a record of 47-4 with 24 knockouts.

Of those 51 fights, 26 have been for world titles.

DeGrandis, who fought for the IBF super middleweight championship before moving up in weight, has a record of 30-6 with 13 knockouts. The first televised fight starts at 5 p.m. (Central).

Tickets, priced at $27.50, $35 and $50 for reserved and $90 for ringside, are on sale from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday at the Ralph Engelstad Arena box office, by calling the box office at 701-777-0256 during those hours and days and at all TicketMaster (701-772-5151 and ticketmaster.com) outlets. The Arena box office will be open from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 16, and starting at 9 a.m. the day of the championship card, Sunday, Nov. 17.

Cedric Kushner Promotions of New York City is one of the leading promoters in boxing and has presented almost 300 world championship bouts on six continents the past 19 years.

This Cedric Kushner Promotions card is sponsored by Everlast, which has been at the forefront of boxing equipment for almost 100 years.

Bergeron, a 6-foot-5 1/ 2-inch southpaw with a record of 16-0 and 12 knockouts, meets his toughest opponent to date, Terrance Lewis of Philadelphia, who has a record of 30-12 with 20 knockouts, in the eight-round semi-main event.

Vidoz, who has a record of 11-1 with seven knockouts and is the Italian heavyweight champion, meets Innocent Otukuwu of Minneapolis, who has a mark of 8-2 with two knockouts, in a six-round fight.

The 38-year-old Hill, currently ranked No. 4 by the WBA, No. 9 by the IBF and No. 10 by the World Boxing Council among cruiserweights, is coming off a first-round knockout of Carlos Bates Aug. 23 in Newtown, N.D.

Hill won his first world championship, the WBA light heavyweight title, more than 15 years ago on Sept. 5, 1987, when, at the age of only 23, he stopped Leslie Stewart in the fourth round in Atlantic City, N.J.

Hill defended successfully 10 times until he dropped a 12-round decision to Thomas Hearns on June 3, 1991, at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nev.

Hill regained the WBA 175-pound crown one year later on Sept. 29, 1992, taking a 12-round decision over Frank Tate in Bismarck, N.D. Hill then defended successfully another 10 times before losing a 12-round verdict to Dariusz Michalczewski for both the WBA and the IBF light heavyweight championships on June 13, 1997, in Germany.

After that bout the then-34-year-old Hill finally moved up to the cruiserweight division. He won the WBA 190-pound championship on Dec. 9, 2000, with a first-round knockout of Fabrice Tiozzo in France. Hill lost his first defense, falling to Jean-Marc Mormeck on Feb. 23 of this year in France.

The 33-year-old DeGrandis fought Charles Brewer for the IBF 168-pound championship on Dec. 2, 1997, in Philadelphia. Following that 12-round decision loss, DeGrandis laid off for almost four years before returning as a light heavyweight. He moved up to cruiserweight earlier this year.

Bergeron, one of the most highly regarded heavyweight prospects in the sport, is 29. Vidoz is 32 while Otukuwu, originally from Nigeria, is 30.

The 29-year-old Lewis has met three world champions: former WBA and IBF heavyweight champ Michael Moorer, ex-WBA heavyweight king Greg Page and former IBF cruiserweight champion Al Cole.

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