OPPONENT CHANGE FOR JERMAIN TAYLOR

HOMETOWN HERO TAYLOR ATTEMPTS TO WIN
FIRST PROFESSIONAL TITLE ON AUGUST 8
ESPN2 FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS


New York, July 22 - There's been a change in plans for middleweight Jermain Taylor, who returns to his hometown for "Title Night in Little Rock" on August 8 at the Alltel Arena, but rest assured, this change in opponent is not of the usual fare.

"We reviewed fight footage of Rene Arostegui (Taylor's original opponent) and decided that he wasn't the level of fighter we want for Jermain at this stage," said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. "We wanted Jermain to be in a real fight in which he would learn something. Freddy Cuevas will provide that on August 8."

Taylor's new opponent, Alfredo "Freddy" Cuevas, is a hard-hitting Chicagoan who expects to provide "Bad Intentions" with his toughest test to date. With a 22-5-1 (16 KO's) record, Cuevas has been in the ring with some of the top talent in the world, and among his victories is a seventh round stoppage of highly regarded Wilfredo Rivera last year. In 1999, Cuevas handed Sam Hill his first defeat as a pro via a seventh round knockout. As you may remember, Hill went on to defeat former World Champion David Reid before going the distance in a losing effort with Jermain in August 2002.

In Cuevas' last bout on July 18th, he stopped Miguel Aguila in a single round.

Taylor (16-0, 12 KO's), is widely regarded as the brightest prospect from the Class of 2000. A boxer-puncher who has improved by leaps and bounds with each fight, "Bad Intentions" has soared up the ranks in a little over two years as a pro, and on August 8, he looks to cap the first phase of his career with his first professional title. In his last outing on May 17, 2003, Taylor impressively stopped tough veteran Nicolas Cervera (33-4-1, 30 KO's) in just four rounds in a bout televised by HBO.

Taylor-Cuevas, a 12 round bout which will be fought for the vacant WBC Continental Americas Middleweight Title, is part of an exciting night of boxing presented by DiBella Entertainment, Inc., and will be televised live on ESPN2's Friday Night Fights beginning at 8pm. Doors open at 5:30pm and the first bout begins at 7pm.

Note: Taylor was originally expected to challenge for the NABF middleweight title on August 8, but with the removal of Arostegui from the card, there were no boxers in the NABF rankings willing to fight Taylor on short notice. With the Continental Americas title vacant, the WBC stepped in and sanctioned the bout.

Also on the "Title Night in Little Rock" card is exciting junior middleweight contender Kofi Jantuah (23-1, 13 KO's), who will face Robert Kamya (12-2, 4 KO's) in a ten rounder. Four other bouts will be announced shortly.

Tickets for "Title Night in Little Rock", priced at $152.00 (VIP seating - limited availability), $92.00, $62.00, $37.00, $27.00 & $17.00 (students and seniors only), are on sale now at all Ticketmaster outlets, www.ticketmaster.com and the Alltel Arena Box Office at 501-975-9000. You may also call Ticketmaster at 501-975-7575.