Boxing

 

Saul "La Cobra" Montana vs. China "The Dragon" Smith on Oct 5th

29.09 - "ShoBox: The New Generation" will complete its second year on SHOWTIME Saturday, Oct. 5, by showcasing a heavyweight championship rematch and a super middleweight special attraction from the USF SUN DOME in Tampa, Fla. In the main event, heavyweight Saul Montana will take on China Smith in a 12-round bout. In the 10-round co-feature, 2000 Dominican Olympian Jerson Ravelo will put his undefeated record on the line when he takes on once-beaten super middleweight George Walton. SHOWTIME will televise the fight card, promoted by HCG Five Star Promotions and representing the 27th in a series of "ShoBox" telecasts, at 5 PM ET/PT. The afternoon series debuted July 21, 2001.

Montana (36-11, 32 KOs), of Los Cabos, Mexico, captured the fringe National Boxing Association (NBA) heavyweight crown in his last bout and sole 2002 appearance by stopping Smith in the seventh round on April 19, 2002, in Tampa. After starting out his career with a 15-1 record, Montana won the Mexican light heavyweight crown in October 1991 and made one successful defense. After losing the crown to Salvador Maciel in February 1992, Montana recaptured the Mexican title in a rematch on May 15, 1992. The two-time world title challenger, who has held his own against Virgil Hill and Vassiliy Jirov, has won seven pro crowns since turning pro at age 17 in May 1988. After earning five titles as a light heavyweight, Montana moved up to heavyweight and scored a third-round knockout over Carlos Sandoval on Oct. 27, 2001, in La Paz, Mexico, to add the ABMH championship to his resume.

Smith (23-1, 22 KOs), of Sarasota, Fla., registered a 12-round unanimous decision over Derrell Dixon on April 7, 2001, to win the NBA International heavyweight title. Less than four months later on Aug. 3, 2001, "The Dragon" stopped Tony La Rosa in the third round for the NBA championship. The Florida native, who will make his 19th Tampa appearance in 25 bouts on Oct. 5, has tallied 12 first-round, four second-round and five third-round knockouts. Smith opened the 2002 campaign with consecutive non-title bout victories over Mark Bradley (first-round KO) on Jan. 18 and Dan Ward (third-round KO) on Feb. 15, prior to watching his 23-bout winning streak come to an end at the hands of Montana.

Ravelo (11-0, 8 KOs), of Newark, N.J., by way of San Cristobal, Dominican Republic, culminated a stellar amateur career by representing the Dominican Republic at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia. In addition to the Olympic honor, Ravelo defeated Jeff Lacy en route to capturing a gold medal at the 1999 United States Challenge Cup, and was named the 1998 and '99 New Jersey Hall of Fame Amateur Boxer of the Year. The Newark resident, who turned pro at age 23 on Jan. 27, 2001, has knocked out eight opponents within three rounds, including five in the opening stanza. In his last bout, the 25-year-old Ravelo stopped Aaron Norwood in the third round on April 27, 2002, in New York.

Walton (11-1, 7 KOs), of New York, N.Y., saw a six-bout knockout streak and undefeated record come to an abrupt end in his last bout when he dropped a unanimous eight-round decision to Derrick Whitley on March 21, 2002, in Glen Burnie, Md. Nicknamed "Blaze," Walton, who will fight for the third time in 2002 on Oct. 5, defeated two opponents per year through the first five years of his career (1997-2001). The New Yorker, who will celebrate his 29th birthday the day following the SHOWTIME telecast, opened 2002 by scoring a third-round TKO over Elvis Alexander on Jan. 17 in Glen Burnie.

"ShoBox: The New Generation" features up-and-coming prospects determined to make a mark and eventually fight for a chance at a world title. The best of the new generation of hungry, young boxers will have an opportunity to showcase their talent and heart as they battle each other in competitive fights in front of a national television audience. "ShoBox: The New Generation" is pure, basic boxing, reminiscent of the golden days of the sport.

SHOWTIME televises "ShoBox: The New Generation" at 5 p.m. ET/PT on Saturdays approximately every other week. The telecast will repeat the next day, Sunday, at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME EXTREME and the following Saturday at 8 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME TOO.

Nick Charles will call the action from ringside, with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producers of the telecast are Jay Larkin and Gordon Hall, with David Dinkins Jr. producing.

Showtime Championship Boxing to Feature Latin Fury II on October 12


World Boxing Organization (WBO) Welterweight Champion Antonio Margarito will defend his title for the first time when he faces WBO No. 3 contender Danny "Dynamite" Perez in a rematch Saturday, October 12, 2002, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. In the "Latin Fury II" co-feature from The Arrowhead Pond of Anaheim in Anaheim, Calif., Eric "Little Hands Of Steel" Morel will make the fourth defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) flyweight title when he takes on WBA No. 1 contender Kaowichit Denkaosaen. SHOWTIME will air both bouts in their entirety at 10 p.m. ET/PT. Top Rank, Inc. will promote the fight card.

Margarito (26-3, 1 NC, 18 KOs), of Tijuana, Mexico, will make his first start since capturing the vacant WBO 147-pound title with an impressive 10th-round TKO over Antonio Diaz March 16, 2002, on SHOWTIME from Las Vegas, Nev. Margarito, who applied relentless pressure throughout, scored the bout's lone knockdown in the 10th. Unbeaten since June 1996, Margarito had won 16 consecutive bouts, including the previous seven inside of the distance, prior to fighting to a no contest against then-WBO welterweight titleholder Daniel Santos on July 21, 2001, in Bayamon, Puerto Rico. One of those victories came over Perez on June 12, 1999, in Indio, Calif., in which Margarito got decked in the first round, but rallied to gain the eight-round split decision.

Perez (27-2, 17 KOs), of El Cajon, Calif., by way of Ventura, Calif., has won 11 consecutive bouts since losing the disputed decision to Margarito by the scores 76-75, 75-76 and 74-77. During the winning streak, which has helped him skyrocket in the world rankings, Perez earned the North American Boxing Association (NABA) and North American Boxing Federation (NABF) 147-pound titles, as well as the California State junior middleweight crown. An aggressive, crowd-pleasing boxer-puncher with power in either hand, Perez went 52-12 in the amateurs and is a former California State Golden Gloves champion.

Morel (31-0, 17 KOs), of Madison, Wisconsin, by way of San Juan, Puerto Rico, captured the WBA flyweight title on a lopsided 12-round decision over Thailand's Sornpichai Pisnurachank on Aug. 5, 2000, in Madison, Wisconsin. After retaining his 112-pound crown with 12-round decisions over Alberto Ontiveros and Gilberto Keb-Baas in October and December 2000, respectively, Morel defended his title for a third time by scoring a third-round TKO over Jose Lopez on June 8, 2001. In his most recent outing, Morel notched a 10-round decision over Alex Baba in a non-title bout on Jan. 11 2002. A member of the 1996 United States Olympic team, Morel went 124-14 during his amateur career.

Denkaosaen (20-0, 8 KOs) of Samui, Thailand, will make his United States debut and first start anywhere outside of his native homeland. After turning pro with a 12-round win on Nov. 28, 1996, Denkaosaen won the Pan Asian Boxing Association (PABA) flyweight title in his second start on Feb. 20, 1997. Over the course of the past five-and-one-half years, the Thailand native has successfully defended the PABA belt 16 times. The 26-year-old, also known as Denkaosaen Krathingdang-Gym, has gone 12 rounds on 10 occasions.

SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING's Steve Albert and former world champion Bobby Czyz will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast is Jay Larkin, with Ray Smaltz producing and Bob Dunphy directing.

For more information on the fight card, including biographies and ring records, please visit the SHOWTIME website at http://www.SHO.com.

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