WBC Welterweight World Title Eliminator – Showtime Championship Boxing
Danny Garcia – 146 ½ pounds
Brandon Rios – 146 ½ pounds
Referee: Kenny Bayless; Judges: Dave Moretti (Nev.), Glenn Trowbridge (Nev.), Steve Weisfeld (N.J.)
Two-division world champion Danny Garcia and former world champion Brandon Rios faced off Thursday at the final press conference for their WBC Welterweight World Title Eliminator this Saturday, February 17live on SHOWTIME from Mandalay Bay Events Center, and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
Garcia, who returns for his first bout since a unification showdown with Keith Thurman, promised to put on a show, while a confident Rios assured he was 100 percent prepared for what he deemed a “make or break” fight.
SHOWTIME Sports released a video feature recapping the first fight between David Benavidez and Ronald Gavril ahead of their WBC Super Middleweight World Championship rematch this Saturday, February 17 live on SHOWTIME from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Undefeated super middleweight world champion David Benavidez and top-rated contender Ronald Gavril held a media workout in Las Vegas Thursday ahead of their world championship rematch Saturday, February 17 live on SHOWTIME from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas.
Two-division world champion Danny “Swift” Garcia and former world champion Brandon “Bam Bam” Rios went face-to-face for the first time Tuesday at a press conference in Los Angeles to announce their main event showdown taking place Saturday, Feb. 17 live on SHOWTIME from Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
At 20 years, 9 months old, David Benavidez became boxing’s youngest world champion – and the youngest ever in the super middleweight division – with a split decision victory over Ronald Gavril on Friday night on an exciting night of 168-pound action on SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
Benavidez (19-0, 17 KOs) placed the previously vacated WBC Super Middleweight belt around his waist after winning the title against former European amateur standout Gavril (18-2, 14 KOs) in what Benavidez later described as quite possibly the “Fight of the Year.” One scorecard had Gavril winning 116-111, with Benavidez winning on the other two scorecards, 116-111 and 117-111 in the event presented by Premier Boxing Champions.
All six super middleweight boxers made weight on Thursday, one day before a stacked tripleheader tomorrow/Friday, Sept. 8 on SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition live on SHOWTIME® (10:05 p.m. ET/PT) from the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
(Photo credit: Rosie Cohe/SHOWTIME)
OFFICIAL WEIGHTS:
David Benavidez: 167 ½ Pounds
Ronald Gavril: 166 ¾ Pounds
LAS VEGAS (May 4, 2016) – Promising Mayweather Promotions star Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril (15-1, 11 KOs) will be opposed by Juan Camilo “La Boa” Novoa (25-6-1, 23 KOs) and his TMT stablemate Sanjarbek “War” Rakhmanov (4-0, 3 KOs) will take on Alfonso Olvera (7-2, 3 KOs) in what is now a ShoBox: The New Generation quadrupleheader on Friday, May 13, live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) from Sam’s Town Live.
Hard-hitting super middleweight Rogelio “Porky” Medina (33-6, 27 KOs), of Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, registered one of the upsets of the year, knocking out previously unbeaten, world-ranked J’Leon Love (18-1, 10 KOs), of Inkster, Mich., in the third round of a Special Saturday presentation of ShoBox: The New Generation live on SHOWTIME.
After Love missed with a left land, the unheralded Medina countered with a vicious combination of punches to the chin and head that dropped Love face-first to the canvas. Love attempted to get up but referee Tony Weeks stepped in and stopped the fight at 39 seconds into the third round. It was the 123rd time since the series began 13 years ago that an unbeaten fighter suffered his first loss on ShoBox.
@boxingroundup – Firstly Ronald let me congratulate you on Saturday night’s victory. Tell me how did it feel to have the first 8 round bout of your career?
Thank you! It felt great, I needed to see how I perform in a lengthy, physical fight with a more experienced opponent.
Fighting Shujaa El Amin was a bit of a step up in the calibre of your opposition considering he has shared the ring with Periban and Stevenson amongst others. Was this a learning fight for you and what experience can you take away from this victory?