The kickoff press conference for the Edgar Berlanga vs. Hamzah Sheeraz and Shakur Stevenson vs. William Zepeda doubleheader will be held tomorrow, May 15th, to begin promoting their July 12th card in New York City. The press conference will be held at 1 pm ET at the Palladium Times Square in New York.
Intriguing Fights on the Undercard
Fans are most focused on the doubleheader fights. However, there are also two other intriguing match-ups: Alberto Puello vs. Subriel Matias and David Morrell vs. Imam Khataev. In some ways, these two fights are better than the main and co-main event because the matchups are more competitive.
Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens
Earlier today, the location for the Berlanga-Sheeraz and Stevenson-Zepeda event was revealed. It will be staged at the Louis Armstrong Stadium in Queens, New York. This outdoor stadium has a retractable roof in case of bad weather.
Used for tennis events, the stadium holds 14,053 fans, which might be a little too roomy for the fights on this card to fill it. What’s strange about the seating is that many of them are ground level, which could make it difficult for them to see the fighters well. The fans who purchase the more expensive tickets will get a side view of the action rather than looking down.
Shakur (23-0, 11 KOs) is defending his WBC lightweight title against what could be his toughest career test against interim champion Zepeda (33-0, 27 KOs) in a clash that will test him. Stevenson says he’s not going to run, but it’s going to be difficult for him to match the output from Zepeda. If he doesn’t run, his goose could be cooked.
Doubts in The Main Event
Fans are still questioning the wisdom of making Berlanga (23-1, 18 KOs) vs. Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) the main event because both fighters are seen as hype jobs. Naturally, their promoters disagree with that belief, but neither has proven themselves when stepping up against talented opposition.
Berlanga lost to Canelo Alvarez when he fought his first non-tomato can last September. Sheeraz was given a controversial 12-round draw against WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames last February in a fight that the world saw Adames winning.