SR Leonard Boxing and ESPN Announce Third Year Of Programming Alliance

Also Announces Partnerships with Sandia Casino and Diamond Desert Casino

04.09 - Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing and ESPN will continue their highly-successful boxing programming alliance for the third straight year beginning September 5, it was announced today by Sugar Ray Leonard, Chairman, SRLB, Bjorn Rebney, President/CEO, SRLB and Bob Yalen, who heads ESPN Boxing. SRLB will continue to air monthly fight cards on the first Friday of every month for the next year on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” series.

ESPN’s Bob Yalen stated: “Going into our third year with Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing was a very easy decision to make. They delivered on their promise and have done what they said they would do. Their ratings have been very solid, they pack the house and they put on great fights. And, this year, they brought ESPN2 a major sponsor for the series.”

The first show of the new First Friday series will be September 5 and will be held at the legendary Stardust Resort and Casino on the famed strip of Las Vegas, NV. In the Main Event, former WBO junior middleweight champ Verno Phillips (35-8-1; 18 KOs) from Aurora, CO faces tough veteran Michael “Body Snatcher” Lerma (28-7-1; 20 KOs) from Waco, TX. The Co-Main Event showcases the return of former WBO middleweight boss Lonnie Bradley (29-0-1; 21 KOs) from Harlem, NY, in his first bout under the SRLB banner, vs. hard-punching Nicholas Cervera (33-4-1; 30 KOs) from Colombia. Both bouts are scheduled for 10 rounds.

SRL Boxing President Bjorn Rebney stated: “For business relationships to work year after year, both parties have to benefit. Our relationship with ESPN has worked because we have delivered on those things that produce benefit for ESPN. We have promoted events that produce sold out arenas, our ratings have been very strong, and we provide exciting, competitive match-ups. We have also worked very hard to deliver tremendous media value to ESPN. For many months we have delivered over $2 Million per month in media value to ESPN. And, this year we hand delivered a major sponsor to the series as well. It is the combination of these factors that has made the Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing/ESPN alliance so successful”.

“We see ourselves as boxing programmer’s as much as boxing promoters. Exciting, competitive and evenly matched fights result in the ultimate win, win for everyone involved. ESPN wins with great programming, the venues win with better fights to sell, the fighters win by being able to move their careers forward and the fans win by enjoying boxing the way it was intended to be seen”, stated SRL Boxing Chairman, Sugar Ray Leonard.

Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing has also announced that has reached an agreement for a multi-fight partnership with the Sandi Casino in Albuquerque, NM. The SRLB fight cards fights card will be held on August 26, 2003 and October 3, 2003. The August event will be seen as part of ESPN2’s Tuesday Night Fights series and the October event will air on ESPN2’s “Friday Night Fights.”

Additionally, Sugar Ray Leonard Boxing has announced a multi-year partnership with the Desert Diamond Casino in Tucson, AR for fights cards on November 7, 2003, February 6, 2004 and April 2, 2004. All three shows will air on ESPN’2 “Friday Night Fights.”

“Over the next year of our partnership with ESPN2, fight fans will be able to track the progress of some world class fighters who fight under the SRL Boxing banner, like former world champions Verno Phillips, Lonnie Bradley and Diosbelys Hurtado,” stated Leonard, adding, “but our fights cards will provide great young talents – like Alex Trujillo and Joel Scott who co-headline our August 26 event at Sandia Casino – undefeated featherweight contender Daniel Seda and our undefeated prospects like featherweight Bernard Dunne, light heavyweight Allan Green, the 2002 National Golden Gloves champ, junior middleweight Paul “The Punisher” Williams and bantamweight Joe Nieves."