The final NBCSN Fight Night telecast of 2014 will feature a special triple header this Saturday, Nov. 8, live from Sands Casino Resort in Bethlehem, Penn., at 8:30 p.m. ET. In the main event, heavyweights Amir “Hardcore” Mansour (20-1, 15 KOs) and Fred “Big Fred” Kassi (18-2, 10 KOs) will square off for 10 rounds.
The telecast begins with a 10-round light heavyweight battle between Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin (16-0, 9 KOs) and Jackson “Demolidor” Junior (15-0-1, 13 KOs), followed by welterweight Dmitry “The Mechanic” Mikhaylenko (17-0, 6 KOs) taking on local sensation Ronald Cruz (20-4, 15 KOs) for 10 rounds.
NBC Sports Group’s Fight Night team of play-by-play announcer Kenny Rice, analyst B.J. Flores and ringside reporter Chris Mannix will call the action from Sands.
“Hardcore” Mansour is a Fight Night veteran, making his third appearance on the program. In his most recent appearance, he lost a hard fought battle to Steve “USS” Cunningham on April 4.
Mansour’s opponent, Fred Kassi, a Douala, Cameroon native, will make his Fight Night debut on Saturday. The 35-year-old has won his last three fights (two by knockout) in his adopted hometown of New Orleans, La.
Undefeated Russian welterweight contender Dmitry Mikhaylenko made his U.S. debut in his last fight, defeating Sechew Powell via unanimous decision in August. This will be his Fight Night debut.
Facing off against Mikhaylenko is Puerto Rican Ronald Cruz, who lives in Bethlehem, Penn. This will be his ninth fight at Sands, where Cruz always has hometown support in the crowd.
Russian light heavyweight sensation Vasily “The Professor” Lepikhin is a 29-year-old from Chelyabinsk, Russia. The Professor made his Fight Night debut back on Nov. 9 at Sands, with a fifth round TKO over New Zealand native Robert “The Butcher” Berridge, to secure the WBO Oriental and PABA light heavyweight titles.
Lepikhin’s opponent is Brazilian Jackson “Demolidor” Junior, who knocked out Francisco Antonio Mora in the third round in his last fight. Junior will also make his Fight Night debut on Saturday.