09.03.04 – NEW YORK, March 8th – On March 27, Little Rock, Arkansas’ Alltel Arena will be host to a doubleheader featuring two of boxing’s rising superstars, middleweight Jermain Taylor and heavyweight Dominick Guinn.Yet the unbeaten contenders share more than just lofty reputations – Taylor and Guinn are both Arkansas natives and longtime friends, making “March Badness ” a homecoming for two fistic heroes.
“Being at home actually helps me out,” said Taylor (19-0, 14 KOs), who will defend his WBC Continental Americas middleweight title against Alex Bunema (24-3-2, 12 KOs) in the 12 round HBO Boxing After Dark main event (to air at 10pm ET/PT). “I feel that at home I’m at my best. In front of my hometown, I can’t be touched.”
Guinn (24-0, 17 KOs), who faces Monte Barrett (29-3, 16 KOs) in a ten round heavyweight co-feature, is looking forward to display his boxing skills for his home state fans.
“This is the first chance that my fellow Arkansans get to check their future champ out,” said Guinn. “It’s going to give me an added boost.”
Also adding a boost will be the reunion of Taylor and Guinn, a relationship that dates back to the fighters’ amateur days.
“It seemed like I was an older brother to Jermain in the days we were coming up,” remembered Guinn, who hails from Hot Springs. “I was boxing before Jermain, and I remember his first amateur fight at the Dunbar Community Center. We’ve been friends ever since.”
Little Rock’s Taylor smiles at the recollection of those days, when both fighters were rising up the national amateur rankings.
“Oh man, he used to be right down the hall from me,” said Taylor. “He didn’t have a dime, I didn’t have a dime, and look at us now. It’s a blessing.”
Tickets, priced at $300 (First Row VIP), $195 (VIP), $115 (Ringside), $85, $60, $40, $25 (Upper Bowl), and $19.50 (Students & Seniors in Upper Bowl), can be purchased
by calling Ticketmaster at 501-975-7575 (www.ticketmaster.com), or by calling the Alltel Arena Box Office at 501-975-9000