27.04.04 – USBA Cruiserweight Champion and IBF No. 1 contender, Kelvin “Concrete” Davis, will attempt to capture his first world championship when he takes on IBF No. 4 contender Ezra Sellers for the vacant IBF cruiserweight title Saturday, May 1, at 9 p.m. ET/PT* on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING. In the co-feature, Pan PABA Middleweight Champion and WBA No. 4 contender, Maselino Masoe, will battle WBA International Middleweight Champion and WBA No. 5 contender, Evans Ashira, for the vacant WBA middleweight crown. Don King Productions will promote the doubleheader from the Miami Jai-Alai Fronton.
Davis (20-2-1, 14 KOs), of Natchez, Miss., secured the vacant USBA 190-pound belt by registering a 12-round split decision over Arthur Williams on March 23, 2002, in Las Vegas. The native Mississippian, who opened his career with 16 consecutive victories, added the vacant International Boxing Association (IBA) Americas cruiserweight title with an opening-round knockout over Rogerio Lobo on Feb. 21, 2003, in Las Vegas. Three months after defeating Lobo, Davis lost a controversial 11th-round TKO to O’Neil Bell on May 23, 2003, in a bout for the USBA and North American Boxing Federation (NABF) cruiserweight crowns. The IBF ordered a rematch following a successful protest from the Davis camp that Bell hit their fighter when he was down. Currently ranked No. 12 by the WBA and No. 14 by the World Boxing Council (WBC), Davis regained his USBA title on Oct. 24, 2003, with a 12-round split decision (116-111, 115-112 and 113-114) over Louis Azille in an IBF cruiserweight elimination bout. The well-traveled boxer, who has scored 13 knockouts prior to the start of the third round, will fight in his 11th different state in 24 bouts.
Sellers (27-5, 24 KOs), of Washington, D.C., earned his fourth pro title, the International Boxing Organization (IBO) cruiserweight championship, by overcoming two knockdowns to floor Carl Thompson four times en route to a fourth-round KO on Nov. 26, 2001. Sellers previously won the North American Boxing Union (NABU) cruiserweight and World Boxing Union (WBU) heavyweight belts with knockout victories over Artis Pendergrass and John McClain on Sept. 11, 1996, and Aug. 7, 1997, respectively. Following a more than two-year drought devoid of pro title appearances, the hard-hitting southpaw captured the North American Boxing Organization (NABO) cruiserweight championship by scoring a third-round TKO over Willard Lewis on April 1, 2000, from Atlantic City, N.J. A winner of his past three bouts, Sellers, in his sole world title appearance, floored then-WBO cruiserweight champion Johnny Nelson before dropping an eighth-round TKO on April 6, 2002.
Masoe (24-2, 23 KOs), of Samoa, won the vacant PABA middleweight crown with a sixth-round TKO over Peter Mokomoko on Dec. 2, 2001, in Auckland, New Zealand. Following three successful defenses in 2002, Masoe retained the belt for a fourth time by tallying a fifth-round knockout over Henry Aritonang on Sept. 13, 2003, in Dargaville, New Zealand. In his seventh pro outing, the swinging Samoan captured the Oceanic Boxing Association (OBA) middleweight championship by stopping Brad Mayo on Feb. 21, 1998. Three fights later, Masoe closed out the 1998 campaign by winning the IBF Pan Pacific title with a 12-round decision over Abel Parker on Nov. 7.
Ashira (23-0, 13 KOs), of Nairobi, Kenya, procured the vacant IBF Intercontinental 154-pound championship by tallying a ninth-round TKO over Silvio Peppino on March 26, 1999, in Aarhus, Denmark. In his sole defense, the “ African Warrior” stopped Darren Maciunski in the seventh round on Jan. 28, 2000. More than 16 months later, Ashira stepped up in weight and acquired the WBA International middleweight title with an 11th-round knockout over Fredrik Alvarez on June 16, 2001. The unbeaten middleweight has successfully retained the title twice, including a ninth-round TKO over Jerry Elliott on Sept. 6, 2003, from Erfurt, Germany. In addition to his WBA ranking, Ashira currently is the WBC No. 5, IBF No. 7 and WBO No. 13 middleweight contender.
SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING’s Steve Albert and Al Bernstein will call the action from ringside with Jim Gray serving as roving reporter. The executive producer of the SHOWTIME telecast is Jay Larkin, with David Dinkins Jr. producing and Bob Dunphy directing.
For information on upcoming SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and “ ShoBox: The New Generation” telecasts, including complete fighter bios and records, related stories and more, please go the SHOWTIME website at http:www.sho.com/boxing.