BOISE, Idaho (July 20, 2006) – Idaho icon Kenny “The Emmett Eliminator” Keene is on the verge of fighting in the most significant boxing event in Idaho history if he can defeat former International Boxing Federation champion “King” Arthur Williams (42-14-1, 29 KOs) on July 29 in a 10-round Special Cruiserweight Attraction bout at the Qwest Arena in Boise, Idaho..
Keene (51-3, 28 KOs), fighting out of Emmett (ID), has a legitimate shot at a title fight later this year against World Boxing Association cruiserweight champion Virgil “Quicksilver” Hill (50-5, 23 KOs), contingent upon Keene defeating Williams in their chief supporting bout on the July 29 “Hold Nothing Back!” pay-per-view show, headlined by the return of five-time world champion Roy Jones, Jr. challenging North American Boxing Organization light heavyweight champion Prince Badi “The Boxing Prince” Ajamu. Five-time world title-holder Hill, who lives in North Dakota, will be at ringside July 29 as a PPV broadcast color commentator.
“Keene is poised to get his dream match against Hill,” Director of Operations Ritch Danner said, “but first he has to get past a tough opponent July 29 th in ‘King’ Arthur Williams. “Kenny says he wants to fight his last fight against Hill in Boise; Hill wants the fight at his home in North Dakota. Hill-Keene, if Williams doesn’t become the spoiler, will all come down to economics in terms of where it’ll be held. We’ll find out July 29 th if Boise, all of Idaho, will support Hill-Keene based on the turnout.”
Keene, arguably Idaho’s greatest boxer of all-time, has won 43 of his 44 fights (25 KOs) in Idaho, including a 22-1 (12 KOs) record in Boise, and his only loss there was nearly 10 years ago. Kenny has been the WBF, IBC and IBA cruiserweight title-holder during the course of his 15-year pro career. He is riding an eight-year, 11-fight win streak. His most notable victories have been against Rob Calloway, Richie LaMontagne and Andrew Maynard. Williams, who also owned the USBA and NABF cruiserweight belts, captured the IBF cruiserweight title in 1998 with a ninth-round knockout of Imamu Mayfield. He also has beaten Dwight Mohammad Qawi and Adolfo Washington.
“Hold Nothing Back!” — presented by Xyience, Inc. in association with Sports and Entertainment Media, Inc. (SEMI) and Knockout Promotions — will be broadcast live in North America on cable and satellite PPV beginning at 9 PM ET/6 PM PT. The event is being produced and distributed for North American Pay Per View by Integrated Sports and will be available in more than 50-million homes in the United States and Canada via InDemand, TVN, DirecTV & Dish Network in the US and Viewer’s Choice & Bell ExpressVu in Canada. The suggested retail price for the PPV telecast is only $24.95.
Hall of Fame bound Jones (49-4, 38 KOs) has been world champion in four different weight classes, ranging from middleweight up to heavyweight. His much-anticipated comeback after 10 months away from the ring is against Prince Badi (25-2-1, 14 KOs), who is rated No. 6 by the World Boxing Council and No. 7 by the World Boxing Organization. Prince Badi has dedicated the fight to the memory of his first cousin, the late Floyd Patterson, two-time world heavyweight champion.
In other pay-per-view fights former IBF light heavyweight champion William “KO King” Guthrie (33-3-2, 26 KOs), fighting out of Palm Beach Gardens (FL), takes on Luke Munsen (19-5, 13 KOs), of Spokane (WA), in a 12-round title fight for the vacant IBF International cruiserweight belt; unbeaten Crow Creek Sioux cruiserweight Shawn Hawk (11-0, 8 KOs) rated No. 19 by the North American Boxing Association, squares off against Doug “The Kid” Kaluza (17-5-1, 10 KOs) in an eight-round match.
Also on the undercard is veteran Frank Wood (26-3, 18 KOs), the reigning Mid-South heavyweight title-holder, against New Yorker Derrick Brown (12-2-1, 10 KOs), who is managed by one of the greatest women boxers of all-time, Christy Martin, in a 10-round Special Heavyweight Attraction. Boise light welterweight Hilario Lopez (8-4, 6 KOs) fights
Steve Marquez (7-7-1, 6 KOs) in a six-round bout, while Marquez’ younger brother, David Marquez (3-1-1), is matched against Caldwell (ID) light middleweight Edgar Hernandez (3-0) in a four-rounder. His nephew, lightweight Mario Hernandez (3-0, 2 KOs), also from Caldwell (ID), is scheduled against an opponent to be determined in a four-round match.
Tickets, priced at $50, $100, $150, $250 and $350 (plus handling fees), are on sale and available exclusively at the Qwest Arena Box Office. Call 208.331.TIXS (8947), toll free 888.330.TIXS (8497), or go on line at www.qwestarenaidaho.com .