(Chicago, November 13, 2006) World class professional boxing returns to Cicero Stadium on Friday, December 1st as Ricardo Castillo faces Takalani Ndlovu in an IBO super bantamweight world title fight which headlines DECEMBER FRENZY. DECEMBER FRENZY is presented by 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated, along with Miller Lite and TCF Bank..
Cicero Stadium is located at 1909 S. Laramie, just minutes from the Eisenhower and Stevenson Expressways. Doors for this event will open at 5:30pm with the first bell at 6:30pm. Tickets, starting at $30, are on sale in advance by calling 312-226-5800.
Castillo, 27-2 (17KO’s), from Mexicali, Mexico, will be making his second appearance in the Chicagoland area, having beaten Hugo Vargas on December 3, 2005 by unanimous decision at the Aragon Ballroom. In his last bout, Castillo knocked out Jesus Garcia on August 5th in Mexicali, Mexico.
Castillo has won seventeen bouts in a row and is currently ranked #6 by the WBC and #7 by the IBF. His brother, former lightweight world champion, Jose Luis Castillo, will accompany Ricardo to the ring.
Ndlovu, 26-3 (17KO’s) of Johannesburg, South Africa, is riding a five bout winning streak, most recently knocking out former world title challenger Giovanni Andrade on May 25th in Carnival City, South Africa. He is ranked in the top 15 by all four major sanctioning bodies, #12 by the WBC, #15 by the WBA, #6 by the IBF and #14 by the WBO. He is also ranked #9 by Ring Magazine.
The outstanding undercard features highly regarded prospects; bantamweight Alejandro Valdez, middleweight Andy Lee, featherweight Wilton Hilario, light heavyweight Mike Nevitt and heavyweight Thomas Hayes.
Also featured on the card are undefeated Polish prospects; junior middleweight Andrzej Fonfara and super middleweight Victor Polakov.
The Master of Ceremonies for this event will be the internationally recognized voice
of Latino boxing, Lupe Contreras.
8 Count Productions was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1997 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland. In 2003, Pesoli along with former featherweight contender Mike Garcia opened JABB Boxing Gym, a 6,000 square foot venue dedicated to the finest Chicagoland boxers of all talent levels.