SACRAMENTO, Calif.—Promoter Don King, in association with Maloof Sports and Entertainment, will present a highly anticipated world championship battle of the undefeated at ARCO Arena on Saturday, Sept. 29, when World Boxing Council light heavyweight champion “Bad” Chad Dawson takes on WBC No. 1-ranked mandatory challenger Adrian “The Shark” Diaconu, from Romania now fighting out of Montreal, Canada.
Tickets priced at $30, $50, $75, $100 and $250 will go on sale Saturday (Sept. 8) at 10 a.m. PT. The quickest and most convenient way to purchase tickets is by calling Ticketmaster Charge-By-Phone at (916) 649-TIXS or by visiting their Web site at www.ticketmaster.com. Tickets are also available for sale at the ARCO Arena Box Office and at all Sacramento-area Ticketmaster outlets. The main event will be televised on SHOWTIME Championship Boxing at 10 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
“I couldn’t be more excited to be promoting this light heavyweight championship with the Maloofs at ARCO Arena on Sept. 29,” an ebullient Don King said. “We are looking forward to bringing World Championship Boxing to a region with such rich boxing heritage.”
“The Maloof family loves the sport of boxing going all the way back to my father,” Gavin Maloof said. “We are proud to be bringing Don King to Sacramento to promote this world championship card at ARCO Arena. It will be a great event for boxing fans in Sacramento.”
Dawson (24-0, 16 KOs), from New Haven, Conn., possesses the WBC 175-pound title Roy Jones Jr. held from 1997 to 2004. Dawson won the title in a magnificent display of boxing, pounding on then-previously undefeated champion Tomasz Adamek (31-0). Both fighters tasted the canvas on Feb. 3 in Kissimmee, Fla., but Dawson built a strong scorecard lead, survived his knockdown and won a 12-round decision.
Diaconu (24-0, 15 KOs) earned the WBC No. 1 ranking and became mandatory challenger to Dawson by scoring a third round technical knockout over Rico Hoye in an elimination bout staged in Montreal on May 9. Possessing knockout power in both hands, Diaconu will certainly be looking to test Dawson’s chin in the hope of gaining his title.