One of boxing’s hottest young heavyweights, Joey Abell (17-1, 1 NC, 17 KOs) will bring his devastating knockout power to ShoBox when he faces unbeaten heavyweight Teke Oruh (14-0-1, six KOs) at the Beausejour Cricket Ground in beautiful Gros Islet, St. Lucia on Friday, Nov. 16, 2007. The 10-round heavyweight bout will headline an attractive fight card from the Eastern Caribbean Island airing live on the SHOWTIME acclaimed series ShoBox: The New Generation, at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast)..
The event is being promoted by Goossen Tutor Promotions in association with the St. Lucia Tourist Board.
Abell, who was added to the fight card 10 days before the scheduled fight, isn’t worried about taking this match-up on such short notice.
“This is a great opportunity to fight on SHOWTIME in St. Lucia,” said Abell, a southpaw from Minneapolis, Minn. “I had been looking forward to watching it on television, and the next thing I know, I’m fighting in the main event. I promise to give the fans a show they won’t forget.”
“Abell is the hardest puncher in the heavyweight division today,” said Ron Peterson, Abell’s manager. “The fans and TV networks are just waiting for the next great heavyweight, and Abell will prove he’s on his way in St. Lucia. When the fans see him fight, they’ll see the most explosive heavyweight in the world.”
The pride of Minneapolis replaces undefeated and highly touted Cristobal Arreola (22-0, 20 KOs) of Riverside, Calif., who had to drop out of the event due to a death of a very close friend.
“I was looking forward to fighting in front of the thousands of fans in St. Lucia and the millions around the world,” Arreola said. “I just couldn’t escape the terrible loss I personally suffered when my best friend, my brother, was taken from me.”
“Understanding Arreola’s personal loss and our continuing prayers being with him and his family, we moved forward to finding a viable replacement,” said Dan Goossen, president of Goossen Tutor Promotions.
“Tom Brown, our matchmaker for more than 20 years, came up with a great replacement. Abell is pure excitement for the fans. He is a true knockout artist. Oruh believes he will be the one knocking out Abell. We will see who will be the last man standing on Nov. 16.”
“It’s unfortunate that Arreola had to pull out of this fight, and under such devastating circumstances,” said Gordon Hall, executive producer of the series “But, my hat is off to Joey Abell for stepping up and facing a tough opponent in Oruh on short notice. Abell is a big, strong young fighter, eager to show his mettle and that is what ShoBox is all about.
“Our thoughts and prayers go out to Chris Arreola and his friends and family. We look forward to seeing him back on ShoBox in the near future.”
A native of Lagos, Nigeria, who now makes his home in Las Vegas, Nev., Oruh had a stellar amateur career that included representing his home country at the 1999 World Championships. He has since pounded out 14 wins without a loss in his pro career.
Known for his ring savvy and two-fisted attack, Oruh also has learned his trade through sparring with the likes of Mike Tyson, Lennox Lewis, Wladimir Klitschko, Sam Peter and Lamon Brewster. On Nov. 16, he’ll look to show the world that he’s learned his lessons well.
“Abell is strong, but so am I,” Oruh said. “I am ready for this challenge, and I plan on coming out with a victory.”
In the ShoBox special attraction, unbeaten 2004 United States Olympic Gold medalist Andre Ward (13-0, eight KOs) continues on his road to the top when he takes on Roger “Never Can Tell” Cantrell (12-0, eight KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight contest.
The Abell vs. Oruh and Ward vs. Cantrell match-ups feature only one loss and 39 knockouts in 58 fights among the four fighters.
“We set out to bring St. Lucia big time boxing with big time names,” Goossen said. “All the ingredients are there for a spectacular event.”
Play-by-play announcer Nick Charles and expert analyst and boxing historian Steve Farhood will call the action from ringside. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
For information on Showtime Sports Programming, including exclusive video, photos and news links on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING and EliteXC mixed martial arts telecasts, please go www.SHO.com/sports.
About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talented fighters matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise crowd-pleasing and competitive fights while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz and Robert Guerrero. Kelly Pavlik became the 20th fighter who has fought on ShoBox to win a world title with his victory over Jermain Taylor on Sept. 29, 2007.