HOUSTON, TX (April 27, 2009) Tickets are now on sale as Chet Koerner’s TKO BOXING Promotions, home of the nationally acclaimed “HOMETOWN HEROES TO WORLD CHAMPIONS” professional boxing series, presents the “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN”, on Thursday, May 28th at the Arena Theatre in Houston, Texas. Tickets, starting at $20, are now on sale and can be purchased through the Arena Theatre Box Office; 713-772-5900 or www.arenahouston.com. The Arena Theatre is located at 7326 S.W. Freeway in Houston . Doors will open on the evening of the event at 7pm, with the first bell at 8pm..
Said Koerner, “This is our inaugural event here in Houston and we’re delivering an evening of world class professional boxing to the great fight fans here. Houston has a legacy of being an outstanding boxing town with very supportive fans, going back to Muhammad Ali vs. Ernie Terrell at the Astrodome in 1967 right up to the Juan Manuel Marquez vs. Juan Diaz event two months ago.”
Headlining “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” will be sensational Vietnamese featherweight contender Dat “BE DAT” Nguyen. With a record of 14-1-0 (6KO’s), Nguyen, the 26 year old native of Bien Hoa , Vietnam , now residing in Vero Beach , Florida , has won three in a row, most recently taking an eight round decision over Carlos Diaz at the Seminole Hard Rock and Casino in Hollywood , Florida on November 11th.
Also featured on the card will be Houston native, middleweight K.J. Noons. Currently living in San Diego , Noons returns home to fight for the first time in his professional career. With a record of 8-2-0 with five knockouts, the 26 year old mixed martial arts champion is anxious to fight in front of his hometown fans in his Houston debut.
Said Koerner, “Dat and K.J. are both outstanding fighters with an all action style that the Houston fight fans will truly enjoy. They’ve both told me how excited they are to fight in Houston on May 28th”.
Also making his Houston debut will be outstanding Phoenix based featherweight prospect Rafael Valenzuela. The 23 year old sports a record of 12-1-0 (6KO’s) and is coming off a career best eight round decision win over heavy handed Columbian veteran Yogli Herrera on February 14th in Reno, Nevada. A professional for five years, Valenzuela is guided by award winning manager, Cameron Dunkin.
The undercard at “THE BEATDOWN IN H-TOWN” will feature terrific Houston based prospects including junior middleweight Omar Henry, welterweight Jose Gutierrez, heavyweight Eugene Hill, welterweight Geraldo Ibarra as well as Mission, Texas based welterweight Raul Tovar in separate bouts.
JAIME SANDOVAL VS. JUAN CARLOS MARTINEZ “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 2” FRIDAY, MAY 29TH AT THE UIC PAVILION
CHICAGO, IL (April 27, 2009) World class professional boxing returns to the UIC Pavilion on Friday, May 29th, as Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING, presents “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 2”.
Tickets for “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 2”, starting at $31, are on sale now through the 8 Count Productions office at 312-226-5800 and through Ticketmaster at 312-559-1212 or www.ticketmaster.com.
Doors on the evening of the event will open at 7pm with the first bell at 8pm. The UIC Pavilion is located at 525 S. Racine, just one block south of the Eisenhower Expressway. For further information, please visit their website at www.uicpavilion.com
“WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 2” is headlined by an outstanding ten round main event between Chicago based lightweight Jaime “SUPERFLY” Sandoval and Juan Carlos “EL PEZ” Martinez of San Luis Potosi, Mexico for the World Boxing Foundation Americas Lightweight Championship.
The Sandoval/Martinez bout is a rematch of their terrific battle on October 19, 2007 at Cicero Stadium, won by Martinez in an epic eight round bout that saw both warriors bruised and battered as they fought to a very close finish in front of their legions of loyal fans. Martinez was declared the victor by scores of 78-74, 78-74 and 77-75.
Said Pesoli, “I’ve wanted to make this rematch for over a year and I’m thrilled that Jaime and Juan Carlos have agreed to fight again on May 29th. The fans in Cicero saw an outstanding bout between these two warriors and we’re confident the rematch will be even better. They’ve both fought on our shows a number of times and have huge fan bases.”
“This is our third event at the UIC Pavilion and we’re very happy to see the large crowds turn out at our new home. The Sandoval/Martinez rematch extends our commitment to our fans, now in our 12th year, to putting on great events with terrific fights” continued Pesoli.
Since beating Sandoval, the 27 year old Martinez has fought five times, most recently battling former world champion Guty Espadas Jr. in an excellent ten round war, losing a close split decision by scores of 94-97, 94-96 and 98-92 on April 4th in Tamaulipas, Mexico.
In his six year career, he has compiled a record of 15-10-1 with seven knockouts.
The 27 year old Sandoval, younger brother of former world champion Jesus Chavez, has built a record of 15-3-1 with 12 knockouts since turning professional five years ago.
Long a staple of the Chicago boxing scene, Sandoval is coming off a hard fought ten round draw with undefeated Rashad Ganaway in Harlingen, Texas on March 28th.
Prior to that, Sandoval won a career best eight round decision over highly regarded and undefeated Dominican prospect Argenis Mendez on October 3rd in Denver, Colorado.
The co-main event will feature sensational super bantamweight prospect Eric “EL LOCO” Estrada in a six round bout. The 21 year Chicago native, 7-0-0 (3KO’s) has impressed local fight fans with his outstanding boxing skills and aggressive all-action style since turning professional in September 2007.
Estrada is coming off an impressive fifth round stoppage of Steve Cannell on January 23rd at Cicero Stadium.
Rounding out eight bout “WINDY CITY FIGHT NIGHT 2” event will be newcomers; welterweight Tony Maldonado, junior welterweight Ramiro Carrillo, featherweight Sergio Montes De Oca, lightweights Russell Fiore and Jose Hernandez and super bantamweights Sergio Cristobal and Juan Carlos Fernandez.
Additional information on this card will be announced shortly.