Two of the top young boxers in the sport today–world-ranked and undefeated lightweight Breidis Prescott of Colombia and two-time Olympic gold medal winner Guillermo Rignondeaux, a super bantamweight from Cuba–make their Las Vegas debut when they appear on a nationally televised card Friday, July 17, at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Prescott, rated by all four major sanctioning bodies, is in the 10-round main event against world-ranked Miguel Vazquez of Guadalajara, Mexico, while Rigondeaux is in the six-round special attraction against Robert Guillen of Glendale, Ariz. Four other Cuban boxers, including unbeaten super welterweight Erislandy Lara, appear on the card dubbed “The Future of Boxing” and presented by Roy Englebrecht Events in association with Caribe Promotions, DeCubas Presents and Jaoli Fight Promotions..
Also on the nine-bout card is undefeated and highly regarded Las Vegas lightweight Sharif Bogere.
Lara is in the eight-round semi-main event against Darnell Boone of Atlanta and Bogere is in a six-round bout against an opponent to be determined.
The card will be televised by ESPN2.
The 26-year-old Prescott has a record of 21-0 with 18 knockouts and is ranked No. 5 by the World Boxing Association, No. 7 by the World Boxing Council, No. 11 by the International Boxing Federation and No. 12 by the World Boxing Organization.
The lanky, 5-foot-11-inch Prescott burst into international prominence last September when he knocked out previously undefeated and highly touted Amir Khan in Manchester, England.
Prescott, who had fought outside of Colombia only twice, was an unknown quantity and considered a fairly safe fight for Khan, who was being groomed for a title fight. But Prescott showed the world who was the real lightweight prospect by halting Khan in the first round and winning the WBO’s Inter-Continental championship on Sept. 6.
Prescott has fought once since then, beating Humberto Toledo Feb. 20 in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.
Vazquez, ranked No. 17 by the WBC, has a record of 24-3 with 12 knockouts and has gone the distance with current WBO junior welterweight champion Timothy Bradley.
Rigondeaux, who has a record of 1-0 with one knockout as a pro, won the gold medal for Cuba at both the 2000 Sydney and 2004 Athens Olympic Games. He also won gold at the world championships during 2001 and 2005, en route to an amateur record of 243-4.
The 28-year-old southpaw turned pro May 22 of this year, when he stopped Juan Noriega in the third round in Miami Beach, Fla.
He’s being trained by Freddie Roach, and there’s no reason to think Rigondeaux can’t duplicate his amateur success as a pro.
The 33-year-old Guillen has a record of 4-2-3 with no knockouts.
The 26-year-old Lara, also a southpaw, has a record of 6-0 with four knockouts and is exceptionally quick with outstanding power.
The 29-year-old Boone has a record of 16-11-2 with six knockouts.
Bogere is only 20 but already has a record of 10-0 with six knockouts thanks to blazing speed and deft defense, unusual in someone so young. He’s managed by Las Vegan Jimmy Alex.
Other four-round bouts include super welterweight Yudel Johnson of Cuba against Chris Chatman of San Diego, cruiserweight Yordanis Despaigne of Cuba against Johnny Marino of San Diego, cruiserweight Duniel Dorticos of Cuba against Calvin Rooks of Las Vegas, heavyweight Lionel Davis of Los Angeles against Brice Ritani-Coe of Las Vegas and heavyweight Scott Alexander of Los Angeles against Benjamin Lee of Las Vegas.
All five Cubans on the card as well as Prescott fight out of Miami, Fla.
The 28-year-old Johnson, a silver medalist for Cuba at the 2004 Athens Olympics, has a record of 1-0 with one knockout.
Chatman has a record of 2-0 with no knockouts.
The 29-year-old Despaigne has a record of 1-0 with no knockouts.
Marino is making his pro debut.
Dorticos also is making his pro debut.
Rooks has a record of 1-1-1 with no knockouts.
Both the 6-foot-7-inch, 250-pound Davis and the 6-foot-3-inch, 230-pound Alexander have records of 1-0 with one knockout.
Ritani-Coe is making his pro debut while Alexander has a record of 1-1 with no knockouts.
The card will be held in the Grand Ballroom at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific) with the first fight starting at 5:45.
Tickets are priced at $25, $50 and $100 with all seats reserved.
In addition there are a limited amount to eight-seat tables around ringside; the price is $1600 for a table or $200 per seat and includes bottle service.
Tickets are available at the Planet Hollywood box office from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily or by calling 702-785-5000.
Tickets also are available at all Ticketmaster locations; visiting ticketmaster.com; or calling Ticketmaster Las Vegas at 702-474-4000, Ticketmaster National at 800-745-3000 or Ticketmaster Express at 888-448-7849 from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday; from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sunday.