Atlantic City, NJ—Welterweights Ronald Cruz and Manuel Guzman, who live and train within forty miles of each other in Pennsylvania, will take their in-state rivalry to New Jersey when they meet in an eight-round contest Saturday evening, April 23, in the Palladium Ballroom at Caesars Atlantic City.
The Cruz-Guzman fight will serve as the semifinal to the scheduled 12-round main event which features Omar Sheika, of Paterson, NJ, against Garrett Wilson, of Philadelphia, PA, for the vacant United States Boxing Association (USBA) cruiserweight title. The first of seven fights begins at 7.30 p.m. in the 1,450-seat ballroom, the first time it has been used for boxing.
Cruz, 24, of Bethlehem, PA, is coming off a pair of strong performances. He knocked out Jeremy Bryan, of Paterson, NJ, last Oct. 30 at Bally’s Atlantic City, then followed with a third-round K0 over Dillet Frederick, of Fort Myers, FL, on Feb. 26 in the same ring.
A pro less than 28 months, Cruz is 11-0, 8 K0s.
Guzman, 28, of Lancaster, PA, comes into this fight having lost an eight-round decision to former U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali last Dec. 9 at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. Ali is unbeaten in 11 pro fights himself.
Prior to that, Guzman got off the floor in the first round and knocked out Ardrick Butler, of Philadelphia, PA, in two rounds July 9, 2010, at Atlantic City Boardwalk Hall.
A pro since 2006, Guzman is 7-10-2, 3 K0s. He has never been stopped and was the first boxer to beat then-undefeated Tommy Rainone, of New York, in 2008.
Five additional fights complete the card.
Tickets priced at $50 and $75 are on sale at the offices of Peltz Boxing Promotions (215-765-0922) and all Ticketmaster outlets (800-736-1420). They also can be purchased online at www.peltzboxing.com and www.Ticketmaster.com.
Blood From a Stone: Shaw Inks Bantamweight Action Hero Glenn “The Rock” Porras!
Gary Shaw Productions is proud to announce the signing of Philippine bantamweight contender Glenn “The Rock” Porras to a promotional agreement.
Southpaw Porras (26-2, 17 KOs) is a blood-and-guts warrior with an unbelievably strong will to win. “Glenn Porras is the kind of fearless warrior this company was built on,” said GSP President, Gary Shaw. “In his last fight, he won the Philippine Bantamweight Championship even though he was down in round three, had cuts over both eyes and a sprained left wrist! The kid can’t be in a bad fight!”
Porras, currently on a 13-fight winning streak, has also previously held the World Boxing Organization (WBO) Asia Pacific Youth and Philippines Boxing Federation (PBF) bantamweight titles. The 25-year-old hails from Luz Village in M’lang.
“Nonito Donaire isn’t the only Philippine bantamweight the world should watch out for,” continued Shaw. “Glenn Porras creates the kind of electricity in his fights that fan favorites are always known for. With the right people guiding his career, we expect he’ll move steadily up the rankings on his way to a world title… and make thousands if not millions of new fans along the way.”
Rumble on the Rio Undercard Taking Shape
The undercard is nearly complete for the televised boxing event happening at the Laredo Energy Arena in Laredo, Texas, next week.
On Friday, April 8, C.Y. Benavides in association with DiBella Entertainment, Warriors Boxing and Keeppunching Entertainment will proudly present “Rumble on the Rio” a night of world-class professional boxing.
The three sensational main fights will be televised live on the popular series ShoBox: The New Generation at 11 p.m. ET/PT on SHOWTIME: Marcus Johnson (20-0, 15 KOs) vs. Dyah Davis (18-2-1, 9 KOs), Danny O’Connor (14-0, 3 KOs) vs. Gabriel Bracero (14-0, 1 KO), and Willie Nelson (16-0-1, 10 KOs) vs. Vincent Arroyo (10-1, 7 KOs).
The supporting bouts were put together to get the fans revved up and ready for their television debuts, with plenty of local gun fighters set for battle.
What would a big Texas undercard be without a big, mean heavyweight? Bowie Tupou fits that bill. The once-beaten Californian (via Tonga) will slug it out over six rounds with extremely durable veteran Andrew Greeley of Monroe, Louisiana.
Also scheduled is an all Texas middleweight battle between former amateur standout Mike Martinez (9-2-1, 5 KOs) of Snyder, Texas, and Houston’s Jevon Boisseau (3-4) in six rounder.
Laredo’s own Christina Fuentes (0-0-2) will go against Houston’s Maria Ruiz (0-1-2) in a female flyweight four rounder, Iberia Louisiana’s undefeated Kelvin Price (9-0, 6 KOs) will face Boise, Idaho’s Ija Flapping Eagle (3-1-2, 3 KOs) in a heavyweight six rounder and finally, Laredo’s own junior lightweight Noe Lopez (7-7, 5 KOs) will take on an opponent over six rounds that is, for now, TBA.
“All these matches were made for the styles of the fighters,” explains Kerry Daigle of Keeppunching Entertainment. “Every one of them will be action fights because they’re what people want to see.”
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Tickets are priced at $25, $35, $45, & $75 (facility fees not included) and are available at the LEA box office, various H.E.B. locations, charge by phone 1-800-745-3000, or visit www.ticketmaster.com. Doors at 7pm first bout at 8pm. All bouts subject to change.
For more information, visit learena.com, keeppunching.com or call the LEA at 956-791-9192.