MASHANTUCKET, Conn. (April 1, 2011) – Boxing’s best and brightest stars have packed the house at Foxwoods Resort Casino’s Fox Theater, leaving only a handful of tickets available to the public for tonight’s ESPN “Friday Night Fights” presentation.
“Coming Attractions,” presented by Jimmy Burchfield’s Classic Entertainment & Sports, begins 7 p.m. on Friday, April 1, 2011, and features the 10-round NABF lightweight title bout between red-hot prospect “Hammerin’” Hank Lundy (19-0-1) of Philadelphia and former two-time Venezuelan Olympian Patrick Lopez (20-3, 12 KOs) of Londonderry, N.H. Vladine Biosse (10-0, 5 KOs) of Providence, R.I., will battle Tim Connors (10-2, 7 KOs) of St. Louis in ESPN2’s 10-round super middleweight co-feature.
All ringside tickets, priced at $105, are sold out for tonight’s event, and fewer than 200 seats at the $40- and $65-level (including $65 bleacher seats located on stage) are available at the Foxwoods box office. Tickets can be purchased by calling 800.200.2882, or online at www.foxwoods.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. Foxwoods and CES recommend purchasing tickets in advance.
Friday’s undercard features a six-round super middleweight showdown between Joe Gardner (7-1-1, 1 KO) of Woonsocket, R.I., and Elvin Ayala (21-5-1, 9 KOs), of New Haven, Conn. Since returning to boxing in May of 2010, Gardner has three won three of his last four fights, including three in a row. Ayala, a former world-title challenger, is aiming for his second consecutive win.
“Coming Attractions” also features four additional prospects from New Haven, including Greg McCoy (2-2-1, 1 KO) battling Orlando’s Tafari Lawton (1-1-1), welterweight Dominic DeSanto (5-0, 5 KOs) facing Bryan Abraham (2-5-2, 2 KOs) of Schenectady, N.Y., middleweight Rick Dawson taking on J.C. Peterson (1-9) of Fort Myers, Fla., and lightweight Christian Lao (0-0) and former mixed martial arts fighter Theo Desjardin (0-0) of North Attleboro, Mass., making their professional debuts against one another.
Friday could be the toughest test of Lundy’s career. Nicknamed “El Elegante,” Lopez competed in the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney and again in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens. As an amateur, he also won the 2002 Central American and Caribbean Games and the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo. Lopez has won five of his last six bouts, with his only loss coming to Tim Coleman, while Lundy is in search of his second consecutive win on ESPN after losing to John Molina Jr. last July on “Friday Night Fights.”
Like Lundy, who has fought his last three fights on ESPN, Biosse is no stranger to the spotlight. Tonight will be his second nationally-televised bout on ESPN; the first came in July on the undercard of the Molina-Lundy show with a unanimous decision victory over Joe McCreedy. The undefeated Cape Verdean prospect, who once played college football at the University of Rhode Island, is coming off a knockout victory over Santiago Samaniego in February.
For more information on “Coming Attractions,” or any of CES’ upcoming shows, visit www.cesboxing.com.
Serrano vs. Alarcon tonight
Star Boxing’s rising undefeated welterweight prospect from Philadelphia, Raymond “Tito” Serrano returns home for the first time in over two years when he takes on Corey Alarcon in the main event of “Unfinished Business” tonight at the South Philly Asylum Arena in Philadelphia, PA. The bout is promoted by Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and KEA Boxing Promotions.
The 21-year-old, Serrano (14-0, 7KO’s) burst onto the scene in late 2007 scoring a first round TKO over Tierre King. Since then he has gradually begun to make the transition from prospect to up and coming contender. Serrano has been featured on ESPN’s “Friday Night Fights” on two separate occasions, both times winning impressive eight round unanimous decisions (UD8 Jay Krupp 12-1, UD8 Ronald Warrior 13-2-1). Serrano picked up three wins in 2010, including an impressive eight round victory over current IBA Intercontinental Welterweight Champion Ayi Bruce in July (19-3, 12KO’s) in July. Bruce holds a decision win over former top-rated welterweight Shamone Alvarez.
Alarcon is no pushover and has been in the ring with a number of top prospects including Julio Cesar Chavez Jr., Vernon Paris, Rocky Juarez, Chad Broussard, and Mike “No Joke” Stewart. Alarcon also owns a victory (DQ) over welterweight contender and soon to be world title challenger, “Vicious” Victor Ortiz.
Serrano and Alarcon (14-16-1, 4KO’s) officially weighed-in minutes ago with Serrano tipping the scales at a ripped and ready 146lbs. and Alarcon weighing in at 147 1/2 lbs.
Doors open at 7:30PM and first bout is at 8PM. Tickets are $100 (VIP ringside), $100 (VIP upper box), $65 (ringside) and $45 (general admission). You can purchase tickets at www.KEAboxing.com (973-903-2907) or at the Arena box office.