HOBOKEN, New Jersey (May 30, 2012) – American boxing fans will once again have an opportunity to watch some of the most promising prospects from North of the border as FIGHT NOW! TV TM – America’s only 24-hour combat sports and entertainment channel – airs the fifth and final edition of the popular “Fast & Furious Boxing Series” on June 8 live from the famed Bell Centre in Montreal. Viewers may also watch on Ustream – ordering information is available at ustream.tv and fightnow.com..
Unbeaten World Boxing Organization (“WBO”) North American Boxing Organization (“NABO”) light heavyweight champion Eleider “Storm” Alvarez (8-0, 5 KO) makes his first title defense against Native American challenger Shawn “The Sioux Warrior” Hawk (23-1, 19 KO) in the 12-round main event.
“Promoter Yvon Michel (GYM Boxing) always delivers top fighters in entertaining, competitive fights,” says Mike Garrow, Co-Founder and General Manager of FIGHT NOW! TV. “Our FIGHT NOW! TV viewers always enjoy GYM (Groupe Yvon Michel) events. We’re very happy to be working again with this quality promotion to bring the best of Canadian boxing to the United States.
“The 28-year-old Alvarez, who lives in Montreal, was a 2008 Colombian Olympian who captured the NABO title last December, stopping Emiliano Cayetano in the opening round. Rated No. 15 by the WBO, Alvarez won all eight rounds in his most recent fight this past April against Rayco Saunders.
Hawk, who fights out of Atlantic City, New Jersey, is riding a five-fight win streak, four of which have come at light heavyweight after campaigning most of his professional career as a cruiserweight. Hawk, 27, has defeated top light heavyweights Henry Buchanan (20-2), Otis Griffin (23-8-2) and Rubin Williams (29-10-1) for the Sovereign Nations title.
In the co-feature, Montreal middleweight David Lemieux (25-2, 24 KO) makes his long-awaited comeback to the ring, after being sidelined since December from a right hand injury against Joachim Alcine (33-2-1, 19 KO). The wildly popular Lemieux, who is ranked No. 23 by the World Boxing Council (“WBC”), takes on tough Mexican-American Jaudiel “Negro” Zepeda (12-5-1, 9 KO) in an eight-round match.
Also fighting on a power-packed undercard is a trio of undefeated heavyweights in eight-round bouts: Oscar “Kaboom” Rivas (10-0, 6 KO) vs. Sylvera Louis (4-1, 1 KO), Eric Barrack (7-0, 6 KO) vs. Sheldon Hinton (11-8-1, 4 KO), and Didier Bence (4-0, 2 KO) vs. Stéphane “Brutus” Tessier. Gutsy middleweight Ahmad Cheikho (6-4-2, 5 KO) is also scheduled to be in action. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Sellout Crowd Expected in Bethlehem PA 6/1 NBCSN
With a start-studded lineup scheduled for June, the Event Center at the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem looks like the place to be in the Lehigh Valley.
But the one evening the local sports fans are talking about is Friday, June 1, when the NBC Sports Network Fight Night cameras invade the 1,832-seat Event Center for an evening of world-class professional boxing.
The double-header main event features Gabriel Rosado, of Philadelphia, PA, vs. Sechew Powell, of Brooklyn, in a 12-round contest for the vacant WBO Inter-Continental junior middleweight title, and Ronald Cruz, of Bethlehem, PA, vs. Prenice Brewer, of Cleveland, OH, for the vacant WBC Continental Americas welterweight crown.
The ticket demand has been so overwhelming that the Event Center this week added additional seats to accommodate those fans who still have not been able to purchase tickets to the first boxing card in the new building, which opened May 16 with Incubus and followed with the Beach Boys, Glen Frey and Alan Jackson to strong sales, but nothing like the demand for tickets for June 1
“This is what boxing should be about,” said J Russell Peltz, whose company, Peltz Boxing Promotions, Inc., is staging the seven-bout card with Main Events, of Totowa, NJ. “We may be next to a casino, but we are in a brand new state-of-the-art arena where fans buy tickets. It’s a beautiful building with seven luxury suite boxes and there’s not a bad seat in the house.
“Real boxing fans are coming to this show and they are buying tickets wherever they can find them. It’s just like the old days when the corner store put up posters and sold tickets from behind the cash register. That’s what we’ve done in Bethlehem. We have ticket outlets all over town. About a dozen businesses have purchased ads in the souvenir program.
“The NBC Sports Network series is about good fights in lively settings and that is what we have been doing this year-bringing boxing back to the real fans.
“We’ve got a hometown hero in Ronald Cruz and he comes from a very tight-knit community of adoring fans. They follow him to Philadelphia when he fights there and they gobble up hotel rooms and loads of tickets when he fights in Atlantic City.”
Last summer, on four weeks’ notice, Cruz vs. cross-state rival Doel Carrasquillo, of Lancaster, PA, sold out the 1,300-seat temporary tent erected on the grounds of the Sands Casino Resort Bethlehem on the Friday evening of July 4 weekend. At that time, youngsters under 21 were not permitted to attend the fight since they would have had to go through the casino to get to the tent. With the Event Center standing alone, people of all ages can attend.
It does not figure to be an easy night for Cruz (16-0, 12 K0s) on June 1 when he takes on the slick-boxing Brewer, whose 16-1-1 record includes six knockouts and he has a history of winning away from home.
In the TV main event, it should be another struggle for both Rosado and Powell, a pair of world-ranked contenders looking for a world title fight down the road.
The start time of the seven-fight card has been moved up to 7pm due to a taping for overseas television of an important light-heavyweight rematch between Russian puncher Sergey Kovalev and Darnell Boone, of Atlanta, GA.
Kovalev is 17-0-1, 15 K0s, but had his toughest fight 20 months ago when he eked out an eight-round split decision over Boone in Atlanta, GA.
Four additional bouts complete the card.
FOUR-TIME AUSTRALIAN HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPION BOB MIROVIC TO HEADLINE SAMOA FIGHTNIGHT
Four-time Australian heavyweight champion Bob Mirovic is confirmed to headline the Bluesky Samoa 50th Independence PRBC fightnight in Apia later this week.
Samoa promoter Mr. Tuilagi Saipele Esera said, “It’s unfortunate that Tahiti and Fiji initially confirmed to participate in the inaugural Pacific Rim Boxing Championship in Samoa had to pull out at the last week. It however provided the opportunity for a better card with the legendary Mirovic confirmed to be the main event.
Samoan heavyweight contender Gogosina Ulutoa has just been handed the biggest fight of his boxing career. The heavyweight contest is expected to be all blood and guts in front of a vocal crowd.
English boxer Richard Hackney will be going toe to toe with Samoan welterweight sensation Iosia Nanai while Atalili Fai of New Zealand is confirmed to fight Samoa contender To’o Mitai. American Samoa gold medalist Alapati A’asa in the cruiserweight division will fight Saipeti Asiata of Samoa.
The other two pro fights is a Samoa elimination with Samoan Olypian Farani Tavui fighting up and coming cruiserweight Francis Mamoe while Tony Iapesa squares off with Michael Fonoti to decide the challenger for the Samoa welterweight title.
Six amateur bouts will feature an American Samoa selection against a Samoa selection for the Prime Minister’s Cup, plus opening bouts between a Savaii selection and a Upolu selection.
Last week PRBC Chairman Mr. Pa’u Edwin Puni congratulated Bluesky Samoa a regional telecommunication company for taking up the naming rights sponsorship.
Pa’u also challenged other businesses in the region to get behind boxing development in a collective endeavor to build the next Maselino Masoe, Jimmy Thunder, David Tua, Kali Meehan, Shane Cameron, Soulan Pounceby and Alex Leapai.
The Bluesky Samoa 50th Independence PRBC is on Thursday 31st May 2012, before the flag raising day.
Corporate Tables and Tickets are now on sale, contact Mr. Tuilagi Saipele Esera on (+685) 751-9458