WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr. will be taking on undefeated Tugstsogt Nyambayar and former champions Guillermo Rigondeaux will battle Liborio Solis Battle for the vacant bantamweight title Live on SHOWTIME this Saturday, February 8 in a Premier Boxing Champions Event at the PPL Center in Allentown, PA. Also Jaime Arboleda and Jayson Velez, will compete in a 12-round WBA Super Featherweight Title eliminator to open the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
GARY RUSSELL JR.
"We had a great training camp. I have my younger brothers on the card with me and in camp, pushing me every day. We're ready, focused and hungry.
"Tug will be the best he possibly can be because he knows he's facing one of the best fighters in the world. He has everything to gain and nothing to lose. He's going to leave it all on the line.
"I think Tug is a lot more technically sound than a lot of the guys who I have competed against. He's another guy with everything to gain and nothing to lose, so I'm anticipating a tough fight.
"If it were up to me, I'd be facing Leo Santa Cruz or Gervonta Davis, but this is what I have to face. I'm here to defend my title in style once again.
"It's amazing to watch my younger brothers and to have them on the same card. I'm excited to work their corners. There's never been a set of three brothers to become world champions, and I think we'll do that real soon. They're both extremely talented and hungry. I expect them to be better than me by the time they're at this point in their careers.
"I was the first fighter to turn pro on ShoBox, and I went on to win my title on SHOWTIME. The fact that we're still doing it now speaks wonders. I work great with their team and I'm grateful to be in this position.
"You should expect to see what you always see with me. Boxing at its best. A great deal of ring generalship. Good boxing IQ. Hand speed. Punching power. The total package as a fighter. As a matter of fact, I'm trying to figure out why I'm not on the pound for pound list given all of that. That's an issue."
TUGSTSOGT NYAMBAYAR
"I'm very excited for this fight. It's going to be a good fight for the fans. Gary Russell Jr. is a great champion, but watch on Saturday night, when I become the new featherweight world champion.
"I just have to be better than Gary Russell on Saturday night. The past experience won't matter. If he thinks I'm too inexperienced for this fight, he is going to be in for a surprise Saturday.
"I know that I'm the underdog, but that doesn't affect me. I don't care if I'm the favorite or the underdog.
"I'm not worried about any ring rust. I've worked so hard in the ring during training camp to make sure I'm the best I've ever been.
"Working with Ismael Salas has been very good for me and I think it's taken me to another level in my career. All of skills, all of my power and speed, it will all be with me on Saturday. I just have to put it together for my best performance.
"I'm very ready for this fight. I want to be the first WBC featherweight champion in history from Mongolia. I'm ready, you just need to watch on Saturday."
GUILLERMO RIGONDEAUX
"Bantamweight is my division. I have no issues making that weight. I want to thank my team for getting me prepared and getting me to this position. All that's left is to fight Saturday night.
"I want to also thank Ronnie Shields for how he has prepared me for this fight. It's been a great training camp and I can't wait to step into the ring and become champion again.
"I feel 100% and I believe that bantamweight has always been my best weight. I did well at 122 pounds, so i stayed there. My plan now is to dominate this division.
"Me and Ronnie Shields have great chemistry and worked well together. Ronnie is a great trainer and I'm looking forward to a long run that we're going to have together.
"I'm going to be phenomenal in the ring. I'm going to unify 118 pounds just like I did at 122 pounds. I'm excited to get started.
"My strategy will depend on the fight that Solis brings. I'm a veteran in this sport, dating back to the amateurs, so I'm used to seeing so many different styles. I'm to fight the way that gives me the best chance to win."
LIBORIO SOLIS
"Thank you very much to my team who has backed me and supported me leading up to this fight. I'm very grateful for this opportunity. My opponent has been a great champion and I'm very excited to be here to fight him.
"This is obviously going to be a great fight. I'm a warrior who always comes to fight. He can pick his strategy however he wants. But I just want to get in there and put my skills on display.
I was already a champion in one division and I had a fight taken on the scorecards at bantamweight, or else i would already be a two-division champion.
"Saturday is going to be different than my last fights. Both me and Guillermo give our heart and soul and we're going to fight until the best man wins. I'm not leaving that ring without a championship.
"I'm going to come with everything on Saturday. I come to fight and I come to win. I'm sure Guillermo is the same. The difference will be my determination to win this fight.
"I don't think anyone's weight or which division we fought at in the past will be an advantage. I'm sure he could have always fought at 118. The person with the advantage is who wants it more."
JAIME ARBOLEDA
"I want to thank all the great champions up on this stage and everyone on my team who made this fight happen. This opportunity has been a long time coming and I've been preparing hard to make the most out of it.
"On Saturday, I'm very confident that this is going to be a great fight and end in a knockout. I'm prepared and I know that I'm going to win.
"This is a great chance to get one step closer to my dream of becoming a world champion. I know what I have to do and I've prepared every day to make sure that I fight my best on Saturday night.
"We have a lot of respect for each other and we're looking forward to Saturday night. Don't miss this card because it's going to be action packed from start to finish."
JAYSON VELEZ
"I'm happy to be here again and back in a big fight. My last time fighting on SHOWTIME was in 2012 and I'm very thankful for this opportunity to compete on this stage once again.
"I'm blessed to be able to do what I do every day. I've fought professionally since 2007. This is the dream that every boxer has. When I win on Saturday, I'll be the mandatory for the belt and that's the opportunity that I want.
"I've been training hard for this fight and I'm ready. I've won three fights in a row heading into a great fight between two hungry fighters. We want to add each other to our record and I believe that this fight is ending in knockout.
"Don't miss this fight because this is going to be great. There's going to be a lot of action. Every time I step into the ring, win or lose, I will leave everything in there. I fight with my heart and I fight for Puerto Rico."
The 2020 Washington Golden Gloves tournament returns to Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, MD on Saturday, February 15th. Opening day starts the preliminary bouts and will continue on Saturday, February 22nd and Saturday, February 29th.
The Semifinals will start on Saturday, March 7th and will continue on Friday, March 13th and Saturday, March 21st. The tickets for the preliminary bouts will be a general admission of $20.
The championship finals will be taking place at Rosecroft Raceway on Saturday, April 4th. The Regional Championships consist of the DC/Maryland/Delaware champions against the titleholders from Virginia and North Carolina. Those bouts will be on Saturday, April 18th at Rosecroft. Championship ticket prices are not yet available. You can call the telephone number listed on the flyer.
In the final bout of the evening at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, Hyattsville, MD super lightweight Patrick "YG Pat" Harris defeated Clay "3rd Degree" Burns of Fort Worth, TX by eight-round unanimous decision. All three judges scored it the same at 80-72. Patrick Harris improves his record to (19-0, 9 KO's) while Clay Burns falls to (8-7-2, 4 KO's).
There is no detailed reports about how the bout played out.
All photos are courtesy of David Algranati.
(Photos by David Algranati)
In a ten-round co-feature bout former IBF/WBA/IBO Super Welterweight champion "Swift" Jarrett Hurd of Accokeek, MD defeated Francisco "Chia" Santana of Santa Barbara, CA by unanimous decision at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY.
Francisco Santana came up from the 147 lb welterweight division to take on the much larger than normal 154 lb junior middleweight "Swift" Jarrett Hurd.
In this scheduled ten-round bout the size advantage of Hurd definitely showed. Hurd was able to easily touch Santana with his jab as he moved around the ring in the first and second rounds. In the third-round Hurd added the right cross after landing his jab and did much of the same in round four. It was in the fifth-round when Hurd started to add more power to his punches. Santana was taking a lot of Hurd's shots but it wasn't a wise thing to do.
In the second half of the bout Hurd looked to put more combinations together and prove he was more of a boxer with a few added moments of the old Hurd's power shots. Santana made the huge mistake of trying to stand in front of Hurd. With Santana being so close to Hurd the crowd was looking for a knockout from the former champion. Santana stayed in the contest by coming forward even after taking so many of those hard shots from Hurd until the final seconds of the fight when Hurd dropped him to the canvas with a uppercut for an eight count. Hurd went on to win the bout by the scores of 97-92 and 99-90 twice.
Jarrett Hurd improves to (24-1, 16 KO's) while Francisco Santana falls to (25-8-1, 12 KO's).
JARRETT HURD
"We came out here and did what we wanted to do. The crowd didn't love it, but you gotta understand, I got the unanimous decision and I did what I wanted to do.”
“There was definitely no frustration. We didn’t want to go toe to toe and we didn’t want to make this a risky fight.
“We’ve moved on from the Julian Williams fight. We came out here, we had a long lay-off and we got the job done.”
“We want the belts. We want the best. I’m not exactly sure what’s going to be the next move, but we want the belts.”
FRANCISCO SANTANA
"In the last round I wanted to come forward and close it hard, but I got a little bit careless for a second. In boxing you have to stay focused for every second of every round. He caught me with a good shot.
"I just wanted to keep coming forward and give it my all. I know I was frustrating him at times, but it was a tall task and I don't make any excuses."
(Photos by Davis Algranati)
In a eight-round contest at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, District Heights, MD welterweight Keeshawn Williams defeated Gaku Takahashi of Yubari, Japan by unanimous decision.
This was Williams first eight-rounder coming into this bout with the taller Takahashi, who looked to have a very awkward style while fighting as a southpaw. Williams couldn't find his range like he wanted as the first-round ended. Williams looked to use the method of counter punching, which seemed to work. Williams started to settle himself down to land some good right hands. Williams did a good job of taking his time to create openings to land clean shots from the use of his defense. Round four started off with both fighters on the ropes throwing heavy shots with Takahashi coming out with a bloody left eye. Takahashi bounced back to open round five with a good jab that landed on Williams. Williams still was in control of the bout as he continued land counter shots off of Takahashi mistakes. Williams raised his punch output in the final two round, but it was the right hand that landed the most to give Williams the clear victory over Takahashi. The judges scored the contest 79-73, 78-74 and 80-72 for Williams.
Keeshawn Williams record improves to (7-0-1, 2 KO's) as the veteran Takahashi falls to (16-11-1, 8 KO's).
(Photos by David Algranati)
In a six-round middleweight contest, Baltimore, MD's Lorenzo "TRUCK" Simpson won by unanimous decision over Antonio Hernandez of Kansas City at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Simpson did a great job of using his jab and some good bodywork with the left hand. Simpson's jab setup some his left hooks that landed to the head of Hernandez in the middle of this scheduled six-round contest. In round four Simpson moved in closer to capitalize on the body shots that seemed to bother Hernandez in the early rounds. Simpson looked very relaxed going into the fifth-round as he showed a little more movement. Hernandez was very game while he exchanged shots with Simpson and even landed a few good shots of his own to win round five.. Both fighters came out slugging in the final round. This clearly looks like the type of fight Simpson needed to have at this point of his career. Hernandez stood in strong and took everything Simpson had to offer as the contest ended. All the judges scored the bout for Simpson, 59-55.
Lorenzo Simpson remains undefeated with a record of (7-0, 4 KO's) while Hernandez falls to (2-11-1).
(Photos by Daniel Cork)
Jeison Rosario won the World Boxing Association and International Boxing Federation super welterweight titles Saturday, stopping hometown hero Julian Williams in the fifth round at Temple University's Liacouras Center.
"I'm so emotional in this moment right now," Rosario said through an interpreter. When I lost my [first] fight I said I will never lose again until I become champion of the world and that's what happened tonight. I came prepared. I knew before the fight that I was going to win it. I knew it. It is no surprise for me," said Sampson Lewkowicz, Rosario's promoter. I said to everyone before the fight that we will win by KO before the sixth round and that is exactly what happened. Anytime [Williams] wants a rematch we will honor [his contractual rematch option]."
"I would have started doing training camps a little earlier if I had known these were going to be the results," Rosario said. "Thanks to Philadelphia and to Julian Williams. Without this opportunity I wouldn't be champion today."
Williams:
"I wasn't surprised he was so good. I told everybody he's a real fighter. I have to accept it. The cut blurred my vision a little bit, but it wasn't the reason why I lost. He was the better fighter tonight. We've got a rematch clause. I'll see him again soon. I'll be back."
