The Boxing World Recognizing The New MGM NATIONAL HARBOR With More World Title Cards!

WBC Featherweight World Champion Gary Russell Jr. making the second defense of his title when he faces top challenger Oscar Escandon

Saturday, May 20 From MGM National Harbor in Maryland &

 Live on SHOWTIME

An exciting night of action will feature super middleweight contenders Andre Dirrell and Jose Uzcategui in a matchup for the Interim IBF Super Middleweight World Championship plus two-division world champion Rances Barthelemy in a WBA 140-pound world title eliminator against Kiryl Relikh on Saturday, May 20 from the recently opened MGM National Harbor in Maryland and live on SHOWTIME.

Top 168-pound contenders Dirrell (25-2, 16 KOs) and Uzcategui (26-1, 22 KOs) are set to meet in a 12-round matchup with the winner in line to face IBF champion James DeGale, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained in his draw against Badou Jack in January on SHOWTIME.

"This fight is a massive step towards my journey to success in 2017," said Dirrell. "To me, this is my championship fight leading up to the rematch with the current champion, James DeGale. Jose has all of the tools of a champion, so he's fierce competition for me. But I will show the world that I'm up for the task. This is my year!"

"I'm very excited to be facing a fighter the quality of Andre Dirrell," said Uzcategui. "These are the types of fights that I've wanted and I look forward to coming out victorious. This fight will be another step on the way to my dream of becoming a world champion."

A world champion at 130 and 135-pounds, Barthelemy (25-0, 13 KOs) and the former world title challenger Relikh (21-1, 19 KOs) will battle in 12 rounds of action for the right to be the mandatory challenger for current WBA Super Lightweight Championship held by unified champion Julius Indongo.

"I'm very excited to be back in the ring, especially on SHOWTIME against a top-ranked contender in Kiryl Relikh," said Barthelemy. "This victory will get me one step closer to fulfilling my dream of becoming the first Cuban to win world titles in three different weight classes. I'm very motivated and I will not be denied on May 20."

"I'm thrilled to have this opportunity in a world title eliminator," said Relikh. "Rances Barthelemy is a good fighter, but my experience at this weight will help me get the victory. I'm ready to do whatever it takes to get this win and eventually wear that world title belt around my waist."

 Representing his hometown of Flint, Michigan, Dirrell looks to take one step closer to a rematch with DeGale after dropping a narrow decision to the current IBF champion in May 2015. The 33-year-old bounced back from the defeat in his last outing by earning a wide unanimous decision over Blake Caparello last April. After a decorated amateur career that saw him win two U.S. Amateur World Championships in addition to an Olympic bronze medal, Dirrell was unbeaten in his first 18 pro fights before losing a split decision to Carl Frosh in 2009.

Born in Venezuela, Uzcategui now fights out of Baja California, Mexico, where he won two fights last year by knockout. The 26-year-old shot up the rankings in 2015 when he stopped previously unbeaten Julius Jackson in the second round after knocking his opponent down four times. Uzcategui was undefeated in his first 22 pro fights and enters this bout on a four-fight win streak.

A Cuban amateur national champion, 30-year-old Barthelemy has yet to taste defeat since turning pro in 2009. Born in Cuba but now fighting out of Las Vegas, Nev. he won a super featherweight world title in July 2014 by defeating Argenis Mendez in impressive fashion, and followed that up with a second round TKO victory over Angino Perez. After dominating former champion Antonio DeMarco in June, he won a world title in a second division when he impressively defeated Denis Shafikov in December. Most recently, Barthelemy made the lone defense of his lightweight belt with a decision over former champion Mickey Bey last June.

Fighting out of Minsk, Belarus, Relikh returns to the ring after challenging the former champion Burns for the WBA title in October 2016. The 27-year-old was undefeated after turning pro in 2011 leading up to his world title shot. Relikh owns wins over veteran contenders Christian Ariel Lope, Joaquim Carneiro and Lazaro Santos de Jesus.

Tickets for the live event, promoted by TGB Promotions, are priced at $200, $150, $100 and $50, and are now on sale. To purchase tickets go to http://mgmnationalharbor.com/.

Gary Russell Jr. Hometown Debut To Defend His Title Against Oscar Escandon!

WBC Featherweight Champion Gary Russell Jr. of Capitol Heights, MD was to make his first home debut in front of his hometown on March 11 at MGM National Harbor.  The title defense bout was to be against Oscar Escandon, who was hurt in training camp, thus postponing the bout. Escandon’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, said in a statement that his fighter injured his back and will be out until April. Escandon (25-2, 17 KO's) is the mandatory challenger for Russell’s WBC belt and now the bout is set to take place on May 20 at the original location, MGM National Harbor.

Russell: “It’s definitely irritating, but injuries happen, especially when you have somebody pushing their body to the limit for a fight that is potentially life changing. It’s disappointing. It might not work out for him because I have a little more time to get ready.”

Russell (27-1, 16 KO's) became the WBC Featherweight Champion with a fourth-round knockout of Jhonny Gonzalez on March 28, 2015, in Las Vegas, and defended it one year later with a second-round knockout of Patrick Hyland at Foxwoods Resort in Connecticut on April 16, 2016. 

Andre Berto vs Shawn Porter In Eliminator Bout!

Former world title holders Andre Berto and Shawn Porter will face each other in a world title eliminator bout that headlines a Premier Boxing Champions card Saturday, April 22 from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn live on Showtime Championship Boxing.

ANDRE BERTO

Q: What does this eliminator bout mean and the position it could put you in?

Berto: To Become a three-time world champion would be great. My first title was the WBC, and I want it back. I evened the score with Victor Ortiz last year but getting the green belt back will complete everything . This fight with Shawn, along with every other fight is big and a potentially career defining fight so I’m taking everything one step at a time and preparing like I need to.

Q: Does being in training camp with Virgil Hunter feel like you’re still learning and growing as a veteran fighter?

Berto: It's been a tremendous training camp out here in the Bay. I’m focused and I’m in great shape. Training with Virgil is like stepping in to a classroom. I’m always learning and growing as a fighter when I’m in the gym with him. We’ve been pushing to the limit every day and I’m just ready to go to work.

Q: What does it mean to you to be in camp with the other great fighter’s in Hunter’s stable including Andre Ward, Amir Khan, Andrzej Fonfara and Peter Quillin, along with others?

Berto: We have a tremendous atmosphere out here and we all feed off of each other. Training with all these great fighters and world champions pushes you to another level. We all support each other and it definitely adds another level of motivation during training camp for each of our fights.

Q: Are you preparing for Shawn’s strengths in the ring? 

Berto: Shawn Porter’s a great fighter, but we are focused on what we need to do in the ring. My boxing IQ has is much better and now everything we’re doing has a purpose. I'm getting tremendous sparring in this camp and everyone there has been trying to push me to a whole other level so I will be ready for anything come fight night. We are going to be ready for whatever Shawn brings on April 22. We’ve seen him brawl and try to press guys out but he might try do something different in this fight and we’ll be ready for it. I’m known for my speed, my power, my explosiveness and I’m in fantastic shape so this is definitely going to be a can’t miss fight.

SHAWN PORTER

Q: What have you been focused on after the fight with Keith Thurman?

Porter: A lot of training, a little bit of fun. That’s basically how I live my life (laughs). After a fight I’ll do a few days of recovery, but I’m usually right back in the gym whether it’s just playing basketball or doing some small workouts I don’t take too much time away from the gym, not necessarily because I’m a gym rat, but because I like to make sure everything is maintained. I’m always worried that if I’m not training that I’ll lose something and wind up behind the times like most fighters do when they take a lot of time off. When they get back going they’re not where they were once they stopped, so I try to maintain where I’m at.

Q: When you lost the fight to Thurman did it hurt you emotionally, and how long did it take for you to recover?

Porter: That fight was very, very intense. I was definitely drained physically, mentally, emotionally, after the fight. But I would say along with the recovery that I do after a fight, deep stretching, sauna work, icing, all that stuff… it obviously gives you a lot of time to reflect. So I really can’t say it was a longer recovery unlike any other fight because I do a lot of reflecting anyway after every fight. I do still think about the fight though, even now. You learn from it and you grow from it and it never really goes away.

Q: Do you think the loss Keith helped prepare for Berto?

Porter: I think every fighter, they go through things in a fight and they should learn from those things that they go through. Early on in my career we talked about climbing the steps towards a championship, climbing the ladder and getting better after every fight. So after every fight you learn something.

I think with this fight in particular with Keith Thurman, there were two things I learned: One is to be more patient and not try to keep my foot on the gas pedal too much. When I do that, I lose track of my defense, and I think ultimately that was what cost me the fight; getting hit a few more times cleaner than I hit him. Even though I controlled the fight, sometimes I left my defense hanging and I got hit cleanly and those could have been the difference in some of the rounds.

The other thing is just learning that I can handle anything. I was in the ring with arguably one of the best fighters in my weight class, and going toe-to-toe with him allowed me to learn that I have what it takes to fight against anybody out there, so I’m definitely taking that to the ring with me against Andre Berto, who’s a fighter who won’t stop.

Q: How did you start your preparation for Andre Berto?

Porter: I would say we started training for this fight way back when. Like I said, once we got back going after the Keith Thurman fight we never really took too much time away from the gym. Even outside of that, before we announced the fight, we were working on getting this fight done with Andre Berto to the point where we were already in a camp getting ready for him, expecting that to be the next fight. So we’ve already been getting ready for him for about 10 weeks, maybe longer.

Q: What is the biggest challenge Berto presents to you?

Porter: I think the number one thing is that he’s not going to stop coming. He’s not going to sit down in the corner and not want to get up. I think that is the number one obstacle he presents. He comes into the ring with his heart, and he’s not going to want to stop.

Q: You've mentioned that Berto likes to get in your face and is an aggressive fighter. So how do you stick to your game plan and not fall into those habits where you go toe-to-toe with him?

Porter: I feel like that’s going to play into our hands. I feel like I’m faster and quicker and stronger than him, and knowing that I want to be responsible on defense, means he’ll be right there for me and I can play my hand the way I want to and I can be offensive against a guy who’s going to be right there.  Then, I can be defensive when I want to be as well. I think that will play into my hands. I think the understanding that I can’t not be defensive is going to allow me to stay out of those slug fests, or slug wars with him.

Q: Did you look at his fight against Floyd? If so did you see anything you can use against him in this fight coming up?

Porter: I just recently watched his fight against Floyd and the thing I picked up from watching that was that he’ll get impatient and he’ll get to the point where he gets frustrated really easy. Again, boxing him from the outside like Floyd did and keeping the fight clean will help him play into my hands even more.

Q: How does it feel to be back in Brooklyn fighting at the Barclays Center?

Porter: I’m looking forward to it. Every fight I want to be out here in Las Vegas, but when they tell me it’s not Las Vegas, I’m always crossing my fingers that it’s Brooklyn. It’s an unbelievable venue to fight in, best fans I’ve ever been around. Not just fans of myself but fans of boxing. I love that part about going back to New York and going back to Brooklyn to the Barclays Center to fight. I love that I’m going back to a bunch of fans who know what they’re yelling; they’re not just yelling a bunch of crap just to yell. They’re yelling information that’s actually viable for you in the ring, and they’re pushing you forward as well.

Q: This fight is is a big one for both of you, but with a potential rematch against Keith looming, how do you make sure all of your energy stays focused on the task at hand and you don’t think ahead?

Porter: I think it’s easy for me knowing that this opportunity is going to present another, even greater opportunity. I know without this one, I don’t get the other, so to me it’s simple. You get this and then you move forward. If you don’t get this, you don’t move forward.

Q: Why do you think boxing fans should tune in for Porter vs Berto ?

Porter: It's going to be exciting to watch two guys exercise the sweet science, and battle for what’s on the line. I think you have that in this fight with me and Andre Berto. You’re going to get the excitement, you’re going to see two fighters who have a lot of experience, that are willing to put it on the line. And you don’t get that every day… you don’t get that every time you see a fight. That’s why everybody should tune in. You’re going to see excitement, you’re going to see some heavy punches landed, and ultimately you’re going to see two great guys get in there and duke it out and leave their hearts in the ring.

Photos From Greg Cohen Promotions/Banner Promotions Card At The MGM National Harbor In Oxon Hill, MD!

It was a fantastic night of professional boxing that Greg Cohen Promotions/Banner Promotions put together on Friday, April 14 at the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD.  The bouts were shown on the ShoBox telecast on Showtime!

Weights From The MGM National Harbor In Oxon Hill, Maryland!

The Greg Cohen Promotions/Banner Promotions card will take place on Friday, April 14 at the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD. Three of the bouts will be shown on the Showtime telecast ShoBox The New Generation that will air at 10 PM ET.

The main event on the card will be a bout for the interim WBA Light Heavyweight championship. Undefeated Dmitry Bivol of Vsevolzhsk, Russia will defend his title against Samuel Clarkson of Cedar Hill, TX. Bilvol weighed in at 174.6 lbs while Clarkson came in at 173.4 lbs.


The co-feature bout will be undefeated Baltimore welterweight Malik "Iceman" Hawkins taking on the also undefeated Carlos "Narro" Soto of Torreon, Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico in an eight-round encounter. Hawkins came in under the 147 limit at 146 lbs and Soto tipped the scale at 148.2 lbs.


In a Super Bantamweight bout that will open the telecast undefeated Glenn Dezurn of Baltimore, MD will take on undefeated Leroy Davila of New Brunswick, NJ in eight-round contest. Dezurn came in at 119.8 lbs and Davila weighed in at 120.8 lbs. 

The weights from the remainder of the card.

Joey Dawejko 234.2 vs Rodney Hernandez 262.4
Travis Reeves 173.4 vs Taneal Goyco (Will weigh in tonight)
Ruben Villa 128 vs Luis Diaz 129
Michael Dutchover & Edner Amaro will weigh in tomorrow
Hasim Rahman, Jr. 234.4 vs Ralph Alexander 239.6
Sergey Kuzmin 246 vs Keenan Hickman 242.4
Justin Hurd and opponent will weigh in tomorrow

Promoter: Greg Cohen Promotions
Venue: MGM National Harbor, Oxon Hill, Maryland
TV: Showtime

Greg Cohen Promotions And Banner Promotions Televised Card At The National Harbor In Maryland!

Greg Cohen Promotions and Banner Promotions team up to put on the second professional boxing card at the MGM National Harbor Casino in Oxon Hill, MD. Three of the bouts will be shown on the ShoBox telecast on Showtime that will begin at 10 PM ET.

The main-event of the telecast will feature undefeated Dmitry Bivol (9-0, seven KO's) of Vsevolzhsk, Russia in a title defense against Samuel Clarkson (19-3, 12 KO's) of Cedar Hill, TX for the interim WBA Light Heavyweight championship.

Undefeated Baltimore welterweight Malik "Iceman" Hawkins (10-0, seven KO's) will face off with the also undefeated Carlos "Narro" Soto of Torreon (13-0-2, seven KO's), Coahuila de Zaragoza, Mexico in an eight-round encounter.

Undefeated Baltimore super featherweight Glenn Dezurn (8-0, six KO's) who will take on two-time national amateur champion Leroy Davila (5-0, three KO's) of New Brunswick, NJ in another eight-round contest to open the ShoBox telecast.

The non-televised undercard will feature an eight-round light heavyweight bout between Travis "Seveer" Reeves (13-2-2, seven KO's) of Baltimore taking on Taneal "Spider" Goyco (9-9-1, four KO's) of Philadelphia, PA.  Hasim "Gold Blooded" Rahman, Jr., the older son of the former two-time heavyweight champion Hasim Rahman will debut against Lanham, MD's Ralph Alexander in a four-round heavyweight contest.

There are two eight-round heavyweight bouts on the card. Joey Dawejko (17-4-3, 10 KO's) of Philadelphia will take on Rodney Hernandez (10-5-1, two KO's) of Modesto, CA. Also undefeated Sergey Kuzmin (9-0, six KO's) of Saint Petersburg, Russia will battle Carlos "El Chicano" Cotto (8-1-1, five KO's) of Caguas, Puerto Rico.

In a six-round featherweight bout, Salinas, CA's Ruben Villa (4-0, two KO's) will take on Luis Enrique Diaz Torres (2-0, one KO) of Puerto Rico. Also Michael Dutchover of Santa Fe Springs, CA (3-0, three KO's) takes on Eder Amaro "Koriano" Fajardo of California by way of Mexico (2-2, one KO) in another six-round bout.

Super welterweight "Slick" Justin Hurd (2-0, one KO) of Accokeek, MD looks to make his appearance. Opponent TBA.

The ShoBox telecast will start at 10pm ET.

Vasyl Lomachenko Proves To Be Too Difficult For Jason Sosa!

The 29-year-old two-time Ukrainian Olympic gold medalist, Vasyl Lomachenko, who vacated a featherweight world title defended his junior lightweight belt for the second time against Jason Sosa, 29 of Camden, New Jersey. 

Lomachenko opened the boxing platform of the new MGM National Harbor with a more than dominating performance. Sosa proved to be no match for Lomachenko's southpaw style. 

The supreme defense and footwork of Lomachenko was put to perfection for a two-handed attack from all angles while barely getting hit clean with anything in return from Sosa. 

At the sound of the bell ending the eighth round is where Sosa's trainer told him that if he was taking more punishment in the ninth round like he did in the previous rounds he will stop the fight. That was the case. Lomachenko continued his destruction and the fight was stopped as promised. 

Lomachenko (8-1, 6 KOs) Sosa drops to (20-2-4,15 KOs)