Unbeatens Regis Prograis and Joel Diaz Jr., Collide In Main Event On Friday, June 9 Pa moyo Showtime® pa 10:30 p.m. Neri / PT
2017 Hall of Fame Inductees Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood To Be Joined By Fellow Hall of Famers Al Bernstein & Jimmy Lennon Jr.
NEW YORK (Mulole 23, 2017) - ShoBox: The New Generation will celebrate the 2017 Hall of Fame weekend with a special doubleheader on Friday, June 9 moyo Showtime (10:30 p.m. AND/PT) from Turning Stone Resort Casino, just minutes from the International Boxing Hall of Fame in Canastota, N.Y..
Longtime ShoBox analysts Barry Tompkins and Steve Farhood will call the actionpa Lachisanu before their induction in the “Observer” category pasabata as part of a 2017 class headlined by boxing greats Evander Holyfield, Marco Antonio Barrera and Johnny Tapia.
Fellow Hall of Famers Al Bernstein and Jimmy Lennon Jr. will join Farhood and Tompkins on-air during the special Hall of Fame edition of the prospect oriented series. Lennon Jr. returns to Canasota for the posthumous induction of his father, world-renowned ring announcer Jimmy Lennon, SR.
Mu 10 chonse chachikulu chochitika, undefeated super lightweights Regis “Rougarou” Prograis (19-0, 16 Ko) and Joel Diaz Jr. (23-0, 19 Ko) will meet in a quintessential ShoBox matchup that could thrust the winner from prospect to legitimate title contender. Viewers have seen both fighters develop on the series – this will be Prograis’ fourth start and Diaz’ third on ShoBox.
Mu Co-Mbali, unbeaten Canadian super middleweight Steve Rolls (15-0, 9 Ko) makes his second start on ShoBox when he faces the dangerous Demond Nicholson (17-1-1, 16 Ko) mu asanu ndi atatu kuzungulira machesi.
“I think I can speak on behalf of all of us here at SHOWTIME about how happy and proud we are to see both Steve and Barry’s careers validated with their induction into the Boxing Hall of Fame,” said Gordon Hall, ShoBox Executive Producer and SVP Production, Showtime Sports. “And when you add four fighters with only one loss between them in a quintessentialShoBox khadi, it just doesn’t get much better than that.”
Tompkins and Farhood are the one-two punch behind ShoBox: The NewGeneration. Tompkins calls the blow-by-blow and Farhood offers his wealth of boxing knowledge and expert analysis. The series announce team also includes former world champion Raul Marquez, who also serves as expert analyst.
This will be the fifth ShoBox visit to Turning Stone Resort Casino, which hosted its first ShoBox telecast during the 2013 Hall of Fame weekend.
Matikiti chochitikacho, co-promoted by DiBella Entertainment (DBE) and AASHA Record Breakers, ndi wogulira pa $65 for ringside, $50, $40 ndipo $30 (may be subject to additional fees) and are available at the Turning Stone Box Office, by calling 877-833-SHOW, or online at Ticketmaster.com. Zitseko chitsegulidwa pa 6:30 p.m., ndi woyamba bout abalewo anakonza zoti 7:30 p.m.
REGIS PROGRAIS VS. JOEL DIAZ JR. – SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT – 10 Zipolopolo
Ranked No. 4 ndi WBC, the 28-year-old Prograis has scored knockouts in 12 wake wotsiriza 13 ndewu. Originally from New Orleans but currently fighting out of Main Street Gym in Houston, the 5-foot-9 Prograis is an aggressive-minded southpaw with stunning accuracy on his power shots.
Prograis has beaten two previously undefeated fighters on ShoBox – an eight round stoppage of Abel Ramos and an eight-round decision over Amos Cowart – in addition to his most recent performance, a first round KO of veteran Aaron Herrera. The former amateur standout is coming off a first round knockout of Wilfrido Buelvas on Feb. 11.
“It’s ‘Rougarou Time’,"Anati Prograis, whose nickname originates in Louisiana folklore and is defined as a werewolf-like creature. “This is a crossroads fight for me. I am ranked No. 4 by the WBC and fifth by Apeza pa 140 mapaundi. I have worked hard to get here, and I am on a hunt for the title belts.
“Diaz is standing in the way of my ultimate objective and I know that I must defeat him to get where I want to be. He needs to get past me to move onto the next level himself, so I am sure he is equally motivated. That is what makes for great fights.”
Joel Diaz Jr., of Palmdale, Calif., will return to ShoBox for the third time. He debuted on the SHOWTIME series in just his sixth pro bout, stopping unbeaten prospect Guy Robb in seven rounds in 2012. Diaz JR. returned to headline aShoBox event on May 16, 2014, dominating Canadian Tyler Asselstine over 10 rounds en route to a unanimous decision.
The 25-year-old won all of his starts by stoppage in 2016.
“I am honored to be back on SHOWTIME and am thankful to my promoters DiBella Entertainment and Jean Pascal Promotions for the opportunity,” said Diaz Jr. "PaJune 9, I will be more than ready to hand Regis Prograis his first defeat. ShoBoxfans are in for a treat as this will be a thriller while it lasts. Pamene utsi kukonza, I know that I will be the one left standing.”
STEVE ROLLS VS. DEMOND NICHOLSON – SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT – 8 Zipolopolo
Steve Rolls, of Toronto, Canada, earned his biggest victory in his ShoBox debut in December 2015, stopping then undefeated prospect and amateur standout Steed Woodall inside four rounds. He has since earned two impressive knockout wins in 2016.
Rolls had a successful amateur career, competing on both the 2009 ndipo 2010 Canadian National boxing teams and finishing with an 83-14 record overall. Mu 2009, he went to the International Boxing Association (AIBA) Anthu a nkhonya Championship ku Milan, Italy, where he lost in the Round of 16 kuti 2008 Olympic bronze medalist Vijender Singh.
“It feels great to be back on ShoBox and I’m looking forward to putting on another spectacular performance,” Rolls said. “I know that Nicholson can fight and I expect him to come prepared. Training camp has been going very well and on June 9, I will be more than ready.”
Demond “D’Bestatit” Nicholson is a super middleweight from Laurel, MD. with devastating power, scoring all but one of his wins by knockout, kuphatikizapo 10 mu woyamba wozungulira. The 24-year-old has won seven fights with one draw since his only defeat in 2014.
Nicholson, who owns an impressive victory over former world title challenger Milton Nunez, is coming off of a questionable draw against Immanuwel Aleem –who recently stopped Ievgen Khytrov in a back-and-forth brawl that aired on SHOWTIME. Monga ankachita masewera, Nicholson accumulated a record of 110-15, before turning pro in July 2013.
“My time is now,” said Nicholson. “Any time that I am able to showcase my talent in front of a national audience means a lot. I am very humbled and thankful to be a part of this card. I’ve had great sparring, making adjustments every session. I saw Rolls’ fight against Steed Woodall – I think he has a lot to learn, and I will teach him a lesson. I look forward to victory and continuing to move up the world rankings.”
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Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Hall with Rich Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
Kuti mudziwe zambiri ulendo www.sho.com/sports kutsatira pa Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, SHOSports, #ShoBox, @loudibella and @DiBellaEnt or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports, ndipowww.facebook.com/DiBellaEntertainment.
About ShoBox: The New Generation
Kuchokera pomwe linayamba mu July 2001, ndi otsutsa lofunika Showtime nkhonya zino,ShoBox: The New Generation wakhala pankakhala achinyamata luso chikufanana lolimba. TheShoBox nzeru ndi televise zosangalatsa, khamu zokondweretsa ndi mpikisano machesi pamene kupereka kutsimikizira pansi wofunitsitsa chiyembekezo kuyesetsa kuthetsa dziko udindo. Ena mwa kukula mndandanda wa 67 omenyana amene anaonekera pa ShoBox ndi zipangizo kuti nkhokwe dziko maudindo zikuphatikizapo: Andre Ward, Deontay olandiridwa, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Omar Figueroa, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams ndi zambiri.