ON Zaterdag, Augustus 6 Bij Oracle Arena in Oakland, CALIFORNIË
WARD VS. BRAND TO BE TELEVISED LIVE
ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®
BEGIN BIJ 10:35 p.m. EN/PT
NEW YORK, NY (Juli 26, 2016) – Two-Time World Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter Andre Ward (29-0, 15 KO) zal op terug te keren naar de ring Zaterdag, Augustus 6, to continue his conquest of the light heavyweight division when he takes on power-punching Colombian Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KO) bij Oracle Arena in Oakland, Californië. Het evenement, which will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:35 p.m. EN/PT, will now include six bouts of non-televised action for ticketed fans to enjoy before the main showdown.
The promising undercard lineup will feature East Bay familiar, Bilal Mahasin and a collection of Roc Nation Sports’ brightest prospects including, Daniel "Twitch" Franco, Rudy “The Revelation” Puga Jr. en Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock. Roc Nation Sports’ sparkplug Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker also looks to ignite Oracle Arena as the card’s co-feature in a 10-round NABO Junior Welterweight Title clash against Tyrone Barnett.
Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (20-0-2, 15 KO) was born and raised in Oak Cliff, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, where he found a boxing home at Maple Avenue Boxing Gym by way of an outreach program for at-risk youths. His natural talent was soon noticed resulting in him competing as an amateur, during which time he participated in over 100 gevechten, samenstellen van een record van 97 overwinningen en slechts 7 verliezen, met 67 victories coming by way of knockout. Hooker turned professional on April 29, 2011, taking on the vastly more experienced Tyrone Chatman at the Orpheum Theater in St. Louis. After four rounds, the judges saw the fight 40-36, 37-39 en 38-38, making the fight a split draw. Undeterred, in his next fight on June 24, 2014, Hooker scored his first professional win, knocking out Wilbert Mitchell in the first round at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. Eleven wins (eight by knockout) later, he took on undefeated Abel Ramos on January 17, 2014 in a bout that was featured on ShoBox from the Cook Convention Center in Memphis. After eight close, hard-fought rounds, the judges saw the fight a draw. Four consecutive knockout victories would follow before he took on fellow undefeated prospect Eduardo Galindo on June 26, 2015 at the Kay Bailey Hutchinson Convention Center in Dallas for the vacant NABO Junior Welterweight Championship. “Mo” did not disappoint his legion of hometown fans who saw him capture the title with a sixth round technical knockout victory. Op oktober 17, 2015, Hooker successfully defended his title at Madison Square Garden in New York City against his toughest opponent to date in Ghislain Maduma. The 10-round decision win came on the undercard of Gennady Golovkin vs. David Lemieux and was featured on the event’s “freeview” as well as streamed online around the world. “Mighty Mo” made his debut under the Roc Nation Sports banner on the undercard of Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera, this past March at Oracle Arena in Oakland, ZOALS, where he annihilated opponent Wilfrido “La Roca” Buelvas of Columbia in the first round of a 10-round junior welterweight bout by way of technical knockout. Hooker looks to advance his undefeated record when he takes on Tyrone Barnett (23-4-1, 15 KO) op Augustus 6 bij Oracle Arena. Barnett was in action this past February, with a technical knockout victory over Daniel Attah at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. The D.C. native is eager to stop Maurice Hooker’s momentum and take home the NABO title.
Afkomstig uit Riverside, Californië en uitvechten van het boksen broeinest van Oxnard, ongeslagen junior lichtgewicht Daniel "Twitch" Franco (13-0-3, 8 KO) begon boksen op de leeftijd van acht, het vergaren van een amateur record van 67-15, het winnen van het kampioenschap in Oxnard PAL 2006 en de California State Silver Gloves Championship in 2007 onderweg. Tijdens de professionele debuut Franco's op december 18, 2010, versloeg hij Emanuel Machorro bij Club 401 in Ontario, Californië via een derde ronde technische knock-out. Franco indruk in het begin van zijn carrière, samenstellen van een ongeslagen record met twee gelijke spelen in de locaties in Californië aan het eind van 2013. Een van die trekt kwam tegen Alejandro Ochoa op Quiet Cannon in Montebello, Californië op september 20, 2013, but in a rematch three months later, Franco outmatched Ochoa scoren een zes-ronde unaniem besluit overwinning in het Westin Bonaventure Hotel in Los Angeles. Op juni 20, 2015, during Ward’s return to the ring at Oracle Arena, Franco saw action in an eight round junior lightweight bout against Jonathan Alcantara and won by unanimous decision. In his most recent fight on March 26, 2016 bij Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on the Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera undercard, the unbeaten Twitch met Mexico’s German “Panteonero” Meraz in an eight-round featherweight bout. Franco scored a technical knockout over the veteran fighter in the final round of the fight.Augustus 6 will be Franco’s third appearance at Oracle when he takes on Renton, Washington’s Marcelo Gallardo (7-3-2, 3 KO). The 26-year-old Gallardo has been known to play the spoiler role, scoring unanimous decision victories over unbeaten prospects Christopher Diaz and Vic Pasillas in 2015.
Having compiled an exceptional amateur record of 99-8, Rudy “The Revelation” Puga. Jr. (8-0, 7 KO), the promising prospect from Salinas, California made his professional debut on September 2, 2011, scoring a fourth round technical knockout victory over Raul Talamontes at the Sports Complex in his hometown. Back in the ring less than two months later, Puga Jr. raised his record to 2-0 with a first round technical knockout of Jose Jesus Hurtado at the Sherwood Inn in Salinas. In juni 2012, he sent Thomas Turner to the mat four times scoring a second round technical knockout win at the Joint at Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. After a little more than a year away from the ring, he rededicated himself to the “sweet science” with a vengeance and on February 17, 2014, Puga Jr. made his comeback stopping Charon Spain in the third round with an overpowering body shot at the Salinas Storm House in his native Salinas. Puga Jr. rounded out 2015 with a four-round technical knockout of Katrell Straus and a six-round unanimous decision over Juan Carlos Rojas. Op Februari 12, Puga Jr. extended his undefeated streak to 7 fights by knocking out Alejandro Osuna in two rounds at the Double Tree Hotel in Ontario, Californië. In his most recent fight on March 26, 2016 bij Oracle Arena in Oakland, California on HBO’s Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera undercard, Puga Jr. extended his undefeated streak against Carlos “Kalimba” Lozano by way of a technical knockout in the sixth round. The Southern California native returns to the Bay Area on Augustus 6 to face an opponent to be announced.
Brooklyn's ongeslagen Junior “The Young God” Younan (9-0, 7 KO) wordt beschouwd als een van de beste boksperspectieven van New York City. Younan, opgeleid door zijn vader Sherif, zelf een voormalig professionele bokser, began fighting competitively at age eight and only twee jaar later was called a “boxing prodigy” by the New York Times. Hij stelde een amateurrecord samen 90-5, onderweg een indrukwekkende reeks titels behaald, waaronder negen Olympische Jeugdkampioenschappen, negen Junior Metro kampioenschappen, acht New York State Silver Gloves-kampioenschappen en vijf Regional Silver Gloves-kampioenschappen. In 2011, hij werd gekroond tot National Junior Golden Gloves-kampioen en was U.S.A. Boxing's nummer één junior bokser in zijn gewichtsklasse. Minder dan een maand na de zijne 18th verjaardag, Younan maakte zijn professionele debuut op november 9, 2013, in het Aviator Sports and Events Center in Brooklyn, New York, het stoppen van Kenneth Schmitz in de eerste ronde. During his recent match up on the Andre Ward vs. Sullivan Barrera undercard that took place March 26, 2016, Younan scored a four round unanimous decision over Christian Solarzano, pitching a shutout on all three scorecards. Facing his stiffest test to date on May 13, 2016 on the undercard of throne boxing’s Dusty Hernandez-Harrison vs. Mike Dallas, Jr. on BET and Tidal.com, Younan overwhelmed Rodrigo Almeida of Woburn, Massachusetts with a technical knockout in the first round at the DC Armory in Washington, D.C. Returning to Oakland on the Ward vs. Brand undercard, Younan is set to take on Jaime “Zarco” Solorio (5-2-2, 4 KO) op Augustus 6. Fighting out of Baja, Californië, the Mexico native is riding an undefeated streak in his last six fights.
Op de leeftijd van 20, Darman Rock (3-0, 3 KO) is al tekenen vergelijkingen met ex-zwaargewicht grootheden uit het verleden. Born and raised in Philadelphia, Rock was brought to a local boxing ring by his father at age twelve after he lost a street fight to neighborhood bullies. Permanent op 6'4”, Hij beweegt met een ongeëvenaarde lichtheid en snelheid voor een vechter zijn grootte. Rock verdiend landelijke onderscheidingen na een banner jaar in 2014 toen hij ging naar huis met de USA Boxing Junior en Jeugd Open, Youth Continental en Jeugd Wereld super zwaargewicht titels. Tijdens de 2014 Junior en Jeugd Open in Reno, Nevada, Rock buitengesloten de 2013 Nationaal Jeugd Kampioen, John Luna, 3-0. Deze indrukwekkende prestatie werd gevolgd door een andere super zwaargewicht titel bij de jeugd continentale kampioenschappen maart 2014 in Quito, Ecuador, waar hij versloeg de Argentijnse Kervin Espinola 3-0. Rock nam toen het huis van de gouden medaille op de prestigieuze World Youth Championships in Bulgarije in april 2014 door een 2-1 besluit over de Duitse Peter Kadiru. Rock namen ook het huis van de 2014 World Junior Amateur Championship en afgedekt uit 2014 door wordt genoemd Philadelphia Amateur Boxer van het Jaar op de jaarlijkse Briscoe Awards. Zijn meest opmerkelijke overwinning, echter, kwam mei 2015 when he beat Cam Awesome in Las Vegas for the National Golden Gloves title. Rock ook veroverde de 2015 U.S. National Amateur super zwaargewicht kampioenschap. Hij beëindigde zijn carrière als amateur het nummer een nominale super zwaargewicht in de Verenigde Staten (en de nummer vijf rated super zwaargewicht in de wereld) gaand 19-5 in nationale toernooien. Rock made his highly anticipated professional debut, after signing an exclusive promotional agreement with Roc Nation Sports, against Rockville, Maryland’s Carlos Black on May 13, 2016, as the co-feature of Roc Nation’s throne boxing card at the Armory in Washington, D.C. Following a devastating left hook, Rock brought his opponent to the floor with a right-left combination at the 1:54 teken van de eerste ronde. Without wasting any time, Rock followed his impressive debut by demolishing his next two opponents, Bobby Favors and Hassan Lee, both by way of knockout in the first round of the respective bouts. Making his Oracle Arena debut on Augustus 6, Rock looks to keep his fierce win streak alive when he takes on Mike Kyle (1-2-1, 1 KO). The Boise, Idaho native seeks to reaffirm the impression he has set on Oakland where he scored his first career win and knockout over James Kirby this past January.
Bilal “Rebellious” Mahasin (8-3-1, 1 KO) is no stranger to Oakland fight fans. A resident of the Bay Area’s eastern shore, Mahasin made his professional debut in 2002 with great promise, winning his first three fights. Op november 10, 2013, he fought one of the area’s top junior welterweight fighters, Moris Rodriguez, at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, Californië. East Bay supporters made the trek to the state’s capital for Mahasin’s triumphant return which came by way of a six-round unanimous decision. Mahasin has accrued a ring record with a majority of the results coming as wins, and has transitioned up a weight class to super welterweight. He last fought on June 11, 2016 bij de 16th Street Rail Station in Oakland, going the distance with a six-round unanimous decision over Vincente Guzman. Mahasin is ready to take on journeyman Luis Alfredo Lugo (14-25-1, 5 KO) op Augustus 6 at Oracle Arena in front an ever-steadied fanfare.
Ward vs. Brand is a 12-round fight presented by Roc Nation Sports and sponsored by Corona Extra, Verizon, ProSupps, Corporate Travel Management Solutions (CTMS), Brand Jordan, Verizon, Shoe Palace, Ticketmaster and The Clorox Company, supporting the Bay Area Community for over 100 jaar.
Tickets geprijsd op $250, $120, $90, $40 en $30, niet met inbegrip van toepasselijke diensten en belastingen, are available at all Ticketmaster locations, online op Ticketmaster.com (http://bit.ly/WardBrandPR) en opladen via de telefoon op (800) 745-3000.
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