Nikolay Potapov Outpoints Antonio Nieves, Wesley Tucker Defeats Ed Williams & Joshua Greer Jr. Knocks Out James Gordon-Smith On ShoBox: The New Generation From MGM Grand Detroit

Ne manquez pas le Replay Mardi, Mars 14 À 10 p.m. ET/PT sur Showtime EXTREME^®

Cliquez ICI Pour Photos; Credit Tom Casino/SHOWTIME

DETROIT (Mars 11, 2017) – Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields shined in her television debut, knocking out the durable Szilvia Szabados in the fourth round (1:30) to advance to 2-0 as a professional in the main event on ShoBox: La Nouvelle Génération Vendredi on SHOWTIME at MGM Grand Detroit.

Shields (2-0, 1 KOs) put on a show less than an hour from her hometown of Flint, Michigan, landing nearly 50 percent of her power shots in the first women’s boxing main event in premium television history.

Szabados (15-9, 6 KOs), of Hungary, didn’t touch the canvas but never really stood a shot against an opponent that has been billed as the future of women’s boxing. Shields came out blazing in the opening round, backing up Szabados with crisp, clean punches as she out-landed her opponent 31-4 en premier.

Shields was a bit more patient and settled in the second and third, but the onslaught continued against a relatively defenseless Szabados. After a flush right hand, left hook combo in the fourth, referee Harvey Dock had seen enough and stepped in to halt the contest with Szabados still on her feet.

“It was about respect,” Shields said of her performance. “I wanted to go out there and show I had power and I wasn’t scared of her. I knew she was tough coming in. That’s why I started going to the body. I was going to get the clean shot in one round and she was going to go, but the ref stopped it in the fourth. A knock out is a knockout. It was exciting.

“I’m glad everyone came. I took advantage of this great opportunity once again. It’s another step toward winning a world title.”

Szabados said she was disappointed with Dock’s decision to stop the fight when he did. “I’m very sad and heartbroken right now because it only went four rounds and I could have kept going," elle a dit. “Her hits were not painful. Her right hook got me a lot, Je sais. I could feel that one.”

Dans le ShoBox co-métrage, Nikolay Potapov narrowly edged Antonio Nieves in a close, 10-round split decision scored 96-94 Potapov twice, 96-94 Nieves.

The technical match between undefeated top-10 bantamweight prospects was close from the opening bell. Nieves was the more active fighter, atterrissage 64 punches per round to Potapov’s 50, but the round-by-round breakdowns reveal that Potapov prevailed in total connects as well as in landed power shots.

“Je pensais qu'il était un combat rapproché, but I came on strong at the end,” Potapov said. “I had more and finished stronger. That made the difference. I am much more aggressive now and I sit down on my shots. That’s the difference training at Kronk has done for me.

“I knew I won the fight. I wasn’t surprised when I got it. I wasn’t happy about the judging in my last big fight, but I thought this time I had done more than enough to win.”

Nieves did impressive work to the body, connexion sur 59 total body shots compared to just 14 for Potapov, but it wasn’t enough to earn him the decision.

“Je pensais que je gagné. I thought it was a bad decision,” Nieves said. “I don’t even think it should have been a spilt decision. I thought I was up clearly. He didn’t really score like he wanted to. I was making him miss and landing all the sharper punches. Everything he was hitting me with I was blocking and coming back.

“I don’t know why close fights don’t go my way. From here I go back to the drawing board. My whole team and a lot of the crowd felt like I won. I would love to fight him again.”

In a featured matchup between undefeated welterweights, Wesley Tucker (14-0, 8 KOs) edged Ed Williams in an eight-round unanimous decision scored 77-73, 79-71, 78-72 Tucker.

The foul-filled fight featured little action. Toledo’s Tucker landed 31 pour cent de ses coups en puissance par rapport à seulement 19 percent for Detroit’s Williams (12-2-1, 4 KOs), who was deducted two points for hitting to the back of the head on separate occasions. Tucker (14-0, 8 KOs) didn’t land a jab the entire fight, but his heavier shots and accuracy with his power shots seemed to be more impressive to the judges.

“He was an awkward, long fighter, who knew how to move very well,” Tucker said. “I’m not disappointed it turned out like that. Not every fight can be pretty, so I came out with the win and that’s what matters most.

“I was really frustrated in there, but I’m an action kind of fighter, so when he was running it kind of was pissing me off. He was all over the place. He ran the whole fight.”

Williams landed only 17 pour cent de ses coups totaux.

“He didn’t show me anything I didn’t expect,” Williams said. “This week was a great experience for me, but you want to come out with a win and I wasn’t able to get it done.”

Dans le premier match télévisé, Joshua Greer Jr. handed bantamweight prospect James Gordon-Smith his firstloss with a brutal one-punch sixth-round knockout (2:06).

After a blazing first round that saw over 50 power shots landed, Greer pepped his opponent with a steady diet of counter rights as Gordon-Smith continued to charge forward and fight largely off-balance. Chicago’s Greer floored Gordon-Smith with a perfectly timed right uppercut in the opening seconds of the fifth and, despite looking dazed, Gordon-Smith rallied to survive the back-and-forth round.

In the sixth, Greer (12-1-1, 5 KOs) knocked Gordon-Smith out cold with a huge straight right that sent the Detroit native falling face forward as referee Harvey Dock immediately waved off the bout.

“I guess he blinked. That was the problem,” Greer said. “I told everyone when I got here I didn’t have that pillow for no reason. I said don’t blink and I wasn’t playing. I knew I was going to get him. The pillow is just my trademark. C'est rien de personnel. You have to stand out somehow. That’s just what I do. Nothing personal to him.

“I knew what I came to do. I’m excited but I’m not shocked. My team knew what would happen and they had confidence in me. I knew it was only a matter of time.”

Gordon-Smith (11-1, 6 KOs) était le 160^e combattant à subir sa première défaite sur la série de développement prospect. And Nieves would later become the 161^st.

Vendredi de quadrupleheader will replay on Mardi, Mars 14 à 10 p.m. ET/PT sur Showtime EXTREME. The telecast will also be available on SHOWTIME on DEMAND^® et SHOWTIME EN TOUT TEMPS^®.

“Detroit City Gold,” was promoted by Salita Promotions.

Barry Tompkins called the ShoBox action du ringside avec Steve Farhood et ancien champion du monde Raul Marquez servant analystes experts. Le producteur exécutif était Gordon Hall avec Rich Gaughan à la production et Rick Phillips à la direction.

# # #

À PROPOS DES PROMOTIONS SALITA

Salita Promotions a été fondée en 2010 par Dmitriy Salita, un boxeur professionnel et un challenger au titre mondial qui a vu la nécessité d'une entité promotionnelle pour présenter les meilleurs jeunes espoirs de boxe et des prétendants établis en Amérique du Nord et dans le monde. Les téléspectateurs regardent les combattants sur les réseaux de télévision mondiaux, y compris Showtime, ESPN, Spike TV, Universal Sports Network et MSG ont apprécié l'action de combat Salita Promotions ces dernières années. Nous sommes fiers d'offrir à nos combattants des opportunités à l'intérieur et à l'extérieur du ring. Salita Promotions a hâte de continuer à se développer et de répondre aux besoins des fans de combat du monde entier.

“I want my legacy to be that I’m the best female fighter to ever put on gloves.” – Claressa Shields

Shields Faces Szilvia Szabados Vendredi sur Showtime^® In First Women’s Boxing Main Event In Premium Television History

VIDEO: http://s.sho.com/2m3ZobR

Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields opens up about how growing up in Flint, Michigan, shaped her career, bringing equality to women’s boxing, and her growing legacy in this SHOWTIME Sports video feature: http://s.sho.com/2m3ZobR

Shields (1-0) will face former world title challenger Szilvia Szabados (15-8, 6 KOs) demain/Vendredi dans l'événement principal de ShoBox: La Nouvelle Génération in just her second fight since winning gold at the 2016 Jeux olympiques. The six-round middleweight bout, which will air live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT), is the first women’s boxing event in premium television history.

L'événement, labeled “Detroit City Gold,” is promoted by Salita Promotions from MGM Grand Detroit. Dans le ShoBox co-métrage, top-10 ranked bantamweight contenders Antonio Nieves (17-0-2, 9 KOs) and Nikolay Potapov (16-0-1, 8 KOs) will put their undefeated records on the line in a 10-round bantamweight bout.

# # #

Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields Faces Szilvia Szabados In First Women’s Boxing Main Event On Premium Television

Vendredi, Mars 10 En direct sur Showtime^® From MGM Grand Detroit

Cliquez ICI Pour Photos; Crédit: Tom Casino / Showtime

DETROIT (Mars 8, 2017) – All eight fighters participating in “Detroit City Gold”, la ShoBox: La Nouvelle Génération headlined by two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields, participated in a final press conference mercredi in advance of Vendredi de four-fight telecast from MGM Grand Detroit.

Shields (1-0) will face former world title challenger Szilvia Szabados (15-8, 6 KOs) in just her second fight since winning gold at the 2016 Olympics and in the first women’s boxing event in premium television history, direct sur Showtime à 10 p.m. ET/PT.

“Detroit City Gold,” which takes place less than an hour from Shields’ hometown of Flint, Michigan, is promoted by Salita Promotions. Shields vs. Szabados is a six-round middleweight bout.

Dans le ShoBox co-métrage, top-10 ranked bantamweight contenders Antonio Nieves (17-0-2, 9 KOs), de Cleveland, and Russia’s Nikolay Potapov (16-0-1, 8 KOs) will put their undefeated records on the line in a 10-round matchup for the NABO bantamweight belt.

In an eight-round televised bout, welterweight Wesley Tucker (13-0, 8 KOs) de Tolède, Ohio, faces Detroit’s Ed Williams (12-1-1, 4 KOs) in a matchup between two former amateur standouts. Dans le premier match télévisé, Detroit-based bantamweight prospect James Gordon Smith (11-0, 6 KOs) will take on Chicago’s Joshua Greer, Jr. (11-1-1, 4 KOs) dans un combat de huit rondes.

Here’s what the fighters had to say mercredi:

Claressa Shields:

“I started boxing at age 11 and all I really wanted was an opportunity. This is one of those big opportunities.

“Her having 124 professional rounds doesn’t mean anything to me. Her being 15-8 avec 6 KOs doesn’t scare me either. But I am glad she took the fight and didn’t pull out.

“She’s a challenge and, sur papier, she’s not supposed to be someone that I can just walk through. But I’ve been in training camp for three months and I had a great training camp.

I’m not going to let her beat me in front of my family. I’m not going to let her beat me in front of my nephews and cousins and my mom and dad. I just don’t roll like that.

“If she doesn’t have the talent and skill to go six rounds with me, she will not go six rounds. Si, I hope she had a very good training camp. I know I did.

“This is the first time that a woman has been the main event on SHOWTIME and I’m not coming to make women look bad when I get in there on Mars 10."

Szilvia Szabados:

“I’m ready to fight. I’ve been waiting a long time for this fight. I feel good and I’m in great shape.

“I think everyone has a destiny in life and I’m glad I chose to be a boxer. This is a huge opportunity for me and I plan to take advantage of it.

“I know she has the amateur experience, but I have more experience as a pro. We’ll see what’s more important vendredi."

Antonio Nieves:

“I trained and did everything I have to do. je suis prêt pour la guerre.

“Coming out of Cleveland, nobody gives us a chance. We have to fight for everything we get.

“I respect Potapov. Il est un bon combattant. He said he’s going to take my belt? He’s going to have to take it from me. je suis là pour me battre. I’m not going to just give it up. Come try and take it.

“When I get in there Friday, il est toutes les affaires. I respect him – I don’t have any problems with him as a person.

“I’ve fought a lot of Russians and Europeans. They’re straight-up, come forward, and try to put on a lot of pressure. They bring the fight and I’m ready for that. I’m ready for anything he brings to the table.

“Anything can happen in a fight, but I’m focused and ready and I know what I have to do. I’ll be able to adjust to whatever he brings.”

Nikolay Potapov:

“I will be a much more aggressive version of myself for this fight. I trained to be very aggressive. I have a lot of surprises in store for Antonio Nieves.

“I learned a lot training at Kronk and I’m very ready. I had a great training camp and I really enjoyed living here in Detroit.

“In Russia, there is a traditional Russian style. Over here, it’s totally different. The American style is much more aggressive. I loved training with Javan SugarHill Steward at Kronk and learned a lot.”

Wesley Tucker:

“I come to fight every time and everybody knows when I fight, it’s fireworks.

“He may be from here, but Detroit is my home, trop. And I’m planning on winning here at home.”

Ed Williams:

“I’m glad to be home. I had a great camp and it’s going to be a hell of a fight.

“Wesley Tucker is coming to fight, but I’m home. You don’t let nobody take you at home. C'est tout.

“He may be in for a short night. Or a long one. We’ll see.”

James Gordon Smith:

“I’m knocking you out. I’m not here to play games. I’m coming straight for you. I bet you I knock you out.

“You can’t punch. What are you going to do?

“I’m coming to throw bombs, so I hope you trained for this because I’m going to knock that smile off your face. Your coach can’t fight for you.”

Joshua Greer, Jr.:

"Je suis prêt. You’re getting knocked out. We didn’t come here to lose.

“This is a fight I’ve been waiting for. Nous sommes prêts. Comme Vendredi, I hope he’s ready, aussi."

Shields Headlines First Women’s Boxing Bout On Premium Television On Vendredi, Mars 10 En direct sur Showtime^® From MGM Grand Detroit

Cliquez ICI Pour Photos

Crédit photo: Bob Ryder

DETROIT, MON (Février 28) – Two-time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields (1-0) of Flint, Michigan, and bantamweight contender Nikolay Potapov (16-0-1, 8 KOs) de Podolsk, Russie, travaillé pour les médias mardi à l'avance de ShoBox: La Nouvelle Génération televised bouts for Salita Promotions’ “Detroit City Gold” sur Vendredi, Mars 10, à MGM Grand Detroit, and live on AFFICHER L'HEURE (10 p.m. ET/PT).

The first women’s boxing main event to be featured on premium television, Shields’ history making fight will be a six-round battle againstHungary’s Szilvia “Sunset” Szabados (15-8, 6 KOs) pour la Women’s NABF Middleweight Championship.

Dans le combat co-vedette, Potapov, currently training at the Kronk Gym, will challenge Cleveland’s Antonio Nieves (17-0-2, 9 KOs) in a 10-round fight for his NABO Bantamweight Championship.

In the eight-round televised bantamweight opener, Detroit-based bantamweight prospect James Smith (11-0, 6 KOs) will take on Chicago’s Joshua Greer, Jr. (11-1-1, 4 KOs). In the other eight-round televised bout of the exciting quadrupleheader, welters Wesley Tucker (13-0, 8 KOs) Toledo, Ohio, faces Detroit’s Ed Williams (12-1-1, 4 KOs).

Tickets for “Detroit City Gold” are priced at $250, $150, $100 et $50, et sont disponibles à Ticketmaster.com, tous les endroits Ticketmaster ou par téléphone au 800.745.3000.

Est inférieur à ce que les combattants avaient à dire:

Claressa Shields:

“I made history in the amateurs, so it’s very special to me to be making history in the pros too and also doing it so close to home in Detroit.

“For this fight, I did more road work and also worked hard on my fundamentals. With my coach, Jason Crutchfield, in my corner he knows my weaknesses and strong points, so we are strengthening all weaknesses.

“I know that Szabados has a lot of body endurance and a ‘no quit’ mindset in the ring. She has a lot more professional experience than me and is a huge step up for me, as it is only my second professional fight.

“With my reputation and name steady rising and me getting a lot of notoriety, I have really just been handling it by taking a few deep breaths and just not allowing myself to get too excited. When I think about Mars 10, I just wanna jump up and down!

“When I was an amateur, I followed women’s professional boxing the best I could. I thought a lot of women weren’t given equal opportunity. I told myself that for women’s boxing to grow, I’d have to go pro after winning the Olympics again. I felt in my heart that I would be respected and given a chance. I take advantage of every opportunity, so as of now, I feel women’s boxing is a sport that is going to be around for a long time.”

Nikolay Potapov:

“Nieves is good fighter, and he’s ranked in the top 10. I want to fight the best available in my division. A win over Nieves would be huge for my career and would hopefully lead to a shot at a title in the near future. I can’t lose on Mars 10.

“I trained hard to go the distance of 10 tours, but Kronk’s philosophy is not to leave it in the hands of the judges.

“I am thankful to Showtime and Salita Promotions for giving me another opportunity to fight on such a prestigious network. I am focused on bringing home the victory after spending time in Detroit training at the legendary Kronk Gym. "