Lewiston, Maine (June 3, 2016) – It will be a celebration of all things Americana when New England Fights (NEF) returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée on Saturday, June 18, 2016.  The wildly popular fight promotion will once again give fans a full night of mixed-martial-arts (MMA) and professional boxing action.

 

In the main event of the boxing portion of the fight card, Brandon “The Cannon” Berry (11-1-1) will defend the Northeast Junior Welterweight Title against challenger James “The Motor City Bad Boy” Lester (10-9-1).  The two fought to a draw on the judges’ scorecards this past April in Lewiston.  They agreed to rematch with Berry’s title on the line.  This time, however, there will be an odd number of rounds (seven to be exact) to make the chances of another draw very slim.

 

Also on the boxing portion of the card, former USA New England Middleweight Champion Russell “The Haitian Sensation” Lamour (13-2) and Casey “The Buzzsaw” Kramlich (4-0-1) from the Portland Boxing Club in Portland, Maine will both make their respective NEF Boxing debuts.

 

The professional MMA portion of the card will see Jesse “The Viking” Erickson (6-5) return to the cage after his third unsuccessful attempt at capturing the lightweight title this past April.  Erickson will have his work cut out for him in the form of the always tough Amos Collins (4-5) at a catchweight of 161-pounds.

 

Erickson’s teammate, Matt “Ken Doll” Denning (3-2), will also see action on the professional MMA card when he meets Brandon Bushaw (1-2) in a featherweight bout.

 

The amateur MMA card will be headlined by a flyweight title rematch as Ryan Burgess (2-0) defends against the former champion, and the athlete he took the title from, Dustin Veinott (4-4).  Veinott’s loss to Burgess last fall via split decision put a stop to his four-fight win streak.

 

Also on the amateur card will be 46 year-old Dr. Steve Bang, Sr. (1-1), a bariatric surgeon from Auburn, Maine.  In an unplanned homage to Father’s Day, he will be joined on the fight card by his sons Steve Bang, Jr. (3-5),Shawn Bang (1-1), Skyler Bang (0-0) and foster son Conner Murphy (1-0).

 

The “NEF 24” fight card (subject to change):

 

PROFESSIONAL BOXING

 

140*TITLE Brandon Berry (11-1-1)(c) vs James Lester (10-9-1)

HWT Vinnie Carita (11-1-1) vs Francisco Mireles (17-10)

190 Steve Collins, Jr. (7-0-1) vs Jose Humberto Corral (19-21)

160 Russell Lamour (13-2) vs Roberto Valenzuela (69-71-2)

154 Casey Kramlich (4-0-1) vs Zenon Herrera (0-1)

PROFESSIONAL MMA

250 Michael Hansen (4-4) vs Robert Laroski (1-1)

 

170 CJ Ewer (1-0) vs Phil Rowe (1-2)

161 Jesse Erickson (6-5) vs Amos Collins (4-5)

 

145 Matt Denning (3-2) vs Brandon Bushaw (1-2)

 

 

AMATEUR MMA

 

125*TITLE Ryan Burgess (2-0)(c) vs Dustin Veinott (4-4)

170 Shawn Bang (1-1) vs Mike Bezanson (1-0)

155 Steve Bang Sr. (1-1) vs Stacy Lupo (0-0)

 

155 Derek Daley (0-0) vs Johel Stephenson (0-0)

 

155 Steve Bang, Jr. (3-5) vs Dominic Cofone (6-5)

 

145 Skyler Bang (0-0) Eddie DeRoche (0-0)

 

125 Conner Murphy (1-0) vs Justin Witham (1-4)

 

115 Alex Walker (0-1) vs Nicole Burgess (0-0)

 

 

NEF returns to the Androscoggin Bank Colisée in Lewiston, Maine on June 18, 2016 with “NEF 24: PROMISED LAND.”  Tickets for “NEF 24” start at just $25 and are on sale now at www.TheColisee.com or by calling the Colisée box office at207.783.2009 x 525.

 

For more information on the events and fight card updates, please visit the promotion’s website at www.NewEnglandFights.com.  In addition, you can watch NEF videos at www.youtube.com/NEFMMA, follow them on Twitter @nefights and join the official Facebook group “New England Fights.”