A Dissabte, Agost 6 En l'Oracle Arena a Oakland, CALIFORNIA
WARD VS. BRAND TO BE TELEVISED LIVE
ON HBO WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING®
COMENÇANT A LES 10:35 p.m. I/PT
NOVA YORK, Nova York (Juliol 26, 2016) – Two-Time World Champion and top-rated pound-for-pound fighter Andre Ward (29-0, 15 KOs) tornarà al ring el Dissabte, Agost 6, to continue his conquest of the light heavyweight division when he takes on power-punching Colombian Alexander Brand (25-1, 19 KOs) a l'Oracle Arena a Oakland, Califòrnia. L'esdeveniment, which will be televised live on HBO World Championship Boxing beginning at 10:35 p.m. I/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. i Roca Darmani "Rock Solid". 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 KOs) va néixer i es va criar a Oak Cliff, Texas, a suburb of Dallas, on va trobar una casa de boxa al gimnàs de boxa de Maple Avenue a través d'un programa de divulgació per a joves en risc. El seu talent natural es va notar aviat, donant lloc a que competís com a aficionat, durant el qual va participar 100 baralles, recopilant un registre de 97 victòries i només 7 pèrdues, amb 67 Victòries que arriben per eliminatòria. Hooker es va convertir en professional l'abril 29, 2011, Agafant el Tyrone Chatman molt més experimentat al teatre Orpheum de St. Louis. Després de quatre rondes, Els jutges van veure la lluita 40-36, 37-39 i 38-38, making the fight a split draw. Indeterminat, En la seva propera lluita el juny 24, 2014, Hooker va aconseguir la seva primera victòria professional, knocking out Wilbert Mitchell in the first round at the Dr. Pepper Arena in Frisco, Texas. Onze victòries (Vuit per eliminatòria) més tard, Va assumir Abel Ramos invicte el gener 17, 2014 En un combat que es va presentar a Shobox del Cook Convention Center de Memphis. Després de vuit tancaments, rondes dures, Els jutges van veure la lluita un empat. Es seguirien quatre victòries consecutives abans que assumís el prospecte invicte Eduardo Galindo el mes de juny 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. A l'octubre 17, 2015, Hooker va defensar amb èxit el seu títol al Madison Square Garden de la ciutat de Nova York contra el seu oponent més dur fins ara a Ghislain Maduma. La victòria de les deu rondes es va produir a la partida de Gennady Golovkin VS. David Lemieux i va aparèixer al "Freeview" de l'esdeveniment i va transmetre en línia a tot el món. "Mighty Mo" va debutar sota la pancarta esportiva de Roc Nation a la posada de la targeta d'Andre Ward Vs. Sullivan Barrera, Aquest passat març a Oracle Arena a Oakland, TAL COM, on va anihilar a l’oponent Wilfrido “La Roca” Buelvas de Columbia a la primera ronda d’un combat de 10 rondes de tensió júnior a través de la derrota tècnica. Hooker looks to advance his undefeated record when he takes on Tyrone Barnett (23-4-1, 15 KOs) a Agost 6 en l'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.
Provinents de Riverside, Califòrnia i lluitant fora del bressol de la boxa de Oxnard, l'invicte pes lleuger júnior Daniel "Twitch" Franco (13-0-3, 8 KOs) començar a boxejar a l'edat de vuit anys, acumulant un rècord aficionat de 67-15, guanyant el Campionat Oxnard PAL en 2006 i el Campionat Guants Califòrnia State Plata en 2007 en el camí. Durant debut professional de Franco al desembre 18, 2010, va derrotar a Emanuel Machorro al Club 401 a Ontario, Califòrnia a través d'una tercera ronda eliminatòria tècnica. Franco va impressionar al principi de la seva carrera, compilant un rècord invicte amb dos empats en els llocs a través de Califòrnia a finals de 2013. Un dels sortejos van venir contra Alejandro Ochoa a Quiet Cannon a Montebello, Califòrnia al setembre 20, 2013, but in a rematch tres mesos després, Franco outmatched Ochoa anotar una victòria per decisió unànime de sis assalts al Westin Bonaventure Hotel a Los Angeles. Al juny 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 a l'Oracle Arena a 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.Agost 6 will be Franco’s third appearance at Oracle when he takes on Renton, Washington’s Marcelo Gallardo (7-3-2, 3 KOs). 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 KOs), 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. Al juny 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. En Febrer 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, Califòrnia. In his most recent fight on March 26, 2016 a l'Oracle Arena a 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 Agost 6 to face an opponent to be announced.
Brooklyn’s undefeated Junior “The Young God” Younan (9-0, 7 KOs) is considered one of New York City’s best boxing prospects. Younan, trained by his father Sherif, a former professional boxer himself, began fighting competitively at age eight and only dos anys després was called a “boxing prodigy” by the New York Times. He compiled an amateur record of 90-5, racking up an impressive series of titles along the way including nine Junior Olympic championships, nine Junior Metro championships, eight New York State Silver Gloves championships and five Regional Silver Gloves championships. En 2011, he was crowned National Junior Golden Gloves champion and was U.S.A. Boxing’s number one rated junior boxer in his weight class. Less than a month after his 18º aniversari, Younan made his professional debut on November 9, 2013, at the Aviator Sports and Events Center in Brooklyn, Nova York, stopping Kenneth Schmitz in the first round. 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 KOs) a Agost 6. Fighting out of Baja, Califòrnia, the Mexico native is riding an undefeated streak in his last six fights.
A l'edat de 20, Rock Darmani (3-0, 3 KOs) is already drawing comparisons to former heavyweight greats of the past. 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. Standing at 6’4”, he moves with an unparalleled lightness and speed for a fighter his size. Rock earned nation-wide accolades following a banner year in 2014 when he took home the USA Boxing Junior and Youth Open, Youth Continental and Youth World super heavyweight titles. During the 2014 Junior and Youth Open in Reno, Nevada, Rock shut out the 2013 National Youth Champion, John Luna, 3-0. This impressive performance was followed by another super heavyweight title at the Youth Continental Championships in March 2014 in Quito, Ecuador where he defeated Argentina’s Kervin Espinola 3-0. Rock then took home the gold medal at the prestigious World Youth Championships in Bulgaria in April 2014 per a 2-1 decision over Germany’s Peter Kadiru. Rock also took home the 2014 World Junior Amateur Championship and capped off 2014 by being named Philadelphia’s Amateur Boxer of the Year at the annual Briscoe Awards. His most noteworthy win, però, came in May 2015 when he beat Cam Awesome in Las Vegas for the National Golden Gloves title. Rock also captured the 2015 U.S. National Amateur super heavyweight championship. He ended his amateur career as the number one rated super heavyweight in the United States (and the number five rated super heavyweight in the world) anant 19-5 in national tournaments. 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 marca de la primera ronda. 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 Agost 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. Al novembre 10, 2013, he fought one of the area’s top junior welterweight fighters, Moris Rodriguez, at the Red Lion Hotel in Sacramento, Califòrnia. 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 al 16º 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 KOs) a Agost 6 at Oracle Arena in front an ever-steadied fanfare.
Sala vs. Brand is a 12-round fight presented by Roc Nation Sports and sponsored by Corona Extra, Verizon, ProSupps, Solucions de gestió de viatges corporatius (CTMS), Brand Jordan, Verizon, Palau de sabates, Ticketmaster and The Clorox Company, supporting the Bay Area Community for over 100 any.
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