Pound-for-pound star Gennady Golovkin’s ring return this Saturday night against Vanes Martirosyan will be shown live and exclusive on BoxNation.
The unified middleweight world champion Golovkin will put his WBC and WBA belts on the line against the man known as ‘The Nightmare’ at the StubHub Center in Carson, California.
The bout was quickly arranged following the suspension of Golovkin’s Mexican nemesis Canelo Alvarez after he tested positive for the banned substance clenbuterol which saw their eagerly anticipated Las Vegas rematch cancelled.
Now, though, live and exclusive on BoxNation, UK and Ireland boxing fans will be able to see one of the sport’s most exhilarating fighters in action this weekend as he looks to defend his middleweight titles successfully for the 20th time, a feat previously accomplished only by Hall-of-Famer Bernard Hopkins.
Despite going in as the underdog against the Kazakh, 31-year-old Martirosyan has already shared the ring with some accomplished names including Erislandy Lara and Jermell Charlo and will be seeking a title for the third time.
"Vanes Martirosyan is now the most important fight of my career. He has my respect, and I have been training hard to defend my titles against him," Golovkin said. "I am happy to be fighting at the StubHub Center because they have great boxing fans. I will give my fans another big drama show."
"Gennady has had such a terrific training camp in Big Bear. It wouldn't be fair to him to let it go to waste just because Canelo was being punished," Golovkin's trainer Abel Sanchez added. "Gennady is going to light up Cinco De Mayo as only a true Mexican-style fighter can. I can't wait to unleash him."
Even though he will be moving up to 160-pounds for the first time, the younger Martirosyan believes it will be a huge boost for him going into the fight.
“I always fought better at higher weight classes,” Martirosyan said. “Whenever there was a catchweight in my career, I always did better. So I think it’s going be good because I don’t have to kill myself to make weight.”
Jim McMunn, BoxNation Managing Director, said: “Gennady Golovkin always guarantees excitement and devastating knockout power. We are very pleased to be showcasing him once again live and exclusive on BoxNation this Saturday night against Vanes Martirosyan. Martirosyan might be seen as the underdog but many times in the past we have seen fighters written off and underestimated only for them to produce a shock. Golovkin cannot be careless going into this fight but no matter how it plays out he is sure to produce fireworks that will have fans on the edge-of-their-seats.”
Dynamic welterweight prospect Mark Reyes Jr. will face veteran Javier Garcia in a six round special attraction bout Saturday, June 16 at The Coliseum in St. Petersburg, FL.
Fighting out of Tampa, Reyes Jr. is 6-0 with 4 wins by knockout. The popular 22-year-old possesses explosive athleticism and dynamic punching power, most recently dispatching Larry Yanez inside of three rounds. A top amateur prior to his pro career, Reyes Jr’s camp believes the sky’s the limit.
A 25 fight veteran, the Gurabo, Puerto Rico native faced a number of quality opponents. Garcia, 8-16-1 (5 KO’s), battled 11 unbeaten foes including title contenders Jose Gonzalez and Emmanuel de Jesus, Harold Calderon and Derrick Cuevas among others.
Having fought all of his bouts in the Tampa Bay area, Reyes Jr. expects another strong showing June 16.
“Every fight I look forward to showcasing my talent and hard work. June 16 is another chance to do so and I hope to impress new fans at the St. Pete Coliseum.”
Fire Fist Boxing has put together a solid card, headlined by an NBA Intercontinental middleweight showdown between unbeaten Ireland-based Tampa transplant Connor Coyle and rival Danny Pastrana of Orlando, FL.
The co-feature is an important 8 round matchup between cruiserweights Nicholas Iannuzzi (19-4) and Vincent Miranda (17-2). Featherweight phenom Jose “Lil Pacquiao” Resendez, Ricky “Cowboy” Tomlinson, Ali Tareh, Joseph Fernandez, Rodriguez Cade and Kendrick Thomas are all scheduled to appear in separate bouts.
“This card continues to get better and better,” said Jody Caliguire of Fire Fist Boxing Promotions. “We’ve got an awesome event scheduled for June 16 loaded with quality fighters. Mark Reyes Jr. is a talented fighter with a great fan base. I advise everybody to come out June 16 because you’ll get to see a number of quality fighters from difference backgrounds giving it their all”.
Hartford Boxing Promotions has announced its inaugural event, "Fight Night at the Capital", to take place Saturday night, June 16, at Xfinity Centre in Hartford, Connecticut.
Veteran boxing trainer Tony Blanco and his Hartford Boxing Center gym partner, Michael Tran, have teamed with their undefeated light heavyweight prospect, Richard "Popeye The Sailor Man" Rivera (7-0, 6 KOs), to form Hartford Boxing Promotions.
"I'm excited about the entire card and providing a platform for some of the best amateurs in recent Connecticut boxing history to fight," Blanco said. "'Popeye' is in the main event. He's sparred against world champions and each experience has given him more confidence. He's on his way to greatness. We're also showcasing ('The Special One') Sharad Collard in his pro debut. This kid is something special. Richard is exactly what Hartford needs, somebody youngster can look up to as a role model. 'Popeye' is exciting to watch and very popular. Sharad is going to be like that, too.
"I'm thrilled to partner with Richard and Michael to bring boxing back to Hartford, which is a hotbed for boxing, and it has a rich boxing history. There's a lot of talent here right now and fans will see that June 16th."
Boxing's roots in the Hartford market dates back nearly a full century, headlined by International Hall of Famers Willie "Will o' the Wisp" Pep and Christopher "Battling" Battalino. Other top-area boxers include world champion Marlon "Magic Man" Starling, world title challengers Gaspar "El Indio" Ortega, "Iceman" John Scully and Israel "Pito" Cardona, and 1996 USA Olympic Boxing Team captain Lawrence Clay-Bey.
The hardest hitter in New England, rising star Rivera will defend his Universal Boxing Federation (UBF) New England light heavyweight title in the eight-round main event versus an opponent to be determined.
"I'm blessed to help bring boxing back to Hartford," Rivera commented. "I'm honored to headline our first show, Fans will see good boxing and be entertained. I'm going to put on a good performance on an exciting night. I can't wait!"
The 21-yer-old Collard, fighting out of Hartford like Rivera, will be competing in the National Golden Gloves Championships, starting May 14th in Omaha, Nebraska, before returning home to turn pro in a four-round Special Junior Welterweight Attraction versus Carlos Galindo (0-2), of Woburn, Massachusetts.
"Tony is like my second father and I'm grateful to him for allowing me to make my pro debut in my hometown," Collard remarked. "I'm bringing a big fan-base and I'm going to put on a show. I'm familiar with a lot of fighters on this card. 'Popeye' is like my big brother. We train and have traveled together as amateurs. We motivate each other. I'm going to try and get a faster knockout than him June 16th."
Undefeated Danbury, CT lightweight Omar "The Beat" Bordoy, Jr. (5-0, 1 KO) in his first scheduled six-rounder vs. Alexander "El Bravo" Picot (2-5-1), fighting out of Hartford by way of Puerto Rico.
Also fighting on the undercard, all in four-round bouts, are Hartford featherweight Luis "Lobito" Rivera (4-3) vs. Phillip Davis (1-1-1), of Worcester, MA; pro-debuting New Haven, CT lightweight Anuel Rosa vs. Cleveland's Roger Blankenship (1-3), New Britain, CT featherweight Nathan Martinez in his professional debut vs. New Bedford's (MA) Henry Garcia (1-0), Hartford lightweight Jose Maysonette vs. Justin Morales, of New Bedford, in a battle of pro-debut fighters, and another pair of pro debut fighters, Bridgeport, CT featherweight Jacob Marrero vs. Jimmy Santiago, of New York City.
All fights and fighters are subject to change.
Tickets, priced at $80.00, $60.00 and $40.00, are on sale and available to purchase, as well as $125.00 VIP tickets that include food and soft drinks), at Ticket Master outlets or at the Hartford Boxing Center gym.
Doors open at 6 p.m. ET, first bout starts at 7 p.m. ET.
Sponsors include Hot 93.7 FM, Hartford Boxing Center, Foster Buddies Network and HBC ProShop.
