NOTE: WEIGHTS (Sept. 29, 2011) – World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 1-ranked super lightweight contender Olusegun Ajose weighed in at 139 pounds and No. 6-ranked Ali Chebah tipped the scales at 140 pounds during Thursday’s weigh in at Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
Ajose (29-0, 14 KOs), of Nigeria, and Chebah (33-1, 26 KOs), of France, will square off in the most important fight of their career, a WBC super lightweight eliminator on Friday, Sept. 30, in the main event of ShoBox: The
NewGeneration LIVE on SHOWTIME® at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
The 12-round bout, which will be the United States debut for each fighter, will determine the No. 1 mandatory contender for the WBC 140-pound title currently held by Erik Morales.
The No. 5-ranked World Boxing Association (WBA) and 12th-ranked World Boxing Organization (WBO) lightweight, Darley Perez weighed in at 133 ½ pounds and hard-hitting Oscar Meza measured 136 pounds.
Perez (22-0, 17 KOs), of Colombia, who has never been knocked down as a professional or amateur, will make his ShoBox debut against the battle-tested Oscar Meza (22-4, 18 KOs), of Mexico, in a 10-round lightweight co-feature.
The event, the second of five ShoBox telecasts in eight weeks and first of two within a one-week span, is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in association with DiBella Entertainment.
What the fighters had to say on Thursday:
OLUSEGUN AJOSE
“I don’t watch too much tape. When I get in the ring, I improvise. I don’t have different plans like Plan A and Plan B.
“My style is a little different. I don’t like to blend in, I like to stand out.
“I can’t wait to fight in America. That’s where the big fights are. There are big fights in the U.K., but I couldn’t get the fights that I wanted. People are more competitive over here. I want to fight the best.
“I want to be a champion. I’d love to fight Morales, but if he doesn’t want to fight me after this fight I’ll fight anyone else. I just want the belt.
“Waiting for this fight has been a nightmare. We’ve tried to put together this fight for a long time and now we’re finally going to get in there tomorrow night.”
ALI CHEBAH
“I know Ajose is a quick, mobile fighter. I will destroy him.
“We’ve been waiting for this fight for a while. We’re ready for our chance.
“We’re ready to fight for a title after Friday night. We’re not sure if Morales will face us, but we’re ready to fight for a title.
“This is the best country in boxing. We’re happy to make our debut here and make a name for ourselves.”
OLUSEGUN AJOSE & ALI CHEBAH MAKE U.S. DEBUTS IN WBC SUPER LIGHTWEIGHT ELIMINATOR ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION
Unbeaten Colombian Prospect Darley Perez Battles Oscar Meza In Co-Feature Live at 11 p.m. ET on Friday, Sept. 30, on SHOWTIME®
NEW YORK (Sept. 20, 2011) – World Boxing Council (WBC) No. 1-ranked super lightweight contender Olusegun Ajose will face No. 6-ranked Ali Chebah in a WBC super lightweight eliminator on Friday, Sept. 30, in the main event on ShoBox: The New Generation LIVE on SHOWTIME®at 11 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) from Chumash Casino Resort in Santa Ynez, Calif.
The 12-round bout, which will be the United States debut for each fighter, will determine the No. 1 mandatory contender for the WBC 140-pound title currently held by Erik Morales.
The 12th-ranked lightweight in the World Boxing Organization (WBO), Colombia’s exciting, hard-hitting Darley Perez (22-0, 17 KOs) will make his ShoBox debut against Oscar Meza (22-4, 18 KOs), of Mexico, in a 10-round lightweight co-feature.
The event, the second of five ShoBox telecasts in eight weeks and first of two within a one-week span, is promoted by Gary Shaw Productions in association with DiBella Entertainment.
Ajose (29-0, 14 KOs), of Nigeria, has fought his last 16 bouts in England, where the 5-foot-9, 31-year-old southpaw lived until recently relocating to New York City. His most impressive win was an eighth-round knockout over former contender Colin Lynes on April 3, 2010, which he followed up with a six-round decision over Arek Malek last Feb. 12 in his lone outing this year.
“This fight has been a stumbling block for me for about two years,” said Ajose, who is making just his third start since June 2009. “I was the No. 1 contender for so long but was bypassed many times. People heard I am a good boxer but they don’t know how good I am and this is my chance to show them what I’ve got.”
Looking to make a name for himself in the U.S, Ajose believes ShoBox is the perfect vehicle to make a statement.
“There is the saying, ‘If you are more than people think you are, then the next step is to prove it,’” he said. “That is exactly what I will do – prove to the American fight fans that I am better than good.
“Watch me and don’t blink.”
Chebah (33-1, 26 KOs), of France, will be making his 2011 debut. He’s riding an eight-fight win streak since his only loss on Sept. 27, 2009 against Reyes Sanchez in Mexico City. His most notable victories are a third-round knockout over Pipino Cuevas Jr. in 2008, a second-round knockout over Joel Juarez in 2009 and a fifth-round knockout over previously undefeated Fidel Monterrosa Munoz, also in 2009.
While he owns a better than 75 percent knockout ratio, the 5-foot-9, 25-year-old Chebah will be facing his toughest opponent to date in Ajose, a slick and speedy boxer with a world title shot on his mind.
“I fought a southpaw once, but I have an awkward style and I will adapt to anyone in front of me,” Chebah said. “I don’t care about southpaw, orthodox, pressure, defensive, mobile, anything.
“My style is pressure, pressure, pressure. You are going to see a Frenchman with Mexican style, slick and mentally tough.
Chebah won both his fights in 2010 by third-round TKO, the last coming over Laszlo Komjathi on Sept. 23 in Algeria.
In the co-featured bout, the 27-year-old Perez turned pro in February 2009 and fought 12 times that year. He is coming off two consecutive knockouts in June and July, but has mostly faced limited opposition since making his U.S. debut in December 2010 – a fourth-round knockout overRamesis Gil in Kissimmee, Fla. He owns a victory over former WBO Latino lightweight champion and contender Jose Reyes on April 29, 2011.
Perez has watched patiently as his gym mate and fellow Colombian Yonnhy Perez, who is also trained by Danny Zamora in Santa Fe Springs, Calif., developed as a fighter on ShoBox and moved on to capture a world title.
“This is a great opportunity for Darley to be on ShoBox,” Zamora said. “He knows that that’s how Yonnhy started, on ShoBox, and from there to SHOWTIME, and he became a world champion.”
Perez, who registered a first-round knockout over Baudel Cardenas in his most recent fight last July 22 in Ontario, Calif., will face perhaps the toughest test of his career against Meza, a battle-tested veteran.
Meza fought current World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight champion Brandon Rios in 2009, losing via fifth-round TKO. Meza has won three consecutive fights since his last loss in June of 2010 against highly regarded Mercito Gesta. In his most recent outing, Meza scored a third-round TKO over Kelly Wright last June 11 in Chandler, Ariz.
“I feel that my preparation for this fight is the best I’ve had in the last three or four years,” Meza said. “I’m going to be well-prepared, and I’m going to give everything I’ve got on the day of the fight.
“This is a big fight for me and I need to take advantage of the opportunity.”
Curt Menefee will call the action alongside ringside analyst Steve Farhood and boxing expert Antonio Tarver. The executive producer is Gordon Hall, with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
DARLEY PEREZ
“The level of fighting in the U.S. is completely different so we’re ready to come here and make a statement.
“I know I’m the hardest working guy in the gym. I always prepare myself. My dream is to become a world champion. I had a great amateur and pro career in Colombia and now I’m ready to prove myself in the U.S.
“I’ve been in the U.S. sparring with some good fighters. The sparring here is much better than Colombia.
“We’ve had 22 fights as a professional now so we’d like to fight for something meaningful within the next year.”
OSCAR MEZA
“I’ve had great preparation for this fight. All I’ve done is train since I’ve been here in the U.S.
“I’ve seen a couple of clips of Perez on YouTube but I’ve never seen him fight. That’s not a problem for me – I’ll be ready for him.
“We’ve been working on our game plan and trying to improve on consistency and rhythm. We’ve been working on a lot of different things and I hope it comes out in the ring tomorrow.
“In my losses against (Brandon) Rios and (Mercito) Gesta I took those fights on short notice. We had been in the gym for a while getting ready for another fight so we feel ready for this one.”
Curt Menefee will call the action alongside ringside analyst Steve Farhood and boxing expert Antonio Tarver. The executive producer is Gordon Hall, with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
