NEW YORK (Sept. 1, 2012) — Following a back injury that sidelined Randall Bailey for his IBF welterweight world title fight against Devon Alexander, the co-featured Lucas Matthysse vs. Ajose Olusegun bout for the WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship has been elevated to the main event for the Saturday, Sept. 8 fight card from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast).
The co-featured fight of the two-fight SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast is to be determined.
For the unbeaten Nigerian Olusegun (30-0, 14 KO’s) and the power-punching Argentine Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KO’s), this will be the first time that each will fight in the main event of an internationally televised world championship fight card.
“We’re disappointed that Devon will not have the opportunity to fight Randall Bailey for the title this weekend, but we’re hopeful that Randall will recover quickly so we can reschedule this great fight,” said Richard Schaefer, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “As every cloud has a silver lining, we’re excited that the explosive September 8 match-up between Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse will now be in the spotlight headlining a great night of boxing.”
“Unfortunately, Randall Bailey suffered a severe lower back sprain,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “The orthopedic specialist determined that Bailey would not be able to fight on September 8th and requires a period of rest. He’ll be returning to the specialist on Wednesday, but the injury is not expected to sideline him for an extended period of time. We’re pleased that there is a terrific fight between Ajose Olusegun and Lucas Matthysse to move into the main event position. This fight between two of the best 140-pounders in the world will establish the challenger for the winner of the October 20 showdown between Danny Garcia and Erik Morales.”
“This is unfortunate for Randall, Devon and the fans who are looking forward to their fight,” said Stephen Espinoza, Executive Vice President and General Manager, SHOWTIME Sports. “We would still like to televise Alexander vs. Bailey, but of course we have to wait for further information on Bailey’s injury before we can talk about that. In the meantime, we have a fierce matchup between Olusegun and Matthysse on our hands for next Saturday. These men have been training for months and we all know what they bring to the ring. Now, they have the spotlight all to themselves. I am looking forward to that fight.”
Olusegun vs. Matthysse, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship taking place Saturday, September 8 at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, is presented by Golden Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, Gary Shaw Productions and Arano Box Promotions and sponsored by Corona and AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at 9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). Preliminary fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast).
Tickets, priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $150, are on sale and may be purchased at the Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
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.
