LOS ANGELES (May 29) – Golden Boy Live! on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes returns to Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love, on Tuesday, June 30 for a special night of boxing from the 2300 Arena. In the main event, current USNBC light heavyweight champion Vyacheslav “Lion Heart – Chingonskyy” Shabranskyy (13-0, 11 KOs) of Los Angeles is scheduled for a 10-round light heavyweight bout. In the co-main event, East Coast undefeated rising star D’Mitrius Ballard (9-0, 8 KOs) of Washington, D.C., will fight in an eight-round light heavyweight matchup. Opening up the telecast, Lamont Roach Jr. (7-0, 3 KOs) of Upper Marlboro, MD, will face Christian Santibanez (3-4, 2 KOs) of San Antonio, TX, in a six-round lightweight event.
In the non-televised undercard, in a trio of respective six-round bouts, super featherweight Kevin “K-Smoove” Rivers, Jr. (11-0, 8 KOs) of Cheverly, MD, super lightweight Damon Allen (6-0, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia, and lightweight Victor Vasquez (18-9-1, 8 KOs), also of Philadelphia. Opening up the night, South Korea native Gang Yong Kim (4-1) fights in his adopted hometown of Philly in a four-round lightweight bout. Opponents for all fights will be announced shortly. Tickets for the event are priced at $50 and $75 and are on sale now by calling (215) 568-2400, (215) 364-9000 or (215) 765-0922, online at www.wanatix.com or www.peltzboxing.com, and at the 2300 Arena, 2300 S. Swanson St., Philadelphia, PA 19148.
“Golden Boy Promotions is happy to return to Philadelphia for this exciting night of fights on June 30,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Founder and President of Golden Boy Promotions. “Philadelphia is a fight fan’s town, with a rich boxing history, so I’m thrilled to return to the city for this event for Golden Boy Live!”
“I am excited to be fighting as the main event for Golden Boy Live! on FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes,” said Shabranskyy. “This will be my first headlining event and I am ready to entertain and prove to all the fans in Philadelphia that I am worthy of my title and am a serious contender in the light heavyweight division.” Coming off of an impressive technical knockout victory over Fabiano Pena to gain the USNBC light heavyweight title on March 12, Shabranskyy is looking to continue his winning streak in 2015. A native of Zhytomyr, Ukraine and now making his home in Los Angeles, Shabranskyy is a powerful puncher who put together an impressive 2014 campaign, facing and quickly defeating: Lamont Williams, Paul Vasquez, Michael Gbenga, Demetrius Walker, Emil Gonzalez and Garrett Wilson.
A decorated amateur star, the professional run of D’Mitrius Ballard thus far has been nothing short of spectacular. Just 22 years old, Ballard has shown power, speed and ring generalship while exciting fans from New York to Texas to his home of Washington, D.C. Coming off a 70-second knockout of Jason Zabokrtsky in March, Ballard is chasing after more spectacular finishes this year.
Nineteen-year-old lightweight phenom Lamont Roach Jr. has been a dazzling force in the ring following an impressive amateur career and as he piles up the wins, boxing insiders see him as a young man with world championship potential. Looking to test himself once again in his return to the 2300 Arena where he stopped Herbert Quartey in January, Roach is ready for anyone placed in front of him in the ring.
Undefeated since his professional debut in 2012, Kevin “K-Smoove” Rivers, Jr. of Cheverly, MD, is eager to get back in the ring after an impressive technical knockout victory over Stephon McIntyre in January of this year. The fighter has been steadily moving up the ranks accumulating wins over other stand-out prospects, Xavier Montelongo and Karl Garcia in 2014. Now the 24-year-old fighter is ready to continue his winning streak in his second fight of 2015.
Damon Allen of Philadelphia is a relative newcomer to the sweet science. Allen last fought in 2014 defeating Antony Linenfelser via technical knockout and Hector Marengo via unanimous decision. A professional boxer since 2012, the 20-year old will be making his 2015 debut.
Philadelphia native Victor Vasquez is an experienced fighter looking to impress in his second fight of 2015. The lightweight fighter was last seen in the ring in March, defeating Jose L. Guzman via fourth-round technical knockout. The fighter is looking to keep the momentum going and add another win to his record when he fights on June 30.
Gang Yong Kim, a Philly transplant from South Korea, is a newcomer to the sport who was last seen in his USA debut at the 2300 Arena on May 8, defeating Edgardo Torres via unanimous decision. The 26-year-old fighter will be looking to impress the fans of his new hometown when he faces a new foe in a four-round lightweight bout.
The June 30 event featuring Vyacheslav Shabranskyy is a 10-round light heavyweight bout promoted by Golden Boy Promotions in association with Joe Hand Promotions and sponsored by Corona Extra and Mexico – Live It To Believe It! Doors open at 6 p.m. and the first bell rings at 7 p.m. The FOX Sports 1 and FOX Deportes broadcast airs live at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.
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.
