Former Heavyweight Champion Shannon Briggs Headlines The Empire's First Solo Promotional Event Undercard Packed with Exciting New Talent

On May 21, Cohen and Honig, founders of The Empire Sports and Entertainment, are proud to announce "Capitale Punishment" an evening of world-class professional boxing at Capitale in New York City.

In the night's main event, former linear and two-time World Heavyweight Champion Shannon "The Cannon" Briggs (49-5-1, 43 KOs) will look to further the growing momentum of his comeback and notch his 50th career victory against Kansas veteran Dominique "Diamond" Alexander (19-8-1, 9 KOs).

"50 is the gold anniversary, but for my fiftieth win, I'll be getting a Diamond," laughed Briggs. In his last fight, knockout-collecting Briggs needed just 28 seconds to demolish the normally durable Rafael Pedro.

The Capitale Punishment undercard is truly a showcase for some of boxing's best up-and-coming prospects.

In the main supporting bout, Golden Gloves Champion "Irish Seanie" Monaghan will make his much anticipated professional debut in the light heavyweight division. With a crowd pleasing style and power in both fists, Monaghan is already wildly popular among area fight fans, especially in his native Long Beach, New York.

Also scheduled to appear is undefeated lightweight Michael "Baby Face" Faragon (10-0, 4 KOs) from Syracuse, New York. Regarded as one of the most promising fighters to ever come out of the Capital Region, Faragon always brings the excitement with his all-action style of fighting.

Rounding out the undercard are two of The Empire's most promising new faces.

Sweden's undefeated super middleweight Badou Jack (4-0, 3 KOs) will make his North American debut and Zambia's dynamic future champion Hastings "Sting" Bwalya (2-0, 2 KOs) will appear on the East Coast for the first time.

"Sean Monaghan, Michael Faragon, Badou Jack and Sting Bwalya represent the future of professional boxing and we've got all four of them on one terrific show," says The Empire Co-Founder Greg Cohen. "This will be The Empire's first show and we wanted to come out and make a strong statement about where we stand in boxing. So we've got the twice and future heavyweight champion of the world, Shannon, in the main event with four of the best young fighters in the world backing him up. And we're having the fight in truly the closest thing to a palace in all of New York City."

Originally the Bowery Savings Bank, Capitale was constructed in 1893 and is considered a national landmark. It is adorned with an art glass skylight, billowing curtains, a 4000-square-foot first-class restaurant and a ballroom with 75-foot ceilings supported by marble Corinthian columns.