Compiled By: William Holmes
The following is the Boxing Insider notebook for the week of May 1st to May 8th; covering the comings and goings in the sport of boxing that you might have missed.
Gary Russell and His Brothers to Compete on Same Card on May 19th
The Russells of Capitol Heights, Maryland will team up again for an exciting night of boxing for their hometown fans. Three of the five boxing brothers, all trained by their father, Gary, Sr., will compete on the same card for the second time in their careers at MGM National Harbor in Maryland on Saturday, May 19.
The event is headlined by Gary Russell, Jr. defending his featherweight world title against mandatory challenger Joseph Diaz Jr. live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT). His brothers, super lightweight Gary Antuanne Russell and bantamweight Gary Antonio Russell will compete in separate non-televised bouts on the undercard.
Tickets for the event, which is promoted by TGB Promotions in association with Golden Boy Promotions, are on sale now and are available by visiting http://mgmnationalharbor.com/.
The 21-year-old Gary Antuanne (5-0, 5 KOs) will take on Wilmer Rodriguez (9-2, 7 KOs) in an eight round 140-pound match. Russell was a member of the U.S. boxing team at the 2016 Olympic games. He made his professional debut fighting on the same card as his other two brothers at MGM National Harbor last May 20 when he scored a TKO victory over Josh Ross. With his brothers and father working his corner at his last fight, he scored a stoppage victory over Andrew Rodgers in Brooklyn on April 21.
Gary Antonio (10-0, 8 KOs) will battle Esteban Aquino (12-4, 7 KOs) in an eight-round bantamweight match. Russell scored a knockout victory over Marco Antonio Mendoza Chico in his last fight on Nov. 21 and the card with his brothers last May 20, the 25-year-old Russell stopped Jovany Fuentes for a TKO victory.
In additional undercard action, Cobia Breedy (10-0, 4 KOs) will fight in an eight-round featherweight match and Immanuel Aleem (17-1-1, 10 KOs) steps into the ring for a 10-round middleweight match. Plus, Moshea Aleem (4-1-2, 2 KOs) battles Rayton Okwiri (2-0, 1 KO) in a six-round super welterweight match and Brandon Quarles (18-4-1, 9 KOs) clashes with Fred Jenkins, Jr. (10-5, 3 KOs) in an eight-round super welterweight bout.
Marine Takes on Royal Marines in UK Boxing Match
Marine Corporal Christian Valdes, of Silver Springs, MD, will be competing in a boxing match against the Royal Marines in London, England on May 8th at 2 p.m. eastern. You can watch his boxing match against the Royal Marines via webcast or on our satellite coordinates below.
Marines from the Marine Corps Boxing Team travelled to the United Kingdom to participate in a military-to-military training exchange culminating in a boxing competition against the Royal Marines May 8, 2018. The United States Marine Corps and Royal Marines will use the competition to celebrate their shared warfighting culture, values and military partnership. The U.S. Marine fighters have been handpicked from units in Southern California to represent the United States Marine Corps in the ring against the Royal Marines.
WHO: Corporal Christian Valdes
WHAT: Boxing Match between US Marines & Royal Marines
WHERE: London, England
WHEN: Tuesday, May 8th at 2 p.m. eastern
HOW: Via webcast and Satellite coordinates (below additional info)
Webcast Link to Boxing Matches : https://www.dvidshub.net/webcast/15204
Carlos Adames Ready for ESPN Spotlight
Carlos ‘Caballo Bronco’ Adames no longer wants to be the welterweight division’s best-kept secret. The undefeated 24-year-old from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, is seeking to make a statement on one of the biggest stages imaginable.
Adames (13-0, 11 KOs) will face Alejandro Barrera in a 10-round bout as the ESPN-televised co-feature to Jorge Linares’ WBA and Ring Magazine lightweight title defense against Vasiliy Lomachenko on Saturday at Madison Square Garden. Adames, who will be making his debut under the Top Rank banner, has not fought in the United States since his fourth pro bout back in 2015.
“I feel like I carry the responsibility of becoming the superstar that my country is waiting for,” Adames said. “I have the talent, dedication and confidence to become a superstar that represents the Dominican Republic. I’m going to give it all for my country.”
Adames, a go-for-broke puncher, turned pro in 2015 following a storied amateur career that saw him win gold medals at the Pan American Youth Championships and the Dominican Republic Youth National Championships, among other tournaments. Last July, he picked up the most impressive win of his pro career, shutting out former IBF junior middleweight champion Carlos Molina over 11 rounds. Adames gained invaluable experience when he sparred with pound-for-pound elite Terence Crawford roughly two years ago.
“I sparred some good rounds with Crawford, and I did very well against one of the best fighters in the world,” Adames said. “That gave me a lot of confidence, and it showed me that I could go very far as a fighter.”
Standing in his way is Barrera (27-4, 17 KOs), a veteran from Monterrey, Mexico, whose only stoppage defeat came to current IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. in 2015.
“I’m going to leave it all in the ring and put on a great show for the fans that will be present at Madison Square Garden and for the millions that will be watching live on ESPN,” Adames said. “I want to tell everyone to get their snacks and drinks ready because I am going for the knockout. Watch out. ‘Caballo Bronco’ is coming.’”
Linares vs. Lomachenko and Adames vs. Barrera will be televised live and exclusively at 8:00 p.m. ET on ESPN and ESPN Deportes, and undercard bouts will stream live on ESPN+, available through the ESPN App, beginning at 4:30 p.m. ET.
Roy Jones Jr. and Evander Holyfield to Attend Atlantic City Card at the Claridge
Two of the greatest fighters of all-time, former cruiserweight and heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield and former four division world champion Roy Jones, Jr. will be special guests as Mis Downing Promotions will officially kick off the Atlantic City Boxing Hall of Fame 2nd Annual Induction Weekend on Friday, June 1st, with a great night of professional boxing at The Claridge: A Radisson Hotel.
The fight card on Friday June 1st in the Celebrity Theater at the Claridge Hotel will precede a great show that will take place the next evening Saturday June 2nd at Historic Boardwalk Hall {Adrian Phillips Theater} where Mis Downing Promotions will be working in associating with 4-Time Heavyweight Champ Evander “Real Deal” Holyfield and his promotional company Real Deal Sports & Entertainment.
“To have Evander and Roy attend my fight card will just add to a great night and weekend in Atlantic City. These are 2 of the legends of the sport, and knowing that they will be in attendance on June 1st, that will inspire all of the fighters even more,” Said Mis Downing, CEO of Mis Downing Promotions.
In the main event, super middleweight Derrick Webster (25-1, 13 KOs) of Glassboro, New Jersey will take part in a ten-round bout.
Jaron Ennis to Take On Mike Arnaoutis
On Friday, June 1st Rising Welterweight Contender, Jaron “Boots” Ennis (19-0 17ko) headlines Rising Star Promotions newly created series “Boardwalk Boxing” Round 2 taking on battle tested, former USBA, NABO Champion and World Title challenger “Mighty” Mike Arnaoutis (26-10-2 13ko) at the beautiful Showboat Hotel in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“Boots” comes from a fighting family with his brothers Farah and Derek “Pooh” Ennis along with trainer/father Derek “Bozy” Ennis. Turning pro on April 30th of 2016, Ennis has been very active almost fighting 10 times a year. Ennis will be scheduled to box his first 10 round bout on the Boardwalk.
“This is going to be a great night of boxing, not only for us and the fighters, but for the City of Atlantic City and the State of New Jersey” Rising Star VP Thomas “Cornflake” LaManna says during a brief interview. “Atlantic City has a HUGE history of boxing and I think it’s great that a venue like The Showboat Hotel has gone the extra mile for us to be able to continue bringing Elite Level club show boxing to this reviving city”.
Mike Arnaoutis is no stranger to the big fights. The Pride of Athens Greece is the toughest test to date to the much younger Ennis. Arnaoutis has been in the ring with World Class opposition like Danny Garcia, Kendall Holt, Chris Algieri, Victor Ortiz, Demetrius Hopkins and Delvin Rodriguez to name a couple.
LaManna continued to quote “This is a test that Boots needs but to me, Jaron Ennis is hands down one of the best fighters not only in Philadelphia, but in the country. I see Boots’ story turning out to be like Terrance Crawford, he might be unknown to certain people and outlets outside of Philadelphia and/or the Tri-State area, but once he gets that breakout fight and TV appearance, he will become a superstar and I’m happy to be apart of that journey in any way, shape or form”.
The June 1st undercard is headlined by two NEW JERSEY STATE TITLE FIGHTS
Undefeated Chris “Sandman” Thomas (8-0-1) of Beachwood will be taking on Asbury Park’s Daryl “DreamKing” Bunting (3-3-1) for the NEW JERSEY STATE MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP.
Brick, New Jersey’s Dan Pasciolla (9-2-2) defends his State title against Vineland’s undefeated former Flordia, Marlins Center Fielder Quian Davis (4-0-2 2ko) for the NEW JERSEY STATE HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP.
Undercard will feature Rising Star Promotions own Donald “No Love” Smith and Nahir “Woo” Albright both of Philadelphia. Afghanistan War Veteran Ernesto “Tito” Perez, Yurik “DBSBC” Mamedov, Joel De La Paz, Michael Lee and Angel Pizarro.
Appearing in six-rounds bouts will be lightweight Christina Linardatou (9-1, 5 KOs) of Athens, Greece; super lightweight John Bauza (9-0, 5 KOs) of North Bergen, NJ; heavyweight Darmani Rock (11-0, 7 KOs) of Philadelphia, PA; featherweight Kevin Asmat (3-2, 2 KOs) of North Bergen, NJ.
Seeing action in four-round bouts will be pro debuting super welterweight Isaiah Hart of Atlantic City; featherweight James Wilkins (3-0, 3 KOs) of Brooklyn, NY; super featherweight Javier Oquendo (3-0, 1 KO) of Philadelphia and super lightweight Osnel Charles (12-18-1, 2 KOs) of Atlantic City.
Tickets are $150 for VIP Ringside; $120 for Stage seating; $85 for Premium Seating and $60 for General Admission
