LAS VEGAS (March 1, 2013) – All 14 boxers who will compete on Golden Boy Promotions’ fight card tomorrow, Saturday, March 2 from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, including those who will duke it out live on SHOWTIME® (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) and SHOWTIME EXTREME® (8 p.m. ET/PT), made weight on their first attempts Friday at Hard Rock.
The WBA Lightweight World Championship will be on the line when defending champion Richar “El Tigre” Abril (17-3-1, 8 KO’s), of Miami, Fla., by way of Cuba, makes his first defense against unbeaten Ugandan Sharif “The Lion” Bogere (23-0, 15 KO’s), of Las Vegas, in the 12-round main event of a SHOWTIME BOXING – Special Edition on SHOWTIME.
In the co-featured bout, highly regarded, world-rated southpaw Gary Russell Jr. (23-0, 15 KO’s), of Capitol Heights, Md., meets Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev (20-2, 5 KO’s) in a 10-round featherweight bout.
Live preliminary fights from the Hard Rock will be featured on SHOWTIME EXTREME. In eight-round bouts, Jorge Melendez (25-2, 24 KO’s), of Manati, P.R. will face Ryan Davis (24-9-3, 9 KO’s), of Granite City, Ill., in a middleweight match and Thomas Williams (12-0, 9 KO’s), of Fort Washington, Md., takes on Kevin Engel (20-7, 16 KO’s), of St. Louis, in a light heavyweight scrap. Time permitting, Jeffrey Fontanez (10-0, 9 KO’s), of Caguas, P.R., will take on with Daniel Attah (27-13-1, 10 KO’s), of Washington, D.C., in a six-round lightweight bout.
Tickets priced at $150, $100, $75, $50 and $25, plus applicable taxes, fees and services charges, along with a limited number of VIP suite seats priced at $125, are on sale at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000. Doors open at 3:00 p.m. PT. The first non-televised fight is at 3:45 p.m.
Non-televised matchups: Luis Arias (3-0, 2 KO’s), Las Vegas, vs. Arsenio Terrazas (9-3, 8 KO’s), Mexicali, Mex., 6 rounds, super middleweights; and Sammy Vasquez (6-0, 4 KO’s), Monessen, Pa., vs. Leandro Albornoz (15-2-1, 5 KO’s), Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 6 rounds, welterweights.
WEIGHTS: Abril tipped scale at 134½ pounds, Bogere 134; Russell Jr. weighed 127 pounds, Gusev 126½; Melendez weighed 156½ pounds, Davis 158; Williams weighed 175 pounds, Engel 174½; Fontanez weighed 134½ pounds, Attah 135; Arias weighed 166½ pounds, Terrazas 168 and Vasquez weighed 147½ pounds, Albornoz 146.
ABOUT ABRIL VS. BOGERE:
Abril vs. Bogere, a 12-round fight for Abril’s WBA Lightweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, March 2 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, sponsored by Corona and will be televised live on SHOWTIME beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with preliminary fights to air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The co-main event will be a 10-round featherweight bout between undefeated phenom Gary Russell Jr. and Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev.
For more information, visit www.goldenboypromotions.com and follow on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GoldenBoyBoxing, www.twitter.com/richard_abril, www.twitter.com/sharifbogere, www.twitter.com/mrgaryrusselljr, www.twitter.com/TheJointLV, www.twitter.com/hardrockhotellv and www.twitter.com/SHOsports, follow the conversation using #AbrilBogere or become a fan on Facebook at www.facebook.com/GoldenBoyBoxing and www.facebook.com/SHOsports.
