LAS VEGAS (June 4, 2019) — A pair of unbeaten super featherweight contenders will get a chance to shine on the sport’s biggest stage. Andy “El Tiburon” Vences will defend his WBC Continental Americas belt in a 10-rounder against Albert “Prince” Bell June 15 at MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Tyson Fury-Tom Schwarz undercard.
Vences-Bell and Mikaela Mayer-Lizbeth Crespo will anchor the live Fury-Schwarz undercard broadcast beginning at 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.
Fury-Schwarz and Jesse Hart-Sullivan Barrera will stream on ESPN+, the leading multi-sport streaming service, starting at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.
Vences-Bell was originally set to take place June 8 in Reno, Nevada, on the Oscar Valdez-Jason Sanchez undercard, but both fighters are excited to take their talents to Las Vegas.
“We were prepared to fight June 8, so this doesn’t change anything. I know this is a big opportunity and that a win would be huge for my career,” Vences said. “I can see Bell getting hurt this fight. He is the only one standing in my way as I move toward a world title shot. He can hit and move all he wants, but it’s going to take much more than that to get my respect.”
“All this does is give me one extra week to train,” Bell said. “I am excited and blessed to be fighting at the MGM Grand on the same card as the heavyweight champion.”
Vences (22-0-1, 12 KOs), from San Jose, California, has won two in a row since a closely contested draw against Erick De Leon on the Oscar Valdez-Scott Quigg undercard March 10 of last year. He is coming off a shutout unanimous decision over Dardan Zenunaj Feb. 10 in Fresno, California. Bell (14-0, 5 KOs), from Toledo, Ohio, has never been close to defeat as a pro but will be taking a giant step up in competition versus Vences. A 2012 National Golden Gloves champion as an amateur, Bell last fought Feb. 15 in Hinckley, Minnesota, scoring a decision win over the durable Edward Kakembo.
ABOUT FURY VS. SCHWARZ
FURY vs. SCHWARZ, the 12-round fight for the lineal heavyweight championship of the world, is presented by Top Rank in association with Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions and SES Boxing, and is sponsored by Geico.
FURY vs. SCHWARZ will take place Saturday, June 15, beginning at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT at MGM GRAND GARDEN ARENA, and will be produced by Top Rank and ESPN and streamed live on ESPN+.
Tickets priced at $500, $300, $100 an $50 are on sale now can be purchased online through axs.com, charge by phone at 866-740-7711 or in person at any MGM Resorts box office.
For more information, visit: www.toprank.com, www.espn.com/boxing; Facebook: facebook.com/trboxing; Twitter: twitter.com/trboxing.
Use the hashtag #FurySchwarz to join the conversation on social media.
About Top Rank
Innovation has been the standard at Top Rank since it was established in 1966 by Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. The boxing industry’s leading promotional company, Top Rank has shaped, developed, and promoted the careers of top international pay-per-view superstars and Hall of Famers, including Muhammad Ali, Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Tommy Hearns, George Foreman, Sugar Ray Leonard, Aaron Pryor, Alexis Arguello, Oscar De La Hoya, Manny Pacquiao, Floyd Mayweather Jr., Miguel Cotto, Erik Morales, Terence Crawford, and Vasiliy Lomachenko.
Top Rank has promoted some of the most memorable fights in the sport’s history, including 26 Ali events, Leonard vs. Hearns, Pryor vs. Arguello, Duran vs. Leonard, Hagler vs. Hearns, Leonard vs. Hagler, Foreman vs. Holyfield, Morales vs. Barrera, De La Hoya vs. Trinidad, and the most lucrative fight in boxing history, Mayweather vs. Pacquiao. In addition to the previously mentioned super fights, Top Rank possesses one of the largest sports libraries, which includes nearly 10,000 fights.
Known for creating strategic collaborations between athletes, sponsors, and television networks, Top Rank has been an architect of boxing’s global growth by staging high-profile events in landmark settings around the world, including Madison Square Garden, MGM Grand Garden Arena, Staples Center, Wembley Arena, Araneta Coliseum, The Venetian Macao, Yankee Stadium, Radio City Music Hall, The “Fabulous” Forum, and AT&T Stadium. Top Rank has also been the leader within the boxing industry in creating unforgettable in-arena experiences for fans and embracing 21st century technological advancements to distribute world-class fights and shoulder programming across a variety of platforms.
About Queensberry Promotions
Queensberry Promotions is the promotional vehicle of Hall of Fame Promoter Frank Warren.
Frank Warren has promoted some of the sport of boxing’s biggest names in his 35+ year career including the likes of Prince Naseem Hamed, Joe Calzaghe, Mike Tyson, Frank Bruno and Ricky Hatton; as well as current stars Tyson Fury, Billy Joe Saunders, Josh Warrington and Carl Frampton.
Some of the events promoted by Frank Warren during his illustrious career include Frank Bruno v Oliver McCall at Wembley Stadium, David Haye v Derek Chisora at Upton Park, Ricky Hatton v Kostya Tszyu at Manchester Arena, Prince Naseem Hamed v Kevin Kelley at Madison Square Garden and Joe Calzaghe v Mikkel Kessler at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium.
Queensberry Promotions has a long-term exclusive deal in the UK to promote boxing events on BT Sport, the sport broadcast platform of telecoms giant BT.
About MTK Global
MTK Global is the world’s foremost fighter management company. Headquartered in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, it was founded in September 2012 by two-time European boxing champion, Matthew Macklin.
MTK Global delivers a wide range of support and services including career development, legal, media, endorsements and sponsorships to more than a hundred professional fighters. It provides boxing shows, events and training gyms in various locations worldwide: Marbella, Spain, London, Manchester, Birmingham, Liverpool, Newcastle, United Kingdom, Johannesburg, South Africa, Sta. Catarina, Brazil and Sydney, Australia.
About ESPN+
ESPN+ is the multi-sport, direct-to-consumer video service from The Walt Disney Company’s Direct-to-Consumer and International (DTCI) segment and ESPN. It reached 2 million subscribers in less than a year and offers fans thousands of live events, on-demand content and original programming not available on ESPN’s linear TV or digital networks, along with premium editorial content.
Programming on ESPN+ includes hundreds of MLB and NHL games, exclusive UFC, Top Rank boxing and PFL fights and events, top domestic and international soccer (Serie A, MLS, FA Cup, UEFA Nations League, EFL Championship, EFL Carabao Cup, Eredivisie, and more), thousands of college sports events (including football, basketball and other sports), Grand Slam tennis, international and domestic rugby and cricket, new and exclusive series, acclaimed studio shows and the full library of ESPN’s award-winning 30 for 30 films. Fans subscribe to ESPN+ for just $4.99 a month (or $49.99 per year) and can cancel at any time.
ESPN+ is available as an integrated part of the ESPN App (on mobile and connected devices) and ESPN.com. They are the industry-leading all-in-one digital sports platform, delivering a rich, personalized experience to tens of millions of fans every month.
About MGM Grand Garden Arena
The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Canelo Alvarez as well as Floyd Mayweather vs. Manny Pacquiao; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, U2, Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also has been home to annual events including the Academy of Country Music Awards, the Billboard Music Awards, the Latin GRAMMY Awards, iHeartRadio Music Festival, Pac-12 Men’s Basketball Championship and Frozen Fury NHL pre-season games hosted by the Los Angeles Kings.
