Los Angeles – December 16, 2020 – Super welterweights Charles Conwell (13-0, 10 KO’s) and Madiyar Ashkeyev (14-0, 7 KO’s) made weight on Wednesday prior to their 10-Round headlining fight tomorrow night from Wild Card Boxing Club in Los Angeles. Both men hit the scales at an even 154 lbs. The fights will air live on NBCSN at 9 p.m. EST/6 p.m. PST in what will be Ring City’s third and final fight night of 2020.
For the co-feature bout, Women’s WBA Featherweight Champion Jelena Mrdjenovich (40-10-2, 19 KO’s) and her challenger Paola Torres (12-4-1, 4 KO’s) both weighed in below the Featherweight limit with Mrdjenovich coming in at 125.6 and Torres at 124.2. Their bout will open the broadcast. Junior Featherweights Eduardo Baez (17-1-2, 6 KO’s) and Narek Abgaryan (14-0, 6 KO’s) weighed in ahead of their eight-round special feature matchup at 119.8 and 120 lbs. respectively.
Headlining the RCUSA TWiTCH channel portion of the card will be undefeated Stephan Shaw (13-0, 10 KO’s) and once-beaten Lyubomyr Pinchuk (12-1-1, 7 KO’s) in an eight-round Heavyweight matchup. Shaw came in at a svelte 235 lbs., while Pinchuk weighed 223 lbs. The opening bout on TWiTCH will feature the professional debuts of Kelvin Davis and Michael Honesto, who meet in a four-round Junior Welterweight matchup. Davis and Honesto both came in at the division limit of 140 lbs. In additional action, undefeated Eric Priest (2-0, 2 KO’s) and Angel Mendez face off in a four-round Middleweight fight in what will be Juarez’s professional debut. Both Priest and Mendez weighed in at 160 lbs.
Former two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter will call the action alongside NBC Sports blow-by-blow commentator Todd Harris. Brian Campbell will serve as fight night analyst with Curran Bhatia reporting from ringside. The full Ring City fight card will air live on NBC Sports Network on Thursday, Dec. 17 at 9pm EST/6pm PST. Ring City fights will stream live on the NBC Sports app, with highlights featured on NBC Sports’ YouTube Channel.
OFFICIAL WEIGHTS:
Super Welterweights – 10 Rounds
Charles Conwell: 154 lbs.
Madiyar Ashkeyev: 154 lbs.
Women’s Featherweights – 10 Rounds
Jelena Mrdjenovich: 125.6 lbs.
Paola Torres: 124.2 lbs.
Bantamweights – 8 Rounds
Eduardo Baez: 119.8 lbs
Narek Abgaryan: 120 lbs
Featured TWiTCH Action:
Heavyweights – 8 Rounds
Stephan Shaw – 235 lbs.
Lyubomyr Pinchuk – 223 lbs.
Junior Welterweights – 4 Rounds
Kelvin Davis – 140 lbs.
Michael Honesto – 140 lbs.
(Swing Bout) Middleweights – 4 Rounds
Eric Priest – 160 lbs.
Angel Mendez Juarez – 160 lbs.
FINAL QUOTES:
CONWELL:
“You will see tomorrow night what I can bring. I’m not overlooking Ashkeyev, I’m looking to prove ourselves [my team]. Tomorrow will be a great show. We all want the belts!”
ASHKEYEV:
“I consider this fight as a home team advantage. California is my second home. You guys will also see that I can box, apply pressure, and be versatile.”
MRDJENOVICH:
I’m excited for this fight. I saw a fighter [Torres] who is ready, and I respect that. I know my trainer [Milan] isn’t here, but all these firsts in this fight are part of this. I fought depression, and I will use my experience to my advantage to conquer that feeling. My number of knockouts is more than the fights she has fought. It’s going to be a war.”
TORRES:
“Last time, I took a bigger leap to challenge the titles – that was a mistake. But now I have more experience and I can use that in the ring. I know [Mrdjenovich] has more experience. This is why preparation is important – we studied her in order to perform well.”
BAEZ:
“This is my U.S. Debut. I’m very happy about this. Especially because it’s in LA – There’s a lot of boxing here. I saw that my opponent was very confident, but my team has as much confidence as he does.”
ABGARYAN:
“I love to play chess and tomorrow, I will show you guys how I play chess very fast. Even though I’m small, that’s nothing new to me. I will fight and be strong for my family and friends, fans here in the U.S. and for Armenia!”
SHAW:
“This will be my first fight in 378 days. I’m itching to get in the ring. It’s been a while, but we are here now. Training with top fighters like [Andy] Ruiz and [Deontay] Wilder helped me feel what it is like to be a Champion and be a Champion myself – doing my own thing. If a knockout presents itself, I’m will definitely take it.”
PINCHUK:
“All I know is I’m prepared, and you guys will see a good fight. I’m not even worried about the size, that’s actually [Shaw’s] only advantage. I’m smarter and a better boxer. I can’t wait to introduce myself to this new audience. They will see a Russian Tyson Fury.”
About Ring City USA
Ring City is boxing’s newest sports media platform. Working in tandem with a variety of promoters and talent, its new boxing series places an emphasis on competitive matchups that genuinely test the fighters and excite the fight fans. Ring City provides great fights in the ring and compelling shoulder programming outside of the ring. Ring City is the proving ground where up-and-coming talent can earn their stripes and launch themselves into the upper echelon of boxing stardom.
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