Paulino, Cusumano face new challenges August 20 at Summer Heat

Uncasville, CT – The fight night lineup keeps getting stronger in anticipation of CES Boxing’s long-awaited return to Mohegan Sun Arena.

Summer Heat, scheduled for Saturday, August 20 and promoted by CES Boxing, features the top fighters in the northeast showcasing their talents in one of the region’s preeminent combat sports venues, headlined by 6-foot-6 heavyweight Cassius Chaney from New London, CT, facing Troy, NY, veteran Shawn Miller in the 10-round main event.

The most recent addition to the card is unbeaten super featherweight sensation Alejandro Paulino, also of New London, battling dangerous Bronx, NY, vet Brandon Idrogo in a six-round bout that could steal the show on what is an already stacked fight card. The co-main event features hard-hitting Sicilian heavyweight Juiseppe Cusumano facing the 6-foot-3 Dennis Ventura of Lynn, MA.

Summer Heat kicks off at 7 pm ET. Tickets are available online at CESFights.com, MoheganSun.com, or through the Mohegan Sun box office. August 20 marks CES’ first show at Mohegan Sun Arena since October of 2015, renewing a long-standing partnership between the region’s top combat sports promotion and one of the world’s foremost entertainment venues.

Paulino figures to be one of the region’s top attractions for years to come, eventually with the pedigree to headline a major show in the northeast. Next weekend, he faces his toughest test to date against the 24-year-old Idrogo, who boasts six wins – all by knockout.

A former New England Golden Gloves Champion and National Golden Gloves semi-finalist as an amateur, Paulino makes his third appearance with CES. In his first fight with the promotion, he recovered from an early knockdown to defeat Andrew Rodgers by unanimous decision. He returned in June to earn his ninth career knockout win, beating Aldimar Silva in just 54 seconds.

Paulino trains under the guidance of Big Sox Boxing Academy’s Roland Estrada, the father of former Olympian and heavyweight contender Jason “Big Six” Academy. Paulino have another familiar face in the arena next Saturday as his girlfriend, pro welterweight Stevie Jane Coleman of nearby Columbia, fights on the undercard in a four-round bout against Jesenia Rivas of Denver.

Fresh off his comeback win in June, Cusumano now faces the upset-minded Ventura, who boasts three wins by knockout. After a loss to Daniel Dubois a year ago, Cusumano relocated his entire training camp, earned his 20th professional win by knockout two months ago, and is now exclusively training out of Champs Boxing & Fitness in Danbury, CT, under the guidance of coach Dave McDonough.

Also at Summer Heat, undefeated Irish super middleweight Francis Hogan of Weymouth, MA, battlingCleotis Pendarvis of Lancaster, CA, in six-round bout; Stoughton, MA, heavyweight Sean Bey putting his perfect record and knockout streak on the line against Dallas’ John Shipman in a four-round bout; and lightweight Jonathan de Pina of Boston batting New York’s Christian Otero in a six-round bout; and rising welterweight prospect Gary Balletto III of Cranston, RI; battling Niagara Falls’ newcomer Jeremiah David Austin in a four-round bout.

Unbeaten Springfield, MA, welterweight Jalen Renaud, middleweight James Maner of Providence, RI; and New York City super middleweight Jahvel Joseph also appear on the card in separate bouts.

Additional details for Summer Heat are available online. For more information, follow CES Boxing on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter at @CESBOXING.

INFORMATION

CES Boxingis one of the top promotions in the northeast and one of the few to successfully promote both mixed martial arts and professional boxing. Launched in 1992 by longtime boxing judge Jimmy Burchfield Sr., the promotion is the only in professional boxing to boast two reigning WBC Youth world champions in lightweight Jamaine Ortiz and featherweight Irvin Gonzalez. CES Boxing recently teamed with UFC FIGHT PASS, the world’s No. 1 streaming platform for combat sports, to showcase its events to a worldwide audience, and worked as a promotional consultant for the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. pay-per-view event in November of 2020.

Mohegan Sun Arena is one of the busiest Arenas in the United States and is ranked consistently among the top venues in the world according to Billboard Magazine, Pollstar and VenuesNow. Mohegan Sun Arena finished 2021 with its first “#1 Indoor Arena” ranking for its capacity in the world according to Pollstar and VenuesNow, ranked among the top 10 venues in the United States regardless of size based on ticket sales, and was named “2021 Innovator of the Year” by Celebrity Access for its ViacomCBS residency.  In recent years, the award-winning venue has also been the “#1 Casino Venue in the World,” “#1 Social Media Venue in the World” and a seven-time national award winner for “Casino of the Year – Arena” by the Academy of Country Music. For more information on concerts and other great events, visit MoheganSun.com. For information on this week’s schedule, call the Entertainment and Special Events hotline at 1.888.226.7711.