June 8, 2023 – Undefeated light heavyweight prospects Ali Izmailov (10-0, 7 KOs), fighting out of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and SHOBOX® alum Charles Foster (22-0, 12 KOs) of New Haven, Conn., both made weight Thursday, a day ahead of their 10-round main event showdown on SHOBOX: The New Generation tomorrow night, Friday, June 9 live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/PT from Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, N.Y.
This marks the second straight year SHOBOX will be a part of the Hall of Fame Induction Weekend festivities with the tripleheader featuring six light heavyweights who have never tasted defeat. In the co-feature, college graduate Richard Vansiclen (13-0-1, 6 KOs) from Seattle, Wash., returns to SHOBOX to take on fellow unbeaten and hard-hitting Colombian Juan Carrillo (10-0, 8 KOs). In the telecast opener, Australian native Clay Waterman (10-0, 8 KOs) makes his U.S. debut against Florida’s Kenmon Evans (10-0-1, 3 KOs).
International Boxing Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins calls the blow-by-blow action for SHOBOX with fellow Hall of Famer Steve Farhood joining the team remotely as the unofficial scorer. Former world champion Raul Marquez and veteran combat sports reporter and MORNING KOMBAT co-host Brian Campbell will serve as ringside expert analysts. They will be accompanied by Hall of Famer and SHOWTIME Boxing® analyst Al Bernstein, as well as by Hall of Famer Jimmy Lennon, Jr. handling ring announcing duties. The executive producer of SHOBOX: The New Generation is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
The night of fights is promoted by Dmitriy Salita of Salita Promotions.
FINAL WEIGHTS:
Light Heavywieght 10-Round Bout
Ali Izmailov – 174 pounds
Charles Foster – 172 ¼ pounds
Referee: Charlie Fitch; Judges: Tom Schreck (N.Y.), Glenn Feldman (Conn.), Don Ackerman (N.Y.)
Light Heavyweight 10-Round Bout
Richard Vansiclen – 172 ½ pounds
Juan Carrillo – 174 pounds
Referee: Benjy Esteves; Judges: John McKaie (N.Y.), Eric Marlinski (N.Y.), Don Trella (Conn.)
Light Heavyweight Eight-Round Bout
Clay Waterman – 173 ½ pounds
Kenmon Evans – 173 ½ pounds
Referee: Mark Nelson; Judges: Tom Schreck (N.Y.), Glenn Feldman (Conn.), Don Ackerman (N.Y.)
FINAL QUOTES:
ALI IZMAILOV
“I don’t feel any pressure. I’m very focused. I’m here to do my job and I will take care of business tomorrow night. He is a little taller than me, but I don’t think that’ll be an issue for me.
“I fought a lefty in my last fight [Marcelo Ruben Molina]. I did a lot of sparring with Juan Carrillo, who’s on this card.
“The better the opposition, the better I showcase my skills. I think I’m ready to take big steps and progress with my career. I’d like to get a title shot. I’d love to fight Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol or Canelo at some point in the near future.
“I was born for this. Since I was a little kid, I’ve been training to be a boxer. My after-school activities involved boxing and combat sports. Growing up I looked up to Muhammad Ali and Mike Tyson and as I grew older I also started admiring Manny Pacquiao and Floyd Mayweather.
“I take every fight seriously, but especially this one because of the Hall of Fame Weekend and I know there will be a lot of eyes on these fights.
“My goal is to show high-level boxing and people will make a decision and form their opinions on me based on my skills.”
CHARLES FOSTER
“I’m excited to go out there and showcase my skills and talent. It’s been a while since I was last on SHOBOX [2018], but I’m sure people will remember my win. I do remember thinking, ‘This is national TV’ and I wanted to play it safe and not take any risks. I still got the job done. So for sure I’m going to be a little more aggressive this time out.
“I know my opponent is tough, but tomorrow night we’ll see just how tough he is.
“I think I have advantage over my opponent in all aspects of the fight game – mentally, conditioning, skills. Everything. I have improved and have been working extremely hard for this night. I can’t wait.
“I work full-time as a mechanical insulator, just like my dad. It’s tough to balance a job and training camp, but the guys back in the day used to do it, so I have no problem with it. I am able to take a little time off and get ready during fight week.
“My little brother [William Foster III] has also won on SHOBOX so we’re in pretty good company. Brothers winning on SHOBOX – just like the Charlos did.”
RICHARD VANSICLEN
“I’m from Seattle, but living in San Diego now, which has been better for my training than being in Seattle. I’ve been in there with David Benavidez, and he’s actually helped boxing in that area with his gym.
“My conditioning is the biggest thing I’ve been working on. I’m faster and I’m stronger now and you will definitely see that in this fight.
“I knew who Roy Jones was but I didn’t know that much about pro boxing when I was first introduced to it at age 19 and in college.
“I had a tough upbringing and I never knew my father. We were in and out of homeless shelters and I owe it all to my mom Mary for getting me to where I am today. Someday when I’m all done and they are doing my 30 for 30 it will all go back to mom. After all the stuff she went through.
“I’ve chosen boxing as what I want to do, and I love it. I’ve been fighting my entire life.
“We’ve seen Juan Carrillo. He has some skills and there are a lot of things we can do to exploit what he does, especially in our movement and our athleticism. We are ready for anything he throws at us.
“I’m coming to steal the show, I’m coming to win. I’m coming for it all. I’m just so excited to be here and have a good time.”
JUAN CARRILLO
“I’ve been waiting my entire life for this. I’m very, very confident with my preparation and my conditioning. To go 10 rounds is not going to be a problem for me.
“This is the most difficult fight in my career, for sure. I’m a very hungry fighter and I’m confident at the end of the night it will be my hand that is raised in victory.
“My opponent is a talented fighter. I know he can fight, and I know he’s coming in hungry. But the person who’s going to be victorious is the one who is hungrier, and that’s me. You’re going to be impressed when I knock this kid out.
“I was born and raised in Barranquilla, Colombia, but since my last fight in February I’ve been training in Miami with Chino Perez at the 5th Street Gym. Everyone knows it as the Muhammad Ali gym. It’s pretty cool. You see the pictures hanging on the wall and it’s hard not to just feel like a champion.”
CLAY WATERMAN
“It’s amazing that our fight got elevated to the SHOBOX portion of the night and is a huge opportunity for me and my team coming all the way from Australia.
“It’s been a dream of mine for years to finally get this chance.
“I train in my backyard shed at my home. I’ve had about four different coaches over the years, and the last five or six years my father has been coaching me. We’ve had a small gym set up for the last seven years, but the last year, we’ve had a proper set up with a ring.
“I was in camp as a sparring partner with Artur Beterbiev before his last fight. It made me very hungry for what I really want. I was in Montréal for three weeks. I did a lot of rounds with him, a lot of very good rounds – maybe 40, or something like that. I loved it! I loved working with him and his team. I was very grateful to get that opportunity.
“I feel like I’m an all-rounder. I can mix it up and adapt and change when I need to change. If things aren’t going well in the ring, I can get back to the corner and we’ll change it up a little bit and do what I need to do to win.
“I am making my U.S. debut in this fight, and on Hall of Fame Weekend. You couldn’t ask for anything more.”
KENMON EVANS
“I’ve always been the tallest fighter, and I plan to use my range. I’m a smart fighter and can adapt to anything thrown at me.
“I’ll use the length to my advantage. It’s always been that way so this fight will be no different.
I’m good at using my length and my jab.
“As soon as I met [Hall of Famer] Christy Martin it was like, ‘Wow!’ What a big motivation to have her in my corner because I want to follow that path and that legacy.
“She got her start on SHOWTIME, and now it’s my turn.
“I thought about quitting the sport, but then I got an opportunity with Bare Knuckles. I had to wait and be patient and now my dream is becoming a reality.
“Boxing was just another way out to put me in a better position, because I got in trouble by being in the streets and everything. But I messed around and killed my dreams and boxing was my only way out.”
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About SHOBOX: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 89 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Errol Spence Jr., Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.