American fighters Derek Edwards (27-5-1, 14 KOs) and DeMarcus Corley (42-25-1, 25 KOs) have travelled the Atlantic aiming to upset undefeated Swedish boxers Erik Skoglund (23-0, 11 KOs) and Anthony Yigit (15-0-1, 6 KOs) on Saturday night at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping.

Edwards, who faces local hero Erik Skoglund, is full of confidence ahead of their ten-round light heavyweight contest having already enjoyed some success against Swedish opposition.

The 38 year-old from Phoenix defeated current WBC World Champion Badou Jack via first-round knockout in February 2014, and intends to deliver another devastating finish to his fight with the IBF Intercontinental Champion Skoglund.

‘’Erik had better be ready because I’ve been training hard and training smart, and I’m looking to win this fight big,’’ says Edwards. ‘’I’m going to take my time, utilize my experience and when the opportunity comes I’m going to knock him out!’’

DeMarcus Corley, the former WBO World Champion, takes on the London 2012 Olympian Anthony Yigit in an eight-round light welterweight bout, and the Texas-native says he is ready to derail the Stockholm-fighter’s promising career.

‘’Anthony is a young, undefeated fighter but his record doesn’t bother me. When you start out like him, your records protected so that doesn’t always tell the full story,’’ says ‘Chop Chop’.

‘’I’m expecting him to be fast and try to start strong, so I‘ll need to make some adjustments, but as the fight goes on, I’ll use my experience, pick my shots and break him down.’’

International matchmaker and boxing historian Don Majewski has also warned of a potential American whitewash. ‘’It could be a tough night for the Swedish boxers,’’ says Majewski, who has been involved in the fight game for over fifty-years.

‘’Edwards and Corley are two World-class fighters, and without a doubt, the best American boxers to fight on these shores since Sonny Liston and Floyd Patterson. I would not be at all surprised if we see two American victories on Saturday night!’’

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night show on Saturday, December 19 at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping are available via www.biljettforum.se or by calling (+46) 0771-130 150. All the action will be shown live on TV10 in Sweden.

Erik Skoglund (23-0, 11 KOs) and Derek Edwards (27-5-1, 14 KOs) came face-to-face today at the final pre-fight press conference ahead of their light heavyweight contest on Saturday night at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden.

Edwards has come to Sweden full of confidence as he looks to claim his second his second Swedish scalp following a first-round knockout victory over the current WBC World Champion Badou Jack in February 2014.

‘’It’s great to be here in Sweden and I’m looking forward to delivering the fans an exciting fight on Saturday night,’’ says the boxer from Phoenix. ‘’Erik is an accomplished boxer, he’s tall and he likes to use the ring, but I’ve not seen anything overly impressive and I’ve seen some weaknesses I plan to exploit.

‘’Whether it’s early or late, I think I’m going to get the stoppage, but if I have to go the distance I’m prepared for that too. I want to close out the year with a good win here in Sweden before moving on to even bigger things in 2016.’’

Skoglund is also aiming to end the year on a high as he eyes a World title challenge in 2016, and while the home fighter is aware of the tough task he faces, the 24 year-old believes he has the skills to keep his unbeaten record intact.

‘’Derek is a good fighter,’’ says Skoglund. ‘’He is not just a puncher as many of the Swedish fans might think based on his performance against Jack, he can also box. He has been in there with some world-class fighters and he’s always dangerous.

‘’My training has gone really well. I feel relaxed and confortable. In my last fight I was coming back from injury but this time, I know I can trust my body and I’ve been able to concentrate on Derek from the beginning.

‘’I know I have the skills to beat him and I look forward to adding another big name to my record and claiming another win in front of my home fans in Nyköping.’’

Promoter Nisse Sauerland says Skoglund can prove he is ready for the big time by beating Edwards on Saturday night.

‘’This is a tough fight for Erik. Derek is a dangerous opponent, but by beating him, Erik can establish himself as a serious World title contender,’’ said Sauerland.

‘’It won’t be easy. We all saw how Derek handled Badou Jack, who is now a World Champion and one of the best fighters in the 168lbs division. Erik will need to bring his A-game to get the win and keep his World title dreams alive.’’

Also present at today’s press conference was Swedish fan favorite Anthony Yigit (15-0-1, 6 KOs) whose light welterweight battle with former WBO World Champion DeMarcus ‘Chop Chop’ Corley (42-25-1, 25 KOs) provides chief support at the Rosvalla Arena.

In his illustrious career, Corley has fought a who’s who of modern boxing greats including the recently retired pound-for-pound great Floyd Maywether Jr, and the American fighter believes his experience will prove the decisive factor on Saturday night.

‘’I’m happy to be here in Sweden. I’ve been all over the world and this is an opportunity I couldn’t turn down,’’ says ‘Chop Chop’. ‘’Anthony is a young, undefeated fighter but his record doesn’t bother me. When you start out like him, your records protected so that doesn’t always tell the full story.

‘’I’m expecting him to be fast and try to start strong, so I‘ll need to make some adjustments for that, but as the fight goes on, I’ll use my experience, pick my shots and break him down.’’

Yigit was full of respect for the former World Champion. ‘’Once a Champion always a Champion,’’ declared the Stockholm fighter, who is eager to prove himself against the American veteran.

‘’I have a lot of respect for DeMarcus and everything he has achieved. He has fought against some of the best fighters of his generation and done really well against them.

‘’I believe this is going to be a really difficult fight for me, but I’m prepared. I’ve had the longest and best camp of my career, and I’m ready for Saturday night!

‘’I know it is going to be a tough fight, but that’s the only way to move forward. I need to test myself against better and better opponents, and this is another step in the right direction for me.’’

Tickets for the Nordic Fight Night show on Saturday, December 19 at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping are available via www.biljettforum.se or by calling (+46) 0771-130 150. All the action will be shown live on TV10 in Sweden.

Following a hugely successful debut show, the Nordic Fight Night returns to the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden on December 19, where local hero Erik Skoglund (23-0, 11 KOs) will put his undefeated record on the line against Derek Edwards (27-5-1, 14 KOs) – the only man to have beaten current Swedish World Champion Badou Jack.

Skoglund made history on September 19 when defending his IBF Intercontinental title over twelve rounds against the durable Ukrainian Oleksandr Cherviak, three months later, the ‘Swedish Sensation’ faces his toughest opponent to date when he takes on the hard-hitting Edwards.

Having proved his pedigree with a devastating first-round knockout victory over Badou Jack in February 2014, Edwards intends to claim his second Swedish scalp when he travels across the Atlantic to face Skoglund in his hometown arena, and the American is confident of delivering another knockout performance.

‘’Skoglund looks like a good boxer but he’s not overly impressive,’’ said the North Carolina native known as the ‘Black Lion’. ‘’He’s not got anything I haven’t seen before. If I hit him, I know I’m going to hurt him so it is just a matter of setting him up for the right punch. I think I’ll stop him inside five rounds.’’

Skoglund, who is already hard at work with coach Tommy Antman at his Nyköping training base, believes he is up to the challenge and will be ready for whatever the American has to offer.

‘’Edwards is a very skillful fighter who has a lot of power in his punches,’’ said Skoglund. ‘’Obviously I watched him knockout Badou Jack – that was a very impressive performance, but I believe I’m the better boxer.

‘’I’ll need to keep my distance, work behind my jab and wait for him to open up. I’ve fought against power punchers before and I’ve taken some big shots, so I’m not worried about getting hit. I believe my chin can stand up to Edwards’ punches and I’m confident I have what it takes to beat him.’’

Promoter Nisse Sauerland expects this fight to be the ‘toughest’ and ‘most important’ of the young Swede’s career with a World title opportunity in the offering should he come through unscathed.

‘’Without a doubt this is a dangerous fight for Erik,’’ said Sauerland. ‘’In boxing all it takes is one punch, and against Badou Jack, we saw that Edwards is capable of delivering a knockout punch.

‘’I expect this to be the toughest fight of Erik’s career so far, but also the most important, as by beating someone of Edwards’ experience and ability, Erik will prove that he is ready to step up and we would look to deliver him a World title challenge early next year!’’

Tickets for The World Awaits: Erik Skoglund vs. Derek Edwards on December 19 at the Rosvalla Arena in Nyköping, Sweden go on sale tomorrow (Tuesday, November 3) at 12.00pm and are available online via biljettforum.se or by calling 0771-130 150.

Adonis Stevenson retained the WBC Light Heavyweight title with a 5th round stoppage over Dmitry Sukhotsky at Colisee de Quebec in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.

In round two, Stevenson dropped Sukhotsky with a straight left. In round five, Stevenson dropped Sukhotsky three times all from hard left hands with the final being a crushing shot to the jaw the left Sukhotsky on the canvas for several minutes at 2:42 of round five.

Stevenson, 174 1/2 lbs of Montreal is now 25-1 with 21 knockouts. Sukhotsky, 173 1/2 lbs of Russia is now 22-3.

“I gave a beautiful knockout for SHOWTIME,” Stevenson said. “I just used my speed, my movement. I have the power and I know the knockouts are going to come. I’m not going to force it. I was just waiting for him and, bang, I caught him. I wanted to hit him with my left hand and it worked.

“I’m the big champion. He has to come to me,” said Stevenson of any challengers. “I’m the man in the light heavyweight division. They have to come to me. My job is to go in the ring and knock everybody out. I’m a ‘Superman.’”

In a rematch of Welterweights, Jo Jo Dan eked out his 2nd split decision win over Kevin Bizier to earn the number-one spot in the IBF.

It was a tough fight early as Bizier getting the better of the action.

In round seven, Bizier knocked Dan with a good left hook. Later in the round, Bizier was cut over the right eye from an accidental clash of heads. Dan steadied himself and upped his workrate over the second half of the fight. It was that volume punching that proved to be the difference as he won by scores of 115-112 Dan, 114-113 Bizier, 114-113 Dan.

Dan, 146 3/4 lbs of Romania is now 34-2 and is line for IBF champion Kell Brook. Bizier, 146 3/4 lbs of Montreal is now 23-2.

“Yes, of course (I’d fight Bizier again), but first I want to fight Kell Brook,” Dan said. “I hope we’ll make an exciting fight like this one.”

After the fight, Bizier (23-2, 16 KOs) was disappointed to again be on the losing end of a close split-decision.

“All the close rounds went to Jo Jo,” Bizier said. “We knew we had to win those last two rounds and I guess they gave it to him. When I hurt Jo Jo in the seventh I hurt my right hand. At that point, I was fighting with one hand.

“Let’s fight again. Why not? The first two fights were close. I don’t know why, but the judges just seem to give the close rounds to him.”

Former world title challenger Andre Dirrell scored a 12-round unanimous decision over Derek Edwards in a Super Middleweight bout.

Dirrell dominated the bout ,mostly from the southpaw stance. He landed some hard flurries with the best being in round eight when he landed a blistering combination where he snapped the head Edwards back several times. He rocked Edwards in round ten as he landed some thudding uppercuts. In round twelve. Edwards had s light glimmer of hope when he landed a hard left hook that momentarily stunned Dirrell. He could not capitalize and Dirrell came home with the victory by scores of 119-109, 120-108 and 119-107.

Dirrell, 167 3/4 lbs of Flint, MI is now 24-1. Edwards, 167 lbs of Winston Salem, NC is now 27-4-1.

Punch stats saw Dirrell 225-591. Edwards 47-269

“I want to perfect my craft as far as fighting southpaw,” Dirrell said. “I was shooting the left hand. This guy has a tough, tough head so I’m not going to doubt my power one bit. I’m glad to walk away with a victory. My knuckle was hurting but it wasn’t bad enough that I couldn’t throw it. This boy could take a punch.

“I’m getting there. I’m proud of my performance, but it was a tough 12 rounds.”

“I believe he’s scared to fight me,” Dirrell said. “It’s too risky a fight to take. But I’m going to push it to the best of my ability. There’s a win on his record that’s questionable to everyone in the world. Give me the rematch. Prove to your fans that you beat me and try to do it again. Step in the ring with Andre Dirrell and you’re going to see what I’m all about.”

Super prospect Artur Beterbiev remained undefeated but was knocked down to come back and score a 2nd round stoppage over previously undefeated Jeff Page Jr. in a scheduled 10-round Light Heavyweight bout.

In round one, Page landed a right that sent Beterbiev to the canvas. In round two, Beterbiev landed some head shots that rocked Page and sent Page to the deck. He sent Page down later in the round from another hard round. Beterbiev finished things seconds later when he dropped Page for a third and final time and the fight was stopped at 2:21 of round two.

Beterbiev, 174 1/2 lbs of Russia now 7-0 with 7 knockouts. Page, 174 1/4 lbs of Wichita, KS is 15-1.

“I felt a bit sleepy before the fight and I don’t think I was concentrating for a fraction of a second (in the first round),” Beterbiev said. “I got angry after the knockdown and decided to go forward. I have a lot to learn in professional boxing, but I’m looking forward to the experience.”

When asked if he thinks he could beat WBO/WBA/IBF Champion Sergey Kovalev, who he defeated as an amateur, Beterbiev was noncommittal.

“I beat him (Kovalev) as an amateur so I can’t say much,” Beterbiev said. “It’s hard to say right now.”

NEW YORK (Nov. 18, 2014) –- An IBF super middleweight elimination bout between 168-pound contender Andre “The Matrix” Dirrell (23-1, 16 KOs), of Flint, Mich., and veteran spoiler Derek “The Black Lion” Edwards (27-3-1, 14 KOs), of Las Vegas, has been confirmed as a 12-round co-feature of a SHOWTIME BOXING: Special Edition quadrupleheader on Friday, Dec. 19, live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City, Quebec.

For the switch-hitting Dirrell, the elimination bout for the IBF’s No. 2 position behind No. 1 James DeGale and champion Carl Froch will be his first start on SHOWTIME and fifth overall since getting injured against then-undefeated Arthur Abraham in his second Super Six World Boxing Classic fight on SHOWTIME on March 27, 2010.

Dirrell had scored a knockdown in the fourth and was comfortably ahead of the Armenian on all scorecards heading into 11th. About a minute into the round, Dirrell slipped on a wet canvas and Abraham blatantly hit him while he was down, knocking Dirrell out cold and resulting in Abraham being disqualified. Dirrell suffered neurological issues as a result of the punch, withdrew from the tournament and was sidelined for 21 months.

A fixture on SHOWTIME before the injury, Dirrell is quickly approaching the peak form he exhibited when he entered the Super Six and was regarded by many as one of boxing’s fastest-rising contenders. Dirrell has won his last five fights, three by stoppage.

“I’m excited to be back on the fast track and I’m ready to show that this is definitely where I belong,” Dirrell said. “It takes time to move back to the top, but I like to improve myself each time I step into the gym. I almost feel like I’ve been overworking myself in the gym to prove that I’m back.

“But I feel like I’m there and ready for a title shot. And, when the time comes to prove that I’m ready, I won’t leave any doubt.’’

A 2004 U.S. Olympic bronze medalist and the older brother of WBC Super Middleweight World Champion Anthony Dirrell, Andre scored a second-round TKO in his return to the ring on Dec. 30, 2011, but didn’t fight again until February 2013. He’s been victorious in both his fights in 2014, winning his last via fourth-round TKO over Nick Brinson on Oct. 8.

After blasting out Vladine Biosse two starts ago, the 31-year-old Dirrell called out IBF Champ Froch, who was the unbeaten WBC 168-pound champion when he dealt Dirrell his lone loss via a controversial, 12-round split-decision in his native England in the first Super Six fight for both fighters on Oct. 17, 2009.

“I know I won that fight against Froch,” Dirrell said. “I think everyone knows I won that fight. He’s the one opponent I want and the fact that he’s a world champion again is just icing on the cake. I don’t think I’ve ever been defeated and I want that title shot. Hopefully he doesn’t retire because I know the world wants to see that rematch.

“I want to fight the best at 168. I want to unify the division, but if my brother does that first then I will move up to 175. I have a lot of work to do in a little amount of time – I want to fight for about five more years – and if Anthony runs me out at 168 then I’ll go up to 175.”

Before Dirrell gets his shot at a title he must first defeat a power-punching opponent who has a knack for upsets.

“This guy may have power, but power-punchers are the best opponents for pure boxers, for slick guys like me,” Dirrell said. “That’s when I’m at my best. I’m not even looking at his power – his will and determination in the fight will be more important than his power.

“I know he’s going to be at his best when he steps in the ring on Dec. 19. He’s been in some tough fights, but I don’t think we’ve seen the best from him yet. I’m not worried about anything but getting the job done and I know I will when the time comes.”

Edwards, who once fought light heavyweight kingpin Adonis Stevenson when he was campaigning at 168 pounds, is coming off perhaps the most unlikely result of the year, a stunning 1:01, first-round knockout of previously-unbeaten, top-five ranked Badou Jack on ShoBox: The New Generation last Feb. 28 on SHOWTIME.

An extreme longshot going in, Edwards twice dropped Jack, the first coming with an overhand short right 32 seconds into the match. Moments later, Edwards registered another knockdown from a right followed by a glancing left hook. Jack stumbled to his feet but the referee had seen enough and waved off the bout.

“I’m definitely confident going in against Andre,” Edwards said. “He’s a different fighter than Jack. He had a good amateur background and fought some of the best super middleweights in the Super Six, but I see some things I can exploit in Andre. I know I’ll need to force the action on him and be the aggressor.

“A win like this would put a lot of other fighters on notice; let guys know that I can deal with the speed of a fighter like Andre and the power of a guy like Jack. And it would give me the confidence to fight anyone.’’

A “traveling underdog” who has fought from 161 to 185 pounds, Edwards, a native of Winston-Salem, N.C., is known for an ambidextrous style of fighting. Despite only six amateur bouts, he won his first 25 fights – more than 50 percent by knockout – after turning professional in October 2002.

And while he’s never faced an opponent with the speed, amateur pedigree and as naturally athletic as Dirrell, he knows that a second consecutive upset victory could forever change his life.

“I’ve never been this motivated for a fight,” said the 34-year-old Edwards. “A win like this would put a lot of things on the table, open up a lot of doors and opportunities. It’s definitely the biggest fight of my life.

“There’s no tomorrow. It’s just one night. I need to seize the moment and lay it all out on the line. This is my one big shot.”

In the main event on Dec. 19, hard-hitting WBC and The Ring Magazine Light Heavyweight World Champion Adonis “Superman” Stevenson (24-1, 20 KOs) will defend against Dmitry “The Hunter” Sukhotskiy (22-2, 16 KOs), of Russia.

Kevin Bizier (23-1, 16 KOs), of Quebec, will face the only man to defeat him, Canadian-based Romanian Jo Jo Dan (33-2, 18 KOs) in a 12-round IBF welterweight eliminator – the winner to face World Champion Kell Brook – in the second clash of a four-fight telecast. The opener will feature the SHOWTIME debut of two-time Russian Olympian Artur Beterbiev (6-0, 6 KOs), who twice beat WBO/WBA/IBF Champion Sergey Kovalev in the amateurs. Beterbiev meets fellow unbeaten Jeff Page Jr. (15-0, 10 KOs), of Andover, Kansas, in a 10-round light heavyweight scrap.

Tickets for an event presented by Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) in association with Mise-O-Jeu and Videotron, range from $25 to $250 and are on sale in the branches of the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec (418) 691-7211 or 1 (800) 900-7469, online at www.billeteck.com, at GYM (514) 383-0666 or Boxing Club Champion (514) 376-0980.