After cleaning out his home state of North Carolina and surrounding area, as his own promoter and manager, talented super flyweight Dewayne “Mr. Stop Running” Beamon went out in search of better competition.
The quest, which involved a two-year stop in what he calls “boxing’s wild west” of Tijuana and Mexico City, has finally landed the 33-year-old a WBO #12-ranking and a promoter determined to help Beamon reach his full potential.
On Saturday, June 22, at CSU’s Wolstein Center in Cleveland, Ohio, that promoter, Ejay Matthews of Bigger Than Life Entertainment, will partner with six-time World Champion Miguel Cotto’s Miguel Cotto Promotions and Mo Entertainment to present “Making A Champion,” a six-fight night of world-class boxing featuring Beamon (16-1-1, 11 KOs) taking on former world title challenger and WBO #14-ranked Froilan “The Sniper” Saludar (30-3-1, 21 KOs) from the Philippines in a 12-round showdown for the WBC United States (USNBC) Super Flyweight Championship in the main event.
Making A Champion will be televised live on CBS Sports (11:00 pm ET/8:00 pm PT) and the exciting undercard will be streamed live on www.fite.tv (7:30 pm ET/4:30 pm PT).
Tickets for “Making A Champion” are priced at $30, $40, $65 and Ringside $150 and are on sale now at wolsteincenter.com or Wolstein Center Box Office on CSU campus.
Beamon is a latecomer to boxing, as he wasn’t able to start amateur boxing until the relatively late age of 24.
“Boxing was always my passion. I was born to box, but my parents wouldn’t let me get into it because I was a football and basketball star and that would get me into college. I had a full scholarship all the way through Southern Virginia University. But the whole time I was in school, I was sneaking off to a boxing gym to train at night. If the school found out what I was doing, I could have been kicked out.”
Upon graduating with a B.A. in Family Childcare Development, Beamon finally had his opportunity and immediately made the most of it. A natural talent, in his short amateur career, he won several titles including two national championships and ended with an impressive 48-2 record.
Beamon turned professional in 2015 and quickly tore through his regional competition to the point that he opened his own promotional company, Stop Running Promotions, and started using his own money and putting on his own shows to lure better opponents into the ring in his own main events, many of them for regional championships. In his four-year professional career, Beamon has already held the UBF World Featherweight, IBO International Super Flyweight, UBF World Super Flyweight, IBO Inter-Continental Super Flyweight and UBF World Super Flyweight Championships.
“I’ve always had trouble finding competition in the US,” explained Beamon. “It’s been like that from the start. I got my nickname when I was 33-0 as an amateur and nobody would fight me. Me and my friends used to say, ‘You all got to stop running,’ to my opponents. So, in the pros, I stared promoting my own fights and paying good money for better opponents to come in and fight me. Sometimes I would make money and sometimes I would lose, but eventually it became too much work to train and fight while doing everything to put on the show, so I stopped promoting and went looking for a promoter.”
Beamon says he found a lot more competition in Mexico and signed with a promotional outfit there, but admits it ultimately wasn’t the situation he was looking for.
“I had to keep fighting in other people’s hometowns. I would still knock them out, but it wasn’t the best deal for me. Nobody would fight me 10 rounds and I was getting hit low and head butted a lot, and nobody said anything. I beat one guy and it’s not even on my Box Rec. It was the Wild Wild West.”
That’s when Beamon met up with Matthews, signed with his promotional company and relocated to Las Vegas to work with Joe Vargas and assistant Luis Anthony at Big Shot Boxing.
“Everything is going great now. I love the training in Vegas. I don’t have to travel around to find good work. I’m sparring with (IBF Mini Flyweight) World Champion Deejay Kriel of South Africa right now. I feel like this deal has moved me a lot closer to my dream of winning a world title.
To move forward, Beamon must get through the formidable Saludar, who challenged former champ Sho Kimura for the World Boxing Organisation World Flyweight belt in July 2018 and, in his 10-year career, has previously held the WBO Asia Pacific Youth Flyweight, WBO Asia Pacific Youth Flyweight, WBO Youth Flyweight, WBO Asia Pacific Flyweight, WBO Oriental Flyweight and WBO Inter-Continental Flyweight Championships.
“I know his promoter only deals with good fighters and he was bought up the right way and promoted the right way, but he always failed when it came to title shots. I also know I’m not letting him beat me,” said Beamon of Saludar. “It feels great to fight on national TV for the first time. It’s like a dream come true. In North Carolina, I’m the number fighter in my division and everybody comes to see me fight. But I know if I ever want to be big-time, I have to fight outside my area and I need to put on the kinds of performances that make people remember my name. I want to make Americans care about the super flyweight division again and this is my chance.”
In the second televised main event, Canada’s undefeated Cody “The Crippler” Crowley (17-0, 9 KOs) will take on the United Kingdom’s Navid “Nav” Mansouri (19-2-2, 6 KOs) in a 12-round battle for the WBC United States (USNBC) Super Welterweight Championship.
In other intriguing match-ups, Cleveland’s own Miguel Angel “Silky Smooth” Gonzalez (24-4, 16 KOs) will fight eight lightweight rounds against Africa’s Albinius “Danny Boy Albino” Felesianu (18-2-1, 7 KOs); and in a six-round super lightweight scrap undefeated Montana “Too Pretty” Love (11-0-1, 5 KOs) will face Africa’s also undefeated Tshibangu “Bebe Rico” Kayembe (9-0-3, 3 KOs).
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Ray Leonard Jr., son of six-time world champion, Sugar Ray Leonard, along with actor and television host, Chris Spencer will provide the CBS Sports commentary. World renowned clothing designer, Karl Kani will be providing outfits for the ring girls.
The Wolstein Center is located at 2000 Prospect Avenue in Cleveland. On fight night, the doors open at 7:00 pm and the action starts at 7:30 pm. Making A Champion is sponsored by B&M BBQ.
About Bigger Than Life Entertainment
BTLE is a full-service entertainment company specializing in Boxing Promotions, Public Relations and Artist Management. They place Sports and Entertainment celebrities at major events worldwide and offer sports tickets and packages in Las Vegas, across the U.S., and internationally.
About Miguel Cotto Promotions
MCP stems from the vision and passion of Miguel Angel Cotto Vazquez with the premise of giving the boxer what boxing gave his family. Emerging in 2005, MCP has since established a great rapport with the community with over 13 years in the industry solidifying its spot as one of the leading sporting firms in Puerto Rico.