NEW YORK:(February 12, 2014) Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing has announced a sensational undercard for this week’s ESPN Friday Night Fights/Rockin’ Fights 12 live at The Paramount in Huntington, New York.
Headlining the special Valentine’s Day/February 14 card is an outstanding 10-round junior welterweight clash between “The Fighting Pride of Huntington” Chris Algieri and world ranked Emmanuel Taylor of Baltimore, Maryland.
“The main event is a true 50/50 fight with great risk and reward for both Algieri and Taylor,” said Joe DeGuardia, Founder and President of Star Boxing. “We’ve also complimented the headliner with a fantastic undercard featuring a very strong co-featured bout and three excellent Huntington prospects returning to The Paramount in separate bouts.”
Fighting for the third time at The Paramount, Bronx resident Issouf Kinda will face off against Paterson, New Jersey’s Jeremy Bryan in the eight round chief supporting bout which will open the ESPN Friday Night Fights telecast at 9:00 p.m. ET.
The 26-year-old Kinda, a native of the West African country of Burkina Faso, is looking to bounce back from his first loss of his career.
On May 24, 2013, Kinda, now 16-1-0 (6KO’s), battled evenly with Chris Howard in a bout telecast on ESPN Friday Night Fights. With Howard suffering a cut over his left eye from an accidental head-butt, the ringside physician stopped the bout with the judges awarding the Tennessee native a technical decision.
Prior to the loss against Howard, Kinda had put together two outstanding performances against former world title challenger Mike Arnaoutis (UD-10) and hot prospect Javier Loya (KO-2).
Known as “Hollywood”, the 27-year-old Bryan, 16-3-0 (7KO’s) is also looking to re-enter the win column. On April 12, 2013, the former national amateur standout was stopped by highly regarded and undefeated prospect Amir Imam in Las Vegas.
Also on the undercard, two hot Huntington based prospects will see action in separate six round lightweight bouts.
Impressing with each appearance, Alan Gotay, 7-0-0 (3KO’s), will be looking to jumpstart his 2014 campaign facing off against tough Chicago based veteran Carl McNickles, 8-4-0 (6KO’s).
The 23-year-old Gotay stayed busy in 2013, winning all five of his starts, each of which took place in front of standing room only crowds at The Paramount.
Anthony Karperis, 5-2-0 (3KO’s), will look to stay in the win column challenging Calvin Smith, 2-6-0, of Prichard, Alabama.
Karperis returns to battle following a hard fought fifth round stoppage of Michael Doyle on November 22 at The Paramount.
The 23-year-old Smith also returns to The Paramount seeking victory after losing a very close majority decision to Alan Gotay on November 22.
Huntington junior middleweight Wendy Toussaint, 3-0-0, will look to stay undefeated; clashing with Mine Hill, New Jersey’s Anthony Gangemi, 4-1-0 (3KO’s) in a four round tilt.
Toussaint returns following a four round decision over Ahmed Tuba on November 22 at The Paramount. Gangemi had won his first four pro bouts prior to losing a six round decision to Justin Johnson on July 27, 2013.
Rounding out the undercard on the ESPN Friday Night Fights/Rockin’ Fights 12 card is a six round middleweight clash between Jason “Monstruo” Escalera, 13-1-1 (12KO’s) of Union City, New Jersey and Lekan Byfield, 4-5-2, of Atlanta, Georgia.
Escalera makes his first start since the initial loss of his career, an eighth round stoppage by world title challenger Edwin Rodriguez on September 29, 2012, in a bout telecast on HBO.
In 2013, “Road Warrior” Byfield took home two victories over highly regarded prospects, undefeated Isiah Seldon and Justin Verdin, both of which took place in the opponents hometown.
Remaining tickets (ONLY 10 TICKETS LEFT), priced at $200, $150, $100, $60 and $50, for ESPN Friday Night Fights/Rockin Fights’ 12 are available through Ticketmaster, (www.Ticketmaster.com, 800-745-3000). Tickets are also available by calling Star Boxing at (718) 823-2000 or on their website www.starboxing.com and through The Paramount Box Office, (631) 673-7300.
The Paramount is located at 370 New York Avenue in Huntington, New York, 11743. Doors on the night of the event will open at 7:00 p.m. with the first bell at 7:30 p.m.
ABOUT ESPN FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS
ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra will begin at 9 p.m. ET live on ESPN2,
Watch ESPN and broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+.
ESPN Deportes will re-brand its coverage as Noche de Combates (formerly Viernes de Combates) with some telecasts on Saturdays.
ESPN2 Commentators/Studio:
Blow-by-blow commentator Joe Tessitore and ringside analyst Teddy Atlas will return to describe the action for ESPN2. Both are recipients of the prestigious Sam Taub Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism presented by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA): Atlas (2001), Tessitore (2010). Studio host Todd Grisham (@GrishamESPN), will return for his second season providing all the latest boxing news and highlights. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn), who last year became the series’ first-ever on-site reporter, will contribute to Friday Night Fights in English, and Noche de Combates (Fight Night) in Spanish.
ESPN Deportes Commentators/Studio:
Delvin Rodríguez will call the fights with Pablo Viruega for Noche de Combateson both ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes+, while Leopoldo González and Claudia Trejos will anchor the studio. Hall of Fame referee Joe Cortez will join Trejos and González in studio throughout the season, with Osuna providing reports and interviews.
ABOUT STAR BOXING ®
Star Boxing Inc. celebrated its 20th Anniversary in 2012. The company has produced some of the most exciting and memorable boxing events in recent history. Star Boxing continues to work with and develop a number of very exciting world champions, world rated contenders and young prospects. Star Boxing is proud that is has consistently brought credibility, integrity, and exciting fights to the boxing industry. For more information on Star Boxing, visit their official website at www.StarBoxing.com and follow them on Twitter @ Star Boxing and Facebook at Star Boxing.
ABOUT THE PARAMOUNT:
Opened September 30, 2011 this 1,555-capacity live entertainment venue, located in downtown Huntington, Long Island, New York, features; concerts, comedy, boxing, community and other special events in a club/theater setting. With over 30,000 Facebook fans, The Paramount was recently ranked by Pollstar Magazine as the #24 highest attended club-venue worldwide (January-June 2013). A Ticketmaster venue, booked by Live Nation, TheParamount hosts nearly 200 events per year and in less than two years since its inception, has quickly established itself as the premier music venue onLong Island, NY. Some artists who have recently taken the Paramount stage include; Billy Joel, Pitbull, Don Henley, Willie Nelson, B.B. King, ZZ Top, Counting Crows, Primus, Matchbox 20, The Blues Brothers, Limp Bizkit, & many, many, more.
ABOUT THE FOX HOLLOW:
Nestled upon 8 private acres of Long Island’s north shore is the Fox Hollow, which features a state of the art event venue, fine dining restaurant and an all-suite luxury boutique hotel. Owned & operated by the Scotto Brothers, their Above & Beyond philosophy in providing each & every guest with superior services and amenities is paramount. Visit the Fox Hollow online at www.TheFoxHollow.com & www.TheInnAtFoxHollow.com
ABOUT CAMELOT LIMOUSINE:
Official Sponsor of the Paramount Boxing Series, Camelot Limos is a family owned and operated business located in Nassau County, with over 25 years of professional experience; serving satisfied clientele since 1984. The owners of Camelot Specialty Limos are very active in the business and play a major role in the company’s day-to-day operations. Camelot Specialty Limos, Inc. is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau. www.camelotlimo.com
ABOUT WBAB 102.3:
WBAB 102.3 is the home of Long Island’s Classic Rock anchored by their Long Island Rock ‘N’ Roll Morning Show with Roger and JP. For more information or to listen online, visit their website at
www.wbab.com and follow them on Facebook.com/1023wbab and on Twitter @1023wbab.
