CHICAGO — November 23, 2015 — Chicago boxing fans are in for a sensational night of boxing to kick off the holiday weekend this Wednesday at the Horseshoe Hammond, when Hitz Boxing presents a special Thanksgiving Eve edition of its long-running series, Fight Night at the Horseshoe. The stacked card features the return of Mike “Hollywood” Jimenez (18-1, 12KO), who will face Thomas Awimbono (25-4-1, 21KO) in a ten round bout for the NABA Super Middleweight and WBC Continental Americas Super Middleweight titles. It is Jimenez’s first fight in his hometown of Chicago since facing Jesse Hart on the Mayweather-Pacquiao undercard, and going “down under” to defeat Francisco Benitez for the UBF All America Super Middleweight title in June.
On the undercard, undefeated Chicago native Nick Ramirez (6-0-1, 2KO) faces Agustin Cicero in a six-round welterweight bout. Also on the card, undefeated Irish Lightweight John Joe Nevin (6-0, 4KO) makes his first Chicago appearance since making his professional debut in August, 2014. The Olympic Silver Medalist is the latest in a string of Irish boxers to fight at a Hitz Boxing event, the most notable being World Champion Andy Lee.
Chicago favorite Sammy “The Russian Concussion” Horowitz makes his return in a four round bout versus Indiana’s Ronez McGrady. The light heavyweight is coming off of a four round unanimous decision win over Israel Echevarria in August. Ed Brown will face Gilbert Venegas in a six-round bout. Brown has gained notoriety for his busy schedule over the course of this year. Wednesday’s bout will be the twelfth since May of this year for the Cameron Dunkin-managed prospect.
Also on the card, hometown Chicago fighter Kevin Cruz takes on Zach Knox, and Ivan Gonzalez makes his professional debut at light heavyweight versus Brandon Johnson. Rounding out the card are Shawndell Winters, Jessica McCaskill, Nick Mazurek, Gorjan Slaveski and Tyrome Jones in separate bouts.
“This has truly been a hall of fame year for Hitz Boxing,” said promoter Bobby Hitz, who was inducted last week into the Illinois Boxing Hall of Fame, and was inducted earlier this year into the American Football Association Hall of Fame. “I’m grateful for the tremendous support we’ve gotten during 2015, and we’re closing out the year with a very solid card.”
Doors to The Venue at Horseshoe Hammond open at 6:00 Wednesday, November 25th, and first bell is at 6:30. Tickets are priced $90 and 40, and are available at all Ticketmaster outlets. Boxing fans must be 21 years and older to attend events at the Horseshoe Hammond.
