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May 13, 2024 – OTX is coming to Texas! Making its debut in Houston, OTX7 will go down Friday, May 31 at Red Owl Boxing featuring some of Houston’s hometown kids.
- Andreas Katzourakis (12-0, 10 KOs), OTX Tournament fighter, super welterweight
- Katzourakis will step up in his first 10-round bout to take on Kudratillo “The Punisher” Abdukakhorov (20-2 12KOs) in a true Overtime Boxing 50/50 fight, in the first round of The OTX Tournament live on DAZN from Red Owl Boxing.
- Athens native, Andreas “Katz” Katzourakis is looking to become the first Greek World Champion since Anton Christoforidis in 1941. Katz began boxing full-time at the age of 15, after competing in martial arts with over 600 point fighting bouts to his name. Becoming a dominant amateur boxer in Greece, he is a 4x Greek national champion and has racked up a record of 25-1, 18 stoppages (18-0, 16 stoppages in his home country).
- He moved to the US in 2018, briefly training with Abel Sanchez at the famed Summit Gym in Big Bear, CA before Sanchez retired from the sport. Katz then stepped into legendary trainer Ronnie Shields’ camp, sparred with Jermall Charlo’s, and impressed Shields immediately.
- Katz now lives and trains in Houston, TX with Shields, who has coached many greats including Pernell Whittaker, Evander Holyfield, Mike Tyson, David Tua, Vernon Forrest, and Jermall Charlo to name a few. Ronnie believes Katzourakis has the skill and desire to be his next great champion.
- Katz has built a very sizable support base in Houston through the Greek Orthodox church and the support of the Greek restaurant community. He’s also a high-level chess player and talented artist.
- Giovanni Marquez (9-0, 5 KOs), OTX Fighter, Super lightweight,
- Undefeated Houston-born and-raised, Giovanni Marquez will square off in an all-Texas showdown with San Antonio’s Jason “El Gallo” Limon (8-1-1 2KOs) over 8 rounds in the super lightweight division. The two have been jawing back and forth on social media (click here to watch), and the state of Texas is buzzing for these two to settle it in the ring on May 31.
- Gio was destined to be a boxing star. He grew up around boxing as his father, Raul Marquez, was a world champion. He fell in love with the sport and the rest is history.
- He did try other sports though. At just 12 years old, Gio was playing football, swimming, and soccer. While he loved football, he always sparring with his brothers and messing around in the gym, but it was his first amateur fight at 12 where it turned a corner. He realized boxing was his true passion.
- Gio also credits his grandfather for not just encouraging him to box, but always taking the time to practice and fake spar with him – something they still do today.
- He may have been a late bloomer to the national amateur stage, but he’s quickly making a name for himself. In 2021, he became the National Golden Glove Champion and won the Most Outstanding Fighter of the Tournament award. He’s also a Texas amateur Star, having won 14x state/regional tournament championships.
- Riding high off a thrilling victory at OTX 5, Gio is primed for a blockbuster showdown in Houston. This fight will be his third OTX fight night, the most of any other fighter thus far.
OTX has continued to dominate in and outside the ring, doubling total viewership on social content and racking up hundreds of thousands of views on live streams. In just 10 months, OTX channels have generated over 3BN views on boxing content and ballooned over 500% in audience size, encompassing 3.3MM followers across all platforms.
For the first time, as part of OTX’s partnership with DAZN, all fights will be available to watch on the DAZN app for free, and streamed on DAZN and Overtime’s social media channels.
Visit https://otboxing.com for more info and tickets visit here.
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