NEW YORK – March 3, 2022 – Undefeated super welterweight prospect Ardreal Holmes will now face once-beaten Vernon Brown in the 10-round main event of ShoBox: The New Generation on Friday, March 11 live on SHOWTIME at 9:35 p.m. ET/PT from Deadwood Mountain Grand Hotel in Deadwood, S.D.

Mekhrubon Sanginov, who was originally slated to take on Holmes (11-0, 5 KOs) in the main event, was forced to withdraw from the bout after suffering an injury in training camp. Brown (13-1-1, 9 KOs), who was previously set to fight the undefeated Hurshidbek Normatov in the co-main event, steps in to face Holmes. Normatov also suffered an injury in training camp and is unable to fight on March 11.

The previously-announced eight-round lightweight matchup between undefeated prospect Luis Acosta (12-0, 11 KOs) and the power-punching Edwin De Los Santos (13-1, 12 KOs) serves as the co-main event and 2021 National Golden Gloves Champion Giovanni Márquez, the son of former world champion and ShoBox commentator Raul Márquez, makes his professional debut against Dominican Nelson Morales (2-0) in a four-round super lightweight bout that opens the three-fight telecast. Raul Márquez will occupy dual roles during the broadcast, first as his son’s trainer and cornerman and then later as an expert analyst alongside his colleagues ringside.

He will be joined by Hall of Famer Barry Tompkins calling the action with veteran combat sports reporter Brian Campbell also serving as an expert analyst, and Hall of Famer Steve Farhood remotely performing unofficial scoring duties. The executive producer of ShoBox: The New Generation is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.

The event is promoted by Holden Productions.

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About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 86 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Errol Spence Jr., Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.

Luis Nunez stopped Carlos Arrieta the 10th and final round in a scheduled 10-round junior lightweight bout at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida.

In round three, Arrieta was starting to swell under the left eye.

In round nine, Nunez hurt Arrieta with a right hand and followed up with a hard flurry that rocked Arrieta, and the fight was stopped at 1:41.

Nunez, 128 1/4 lbs of Nagua, DR is 16-0 with 12 knockouts. Nunez, 129 1/4 lbs of Truillo Alto, PR is 14-1.

“The plan was to work the body and to break him down and that’s what we did,” Nunez said. “I saw the right hand was landing and I kept throwing it and trying to set him up for it and attacking until we got what we wanted in the final round. It was a great shot and great win for my career. It’s the way I wanted to close the fight.”

“I thought it was a quick stoppage,” Arrieta said. “I was a little stunned, but I could have continued. I didn’t want the fight to be stopped. He was a strong fighter, a true warrior. He’s a very good fighter and was very effective with the right hand.”

Nuñez said he is ready to go back down to 126 pounds after contesting his first professional fight in the 130-pound super featherweight division. “I fought for most of my career at 122 so 126 is where I belong,” he said. “I felt strong at this weight [super featherweight] but 126 is the weight for me.”

He added: “I knew he was a tough fighter and I’m not surprised the fight went as it did. He came to fight, and we gave the fans a good fight.”

Eranosyan Decisions Castillo

Otar Eranosyan won an eight-round unanimous decision over Starling Castillo in a lightweight bout.

Eraosyan dropped Castillo twice in round one. The first was a counter right. The second came from a huge left that hurt Castillo, and a follow up combination sent him to the canvas.

Eranosyan landed 153 of 605 punches; Castillo was 102 of 430.

Eranosyan, 135 lbs of The Georgia Republic, won by scores of 79-71 and 80-70 twice and is now 11-0. Castillo, 135 lbs of Dominican Republic is 16-1.

“We work on the left hook in training and when the opening presented itself I landed the left hook on the (first) knockdown,” said Eranosyan, ranked No. 7 by the WBA at 130 pounds, who fought six times in 2021. “It’s fine that he got up. This is pro boxing. We train for 12 rounds, 10 rounds, eight rounds, however long it takes we will be there.

“I feel great about my performance. This is why I train like I do and fight as hard as I do for nights like these.”

“I’m ready for all the champions. Bring them on,” Eranosyan said. “Shakur Stevenson, Oscar Valdez, I’m ready for all of them. I’m getting better and better each fight and I’m ready now to face the best. I know that with more performances like these, soon I will be champion of the world.”

Foster Decisions De Los Santos

In a battle of undefeated junior lightweights,. William Foster III won an eight-round split decision over Edwin De Los Santos.

It was a sloppy fight with a lot of holding on the inside, mostly be De Los Santos.

In round four, De Los Santos was deducted a point for holding the head. De Los Santos was also cut over the left eye in the round. Foster was able to create space and land solid shots in the second half of the fight, and won by 77-74 twice, while De Los Santos won a card 77-74.

De Los Santos landed 125 of 421 Punches; Foster was 117 of 488.

Foster, 129 1/4 lbs of West Haven, CT is now 14-0. De Los Santos, 129 lbs of Santo Domingo, DR is 13-1.

“I was pressuring him the whole time and I knew he was slowing down and eventually I would get to him,” said Foster, who kept moving forward as the fight progressed and dictated and landed the more powerful punches. “I thought it was the right decision because I was landing more shots as the fight went on.”

The 28-year-old Foster – the younger brother of 20-0 professional light heavyweight prospect Charles Foster – was surprised with how fast De Los Santos started. “I knew I had to stay calm, and I adapted and my experience allowed me to adjust to what was happening,” Foster said. “He wasn’t devastating, and the punches never hurt me. I knew he would slow down and when he did, I began to land my shots and had success with my pressure.”

Regarding the point deduction in the fourth, De Los Santos disagreed with the referee’s decision. “I didn’t think the point should have been deducted,” said De Los Santos, who had scored stoppages in his last seven fights. “I thought I should have been warned first.

“I thought it was a close fight, but I thought I did enough to earn the victory. I was landing the harder shots throughout and he never hurt me.”

Added De Los Santos: “He was a little awkward and he came with a little more than we thought he would, but I still thought I won. He was aggressive and maybe I slowed down a little as the fight went on, but I still thought I was landing. This is a setback but I’ll learn from this and come back better.”

Sampson Boxing proudly announces the signing of a pair of undefeated 21-year-old Dominican prospects, super featherweight Edwin De Los Santos and super bantamweight Luis Reynaldo Nunez to promotional agreements.

A crow-pleasing puncher with tremendous will, the southpaw De los Santos (9-0, 8 KOs), from Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, started boxing at the age of eight and went on to win numerous national amateur championships in his boxing-rich homeland. At age 14, he joined the Dominican’s prestigious National Boxing Team and, at 18, made the move to professional ranks. De Los Santos has already captured the WBA Fedecaribe and WBC Latino Super Featherweight Championships in his young career.

“It motivated me seeing how so many other great Dominican fighters have reached places they never dreamed of under the guidance of Sampson Boxing,” said De Los Santos of the signing. I am committed to bringing another world championship home to my country, defending it with pride and courage as many times as possible and improving the economic situation of my family.”

Also a decorated amateur in the Dominican, Puerto Plata’s Luis Reynaldo Nunez started boxing at age six and went on to win a number of national and international championships all over the world as a member of the elite Dominican national team. A fan-friendly pressure fighter with heavy hands, Nunez turned professional at 18 under the guidance of manger Antonio Tineo and trainer Vicente De La Cruz, best known as the trainer of former unified world champion Jeison (el Banana) Rosario. Nunez won the Dominican Republic Super Bantamweight Championship in 2019 and has successfully defended it once. He added the WBA Fedelatin Super Bantamweight Title in December of last year with a fourth-round stoppage of Nicaragua’s Giovanni Gutierrez. Gutierrez had previously gone the 10-round distance with top contender Mike Plania.

“I am grateful to Mr. Antonio Tineo, who is like a father to me. I’m also excited to work with Sampson Boxing and all the opportunities he wins for his fighters. I will be a proud world champion from the Dominican Republic. I also want to improve the economic situation of my family (grandparents and parents) who have given everything to me without asking for anything in return.”

A staunch advocate of Dominican boxing, Lewkowicz has expertly guided the careers of esteemed Dominican champions Jeison “Banana” Rosario, Javer “El Abejón” Fortuna, Jonathan Guzman, Dahiana Santana and Katy Wilson Castillo. He was introduced to Tineo through his long-time Dominican talent scout Cesar “Manguita” Mercedes.

Lewkowicz says he’s looking forward to working with the two young talents and to partnering with Tineo on several more promising fighters in the future.

“I have always supported Dominican boxers and have helped several of them become world champions,” said Lewkowicz. “I thank Cesar Mercedes for introducing me to Mr. Tineo and I look forward to helping establish several more Dominican champions during our work together. Both Nunez and De Los Santos are elite-level fighters who will be contenders in their divisions in the near future.”
About Sampson Boxing

Sampson Boxing has promotional partners all over North and South America, Africa, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, Europe and Central America. Sampson Boxing events have been televised on such premiere networks as HBO, Showtime, ESPN, ESPN+, DAZN, VS., FOX, Fox Sports and several international networks. For more information, visit sampsonboxing.com.