December 11, 2024 – In the main event of this Friday’s stacked BOXFEST XIII event from Red Owl Boxing’s “Owl’s Nest” in Houston, the multi-hyphenate world champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter will take the corner to serve as head trainer for rising middleweight Marquis Taylor (17-1-2, 3 KOs) as he takes on Ivan Pandzic (15-2-1, 9 KOs) in an ten-round fight. 

Porter, who captured the welterweight world championship twice in his professional career, serves as the lead analyst for Red Owl Boxing’s BOXFEST series. Porter will focus his efforts on preparing Taylor on Friday night while former world title contender Paulie Malignaggi handles color commentary ringside with blow-by-blow announcer Corey Erdman for the final BOXFEST event of 2024.

Shawn Porter, 37, retired in 2021 and jumped into a role ringside as a color commentator where he has been lauded as one of the best fighter-turned-analysts in boxing today. Despite this success, the former welterweight champion knew that it was only a matter of time before he jumped into training in some capacity. 

“I really don’t look at this as a transition,” said Porter, who hails from Akron, Ohio, but trains Taylor out of his gym in Las Vegas.  “Coaching is something I always knew I would do, I just didn’t know who it would be with. I always had a spirit to teach and a spirit to coach.” 

The new role as a head trainer has come natural to him over the past several months. Porter credits his father, who cornered him his whole career, as the reason why he was able to make the transition from fighter to trainer seamlessly. 

“I really don’t think it’s been a transition,” Porter continued. “I’ve been emulating what my dad did for me, but with my voice. I am really looking forward to what me as a coach on fight night will be like. I know as a fighter it was a little bit of a rollercoaster ride of emotions. Something I learned from my dad is you have to treat a fighter and cater to their personality and their needs. I have to match Marquis Taylor’s energy. I don’t think it’s a transition so much as a learning process.”

Porter and Taylor met earlier this year but the former world champion was familiar with his new protegee’s work inside the ring. Porter initially wanted to have him on his podcast – The Porter Way Podcast – so they exchanged numbers. In July, Taylor reached out and asked Porter if he would train him for his next fight.

In August, when Porter was in Houston for Red Owl Boxing, the two linked up in the gym and the pair knew they had a connection. Following a few months of long-distance training, Taylor has been training full time under Porter’s tutelage in Las Vegas for more than a month. 

In the lead up to this main event opportunity, the pair was met with adversity when Taylor’s original opponent – undefeated Russian Olympian Petr Khamukov  – pulled out of the fight due to a broken rib. Pandzic, 33, was originally slated to fight on the undercard and jumped at the chance to take on the Houston native in his hometown.

Porter, who fought 36 times during his 14-year professional career, was able to help guide Taylor through this moment. Porter likened Taylor’s mindset to his own and credits his fighter for remaining focused while dealing with opponent changes. 

“Something I love about Marquis is that we have the same mindset and are very similar in a lot of ways,” said Porter. “When we were going through this opponent change, Marquis said, ‘Man I’ve been through this before. I fought in tournaments where you didn’t know who you were fighting. I’m gonna treat it like that.’ For me, I have to do two things, handle it as a coach and as a fighter. Number one thing for me was to protect Marquis and not let him get frustrated that the opponent changed. Turns out, when we got Pandzic, he fights a lot like the guys we had Marquis spar with. We had guys who were tall and rangy. This training camp was picture perfect for what we are headed up against.”

In addition to preparing for this Friday’s main event matchup, Porter is lobbying for Taylor outside of the ring. On Wednesday, Porter attended the annual WBC Convention in Hamburg, Germany and asked for Taylor to be ranked in the middleweight division’s Top 15. The WBC agreed to rank Taylor #19 ahead of this Friday’s fight and will move him up the rankings should he emerge victorious in the BOXFEST XIII main event. 

The 13th edition of Red Owl Boxing’s BOXFEST will return this Friday with a stacked five-fight card which will stream live on DAZN globally in more than 200 territories and regions from the state-of-the-art “Owl’s Nest” in Houston. The action begins around the world at 9 pm ET/8 pm CT.

For more information on Red Owl Boxing and to purchase tickets, visit www.redowlboxing.com. Fans can follow Red Owl Boxing on X, Instagram and YouTube. 

BOXFEST XIII Main Card on DAZN at 9 pm ET/8pm CT

 Marquis Taylor (17-1-2, 3 KOs)  vs. Ivan Pandzic (15-2-1, 9 KOs) 

10-Round Main Event – 156.5 lbs.

Oscar Alan Perez (11-0-2, 7 KOs) vs. Cristian Medina Garcia (8-1-1, 5 KOs) 

8-Round Co-Main Event – 135 lbs.

 Bre’yon Gorham (17-0, 14 KOs) vs. Alan Ayala (11-4, 7 KOs)

8-Round Fight – 141 lbs.

Giovanni Marquez (11-0, 6 KOs) vs. Cristian Dominguez (13-6, 6 KOs)

8-Round Fight – 143 lbs.

Troy Nash, Jr. (2-0) vs. David De Leon (Pro Debut)

4-Round Fight – 127 lbs.

ABOUT RED OWL BOXING 

Red Owl Boxing is a media company that specializes in delivering world-class events from its state-of-the-art sports facilities in the United States and Canada. Red Owl Boxing aims to bring structure to boxing’s middle class by highlighting tomorrow’s future stars and contenders in action-packed fights. Red Owl Boxing launched in 2021 by Canada-based entrepreneur Gabriel Fanous who owns and operates cutting-edge event spaces in Houston, Texas, and Brampton, Ontario, both of which provide premier event experiences and hospitality packages. 

TOPPENISH, Wash. (July 15, 2022) – Houston welterweight Quinton Randall (10-0-1, 2 KOs) won last night’s RJJ Boxing on UFC FIGHT PASS main event, taking an 8-round unanimous decision against Ivan “Cobra” Pandzic (14-2-1, 8 KOs), at Yakama Legends Casino, in Toppenish, Washington.

Four matches were streamed live on UFC FIGHT PASS^®, the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. To sign up for UFC FIGHT PASS, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com.

The 31-year-old Randall, the reigning World Boxing Council (WBC) USNBC Silver champion, put on an elite boxing demonstrate against Pandzic in their non-title fight. Randall was a standout USA amateur boxer who captured a gold medal at the prestigious 2016 USA Nationals, silver at the 2017 USA Nationals and 2017 Pan American Games, and he reached the quarterfinals of the 2017 World Championships.

Hometown hero Andrew “White Lightning” Murphy (6-0, 4 KOs), who is trained by Hall of Famer Roy Jones, Jr., returned to fight in the Northwest for the first time as a professional, defeating Isiah Jones (9-7, 3 KOs) by way of a one-sided 8-round unanimous decision to capture the vacant NBA Americas super middleweight title. Murphy relocated to Pensacola, Florida, in order to be trained by Jones.

Super lightweight William Hernandez (9-2, 5 KOs) pitched a near shutout, winning all eight rounds on two of the judges’ scorecards, against Washington intra-state rival Margarito Hernandez (2-3-1).

In the RJJ Boxing on UFC Opener, super middleweight Alarenz Reynolds (2-1) won a 6-round decision over Joseph Aguilar (2-1-1, 1 KOs).

Official results below:

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OFFICIAL RESULTS

MAIN EVENT – WELTERWEIGHTS

Quinton Randall (10-0-1, 2 KOs), Houston, TX

WDEC8 (79-73, 78-74, 78-74)

Ivan Pandzic (14-2-1, 8 KOs), Rancho Cucamonga, CA

CO-FEATURE – VACANT NBA AMERICAS SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHT CHAMPIONSHIP

Andrew Murphy (6-0, 4 KOs), Selah, WA

WDEC8 (80-74, 80-74, 79-73)

Isiah Jones (9-7, 3 KOs), Detroit, MI

SUPER LIGHTWEIGHTS

William Hernandez (9-2, 5 KOs), Burien, WA

80-74, 80-74, 79-73)

Magarito Hernandez (2-3-1, 0 KOs), Wapato, WA

SUPER MIDDLEWEIGHTS

Alarenz Reynolds (2-1, 0 KOs), Auburn, WA

WDEC 6 (58-56, 58-56, 57-57)

Joseph Aguilar (2-1-1, 1 KO), Portland, OR

_________________________________________________________________________

INFORMATION:

Websites:  http://www.RoyJonesJrBoxing.com, www.legendscasino.com,  www.ufcfightpass.com

Facebook: : /RJJBoxing /LegendsCasinoHotel /UFCFightPass

Twitter: @RoyjonesJRfa @RoyJonesJrOfficial @YNLegendsCasino @UFCFightPass,

Instagram: @RoyJonesJrBoxing @UFCFightPass

ABOUT ROY JONES JR (RJJ) BOXING PROMOTIONS: Co-founded in 2013 by 10-time world champion Roy Jones, Jr. and Keith Veltre, Roy Jones, Jr. (RJJ) Boxing Promotions is on its way to reinventing boxing. RJJ has already made a huge impact in the boxing community in a few short years. Creating exhilarating content for UFC Fight Pass, CBS Sports, Showtime, ESPN and beIN Sports in some of the finest venues across the country, RJJ has proven it is conquering the sweet science of the sport.

ABOUT UFC FIGHT PASS^®: UFC FIGHT PASS^® is the world’s leading digital subscription service for combat sports. Since launching in 2013, UFC FIGHT PASS is now available in more than 200 countries and territories. UFC FIGHT PASS provides its members with unlimited access to live UFC FIGHT PASS Prelims; live mixed martial arts and combat sports from around the world; original series and historical programming; special features; behind-the-scenes content; in-depth interviews; and up-to-the minute reports on the world of combat sports. UFC FIGHT PASS subscribers also have 24/7 access to the world’s largest fight library, featuring more than 20,000 bouts from dozens of combat sports organizations, as well as every fight in UFC history. Fight fans can access UFC FIGHT PASS on personal computers, iOS and Android mobile devices, Apple TV, Xbox One, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Roku, Samsung Smart TVs, LG Smart TVs, and Sony TVs with Android TV. For more information, please visit www.ufcfightpass.com.

PHILADELPHIA–It was a battle of undefeated welterweights that highlighted RDR Promotions 2nd night of back-to-back shows as Mark Dawson won an eight round unanimous decision over towering Ivan Pandzic at the 2300 Arena in South Philadelphia.

The opening rounds saw Pandzic trying to use his 6’4″ frame with shots from the outside. His shots were largely ineffective, and Dawson was able to get to the distance where he was able to land solid counter shots. Pandzic was drawn into a firefight on several occasions, which was much to the delight of Dawson as he got the better of the exchanges which led to Pandzic being sent home with his first loss by scores of 79-73, 78-74 and 77-74.

Dawson, 148 lbs of Philadelphia is 9-0-1. Pandzic, 146.2 lbs of Rancho Cucamonga, CA is 13-1-1.

Sean Hemphill remained undefeated as he systematically beat down Robert Burwell in a super middleweight bout.

The time of the stoppage was 2:39 for Hemphill, 171 lbs of New Orleans, LA who is now 13-0 with eight knockouts. Burwell, 173 lbs of Orlando, FL is now 9-5.

Jabril Noble made a successful pro debut with a second round stoppage of Deijerro Revello in super featherweight bout.

Noble dropped Revello in round two with a left hook. he finished it up secons later with another left hook that dropped Revello and the fight was halted at 1:12.

Noble, 132.2 lbs of Philadelphia is 1-0 with one knockout. Revello, 131.2 lbs of Brighton, CO is 0-2.

Rasheen Brown remained undefeated with a six-round unanimous decision over Prisco Marquez in a featherweight fight.

Brown dropped Marquez with a straight left at the end of round one.

In round five, it was a left to the body that put Marquez on the deck.

Brown, 129 lbs of Philadelphia won by scores of 60-52, 59-53 and 58-55 and is now 10-0. Marquez, 127.9 lbs of Austin, TX is 4-4-1.

Edgar Joe Cortes won a six-round unanimous decision over Roberto Pucheta in a super bantamweight bout.

Cortes, 122.8 lbs of Millville, NJ won by scores of 58-56 on all cards and is now 9-6-1. Pucheta, 121.9 lbs of Jalisco, MEX is 10-19-2.

Joe Jones took out veteran Dhafir Smith in round three of a scheduled six-round cruiserweight bout.

In round two, Jones dropped Smith with a hard right hand. In round three, Jones landed 10 consecutive blows that forced referee Shawn Clark to stop the bout 18 seconds into the round.

Jones, 194.6 lbs of Jersey City, NJ is 12-4 with nine knockouts. Smith, 198.6 lbs of Upper Darby, PA is 28-26-7,

David Stevens remained undefeated with a four-round unanimous decision over Montrel James in a light heavyweight fight.

Stevens, 174.8 lbs of Reading,, PA won by scores of 40-36 on all cards, and is now 6-0. James, 173.8 lbs of Saint Louis, MO is 1-6.

LOS ANGELES (August 18, 2020) – Undefeated welterweight Liván Navarro will battle tough contender Justin DeLoach in a 10-round attraction that headlines action live on FS1 this Saturday, August 22 from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.

Unbeaten super welterweights Ivan Pandzic and Jeffrey Torres will square off in a six-round showdown in the co-feature, while super lightweight prospect Justin Pauldo faces Josec Ruiz in an eight-round affair to kick off the FS1 telecast at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT

The FS1 telecast will follow FOX PBC Fight Night headlined by two-time welterweight champion “Showtime” Shawn Porter taking on unbeaten German contender Sebastian Formella in a 12-round WBC/IBF welterweight title eliminator on a broadcast beginning at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT.

The Porter vs. Formella event will be promoted by TGB Promotions and Shawn Porter Promotions and will take place without fans in attendance at the Microsoft Theater, an AEG venue, in downtown Los Angeles.

The 29-year-old Navarro (11-0, 7 KOs) scored an impressive victory in his last outing in May 2019, defeating veteran contender Breidis Prescott by unanimous decision. Born in Havana, Cuba and now fighting out of Miami, Navarro turned pro in 2015 and has steadily climbed up the rankings, including a stoppage of then unbeaten Willie Jones in 2017 and a 10 round decision victory over Armando Alvarez in 2018.

DeLoach (18-4, 9 KOs) will return to the ring looking to bounce back from a loss to then unbeaten Terrel Williams in April 2019. The 25-year-old put together an impressive run in 2017, defeating three-straight unbeaten fighters in Dillon Cook, Junior Castillo and Domonique Dolton, before knocking out Christopher Pearson in 2017. The Augusta, Georgia native suffered defeats against now unified champion Jeison Rosario in 2018 and Nathaniel Gallimore in 2017, before rebounding to beat Michael Ogundo in November 2018.

A native of Rancho Cucamonga, California, Pandzic (13-0-1, 8 KOs) enters this fight on a five-bout winning streak, with all of those victories coming in 2019. The lone blemish on the 29-year-old’s record is a 2018 draw against Maurice Lee in just his third fight in the U.S. He returns to fight in the U.S. for the first time since that draw when he steps into the ring on August 22.

The 23-year-old Torres (6-0, 3 KOs) is unbeaten since turning pro in 2016 with a first round knockout of Mariano Rolon. Representing his native Hartford, Connecticut, Torres was successful in his first six-round bout in December 2019, as he won every round on the judges’ scorecards in defeating Antonio Chaves Fernandez.

Pauldo (13-1, 7 KOs) returns to make his 2020 debut after a 2019 campaign that saw him score first round knockouts over Federico Jesus Malespina and Tyrone Luckey. The 25-year-old from Orlando had previously earned a career best victory in winning his first eight-round fight via a unanimous decision over then unbeaten Joshua Zuniga in 2018.

A native of Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Ruiz (21-3-3, 14 KOs) now fights out of Miami since making his U.S. debut there in March 2019. The 26-year-old has fought in the U.S. for his last five bouts, including most recently losing a decision against unbeaten Gabriel Flores, Jr. in June. Prior to that fight, Ruiz had been on a seven-fight winning streak dating back to 2016.