Unified Lightweight Champion Teófimo López (16-0, 12 KOs) will finally make his maiden title defence of his WBA, IBF, WBO, and The Ring belts against George Kambosos Jr (19-0, 10 KOs) at Hulu Theater, Madison Square Garden, New York, on Saturday, November 27 – live worldwide and exclusively on DAZN.

Lopez’s first fight since upsetting former champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in October 2020, the Brooklyn native beat the Ukrainian by unanimous decision, taking with him the prized straps and unified crown. Australian Kambosos Jr. comes into the fight as the mandatory IBF challenger, also boasting a perfect record and coming off the back of a split decision win against former IBF Featherweight Champion Lee Selby.

“The time has finally come!” said López. “It has been a long wait for Team Takeover. We’ve been in the zone for six months and counting but we’re pleased to be able to finally get this fight on DAZN! The Takeover will show the world once again why we are called ‘The People’s Champ’.”

“It has been a long time coming, I have been patient but ready and I have continued to perfect my craft, leaving no stone unturned to be victorious and win all the belts,” said Kambosos Jr. “I’m very excited to be headlining my biggest fight of my life on another great Matchroom card against Teofimo López after earning this opportunity last year by becoming the IBF mandatory and world number 1 on another great Matchroom show. I know they will give this fight the respect it deserves and I will shock the world and be crowned World Champion on November 27 in New York City.”

“I am delighted to be bringing Lopez vs. Kambosas to DAZN and Madison Square Garden,” said Matchroom Sport Chairman Eddie Hearn. “This rivalry has been cooking for a long time and now we finally get to see them put it to bed in the Big Apple.

“Teofimo is one of the big young stars in the sport but George is a hungry proud Aussie who knows that this is the chance to put his name amongst the elite of the game.

“The Lightweight division will catch fire once again at the end of 2021 with Devin Haney set to defend his WBC crown in December on DAZN after Teofimo and George tangle; the winter schedule on DAZN is unrivaled and this fight is one of the best out there at the end of this year.”

“We’re thrilled to add this incredible Lightweight clash to our fall fight schedule to close out a busy 2021,” said Joseph Markowski, DAZN EVP. “López is a superstar in the sport of boxing and I’m sure will treat DAZN subscribers worldwide with a magnificent performance on the night. Kambosos is a tough competitor and a real test for the champion. This is one of the hottest divisions of the sport and both men will undoubtedly leave it all in the ring on November 27 and give fight fans globally a night to remember.”

An announcement on tickets will be made soon.

Undercard information will be announced shortly.

Other major matchups this fall on DAZN include:

Friday, November 05: Matteo Signani vs. Ruben Diaz – live worldwide on DAZN
Saturday, November 13: Jaime Munguia vs Gabriel Rosado – live worldwide on DAZN, excluding Mexico
Saturday, November 13: Kid Galahad vs. Kiko Martinez – live worldwide on DAZN, excluding Australia & New Zealand
Saturday, November 19: Demetrius Andrade vs Jason Quigley – live worldwide on DAZN
Saturday, November 27: Teófimo López v George Kambosos Jr – live worldwide on DAZN
Saturday, December 18: Joseph Parker vs Derek Chisora – live worldwide on DAZN, excluding New Zealand & Samoa

New York, NY (September 14, 2021) Continuing their extraordinary run of outstanding, once-in-a-lifetime events, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB has announced ‘THE TAKEOVER’ TEOFIMO LOPEZ, (16-0, 12 KOs), fighting out of Brooklyn, NY, will defend his UNDISPUTED Lightweight World Titles, (WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF) in the highly anticipated 12-round battle against Mandatory Challenger ‘FEROCIOUS’ GEORGE KAMBOSOS JR., (19-0, 10 KOs) of Sydney, Australia on Monday, October 4 in the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden and live on Pay-Per-View (8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT) with a FREEVIEW starting at 7:00 p.m. ET / 4:00 p.m. PT.

Presented in association with DiBella Entertainment, advance tickets priced at $306, $206, $106, $81 and $56, will go on-sale Tomorrow, Wednesday,  September 15 at 12:00 p.m. ET through MSG.com. The event will be broadcast live on Pay-Per-View priced at $49.99 available globally through FITE.TV  and on traditional cable/satellite via iNDemand.

Additional musical guests will also be announced for the full evening of entertainment. The entire event will be presented by NIGEL LYTHGOE, the Triller Fight Club visionary and producer.

Boxing fans will also be able to watch the fight on both streaming and TV PPV platforms. To order online/streaming, go to TRILLERFIGHTCLUB.com or FITE or any FITE OTT/Smart TV/mobile apps.

To watch on TV, viewers can order the event through every major cable, satellite, and telco provider in North America, including: Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, DIRECTV & U-Verse TV, Dish, Fios, and Optimum, among others (U.S.), as well as Rogers, Shaw, Sasktel, and TELUS (Canada). iNDemand, the leading transactional video-on-demand and PPV programming provider in North America, will serve as the exclusive U.S. and Canadian cable, satellite, and telco distributor.

The eagerly awaited clash between the two undefeated warriors, at the top of the year’s boxing schedule for international boxing fans, was originally scheduled for June 19, 2021 prior to Lopez testing positive for Covid-19 of which he has made a full recovery. Known for his stunning knockout power, Lopez is world ranked #5 pound-for-pound by ESPN and #7 by RING Magazine.

The 24-year-old Lopez was the recipient of the prestigious 2020 ‘Fighter of the Year’ award by both RING Magazine and the Boxing Association of America in addition to many other international sporting platforms. On October 17, 2020, Lopez defeated unified (WBA, WBO, IBF) junior lightweight world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko in Las Vegas, NV, completing the rare four-belt UNDISPUTED status, an esteemed historical honor only achieved by five other male boxers.

Truly feeling at home at THE Mecca, Lopez has fought six previous times at Madison Square Garden including his IBF world title knockout victory over Richard Commey on December 14, 2019.

A true sporting road warrior, the 28-year-old Kambosos Jr. earned his Mandatory Challenger status by traveling to London, United Kingdom on October 31, 2020 and soundly defeating hometown favorite Lee Selby over twelve rounds. Prior to that, Kambosos Jr., also fighting on December 14, 2019 at Madison Square Garden, was victorious in a dominant ten-round performance against former world champion Mickey Bey.

Known for his extended training camps with boxing legend Manny Pacquiao, Kambosos is an Australian born fighter of Greek heritage. He is a huge star in both Greece and Australia drawing tens of thousands to each of his fights.

Headlining the undercard, DANIEL ‘El GALLO’ GONZALEZ, (20-2-1, 7 KOs), of Woodhaven, NY clashes with Brooklyn’s PETROS ANANYAN, (15-2-2, 7 KOs), in a scheduled 10-round junior welterweight bout.

Undefeated junior middleweight prospects hit the ring in a scheduled eight-rounder as JOSE ‘CHEITO’ ROMAN, (11-0, 5 KOS), of Bayamon, Puerto Rico faces CESAR ‘RAINMAN’ FRANCIS, (8-0, 6 KOs), of Brooklyn, NY.

Fighting in the junior welterweight division, WILL MADERA, (16-1-3, 9 KOs), of Albany, NY battles JAMSHIDBEK ‘THE CHAMPION’ NAJMITDINOV, (17-1, 14 KOs), of Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Popular local favorites also featured separately on the undercard include prospects ‘IRISH’ JOE WARD, (4-1, 2 KOs), in a six-round light heavyweight bout in addition to FREDERIC JULIAN, (12-0, 10 KOs), also in a scheduled six-round light heavyweight fight. Rounding out the card, newcomer HARLEY MEDEROS, (1-0, 1 KO), of Brooklyn, NY will see action in a four-round lightweight clash. Further details on these three fights will be announced shortly. 

Media Contacts

Double B Sports:

Bernie Bahrmasel: [email protected]

Madison Square Garden:

Larry Torres: [email protected]

iNDemand

Jenny Snegaroff, [email protected]

FITE:

Owen Phillips: [email protected]

Social Media

Teofimo Lopez

Instagram: @teofimolopez

Twitter: @TeofimoLopez

Facebook:@Teofimo.Lopez

George Kambosos Jr.

Instagram: @georgekambososjr

Twitter: @georgekambosos

Facebook: @George.Kambosos

Triller Fight Club

Instagram: @Triller, @TrillerFightClub

Twitter: @Triller, @TrillerFight

Facebook: @TrillerFightClub

Website www.Triller.co. www.TrillerFightClub.com

Madison Square Garden, Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden

Instagram: @thegarden, @hulutheatermsg

Twitter: @TheGarden, @HuluTheaterMSG

Facebook: @TheGarden, @HuluTheaterMSG

Website: www.MSG.com

Media Credentials

MagnaMedia.com

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 5MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.

It’s ON.

About Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp.

Madison Square Garden Entertainment Corp. (MSG Entertainment) is a leader in live entertainment. The Company presents or hosts a broad array of events in its diverse collection of venues: New York’s Madison Square Garden, Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall and Beacon Theatre; and The Chicago Theatre. MSG Entertainment is also building a new state-of-the-art venue in Las Vegas, MSG Sphere at The Venetian. In addition, the Company features the original production – the Christmas Spectacular Starring the Radio City Rockettes – and through Boston Calling Events, produces the Boston Calling Music Festival. The Company’s two regional sports and entertainment networks, MSG Network and MSG+, deliver a wide range of live sports content and other programming. Also under the MSG Entertainment umbrella is Tao Group Hospitality, with entertainment dining and nightlife brands including: Tao, Marquee, Lavo, Beauty & Essex, Cathédrale, Hakkasan and Omnia. More information is available at www.msgentertainment.com. 

About iNDemand:

iNDemand is an innovative partnership between three of the leading cable companies in the U.S.—Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. iNDemand is a company of trusted content aggregators and licensing experts, with unparalleled technical expertise and long-standing relationships with MVPDs, major sports leagues, Hollywood studios, and other entertainment and sports companies across North America. iNDemand delivers great content to more than 80 million homes and has distribution deals with more than 150 companies. For more information, go to indemand.com.

Miami, FL (June 15, 2021) – 33-year-old, Harold ‘The King’ Calderon, (24-0, 16 KOs) entire boxing career has been under the boxing media spotlight for his successful recognitions. His upcoming fight on ‘Title Night 2’ scheduled for June 19, will mark a continuance of his hard work since he will be fighting on the same day as the Undisputed Champion Teofimo Lopez, a fellow Honduran and close friend.
 
It was announced today that the Teofimo Lopez fight against George Kambosos Jr. has been postponed due to Lopez testing positive for Covid-19, now that it has been rescheduled to August 14, 2021. The boxing media already in Miami has now shifted attention to Harold ‘The King’ Calderon who will be headlining in a 10-round welterweight battle for the vacant IBO Inter-Continental Welter Title between Jeovanis Barraza, (22-1, 15 KOs), of Barranquilla, Colombia.
 
Calderon, an explosive southpaw, comes from an impressive performance against veteran, Jonathan Jose Eniz back on March 27, 2021. The last six opponents prior to Eniz came via a knockout.
 
Harold is one of four boys born to Honduran immigrants, Calderon, and his family moved from Chicago to Miami when he was five years old. The rough Miami surroundings made him start boxing and he has not looked back ever since. Calderon’s love for the sport and his support of the community has gained him a huge following in Miami.
 
As an amateur, Harold won many tournaments, but the highlight of his amateur career was in 2013 when he represented Honduras at the Central Olympic Games. Calderon earned a silver medal after losing in the finals.
   
Harold is set to capitalize on the misfortune of Teofimo by planning to make a statement in front of the boxing media by crowning himself as another Honduran Champion. The achievement of the IBO Inter-Continental Welter Title will give him the credibility to call out other fighters in the Welterweight

Tickets for ‘Title Night 2’ starting at $75 may be purchased at Signaturepunchtickets.com. The Pay-Per-View priced at $29.99 may be purchased at www.SignaturePunch.TV. For additional information visit Signaturepunch.tv.

Follow on Twitter @SignaturePunch and on Instagram @signaturepunchboxing.

The highly anticipated fight between Teofimo Lopez and George Kambosos and the entire card has now been postponed until August 14.  Teofimo Lopez Junior tested positive for COVID and Is symptomatic. 

‘We send our best to Teofimo and his family and hope they get well soon, and look forward to seeing this epic battle on August 14, 2021,” said Triller Fight Club co-founder Ryan Kavanaugh. Additional information on the rescheduled date including all musical acts and ticketing will be announced shortly.

MIAMI (June 2, 2021) – Triller Fight Club has announced a stacked undercard for LOPEZ vs. KAMBOSOS JR. set for Saturday, June 19 at Miami’s loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins. FITE will broadcast globally the undercard free-of-charge starting at 3:30pm ET with the Pay-Per-View starting at 9:00 p.m. ET. Ticket and Pay-Per-View purchase information can be found at www.TrillerFightClub.com.

The event is headlined by the first defense from Brooklyn, New York’s ‘The Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez, (16-0, 12 KOs), of his Undisputed Lightweight World Titles (WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF, RING) against Mandatory Challenger, ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., (19-0, 10 KOs), of Sydney, Australia scheduled for 12-rounds.

Headlining the undercard, 2016 U.S. Olympian, Charles ‘Bad News’ Conwell, (14-0, 11 KOs), of Cleveland, OH seeks to continue his march up the world rankings against his toughest test as a pro against Mark ‘The Bazooka’ DeLuca, (27-2, 15 KOs), of Whitman, MA. The ten-round junior middleweight clash is contested for the USBA and WBC Continental Americas Title. The 23-year-old Conwell, one of the boxing’s top prospects, has stopped his last two opponents inside the distance, Wendy Toussaint and Madiyar Ashkeyev, both of whom were previously undefeated. The battle-tested southpaw DeLuca returns to action following a first-round knockout of Michi Munoz on February 6, 2021.

In the middleweight division two-time world title challenger, Willie ‘El Mongoose’ Monroe Jr., (24-3, 6 KOs), of Rochester, NY clashes with heavy-handed Juan ‘La Amenaza’ De Angel, (22-13-1, 20 KOs), of Barranquilla, Colombia over ten-rounds. Currently riding a three-bout winning streak, Monroe Jr. makes his long-awaited return from a ten-round decision victory over Hugo Centeno Jr. on June 1, 2019. De Angel challenges Monroe Jr. following hard fought loss to undefeated prospect Isaiah Steen on November 6, 2020.

In a battle of giant heavyweights, world ranked Zhilel ‘Bang Bang’ Zhang, (21-0-1, 17 KOs), of Zhouhou, China battles upset minded veteran Daniel ‘The Mountain’ Martz, (20-9-1, 17 KOs), of Clarksburg, WV in a scheduled ten rounder. The 6’6” southpaw Zhang returns to the ring following a hard-fought majority draw with Jerry Forrest on February 27, 2021 in Miami, FL. Standing 6’7”, Martz looks to stay in the win column following a first-round knockout of Michael Marrone on October 17, 2020.

Heralded 19-year-old junior welterweight prospect Aaron ‘The Alien King’ Aponte, (3-0, 1 KOs), will face fellow undefeated prospect Gerardo Contreras Gonzalez, (2-0, 1 KO), of San Diego, CA in a four-round bout. The former amateur standout, standing 6’1”, Aponte has quickly impressed boxing fans in South Florida fighting in front of his wealth of supporters from Hialeah Gardens, FL. Prior to turning professional Aponte compiled an amateur record of 98-18. Fighting on April 17, 2021, Aponte won a four-round unanimous decision over Javier Martinez in Hollywood, FL. In his last start, the 25-year-old Gonzalez won a four-round unanimous decision over Jesus Sotomea on November 14, 2020.

Fighting in the junior middleweight division in battle of southpaws over eight rounds, ‘The New Ray’ Robinson, (24-3-2, 12 KOs), of Philadelphia, PA faces Ramal Amanov, (16-3, 5 KOs), of Ganja, Azerbaijan. Facing two undefeated, world ranked contenders in back-to-back fights, Robinson will look to break his two-bout streak of majority draws against Josh Kelly and Egidijus Kavaliauskas while Amanov seeks his first win of 2021.

Top featherweight prospect Haven Brady Jr., (2-0, 2 KOs), of Albany, GA battles Manuel ‘Gansito’ Lara, (2-6), of Ciudad Victoria, Mexico in a scheduled four rounder. A 2019 Junior National Olympic Gold Medalist, the 19-year-old Brady has stopped his first two opponents, most recently knocking out Michael Land on December 12, 2020 in Las Vegas, NV.

Undefeated junior middleweight Nikoloz Sekhniashvili, (7-0, 5 KOs), of Gori, Georgia (country), will see action in a scheduled six rounder against an opponent to be announced. The 27-year-old Sekhniashvili hits the ring following a four-round knockout of Alexis Gaytan on September 4, 2020.

In the welterweight division, New York City’s Arnold Gonzalez, (6-0, 2 KOs), battles Gabriel Gutierrez, (7-9, 5 KOs), of El Paso, TX in a scheduled four-rounder. The 26-year-old Gonzalez heads back to action off a second-round knockout of Jeffrey Quintero on January 30, 2021. The upset-minded Gutierrez has stopped his last two opponents, the latest knockout against Jesus Aceves-Lopez in the fourth round on February 20, 2021.

——————————————————————

Previously announced on the main card and co-featured, competing for the Women’s Super-Middleweight Undisputed World Title, Franchon ‘The Heavy Hitting Diva’ Crews-Dezurn, (7-1, 2 KOs), holder of the WBO/WBC belts challenges WBA/IBF title holder Erin Cederroos, (8-0, 4 KO), over ten rounds. The victor will also receive the RING Magazine belt.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II, (19-1-1, 3 KOs), will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, (21-1, 10 KOs), of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator. Hunter is currently ranked #7 by Ring Magazine and #10 by ESPN.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences, (23-2-1, 12 KOs) of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll, (19-2-1, 5 KOs), of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

—————————————————-

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

The PPV is now available for purchase at the “earlybird” price of $49.99 (U.S. & Canada), and will rise to $59.99 if purchased on June 19^th, day of the event. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

LOS ANGELES AND MIAMI (June 1, 2021) —- Triller Fight Club today announced that it has signed Emmy Award-winning broadcaster Jim Lampley as its new lead play-by-play voice. Lampley will begin his multi-fight deal with the historic June 19 Triller Fight Club card at Miami’s loanDepot park, which will feature both men’s and women’s undisputed world title fights for the first time. Headlining the event, ‘The Takeover’ Teófimo López, (16-0, 12 KOs), will defend his Undisputed Lightweight World Titles (IBF, WBC, WBO, WBC, RING) for the first time against Mandatory Challenger ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., (19-0, 12 KOs). Triller Fight Club is a partnership between Triller and Snoop Dogg and is spearheaded by Ryan Kavanaugh. Produced by “So You Think You Can Dance” co-creator Nigel Lythgoe and featuring a pre-event concert by superstars Meek Mill, Myke Towers, Snoop Dogg and Lunay (more to be announced), the Fight Club event is an unprecedented evening combining the world’s best boxers and entertainers in a not-to-be-missed, four-quadrant entertainment extravaganza.

“It is an honor and a privilege to welcome the preeminent voice in boxing, Jim Lampley, to Triller Fight Club,” Ryan Kavanaugh said. “We will blend all the best elements of music, entertainment and sports, and there is no one better to help lead our broadcasts for fans of all ages than Jim.”

“I am impressed that Triller Fight Club is aggressively seeking to put together the best telecast possible, and it is that mentality that makes Triller the best possible platform for my return to ringside,” said Lampley. “This first telecast features Teofimo Lopez, conqueror of the great Vasiliy Lomachenko and an exciting new talent who has already made a historic mark on the sport. That says it all for me.”

After more than three decades in network television, and nearly 30 of them as host of HBO’s flagship World Championship Boxing franchise, Jim Lampley is one of America’s most renowned and respected broadcasters and journalists. He was host and blow-by-blow announcer for all HBO Boxing telecasts from March 1988 until December 2018 and has called some of the biggest fights in the history of the sport.  From the biggest upset in heavyweight championship history (Mike Tyson vs. Buster Douglas in 1990), to the stirring trilogies between Evander Holyfield and Riddick Bowe and Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward, to the remarkable triumph of 45-year-old George Foreman over Michael Moorer in 1994, to the long-awaited showdown between Lennox Lewis and Mike Tyson in 2002, to the prolific confrontation between Oscar de la Hoya and Floyd Mayweather in 2007, Lampley and history have gone hand in hand.

The four-time Sports Emmy® Award-winner has also covered more Olympics than nearly any other American broadcaster and has covered every major sports event through the course of his extensive career. Lampley also founded Atticus Entertainment, which collaborated in 2012 with renowned filmmaker Peter Berg on the critically-acclaimed prime time HBO series On Freddie Roach and produced HBO’s The Fight Game With Jim Lampley. Lampley was elected to the International Boxing Hall of Fame and was enshrined in June of 2015.

Triller Fight Club will be the first-ever boxing event held at loanDepot park, home of the Miami Marlins and will be configured in an intimate and unique setting with full open seating for the first time since COVID. The event offers something for everyone: boxing purists, music lovers, adults and kids. Prices will range from $50 to $3,000 and will include options from VIP ringside seats to traditional seats in the stadium upper and lower bowls, as well as seats near the two entertainment stages on either side of the ring, positioned at the pitcher’s mound. For tickets and information, visit www.TrillerFightClub.com.

Previously announced on the main card and co-featured, competing for the Women’s Super-Middleweight Undisputed World Title, Franchon ‘The Heavy Hitting Diva’ Crews-Dezurn, (7-1, 2 KOs), holder of the WBO/WBC belts battles WBA/IBF title holder Erin Cederroos, (8-0, 4 KO), over ten rounds. The victor will also receive the RING Magazine belt.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II, (19-1-1, 3 KOs), will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, (21-1, 10 KOs), of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator. Hunter is currently ranked #7 by Ring Magazine and #10 by ESPN.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences, (23-2-1, 12 KOs) of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll, (19-2-1, 5 KOs), of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

The evening kicks off three-hour pre-event concert kicks off at 6:00pm EDT, with Meek Mill, Myke Towers, Snoop Dogg and Lunay—and others to be announced, performing before the most exciting, thrill-packed fight of the year, a four-hour boxing extravaganza which will also offer entertainment between fights once the fight card starts. There will also be a surprise performance of a never-before-seen, never-to be-seen-again duet.

Additional fights and entertainment will be announced in the coming days.

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

The PPV is now available for purchase at the “earlybird” price of $49.99 (U.S. & Canada), and will rise to $59.99 if purchased on June 19^th, day of the event. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

TEXT “FIGHT” TO 75303

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

MIAMI (May 27, 2021) – Undefeated Mandatory Challenger, ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., (19-0, 10 KOs), held court for the South Florida media at his home gym, Centeno’s Sweatbox Boxing Gym on Thursday afternoon.  Kambosos is training for his highly anticipated world title clash with Undisputed Lightweight World Champion, ‘The Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez, (16-0, 12 KOs), set for Saturday, June 19 at Miami’s loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlins and live on Pay-Per-View. Ticket and Pay-Per-View purchase information can be found at www.TrillerFightClub.com.

Below are quotes by Kambosos from Thursday’s media workout where he was joined by his longtime trainer Javiel Centeno.

“Lomachenko didn’t throw enough punches in the first six rounds, I will be much better than that against Lopez. Lomachenko had been out for 400 days, that wasn’t really him in the ring, it was more like half of a Lomachenko. Lopez got lucky in a very close fight. I saw a lot of holes in Lopez’s game that I will exploit on June 19.”

“Lopez is a fugazi, a fraud, a fake. He’s got a fake persona filled with contradictions. Two months ago, he was talking about how gone Pacquaiao was, now he’s all over him because of the Spence fight announcement. What you see with me is real and what you get is real.”

‘I’m more Brooklyn than Lopez is. He’s not from Brooklyn, he’s from here in Davie, FL where he went to school. It’s just a fake persona saying he’s from Brooklyn.”

“Whatever they’re saying, three rounds this and four rounds that. I’ll be laughing at him, coming forward and blasting away every round and after the third round, he’s in very big trouble.”

“We’ve got a great game plan. When I fight its full tunnel vision and there’s no way I’m not coming out victorious. I won’t be over emotional at what he’s said leading up to the fight.”

“I don’t care what his Dad says about me, he’s never had a fight in his life. If he’s got a problem my Dad is here too and they can have a crack.”

“I think it’s fantastic to fight in front of such a big crowd. Who doesn’t love a big stadium fight? The date change is nothing to me, two weeks is easy, I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

“The tremendous support I get from the American boxing fans is due to them wanting me to beat Lopez. They can see right through his fake persona.”

“I’ve sparred over 250 rounds with Manny Pacquiao, he told me if I’m as good against Lopez as I was in the gym against him that I’ll be victorious and take home all the belts.”

“The perfect victory for me is just win, by any means necessary.”

Among the other boxers at the media workout to greet Lopez were 18-Year-Old Phenom, Xander Zayas who is also trained by Javiel Centeno.

Click Here for Media Credential Application Form to the June 19 Event

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The four-hour show, which will kick off at 8:00pm EDT with the live PPV main card starting at 9pm EDT, will also feature a WBA World Title Heavyweight Eliminator bout between Michael Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Mike Wilson (21-1, 10 KOs), as well as the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship matchup between Andy Vences (23-2-1, 12 KOs) and Ireland’s Jono Carroll (19-2-1, 5 KOs). Additional fights will be announced in the coming weeks.

López, 23, (16-0, 12 KOs) is the current undisputed lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title since 2019 and the WBA, WBO, WBC and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. López is considered to be one of, if not the, best active boxers, pound for pound, by ESPN and Boxing Writers Association of America, and The Ring. He is also ranked as the world’s best active lightweight by BoxRec, ESPN and the TBRB. The Australian Kambosos has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 2017. Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) became the IBF mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby by split decision in October.  

The co-main bout will feature a four-belt undisputed super middleweight championship between WBC/WBO titlist Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos, who holds the WBA and IBF belts. The winner will become a true women’s undisputed champion in the sport.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

The PPV retail price for the event is $49.99 (U.S. & Canada) plus processing fee. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

LAS VEGAS (May 25, 2021) – Undisputed Lightweight World Champion, ‘The Takeover’ Teofimo Lopez, (16-0, 12 KOs), swung open the doors to his training camp, City Athletic Boxing Gym in Las Vegas on Tuesday afternoon for a huge amount of media. Lopez is training for his highly anticipated clash with Undefeated Mandatory Challenger, ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., (19-0, 10 KOs), set for Saturday, June 19 at Miami’s loanDepot Park, home of the Miami Marlines and live on Pay-Per-View.

Below are quotes from Lopez at the media workout.

“It feels great to be fighting on the Triller platform, something different with different musical artists. It’s going to be the greatest show this year and I’m excited to show everybody what I’m all about.”

“I don’t look at who I’m fighting, I heard the Selby fight was a close fight. However, Kambosos got the win, got the job done and became my mandatory.”

“One thing I’d like to clear up, the other guys in my division had four months to send me a contract and not one did. So, it all became George Kambosos at the end. I became world champion and undisputed and I want to let everyone know, I don’t duck or dodge anyone. With Kambosos, I’m not overlooking my competition but I’m looking straight through him.”

“I’ve been so focused on myself lately but as far as Josh Taylor or Jose Ramirez put them in front of me and I’ll beat them. Josh Taylor did what he to do, it was a great fight and a great event. The whole thing for me is making those type of fights happen. Sixteen fights in, I never said no to any fight. It’s up to these other guys to step up. They’re already talking about moving up to 147 and I can already sense the urgency in not wanting to fight me.”

‘I’m undisputed at 135, Taylor is undisputed at 140. Hopefully we can make that fight happen and I can become two-time undisputed. That’s the goal.”

“Triller is very driven and they really want to make their mark. We can talk about different things on the promotional side and they make it happen. With the boxing and the artists performing it’s a phenomenal collaboration. It’s great for the sport of boxing, it’s all entertainment at the end of the day. I’m not a fighter or a boxer, I’m an entertainer.”

“I just have to laugh at Lomachenko’s comments. It’s someone who never took a loss and especially the way I beat him. He’s in the past now. I took his heart, if we were to fight again I’d knock him out. My win over him elevated me to a whole other level.”

“It’s too late now for everyone, the amount of knowledge and ring IQ that I possess and have been working on, there’s no limit to me and I can’t wait to show that on June 19. It’s not about proving anybody wrong, it’s about proving me right.”

Among the others boxers at the media workout to greet Lopez were IBF Super Middleweight World Champion Caleb Plant and undefeated welterweight contender Conor Benn.

                                                 —————————————————-

The four-hour show, which will kick off at 8:00pm EDT with the live PPV main card starting at 9pm EDT, will also feature a WBA World Title Heavyweight Eliminator bout between Michael Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Mike Wilson (21-1, 10 KOs), as well as the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship matchup between Andy Vences (23-2-1, 12 KOs) and Ireland’s Jono Carroll (19-2-1, 5 KOs). Additional fights will be announced in the coming weeks.

López, 23, (16-0, 12 KOs) is the current undisputed lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title since 2019 and the WBA, WBO, WBC and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. López is considered to be one of, if not the, best active boxers, pound for pound, by ESPN and Boxing Writers Association of America, and The Ring. He is also ranked as the world’s best active lightweight by BoxRec, ESPN and the TBRB. The Australian Kambosos has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 2017. Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) became the IBF mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby by split decision in October.  

The co-main bout will feature a four-belt undisputed super middleweight championship between WBC/WBO titlist Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos, who holds the WBA and IBF belts. The winner will become a true women’s undisputed champion in the sport.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

The PPV retail price for the event is $49.99 (U.S. & Canada) plus processing fee. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

LOS ANGELES AND MIAMI (May 11, 2021) – Triller Fight Club today announced that they will again make history by having men’s and women’s undisputed title fights on the same card for the first time ever, with an elite boxing Pay-Per-View card co-headlined by the title fight between ‘The Takeover’ Teófimo López and ‘Ferocious’ George Kambosos Jr., which has four belts on the line—IBF, WBA, WBO, WBC and the prestigious Ring belt, and a four-belt title bout between Franchon ‘The Heavy-Hitting Diva’ Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos. The PPV event will be the first-ever boxing event held at loanDepot park in Miami, Florida, home of the Miami Marlins. PPV pre-sales are now underway.

“This is truly a historic moment having both the male and female undisputed title fights on the same card,” said Peter Kahn, Chief Boxing Officer, Triller Fight Club. “We are excited to have Franchon and Elin join a night of boxing that already has one of the most anticipated fights of the year, López and Kambosos, along with a strong undercard that will appeal to true boxing fans.”   

”We’re excited to bring boxing’s biggest event of the year to loanDepot park,” said Adam Jones, Miami Marlins Chief Revenue Officer. “This will be another milestone event for South Florida’s jewel venue, as we host one of the most exciting and unique experiences for boxing fans.”

Tickets to attend the event will go on sale Thursday, May 20. More info at TrillerFightClub.com.

The four-hour show, which will kick off at 8:00pm EDT with the live PPV main card starting at 9pm EDT, will also feature a WBA World Title Heavyweight Eliminator bout between Michael Hunter (19-1-1, 13 KOs) and Mike Wilson (21-1, 10 KOs), as well as the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship matchup between Andy Vences (23-2-1, 12 KOs) and Ireland’s Jono Carroll (19-2-1, 5 KOs). Additional fights will be announced in the coming weeks.

López, 23, (16-0, 12 KOs) is the current undisputed lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title since 2019 and the WBA, WBO, WBC and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasiliy Lomachenko in 2020. López is considered to be one of, if not the, best active boxers, pound for pound, by ESPN and Boxing Writers Association of America, and The Ring. He is also ranked as the world’s best active lightweight by BoxRec, ESPN and the TBRB. The Australian Kambosos has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 2017. Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) became the IBF mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby by split decision in October.  

The co-main bout will feature a four-belt undisputed super middleweight championship between WBC/WBO titlist Franchon Crews-Dezurn and Elin Cederroos, who holds the WBA and IBF belts. The winner will become a true women’s undisputed champion in the sport.

In a heavyweight clash, Las Vegas, NV resident Michael ‘The Bounty’ Hunter II will battle Michael ‘White Delight’ Wilson, of Medford, OR in a ten-round WBA Heavyweight World Title Eliminator.

Competing for the WBC International Super Featherweight Silver Championship, Andy ‘El Tiburon’ Vences of San Jose, CA meets Jono ‘King Kong’ Carroll of Dublin, Ireland in a scheduled 10-rounder.

FITE, the world’s premier streaming PPV platform for sports and entertainment recently acquired by TrillerNet, will handle worldwide live pay-per-view streaming distribution online for the June 19 event, and via FITE mobile and Smart TV apps, game controllers and all major OTT devices as well as power TrillerFightClub.com.

iNDemand, the leading transactional video-on-demand and PPV programming provider in North America, will serve as the exclusive U.S. and Canadian cable, satellite, and telco PPV provider for the Lopez vs. Kambosos fight. Fans will be able to order the event on PPV through their existing cable, satellite, and telco PPV providers across the U.S. and Canada.

This marks the third time that FITE, iNDemand and Triller will have partnered to bring value-packed, world-class PPV events to boxing, music, and entertainment fans. iNDemand also served as the cable, satellite, and telco PPV distributor for Triller Fight Club’s November 2020 Mike Tyson vs. Roy Jones Jr. event (which landed as the 8th best PPV event of all time), as well as the April 17, 2021 Jake Paul vs. Ben Askren event. FITE handled global digital sales for both events and powered the TysononTriller and TrillerFightClub sites.

Mark Boccardi, iNDemand’s SVP Programming & Marketing, said, “Pay Per View remains the king for monetizing premier fighting events. PPV is in the DNA of fight sports, and our alliance with Triller allows us to reach the widest possible audience by incorporating music and entertainment stars into the mix, along with top-notch boxing talent.” 

The PPV retail price for the event is $49.99 (U.S. & Canada) plus processing fee. Fans outside North America can check the FITE link at https://www.fite.tv/watch/teofimo-lopez-vs-george-kambosos/2p97b/ for international pricing.

**HOW TO WATCH THE June 19, 2021, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB PPV EVENT**

TV: Cable, satellite & telco PPV providers, including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, DirecTV, AT&T TV, Dish, Fios, and Optimum (U.S.), as well as Rogers, Bell, Shaw, Videotron, and Sasktel (Canada).

Worldwide Streaming: FITE.TV and all FITE mobile, Smart TV, game controller and OTT apps as well as the event microsite hub: TrillerFightClub.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

About FITE:

FITE is the premier global platform for live sports and entertainment offering many of the industry’s marquee PPV events and SVOD packages with over 4.4MM registered users. FITE is available worldwide through its iOS and Android mobile apps, Apple TV, Android TV, ROKU, Amazon Fire TV and Huawei apps. In addition, FITE supports Samsung, LG, Cox Contour, Vizio SmartCast™, Foxxum, Chromecast, PS4, XBOX, ZEASN, Netrange, Vidaa/Hisense, VEWD, Netgem TV, Virgin Media, Comcast’s Xfinity 1 and Xfinity Flex as well as 7,000 models of Smart TVs. Available online at www.FITE.tv. Follow FITE on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. If it Happens, it’s on FITE.

About iNDemand:

iNDemand is an innovative partnership between three of the leading cable companies in the U.S.—Charter Communications, Comcast Cable, and Cox Communications. iNDemand is a company of trusted content aggregators and licensing experts, with unparalleled technical expertise and long-standing relationships with MVPDs, major sports leagues, Hollywood studios, and other entertainment and sports companies across North America. iNDemand delivers great content to more than 80 million homes and has distribution deals with more than 150 companies. For more information, go to indemand.com.

About loanDepot park:

loanDepot park is a state-of-the-art retractable roof ballpark located in the heart of Miami. Built in 2012 and located fewer than two miles from downtown Miami, loanDepot park’s uniqueness and attractiveness, including unobstructed views of Miami’s skyline made possible by six operable glass panels, have made the venue a go-to destination for world-class entertainment, hosting a variety of sporting events as well as many business and entertainment events.

About TrillerNet:

FITE and Triller Fight Club are owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, and Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com), which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

SUNNY EDWARDS HAS vowed to make sure 2021 is another big year for the underdogs by following in the 2020 footsteps of Teofimo Lopez, Dillian Whyte and Jeison Rosario by shocking the boxing world when he takes on IBF Flyweight World Champion Moruti Mthalane.

Last year saw the bookies – along with a good few pundits – rocked by a series of high profile fistic upsets, and 2021 has started in a similar fashion with Mauricio Lara and Lennox Clarke recording stunning victories over higher ranked opponents.

Upsetting the odds is what Edwards will need to do if he wants to take possession of the IBF belt held by the battle-hardened champion on April 30, live on BT Sport.

This particular betting underdog is a dedicated lover of our canine friends and will need to summon up the bulldog spirit of his beloved hounds against the 39-2 ruler of the division, with 26 KOs to his name.

Edwards is the proud owner of two American Bullys – Duchess and Kilo – who he insists are not quite as fierce as they look. He knows it is up to him to prove once more that underdogs can snap and bite with the best of the pedigree champions.

“I am pretty happy to be considered the underdog,” confirmed the 25-year-old. “They have been on a great run recently and especially since boxing went behind closed doors.

“It is a trend I am confident of continuing and when I get the belt it will be in safe keeping with Kilo and Duchess protecting the crown jewels! I might have to ask the IBF about sanctioning some world champion dog collars if it all goes my way.

“And I know my dogs look quite mean, but they are big teddy bears!”

Edwards goes into battle admitting that he might be minus the supposed menaces of his four-legged family and will need to assess what he is up against in the opening couple of rounds.

“I think I will have to move around and have a look for the whole 12 rounds, to be honest. You don’t go head on against an immovable object, I’ve got to try and work around it for as long as I can.

“This is definitely a 12-round fight and I have trained for 15. All I know is, I wouldn’t try and beat him in an arm wrestle, so I am not going to try and beat him in a fight!”

Edwards is both familiar and friendly with the 38-year-old, known as ‘Babyface’, since spending time together over in Ukraine at a training camp.

“It is a friendly one since we were together in Ukraine and we have got each other on social media, so it has always been a ‘good luck’ or ‘well done’ before and after fights. He is top of the division, top of the tree and he is where everybody else wants to be.

“He is heavily avoided, we know that. I think he’s had like 10 world title fights and nobody has ever given him a unification shot. He has proved time and time again he will be the away fighter, even as a world champion.

“I think you have to understand the beast I am getting in the ring with, to be honest. I do.

“When I got out of the ring in Ukraine he said I would 100 per cent be a world champion, when I asked him for a picture. Hopefully that 100 per cent will be on April 30 and against him, but he is such a nice man and a great champion.

“I do genuinely feel honoured to be sharing a ring with him, but all the friendliness will fall by the wayside when that first bell goes. I just need to win and having that world title would mean the absolute world to me and it would put me up there with the top British fighters right now.”

LOS ANGELES, April 16, 2021 —– Triller Fight Club (TFC) took another major step in its growing sports and entertainment business today when it added one of the world’s most respected and accomplished athletes, Evander “The Real Deal” Holyfield, to its lineup of elite fighters, legends, rising stars and leading entertainment personalities. Holyfield, the only person ever to win the world heavyweight title four times, will return to the ring to fight Kevin McBride in a six-round bout in Florida on Saturday, June 5. He will join a card that already has the title fight between Teófimo López and George Kambosos Jr. The veteran McBride (35-10-1) is best known for ending the career of Mike Tyson in June of 2005 when Tyson retired in the sixth round in Washington, D.C. Triller Fight Club is a partnership between Triller and Snoop Dogg and is spearheaded by Ryan Kavanaugh. All professional fight rules will apply.

The location and times for Triller Fight Club on June 5 will be announced officially in the coming days.

“Our continued reinvention of boxing as four-quadrant entertainment now adds one of the biggest names in the history of boxing, Evander Holyfield, against one of the best opponents, Kevin McBride,” Kavanaugh said. “He joins a lineup featuring some of the most elite fighters who are on their way up the ranks and world-class musical entertainment as we present a multifaceted experience for fans of every interest in four action-packed and exciting pay per view hours.”

“I am proud to be able to join Triller Fight Club as they are exactly what our industry needed. They have reimagined the sport of boxing in a very exciting new way,” Holyfield said. “Their combination of young talent, music, entertainment and special matchups is setting a new standard for our sport, and my return to the ring for this fight is one that everyone, myself included, will enjoy, and I am proud to help take this to the next level.”

Holyfield is the only professional fighter to win the heavyweight championship four separate times, surpassing the record of Muhammad Ali, who won it three times. After a standout amateur and Olympic boxing career, Holyfield turned professional, and in 1986 he won the junior heavyweight title by upsetting World Boxing Association (WBA) champion Dwight Muhammad Qawi in a 15-round split decision. In April 1988, with an eighth-round knockout of Carlos DeLeon, Holyfield became boxing’s first undisputed cruiserweight champion. Three months later he fought his first heavyweight bout, knocking out James Tillis in five rounds. On October 25, 1990, he scored a third-round knockout of James (“Buster”) Douglas to win the undisputed heavyweight title of the WBA, the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). After successful defenses against former champions George Foreman and Larry Holmes, Holyfield lost the title on November 13, 1992, dropping a 12-round decision to Riddick Bowe. In a rematch with Bowe one year later, he recaptured the WBA and IBF titles in another decision. Holyfield met heavyweight champion Mike Tyson in a much-anticipated WBA bout on November 9, 1996, scoring a TKO in the 11th round, becoming the heavyweight champion for a third time. Holyfield regained the IBF title by knocking out Michael Moorer in the eighth round of their November 8, 1997 rematch. He retired in 2014 with a career record of 44 wins (29 by knockout), 10 losses, and 2 draws. Holyfield was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in 2017.

Fight Club has created and named this match the Legends Title Fight and will be delivering the winner the Triller Fight Club Legends Champion Gold Belt, the first of Fight Club’s championship belts.

López, 23, is the current unified lightweight world champion, having held the IBF title since 2019 and the WBA (Super), WBO and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasyl Lomachenko in 2020. López is ranked as the world’s fifth best active boxer, pound for pound, by ESPN and Boxing Writers Association of America, and sixth by The Ring. He is also ranked as the world’s best active lightweight by BoxRec, ESPN and the TBRB.

The Australian Kambosos has held the IBF Pan Pacific lightweight title since 2017. He previously held the Australian NSW, Australian, WBA-PABA, and WBA Oceania lightweight titles between 2013 and 2017. Kambosos (19-0, 10 KOs) became the IBF mandatory challenger after defeating Lee Selby by split decision in October.

In the headline matchup of Triller Fight Club’s first event of 2021 on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Jake Paul takes on former Bellator and ONE FC champion Ben Askren, while Regis Prograis (New Orleans), a former world champion and arguably one of the top two super lightweights in the world, battles Ivan Redkach (Shostka, Ukraine); heavyweight MMA Bad Boy Frank Mir (Las Vegas) opposes Steve Cunningham (Philadelphia); and Joe Fournier (London) challenges music icon and worldwide star Reykon (Envigado, Colombia). Several undefeated boxers put their records on the line Saturday: welterweight Quinton Randall (Houston, 7-0), super middleweight Junior Younan (Brooklyn, N.Y., 15-0-1) and middleweight Lorenzo “Truck” Simpson (Baltimore, Md., 9-0). Simpson will meet Francisco Torres (Buenos Aires, 16-3-1), while Younan will take on Jeyson Minda (Quito, Ecuador/Salem, Mass., 14-4-1) and Randall will battle Cincinnati veteran William Jackson (13-2-2, 2 KOs).

The lineup for Saturday’s four-hour Pay Per View show will include performances by Justin Bieber, The Black Keys, Doja Cat, Saweetie, Diplo, Major Lazer, and the exclusive world premiere of the hip hop supergroup Mt. Westmore (Snoop Dogg, Ice Cube, Too $hort and E-40) performing for their first time ever together. Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Bert Marcus will lead and direct the creative storytelling for the Triller Fight Club event.

In addition to being a co-owner, Snoop also provides strategic counsel to Triller Fight Club, helping to select fighters and musical acts for the show-stopping events. An entertainment expert who has successfully maneuvered through a range of projects in a variety of different fields, Snoop secured his spot as a fan favorite during Triller’s first sporting event, Tyson vs. Jones.

**HOW TO WATCH THE APRIL 17, 2021, TRILLER FIGHT CLUB PPV EVENT**

TV: Cable, satellite & telco PPV providers, including Xfinity, Spectrum, Contour, DIRECTV & U-Verse TV, Fios, and Optimum (U.S.), as well as leading providers in Canada.

Worldwide Streaming: FITE.TV and all FITE mobile, Smart TV, game controller and OTT apps as well as the event microsite hub: TrillerFightClub.com

ABOUT TRILLER FIGHT CLUB /TRILLERNET

Triller Fight Club is owned by TrillerNet, a first-of-its-kind company consolidating technology and content platforms to lead the move to Internet 3.0. TrillerNet pairs the culture of music with sports, fashion, entertainment and influencers through a 360-degree view of content and technology. TrillerNet—which owns the globally popular Triller app used by musicians, celebrities, athletes, and overall culture setters—has more than 300 million users worldwide. The Triller app—unlike other popular short-video apps it is often compared to, encourages its users to post the content created on the app across other social media platforms and websites. The app uses proprietary AI and Machine Learning technology, which is uniquely tied to the content rather than the user. By tracking the content, Triller empowers its tastemakers and users to push their content virally to affiliated and non-affiliated sites and networks reaching hundreds of millions of additional users. Data and insights gleaned from the Triller network, its creators, artists and users (from the app and off network) are used to program longer-form content, connect users across the web with the content, and provide unprecedented opportunities for engagement and monetization. TrillerNet has developed highly successful campaigns that begin with the app and continue throughout the entire content and technology ecosystem with some of the biggest brands in the world, including Pepsi, McDonalds, Weedmaps, DraftKings, L’Oreal, and many others. TrillerNet offers brands a unique content and technology solution, including direct deals with the influencers and celebrities. This branded content journey starts with short-form video and can easily expand into valuable long-form content distributed through the Triller Network, such as live-event boxing and music PPVs, fashion shows, and episodic reality content on TrillerTV. Some of the more than 65 original half-hour TrillerTV shows include The D’Amelios Family’s “Ask a DAM Question,” Jennifer Lopez In The Morning, Jake Paul: Staying On Top, 2 Chainz Let’s Do It, DJ Khaled’s Spreading Love, Hype House’s Thomas Petrou’s Coffee Talks, Josh Richards’ Josh Pong, Ur Lov’d: the Noah Beck Show, Fat Joe’s Masterclass, The Perez Hilton Show, and Violet Benson’s Too Tired To Be Crazy, among others. TrillerNet additionally owns Verzuz, the massive live-stream music platform launched by Swizz Beatz and Timbaland, Triller Fight Club (www.TrillerFightClub.com) which launched last year with the highly successful Tyson-Jones Fight which shattered digital PPV records. Other holdings include leading AI-powered customer engagement platform Amplify.ai, and FITE, the premier live event and PPV, AVOD, SVOD streaming platform.

Miami, FL – March 17, 2021 – Boxeo Telemundo, the #1 boxing program among Hispanics and longest-running sports show in Spanish-language television, returns this Friday with a WBA Fedecentro Super Bantamweight title bout featuring former division champion Saul “The Beast” Sanchez of Encino, California against Frank “El Castigador” Gonzalez of Miami, FL. Boxeo Telemundo will air live on Telemundo at 12am ET/11pm C from the Bryan Glazer JCC center in Tampa, FL.

Sanchez (15-1 8 KOs) returns to Telemundo for the second time in his career after an impressive performance in last year’s fall series when he wiped out favorite Daniel Lozano in just one round. Sanchez returns to the ring dropping back to the bantamweight division where he hopes to gain a title opportunity. On the other side of the ring, Gonzalez (8-1 4 KOs) looks to gain traction in the boxing scene in what will be his first regional title fight in his career.

Boxeo Telemundo’s new host, Karim Mendiburu, will anchor the show alongside Andres Bermudez calling the action and Jorge Calvo providing match analysis. To complement the live bout coverage, they will be joined by Claudia Trejos who debuts this week as commentator on the show. As special guests, Boxeo Telemundo will also welcome Teofimo Lopez and his opponent George Kambosos to speak about their upcoming fight. Lopez has held the IBF title since 2019 as well as the WBA, WBO and Ring magazine titles since defeating Vasyl Lomachenko in 2020. Kambosos is the IBF mandatory challenger for Lopez. In addition, Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez will appear on the show to speak about his much-anticipated bout.

Leading to Friday, Boxeo Telemundo will provide an extensive lineup of content across the Telemundo Deportes app, TelemundoDeportes.com and social media including Boxeo Telemundo: En Esta Esquina, featuring an interview with Oscar De La Hora and Boxeo Telemundo Plus, a social livestream on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter to be produced Friday evening from the studio just before the broadcast, to recap the week’s action and what’s coming.

TelemundoDeportes.com will also feature profiles on each fighter prior to every event, followed by special reports from the weigh-in on Thursday, via social media platforms. In addition, Boxeo Telemundo: Entre las Cuerdas, continues every Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET on YouTube, Twitter and Facebook bringing the latest combat sports news.

Debuting in 1989, Boxeo Telemundo has grown to become the #1 boxing sports program in the U.S. among Hispanics, across the broadcast and cable landscape. Since its launch, “Boxeo Telemundo” has broadcast over 350 title fights, showcasing some of the biggest boxing stars as they rose to stardom and won their first championship titles, earning a reputation as the show “where champions are born.” Among these stars is Saúl Canelo Alvarez, who won his first pro boxing title on “Boxeo Telemundo” in 2008. Other notable Champions featured include?Juan Manuel Marquez,?Diego Corrales, Carlos Maussa,?Floyd Mayweather,? Israel Vázquez,? Wilfredo Vázquez,? Rafael Ruelas,? Jorge Solis and many others. In addition, renowned boxing Hall of Famers have also appeared on the show including? Erik Morales,? Marco Antonio Barrera and?Felix Trinidad.? 

WORCESTER, Mass. (January 25, 2021) – Success in amateur boxing doesn’t necessarily insure a great professional career. Some fighters are much more suited to be better pros than amateurs, most often power punchers, but it’s usually clear early on if a fighter is especially skilled or not.

Undefeated lightweight prospect Jamaine “The Technician” Ortiz (14-0, 8 KOs), fighting out of Worcester, MA, displayed his tremendous gifts in the amateurs against some of today’s most talented, young boxers.

Back in 2012, for example, 14-year-old, 106-pound Ortiz defeated the hottest pro prospect in the world today, 16-0(16 KOs) Edgar Berlanga, of Brooklyn, at the Junior Olympics National Championships held in Lake Placid, New York. Ortiz went on to win 100 of 114 amateur matches, Berlanga finished with a 162-17 amateur record. All 16 of the latter’s pro fights ended in the opening round.

Ortiz never dreamed that Berlanga would become the super middleweight monster that he is today for a good reason. “I didn’t have pros on my mind,” Ortiz remembered. “My goal was to win an Olympic gold medal. I didn’t see him at the U.S. Olympic Trials, but I did at a few national tournaments.”

Another Brooklyn-born fighter, unified world lightweight champion Teofimo “The Takeover” Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs), the 2020 Fighter of the Year, handed Ortiz a 3-0 loss on points at the 2015 National Golden Gloves Championship.

“If I had my coach in the corner – Rocky Gonzalez had to leave because of a pro commitment – I think I would have been able to beat him. He’s a power puncher now, but not when I fought him. I hope to fight him sometime because he holds the belts. I want to fight the top dogs.”

In Ortiz’ final amateur fight, he won a 2-1 decision against Abraham “El Super” Nova (19-0, 14 KOs), the former NABF super featherweight champion in the pro ranks, to be crowned New England Golden Gloves champion

“We’ve sparred after that,” Ortiz noted. “We go to his trainer’s (Hector Bermudez) gym in Boston a lot to get good work.”

Two other undefeated contemporary pros who were also standout pro prospects that Ortiz defeated in the amateurs are former NABF super lightweight Luis Feliciano (14-0, 8 KOs) and yet another Brooklyn native, super lightweight Richardson Hitchins (12-0, 5 KOs). Against Feliciano, Ortiz won 3-0 at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, and he edged Hitchins, 2-1, at the Olympic Qualifier.

“The Feliciano fight was fairly easy for me,” Ortiz noted. “I’m not surprised by his success as a pro because he was a recognized amateur on Team USA. The Hitchins fight was competitive and he probably thought he won.”

Two losses in the amateurs against undefeated rising pro stars, welterweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) and bantamweight Gary Antuanne Russell (18-0, 12 KOs), only enhanced Ortiz’ potential as a prizefighter. Both fights were scored 3-0 for Ennis in the Olympic Qualifier and Russell in the semifinals of the Olympic Trials.

“I fought Ennis in his hometown, Philadelphia, and he beat me,” Ortiz commented. “He turned pro and started knocking out everybody. He didn’t stop me, though. I haven’t seen Russell fight in the pros.”

Ortiz is promoted by Classic Entertainment and Sports (CES). “I’ve been in this business a long time and affiliated with thousands of athletes,” CES founder/CEO Jimmy Burchfield, Sr. commented. “Jamaine has it all! He’s a perfect gentleman who has all types of experience against practically every type of boxer. Anybody who truly understands boxing can tell the difference about the special ones. He reminds me a little of Sugar Ray Leonard and looks like Oscar de la Hoya. He is the whole package with everything needed to be world champion.

“I love working with his team, Rocky Gonzalez and Carlos Garcia. They’ve all bonded. Team Ortiz is great to work with and I believe Jamaine has an unbelievable career ahead of him. Athletes of the 21st Century need more than in the past like a strength and conditioning coach and nutritionist. We have that for Jermaine.

Ortiz understands that there’s a world of difference between the amateurs and pros. “Styles make fights and pro versus amateur boxing is different,” he remarked. “We didn’t wear headgear in the Olympic Trials, but nobody stopped me. It seems like a lot of those guys I fought in the amateurs gained power in the pros and aren’t fighting as lightweights anymore (other than Lopez).”

The 24-year-old Ortiz is the reigning World Boxing Council World Youth and USNBC (U.S.) Silver lightweight champion. His stocked has skyrocketed since his spectacular performance this past November on the Mike Tyson-Roy Jones, Jr. PPV, in which Ortiz stopped Sulaiman Segawa (13-2-1, 4 KOs) in the seventh round of their high-profile fight.
“I’m back in the gym staying sharp and in shape,” Ortiz concluded, “working hard for whatever comes.”

Burchfield added, “Since his great performance on the Tyson-Jones PPV, we have been receiving all kinds of good offers for him. Jamaine Ortiz is a future boxing star.”

Ortiz’ special gifts were developed in the amateurs fighting opponents such as Lopez, Berlanga, Ennis and Co. Now, he’s making waves in the pro ranks, ranked No. 5 by the North American Boxing Federation (NABF), and cracking the WBC world lightweight ratings at No. 28.

NEW YORK (January 22, 2021) – Split-T Management was awarded the highest honors in the sport, solidifying itself as the premiere management organization by sweeping all of the major awards in an announcement by the Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) today.

Undisputed Lightweight World Champion Teofimo Lopez took home the coveted Fighter of the Year; Split-T Management CEO David McWater was named Manager of the Year; Ivan Baranchyk took part in the Fight of the Year, and Teofimo Lopez Sr. was named Trainer of the Year.

Lopez (16-0, 12 KOs) took his honors on the strength of his sensational performance on October 17th when he added the WBC Franchise, WBA and WBO Lightweight titles to his IBF Championship. The win by Lopez further exemplified that Split-T Management is one of the most powerful entities in boxing as it now handles one of the top Pound-for-Pound fighters in the sport.

“I’m very appreciative of this,” Lopez said. “It’s been a long journey and this is just the beginning. What I can say is this is a true big win for us. It’s surreal. Sometimes I still think this is a dream for us, but we turned that dream into reality.

“When I look down on the list of past BWAA Fighter of the Year award winners, they are all in the Hall of Fame, or going into the Hall of Fame. Now I’m a part of that group and that history. It’s something no one can take away from me. And there is so much more that we will accomplish.”

Under McWater, Split-T outperformed the industry in 2020, featuring its fighters in 40% of the bouts it had participated in the year prior (the industry average was 13%). Split-T Management fighters amassed a record of 44-6-1, winning four world titles that included Lopez, Kali Reis, Raquel Miller and Christina Linardatou as well as four more regional titles, with fights televised or streamed on all of the major boxing platforms such as ESPN/ESPN+, SHOWTIME, DAZN, NBC Sports and FOX. Other Split-T boxers, such as Charles Conwell, Brian Ceballo, Abraham Nova, Stephan Shaw and Janelson Bocachica continued their rise in the sport from prospects to bonafide contenders.

“Getting this award is pretty exciting and very vindicating,” McWater said. “It involved a lot of hard work, and it’s especially sweet because I felt last year Keith Connolly (the 2019 BWAA Manager of the Year) deserved it so much, which I felt gave the award more credibility than in the past.

“It’s a tribute to our whole company at Split-T. Everyone at Split-T has so much to be grateful about for Teofimo and his father. Their awards couldn’t be more deserving.”

Baranchyk’s October 3rd eight-knockdown thriller with Jose Zepeda was broadcasted on ESPN+ had fans in awe in one of the most exciting and sensational back-and-forth fights in recent memory. Baranchyk displayed both the renowned heart and tenacity that has made him beloved by fans.

“It’s an honor to be recognized by the BWAA as a participant in the Fight of the Year,” said Baranchyk. “I only watched the bout once so I can fix my mistakes and come back stronger for my next fight, which I would love to be a rematch with Jose – something I know the fans would also want.”

Lopez Sr. made good on his prediction of his son defeating the highly acclaimed Lomachenko. Lopez Sr. was magnificent in devising a game plan for which his son carried out almost flawlessly in the October 17th bout.

“I never expected this,” Lopez Sr. said. “This is a tribute to all of the hard work that we put in. I was thinking about my son. I wasn’t thinking about any awards, so to get this from the BWAA makes me a part of history and I’ll be in the boxing books forever. It’s a great honor and I don’t plan on letting anyone down.”

By Norm Frauenheim–

There wasn’t a knockout. There wasn’t even a knockdown. The classic expected in this corner and few others did not happen. But Teofimo Lopez-Vasiliy Lomachenko was a winner for the audience it attracted and interest it continues to generate.

Boxing, forever pushed to the edge of an imagined grave by critics and abolitionists, is alive and well. Not even a pandemic can kill it.

The numbers and noise are proof. First, the numbers. Ratings for the ESPN telecast were at a three-year high for boxing. Viewership for Lopez’ upset of Lomachenko averaged 2.729 million. The audience peaked at 2.898 million. Two-million was the reported goal. But who knew? In effect, the lightweight bout was a check-up, a moment to take a long look at what has happened since COVID crashed the party.

Turns out, the patient has a heartbeat.

Post-fight, I got a call from a friend, who is as spot-on insightful as he is fearless in what he thinks about an ever-scarred game. The best thing about the fight, he said, was that it wasn’t on pay-per-view. True, true and true on so many levels.

The decision not to attach a PPV tag onto the bout was the right thing to do. It’s hard enough to pay for groceries these days. But it was also the wise thing to do. If it had been PPV, maybe the audience would have been about 100,000. Fighters, managers, promoter and network would have split meager receipts, moved on and muddled on, still clueless about the state of the game.

Now, they know there’s still a market, an audience still hungry for the right fight. With its mind-numbing preponderance of titles, acronyms and the usual cast of suspects, boxing will never be exactly healthy. That’s part of the charm. But never doubt its resiliency. Lopez-Lomachenko showed it’s still there, vibrant as ever.

In part, the public appetite for a great fight created expectations. What happened in Lopez’ unanimous decision over Lomachenko, however, won’t ever be compared to Diego Corrales’ 2005 stoppage of Jose Luis Castillo or Robert Duran’s lightweight reign. It wasn’t even a Fight of the Year.

But nothing about it diminished that appetite for more. Nearly a week after the bout, people are still talking about the 119-109 scorecard (Really?), Lopez’ arrival (A Star Is Born), Lomachenko’s slow start (Why?) and news of Lomachenko’s subsequent shoulder surgery (That’s why).

A lot of the talk is familiar, including an argument that Lomachenko’s surgery is only an excuse. If it was really an excuse, you’d think he would have mentioned it in post-fight interviews.  He didn’t. His injured right shoulder is simply the result of fighting above his natural weight. Lomachenko, a true featherweight, began to suffer injuries when he moved to 135 pounds. He first injured his right shoulder in 2018 when he won a lightweight title against Jorge Linares.

Guess here: Lopez knew that Lomachenko was vulnerable at any weight above 130. For two years, he lobbied for the fight. Then, Lopez, a lightweight about to move up to 140, looked like the bigger fighter in a dominant 12th round, a convincing finale to what had been a close bout.

Lopez won the argument. Won the future, too, with a big audience that is still talking.

By Bart Barry-

Saturday in The Bubble in the long-anticipated mainevent of a long ESPN card Brooklyn’s Teofimo Lopez conclusively decisioned Ukrainian Vasyl Lomachenko to become The Ring’s lightweight champion.  The fight went nearly opposite most forecasts, with Lopez, the better boxer, building an insurmountable points lead, and Lomachenko, the dirty desperado, trying for a knockout with almost every punch he threw – all 10 of them.

More Taylor-Hopkins than Pavlik-Taylor, Saturday’s fight was a tale of auto-overestimation that began with Lomachenko’s overestimating his defense in rounds 1-6 then his power in rounds 7-11 then his conditioning in round 12.  Not till after the match did Lomachenko flash some of his trademark contempt, replacing with scorn for the result what looks of concern for himself, confusion, discomfort and unpleasant surprise he’d worn for the preceding hour.

How much did Lopez do to create those looks?  Lots and lots.  He had Lomachenko’s number from the opening bell and knew it.  Lomachenko knew, too, even if he didn’t believe it.

There were moments in the fifth and sixth rounds when it became obvious Lomachenko expected judges to score his reputation, and it set one to thinking: He’s only got 15 prizefights, not 150, so what reputation does he expect them to score?  Judge Julie Lederman saw Lomachenko’s resume as balderdash and scored only what she saw, 109-119, in a refreshing manifestation of beginner’s mind; if you didn’t know Lomachenko’s skills are otherworldly and born of traditional Ukrainian dance, etcetera and etcetera, what you scored was a smaller man feinting and twitching and leaping away, for 15 minutes of what had been billed as a superfight, not fighting at all, in other words, and somehow expecting the two punches he landed every other round to even things up.

Whatever Papachenko’s grand strategy be, his son fought like they lost track of the round count, like they didn’t realize they were outside the math of the match till they were way outside it.  There were moments in rounds 10 and 11 when it appeared Lomachenko’s strategy hadn’t been to win a decision at all but stop the youngster, which mightn’t have been a bad strategy had Lomachenko done anything more than interrupt his opening 28-minute dance recital with occasional headbutting. 

No, Lopez hadn’t any idea how far out his depth he was when he signed the fight, and Lomachenko did nothing to show him in the match’s opening half, either, allowing Lopez’s youthful cocksureness to grow and grow.  By the time Lomachenko began to begin scoring points Lopez knew nothing but his being knocked-out should keep the belts round Lomachenko’s waist, and Lopez had long since mitigated what otherworldly angles Lomachenko flashes at smaller men.

It was all in Lopez’s leftfoot backward step.  Howsoever much Lomachenko valued his career’s 15 fights more than Lopez’s 14 what Lomachenko saw Lopez do to Richard Commey in December made a hell of an impression and Lomachenko wanted sample none of Lopez’s power, which meant Lopez, not Lomachenko, applied the pressure when no one was punching.  Fear of Lopez’s power stripped Lomachenko of his creativity, ensuring Lopez might only be hit by a punch he saw coming, and the quick backwards step Lopez made over and over with his lead foot, choosing to move with Lomachenko, not against him, reduced Lomachenko’s offensive arsenal to its square root.

There were flashes of Juan Manuel Marquez in Lopez’s choice; everyone who ever stepped at Manny Pacquiao got spun round and wacked, including Marquez in his first three minutes with the Filipino.  After getting felled thrice Marquez eventually solved the riddle by mirroring Pacquiao and spinning out his lead foot every time Pacquiao readied to attack; Marquez was willing to be hit and hurt by Pacquiao’s 1-2, but he’d be damned if he was going to get spun into Pacquiao’s third and fourth punches.

Lopez’s footwork, although not born in the ballrooms of Kiev, neutralized Lomachenko completely.  There were issues of Lopez’s simple width, too, and Lomachenko’s wariness, but it was most telling Lomachenko’s very few rallies happened when Lopez found himself on the ropes and hadn’t access to the one-step retreat he’d obviously practiced and practiced.

Then there was the decisive round, the reason this match will be remembered as Lopez’s coronation and not for its scorecards.  After imposing himself in round 11 Lomachenko prepared for Lopez to wilt in the 12th.  Wilt he didn’t.  Lopez snatched the initiative from Lomachenko and had his best moments in the match’s most important moments.  This was where Lomachenko’s auto-overestimation shone through.  Lomachenko put his foot down in the final minutes of the fight and found he didn’t have the power he expected – because his defense hadn’t been great as he believed in the opening half, and he’d been hit plenty – he didn’t have the target he expected – because his offense hadn’t been great as he believed, and Lopez was still strong – and he didn’t have the advantage in conditioning he expected because thinking you can apply psychological pressure to a fearless opponent is futile and dumb.

Lomachenko did just enough in rounds 8-11 for aficionados to content ourselves Lopez won, Lomachenko didn’t lose, and embrace the 23-year-old as our new savior, even if the most-feared puncher since Roberto Duran never so much as wobbled the computer nerd across from him.  OK, so maybe some of this was overhyped.  Welcome to boxing.

Here’s what wasn’t: Both guys subjected themselves to the crucible of highest competition much earlier than they had to, much earlier than their promoter even wanted them to, much earlier than their peers have done.  Lopez is right to revel in his accomplishment and publicly ridicule the gradually exiting generation of businessmen whose fears of loss and humiliation ever hid behind promotional conflicts and network loyalties.  That ruse held up only so long as everyone went along with it.  Lopez put paid to all that Saturday – even if Bud and The Truth don’t know it yet.

Bart Barry can be reached via Twitter @bartbarry

NEW YORK (OCTOBER 18, 2020)–Split-T Management’s IBF Lightweight World Champion Teofimo Lopez became the youngest undisputed champion in the four-belt era by dominating the Pound-for-Pound number-one fighter in the world, Vasiliy Lomachenko over 12-rounds to add the WBC Franchise; WBA and WBO Lightweight world titles in a fight that took place at the MGM Conference Center, AKA “The Bubble” on Saturday night in Las Vegas.

Lopez raced out to an early lead as he set the tone by using a sharp jab, and precision right hands to the body. His offense made Lomachenko very wary to have any aggression of his own as punch stats showed that Lomachenko only threw 58 total punches over the first half of the fight. Lopez continued working behind a nice jab that set up some blistering power shots. Lopez put on a boxing display and beat Lomachenko at his own game.

Feeling a sense of desperation, Lomachenko started to up his pace over the 2nd half of the fight. That led to some good exchanges between the two combatants.

Despite being headbutted that caused a cut over his right eye, Lopez was in control and closed the show in round 12 as he landed a fight high 50 punches in round 12.

Lopez won by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 116-112 to capture the belts.

Said Lopez, “I had to dig deep, man. I’m thankful. I’m grateful. And each and every day, I take that in. I thank God first because I couldn’t do it without him.

“I’m a fighter. I got to dig in deep. I knew he was coming. I didn’t know if they had him up on the scorecards or not, and I love to fight. I can bang, too. I don’t care, man. I’ll take one to give one. That’s what a true champion does. I find a way to win.

“You just got to keep pressuring him, press the gas, stick the jab and don’t really give him that opportunity to set up. Every time he did want to throw, I had something ready for him.”

“Teofimo was totally dominant, and Lomachenko had no answers for him. Boxing has a new king, and the sport will be better for it. Long live the King!” said Split-T Management’s David McWater.

Photos by Mikey Williams / Top Rank

Teofimo Lopez won the undisputed Lightweight title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Vasiliy Lomachenko at the MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

Lopez dominated the first seven rounds as he boxed well and kept Lomachenko from the outside. Lopez featured some solid body work and landed some quick combinations that forced Lomachenko to do next to nothing.

Lomachenko came alive in the middle to late rounds and landed some quick shots that edged him closer in the fight. Lopez bit down and had a big final frame that solidified the victory by scores of 119-109, 117-111 and 116–112/

Lopez landed 183 of 659 punches. Lomachenko was 141 of 329.

Lopez is now 16-0. Lomachenko is 14-2.

Said Lopez, “I had to dig deep, man. I’m thankful. I’m grateful. And each and every day, I take that in. I thank God first because I couldn’t do it without him.
 
“I’m a fighter. I gotta dig in deep. I knew he was coming. I didn’t know if they had him up on the scorecards or not, and I love to fight. I can bang, too. I don’t care, man. I’ll take one to give one. That’s what a true champion does. I find a way to win.
 
“You just gotta keep pressuring him, press the gas, stick the jab and don’t really give him that opportunity to set up. Every time he did want to throw, I had something ready for him.”

Barboza Decisions Saucedo

Arnold Barboza Jr. scored the biggest win of his career as he remained undefeated by winning a 10-round unanimous decision over former world title challenger Alex Saucedo in a junior welterweight bout.

In round one, Saucedo began to bleed from the nose that was caused by a headbutt.

In round seven, Barboza slipped, but it was correctly ruled a knockdown when officials went to the instant replay.

That was the only blip for Barboza, as he won by scores of 97-92 twice and 96-93.

Barboza landed 218 of 941 punches. Saucedo was 183 of 691.

Barboza, 140 lbs of South El Monte, CA is 25-0. Saucedo, 140 lbs of Oklahoma City is 30-2.

Barboza said, “This was like a championship fight to me. It’s all because of my father {head trainer Arnold Barboza Sr.}, not me. I did this for kids and my father. My dream is to get a house for my kids. I came that much closer today.
 
“I want a championship fight. No more messing around. No more tune-up fights.”

Berlanga stops Bellows in 1st; Keeps KO streak alive

Edgar Berlanga made it 15-for-15 in opening round stoppage as he took out Lanell Bellows in their scheduled eight-round super middleweight bout.

Berlanga cut Bellows with a hard left hook. Bellows was hurt, and Berlanga smelled blood and landed some more heavy shots and the fight was stopped in 79 seconds.

Berlanga, 169 lbs of Brooklyn is 15-0 with all 15 knockouts in the 1st round. Bellows, 169 lbs of Las Vegas is 20-6-3.

Berlanga said, “I saw with the first shot that I cut him open and the look in his eyes, he didn’t want to be in there. From the beginning, once I got in the ring, I looked in his eyes… he didn’t want to be in there. So I had to get him out.”

Vargas Decisions Casteneda

Josue Vargas won a 10-round unanimous decision over Kendo Casteneda in a junior welterweight bout.

In round two, Vargas dropped Casteneda with a straight left. Later in round three, Castenda began to bleed from his nose.

In round six, Casteneda started bleeding from his mouth.

Vargas outlanded Casteneda 226-112

Vargas, 142 lbs of Bronx, NY won by scores 100-89, 99-90 and 98-91 to raise his mark to 18-1. Casteneda, 142 lbs of San Antonio, TX is 17-3.

Vargas said,“He was a tough customer, tougher than I thought he was going to be, but my father told me to stay composed, stay calm. I dropped him, but that doesn’t mean nothing, just stay relaxed because that’s how I got disqualified when I was 18 years old.
 
“I’m very close to fighting these guys, like Zepeda, Pedraza, any of these guys. You name it, I’ll get in there with them.”

Enrique Vivas stopped John Vincent Moralde in a scheduled eight-round featherweight bout.

In the opening seconds, Vivas dropped Moralde with a body shot. Vivas then landed a huge right that drove Moralde back to the ropes. Two hard body shots later sent Mralde down and the fight was stopped at 1:16.

Vivas, 128 lbs of Motebello, CA is 20-1 with 11 knockouts. Moralde, 127 lbs of the Philippines is 23-4.

Quinton Randall won a six-round unanimous decision over Jan Carlos Rivera in a fight featuring undefeated welterweights.

Randall, 147 lbs of Houston, TX won by scores of 59-55 and 58-56 twice and is now 7-0. Vivas, 146 lbs of Puerto Rico is 4-1.

In a battle of undefeated welterweights, 17 year-old Jahi Tucker won a four-round unanimous decision over Charles Garner.

In round two, Garner started bleeding from the nose.

Tucker, 145 lbs of Deer Park, NY won by scores of 40-36 on all cards, and is now 2-0. Garner, 142 lbs of Buffalo, NY is 1-1.

NEW YORK (OCTOBER 16, 2020)–Tomorrow night at the MGM Grand “Bubble” in Las Vegas, IBF Lightweight world champion, Teofimo Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) squares off with WBA/WBO/WBC Franchise world champion Vasiliy Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) in the most anticipated bout of 2020.

Lopez is managed by Split-T Management and promoted by Top Rank.

The fight, which will be shown live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN + (Prelims at 7:30 PM ET, with the main card beginning approx. at 10 PM) has been front and center in the minds of boxing fans from all over the world for nearly a year when Lopez won his title with a sensational 2nd round destruction of Richard Commey on December 14, 2020 at Madison Square Garden.

Lomachenko, who many have at the top of the Pound-for-Pound rankings, will be facing his toughest test, when he looks across the ring at the brash 23 year-old Brooklyn native in Lopez.

At Friday’s weigh in, which was highlighted by a piercing stare-down, both fighters checked in at the lightweight limit of 135-pounds.

“Tomorrow night will be Teofimo’s coming out party. It will be the culmination of all the hard work he and his father have put in over eighteen years. It has been an honor for me and the entire Split-T family to have worked with him these last few years, and look forward to him being the youngest undisputed World Champion of the four belt era,” said David McWater of Split-T Management.

Teofimo Lopez Press Conference Quotes:

“Hard work pays off. Eighteen years in, and it’s just the beginning, You haven’t seen anything yet.”

“The Takeover is not just a phrase we throw out there. This is the part where I’m leading the new generation. Winning this is a stamp and a mark to put on for the new era.”

“Get your popcorn ready and just enjoy the show. It’s ‘The Takeover.'”

“A true champion can adapt to everything. It goes for both of us. He fought in arenas sold out. I fought in arenas sold out. My job and my thing are having all of these belts wrapped around me.”

(ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, Approximately 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT)

    •     Vasiliy Lomachenko 135 lbs vs. Teofimo Lopez 135 lbs 
(Undisputed Lightweight World Title — 12 Rounds)
Judges: Steve Weisfeld, Julie Lederman and Tim Cheatham
Referee: Russell Mora

•    Alex Saucedo 140 lbs vs. Arnold Barboza Jr. 140 lbs 
(Junior Welterweight  — 10 Rounds)

•    Edgar Berlanga 169 lbs vs. Lanell Bellows 169 lbs 
(Super Middleweight — 8 Rounds)

(ESPN, ESPN Deportes & ESPN+, 7:30 p.m. ET / 4:30 p.m. PT)

•    Josue Vargas 142 lbs vs. Kendo Castaneda 142 lbs 
(Junior Welterweight — 10 Rounds)

•   John Vincent Moralde 127 lbs vs. Jose Enrique Vivas 128 lbs 
(Featherweight — 8 Rounds)

•   Quinton Randall 147 lbs vs. Jan Carlos Rivera 146 lbs 
(Welterweight — 6 Rounds)

•    Jahi Tucker 145 lbs vs. Charles Garner 142 lbs 
(Welterweight — 4 Rounds)

By Norm Frauenheim–

It’s a fight for the times, or at least one that for a while has a chance to knock out all of the garbage that has left yesterday, today and tomorrow feeling like a precarious walk on a sharpening edge of uncertainty.

We live amid a virus that nobody wants to fight or knows how to fight. We hear politicians, separated by philosophies and plexiglass, exchanging trash talk that sends pundits reaching for blow-by-blow metaphors. The words, they say, are punches. If only they were.

Finally, the punches will be real in an expected delivery of an old craft — as true as it is dangerous — from lightweights who want to fight and know how to. Teofimo Lopez-Vasiliy Lomachenko is no metaphor. It’s figures to be as real as it gets in any era.

That’s not to say there hasn’t been some trash talk. Tension is there. But the words will in fact be settled by punches sometime after 7:30 pm ET/4:30 p.m. PT Saturday on a Top Rank card televised by ESPN from the so-called bubble, the Conference Center at Las Vegas’ MGM Grand.

The bubble means masks, social distancing and the uncomfortable hope that the cough you just heard doesn’t mean that a positive test is imminent. It’ll be a relief when that bubble bursts, giving way to a time when a Lopez-Lomachenko can return to the familiar sights, sounds and ticket sales generated by a live crowd. Two-hundred-and-fifty people will be allowed inside the bubble. First-responders, friends and family will be in the socially-distanced seats for a fight that had been scheduled for May at New York’s Madison Square Garden.

It was re-scheduled and moved for the same reason that bars and restaurants have been shut down. During the Pandemic, last call has taken on new meaning that doesn’t promise much of a tomorrow. But, at least, Lopez-Lomachenko is still happening for what is expected to be a big audience. There is no pay-per-view price tag. It’s the right thing to do during days when it’s hard to pay the rent. It’s also a rare chance to attract the casual fans who don’t watch PPV boxing but might watch Lopez-Lomachenko without having to invest another $80.

It’s a fight loaded with all of the elements that can define boxing at its singular best. There’s the young Lopez, a 23-year old with Honduran roots and a cocky accent from his Brooklyn upbringing. There’s the older Lomachenko, a taciturn 32-year old Ukrainian who casts disapproving looks at Lopez like a demanding master offended by a restless apprentice.

Lopez promises a Takeover. The decorated Lomachenko, nicknamed Hi-Tech, promises a lesson. The best promise is a classic.

Put it this way: Promoter Bob Arum says Lomachenko’s versatile skillset is the best he has seen since Muhammad Ali. In a Zoom session with media this week, World Boxing Council President Mauricio Sulaiman said Lopez had “all the elements of Roberto Duran.’’

Ali and Duran, legends from different weight classes. Ali was – is — an iconic heavyweight; Duran arguably the greatest lightweight ever. They could never have met in the ring. Only in the imagination or in a video game.

On real canvas, however, Lomachenko (14-1, 10 KOs) and Lopez (15-0, 12 KOs) might play out that pound-for-pound dream. Who wins? Who know? The guess from this corner is Lomachenko, a two-time gold-medalist and probably the greatest boxer in Olympic history. Lomachenko will throw punches from angles that Lopez has never seen.

But danger rests in Lopez evident power and size. He’s a big lightweight. He’s at least one inch taller than Lomachenko, listed at 5-7. Across his shoulders, he looks bigger than the Ukrainian. It also looks and sounds as if Lopez won’t be at 135 pounds much longer. On Zoom with international media a couple of weeks ago, he talked about a jump to 140 for a possible date with either of the junior-welterweight champions, Jose Ramirez and/or Josh Taylor.

“Josh Taylor in the morning and Jose Ramirez at night,’’ said Lopez, who is known for celebrating victories with a head-over-heels back flip.

He’s talking about taking his career to some dizzy heights.

But there’s plenty of reasonable doubt about whether he’ll be doing a backflip Saturday night. Despite only 15 pro fights, Lomachenko’s amateur record is reported to be an astonishing 396-1. He has seen it all, most as the winner. His key is to elude, perhaps survive, an early assault from Lopez. The guess is that Lopez can – perhaps will – hurt Lomachenko somewhere between the first and sixth rounds.

For Lomachenko, there’s no talk of a move to junior-welterweight. He as heavy as he can be. There’s speculation he would be better off at 130 pounds or 126. There’s a lesser chance of injury. Lomachenko has undergone shoulder surgery and suffered hand injuries. He has the physical frame of true featherweight. But there’s bigger money and a more enduring legacy at lightweight, one of boxing’s original divisions.

But it’s a risk, one that was evident when Jorge Linares knocked him down in the sixth round of a bout in May 2018. Lopez has seen the knockdown. He has more power than Linares. He figures Lomachenko won’t get up if he lands the same kind of a shot. Maybe.

What’s lost amid all of the attention on Lomachenko’s brilliant tactical skill, however, is his toughness.

Lomachenko, 4-0 as a lightweight, got up and scored a 10^th-round stoppage of Linares. The guess here is that Lopez will hurt Lomachenko early. Guess here: Lopez will knock him down early. Guess here: Lomachenko gets up.

The question here is whether Lopez will have the skillset to deal with Lomachenko’s many-sided attack over the final six rounds.

The pick here: Lomachenko wins on all three scorecards, by two to three points, in a classic, a real one.