Art Pelullo’s Banner Promotions and Patrick
Ortiz’ Ringside Ticket will present a sensational fight
card on Friday, February 12, 2010, in the Grand Ballroom at
Pechanga Resort Casino, located at 45000 Pechanga Parkway
in Temecula, California. The main event, co-featured bout,
and other selected fights will be televised live on ESPN2,
ESPN Deportes – ESPN’s Spanish-language network - and ESPN
360.com, the network’s broadband platform service.
In the main event scheduled for 10 rounds,
exciting lightweight prospect Ji-Hoon “Volcano” Kim, 19-5
with 16 knockouts, of Goyang City, Korea, will battle
veteran Tyrone “Fists of Fury” Harris, 24-5 with 16
knockouts, of Lansing, Michigan.
In his last fight in September, 2009, Ji-Hoon,
now 23 years old, scored one of his career-best wins with a
spectacular, come-from-behind knockout against local
favorite Zolani Marali in South Africa. Marali boxed
effectively in the early rounds and built a lead on the
scorecards, but Ji-Hoon kept pressing forward and steadily
wore him down. Ji-Hoon bloodied Marali’s nose in the
seventh round, then scored a knockdown to end the fight in
the ninth round.
The 28 year-old Harris is also coming off one
of his career-best wins in his last fight – an eighth-round
TKO against Marvin Quintero in July, 2009. The early rounds
were very close, but Tyrone rallied in the middle rounds -
he staggered Quintero in the eighth round, then rocked
Quintero with a follow-up series of punches and the referee
stopped the fight.
In the co-featured fight scheduled for 10
rounds, Russian junior welterweight prospect Ruslan
Provodnikov, 13-0 with 8 knockouts, of Berezovo, Russia,
will take on his toughest opponent yet as a pro – former
IBF lightweight world champion Javier Jauregui, 53-16-2
with 36 knockouts, of Guadadlajara, Mexico.
Provodnikov, 25 years old, had an impressive
amateur career with over 150 fights before making his
professional debut in 2006. In his last fight in the United
States in March, 2009, he won an eight round unanimous
decision against Esteban Almarez. After the fight, Dan
Rafael wrote on ESPN.com [excerpts]: “Promoter Artie
Pelullo may have found himself a hidden gem in Provodnikov.
The 25-year-old Russian (from Siberia) looks like he has a
lot of promise and he certainly has a crowd-pleasing style.
If you were reminded of Kostya Tszyu (minus the ponytail)
watching him fight, you weren’t the only one.”
Jauregui - 36 years old and a 22-year
professional veteran - won the IBF lightweight world title
in November, 2003.
Former heavyweight world champion Joe Frazier
will also be in attendance at the show. He will be
available for media interviews as well as photos and
signing autographs for the fans.
Seven bouts are planned for the card, including:
8 Rounds, Jr. Middleweights:
Daniel Dawson, 34-1, 24 KOs, Perth, Australia, vs. TBA.
8 Rounds, Super Middleweights:
Maxim Vlasov, 15-0, 6 KOs, Samara, Russia, vs. TBA.
4 Rounds, Heavyweights:
Garret Simon, 1-0, 1 KO, Puyallup, Washington, vs. TBA.
8 Rounds, Welterweights:
Dashon Johnson, 8-2-2, 2 KOs, Escondido, California, vs.
Sergio Macias, 14-19-1, 6 KOs, of Pacoima, California.
4 Rounds, Featherweights:
Gabriel Tolmajyan, 6-1, 1 KO, Glendale, California, vs.
TBA.
All bouts subject to change without notice.
Doors open at: 5:00 P.M. (all times Pacific Standard Time)
First fight at: 6:00 P.M.
Tickets prices: $45, $70, $85.
Tickets available at Pechanga Resort Casino Box Office –
tel.: 877-711-2946, and on the Pechanga website:
www.pechanga.com.
