Rakhmanov replaces injured Hawkins on Shobox
Undefeated rising prospect Keith “The Bounty” Hunter will face talented Sanjarbek “War” Rakhmanov in a rematch in the 10-round super lightweight ShoBox: The New Generation main event Friday, February 28 live on SHOWTIME (10:45 p.m. ET/PT) from Sam’s Town Casino in Las Vegas. Rakhmanov steps in to replace previously scheduled opponent Malik Hawkins who was forced to withdraw for medical reasons.
Hunter (11-0, 7 KOs) and Rakhmanov (12-2-1, 6 KOs) first met on February 5, 2019, in an eight-round welterweight contest that resulted in a narrow-split decision victory for Hunter. Although Hunter controlled the action in the early rounds and scored a knockdown in the second, Rakhmanov recovered and landed some heavy blows in the later rounds. The scorecards read 77-74, 76-75 and 75-76.
A great in the making ?
Watch @HeIsRichardson take on DeLomba in ONE WEEK at 10:45pm ET/PT on #ShoBox. pic.twitter.com/f7UWcTYDkg
— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) February 21, 2020
Rakhmanov, who fought to a draw with Alfonso Olvera on ShoBox in May of 2016, will be making his second appearance on the prospect developmental series and his ninth start at Sam’s Town Live. In his most recent performance on September 20, 2019, he broke down Andre Byrd, delivering punishment to the body for four straight rounds, leading to Byrd taking a knee and ending the fight. He currently trains with Chris Ben-Tchavtchavadze at the Mayweather Boxing Club.
The 30-year-old Rakhmanov, who was born in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, was a top amateur with more than 140 bouts, including a Gold Medal win at the 2009 Asian Amateur Boxing Championship. In 2013, he became the national champion of Uzbekistan. After signing with Mayweather Promotions in 2014, he turned pro with an impressive 1:21 first-round knockout over Brett Simmons in June of 2015.
In the ShoBox co-main event, 2016 Olympian and undefeated super lightweight prospect Richardson Hitchins (10-0, 5 KOs) takes on Rhode Island’s Nick DeLomba (16-2, 5 KOs) in a 10-round bout. Once-beaten Las Vegas native Kevin Newman II (11-1-1, 6 KOs) faces Albania’s Genc Pllana (7-1-1, 4 KOs) in a 10-round super middleweight matchup to open the telecast.
Marquis Johns is a unknown humorist and avid boxing fan. His love for the sweet science goes back to when matches were 15 rounds and has been covering fights since closed-circuit pay-per-views. Everybody has a plan until they get punched in the mouth is not only a quote by Mike Tyson, it's also a pretty good reminder to keep your guard up.
