Boxeo Telemundo back in action in Hollywood
Miami via Cuba prospect Livan “Machine Gun Kid” Navarro’s eight-round welterweight showdown against Mexico City veteran Diego “Demoledor” Cruz will serve as the televised co-main event for the Friday, July 12, “Championship Fight Series” boxing event at Hard Rock Event Center at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood.
Former amateur standout and undefeated Navarro (11-0, 7 KOs) and Cruz (19-7-2, 15 KOs) will meet as the chief supporting bout when WBA #13-rated welterweight Derrieck “Pretty Boy” Cuevas (21-0-1, 14 KOs) of Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico, defends his WBA Fedelatin Welterweight Championship against Los Mochis, Mexico’s Jesus Alberto “Barretero” Beltran (17-2-2, 10 KOs) in the 10-round “Puerto Rico vs. Mexico” main event.
Championship Fight Series is presented by Kris Lawrence and The Heavyweight Factory, in association with All Star Boxing, and will be televised live on the most popular boxing series on Hispanic television, Boxeo Telemundo, at 11:35 p.m. EST.
Tickets for “Championship Fight Series” are on sale now and cost $60, $100, $150, $250 and $500. Tickets are available through ticketmaster.com.
As is custom for these jam-packed events, the exciting undercard features many South Florida and international fighters.
Headlining the undercard, two-time Olympic medalist and undefeated heavyweight KO artist Ivan “The Kazakh Giant” Dychko (8-0, 8 KOs) of Boca Raton, Florida, via Rudniy, Kazakhstan, will face former ESPN 2015 Boxcino Tournament Quarterfinalist Nate Heaven (9-2, 7 KOs) of Ocala, Florida.
In an eight-round super featherweight battle, Ekibastuz, Kazakhstan’s Mussa “Warrior” Tursyngaliyev (9-0, 6 KOs) will face Panama City, Panama’s Ricardo “El Matematico” Nunez (29-9, 23 KOs). In a four-round light heavyweight contest, Miami via Cuba’s wildly popular Ulysses Diaz (10-1, 9 KOs) will look to return to the win column against Winter Park, Florida’s Mike Sawyer (8-12, 6 KOs).
In a special eight-round super featherweight attraction, Miami via Cuba’s Jessy “Beast Boy” Cruz (16-7-1, 7 KOs) will look to continue his four-fight winning streak in an all-action punch-out with Mexico City’s Isao Gonzalo “Kato” Carranza (15-14-1, 9 KOs).
Also featured will be an eight-round super bantamweight slugfest between Miami’s Jorge De Jesus Romero (14-0, 10 KOs) and Mexico City’s Szilveszter Kanalas (14-8, 9 KO); as well as a four-round light heavyweight matchup featuring popular Fort Lauderdale warrior Blake Davis (2-0, 1 KO) and Jefferson City, Missouri’s Armando Reeves (2-3).
Opening up the action will be a four-round featherweight bout between Miami’s Luis Melendez (4-1, 3 KOs) and Ponce, Puerto Rico’s Eduardo Melendez (5-26, 1 KO).
On fight night, the Hard Rock Event Center doors open at 6 p.m., and the action starts at 7 p.m. Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Hollywood is located at 1 Seminole Way in Hollywood, Fla.
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.