'LEON LOVE RISKS UNBEATEN RECORD AGAINST
RAMON VALENZUELA IN NEW CO-FEATURE THIS SATURDAY
ON SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING LIVE FROM
HARD ROCK HOTEL & CASINO LAS VEGAS
______________________________________________
Saturday, Sept. 8, at 9 p.m. ET/PT Live on SHOWTIME®
In Main Event, Olusegun Ajose Faces Lucas Matthysse
for WBC Interim Super Lightweight Title
NEW YORK (Sept. 5, 2012) - A 10-round middleweight fight between undefeated J'Leon Love (12-0, 7 KO's) of Las Vegas and Chicago's Ramon Valenzuela (7-1, 1 KO) will open the telecast this Saturday, Sept. 8, on SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING live on SHOWTIME® (9 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev.
The fight, originally scheduled for SHOWTIME EXTREME, will precede the 12-round main event between unbeaten Nigerian Olusegun Ajose (30-0, 14 KO's) and hard-hitting Argentine Lucas Matthysse (31-2, 29 KO's) for the vacant WBC Interim Super Lightweight World Championship.
The
promising six-feet-tall, 24-year-old Love will be making his fourth
start this year after fighting four times in 2011 and five times in
2010. In his last fight, Love, who is promoted by Mayweather Promotions,
registered two knockdowns en route to a shutout eight-round decision
win over Joseph De Los Santos on July 14 in Las Vegas.
Valenzuela,
a five-foot-eight, 21-year-old, will be looking to rebound. The winner
in his initial seven bouts, Valenzuela was upset by Donatos Bondoravas in his most recent outing on May 25.
Love,
who trains out of the Mayweather Boxing Club in Las Vegas, is an
up-and-coming prospect with good skills, movement and punching power.
Before turning professional on Jan. 29, 2010, he was an outstanding
amateur, winning the 2007 Golden Gloves championship at 165 pounds.
"We're
working extremely hard," Love said. "We know we have a tough and game
opponent. We don't take anybody lightly. I know the guy's coming off of a
loss recently, which makes him even hungrier to get back in the game
and get a victory, so I know he's coming to fight. I know he has a lot
to prove right now, but I'm not the one to make a statement against.
"I'm
definitely working my butt off and doing exactly what I'm supposed to
do," continued Love. "We're looking to get that victory. We're two young
fighters with a lot of skills, and we're going to put it on the line
and get it done. It's going to be a good fight."
"This
is a wonderful opportunity for J'Leon and he will definitely take
advantage of the opportunity to showcase his skills on Saturday night,"
said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. "We're really
excited and looking forward to him going out there to take care of
business against Valenzuela."
Nicknamed
"El Dragon" because he likes the animated series, "Dragon Ball Z," the
aggressive-minded Valenzuela didn't spend time moping after his last
fight.
"I
took a week off," said Valenzuela, who trains at Garfield Park Gym in
Chicago. "I got back in the gym right away. I spar with different people
- a lot of local guys, whoever. I'm a brawler-boxer. I'm prepared and
ready to fight."
The live undercard fights being covered by SHOWTIME EXTREME (7 p.m. ET/PT) are Daquan Arnett (6-0, 4 KO's) of Orlando, Fla. facing Jesus Tavera (3-2, 1 KO), of Mexico City, Mex., in a six-round junior middleweight scrap and Ishe Smith (23-5, 11 KO's) of Las Vegas squaring off against Puerto Rico's Irving Garcia (17-7-3, 8 KO's) in a 10-round junior middleweight matchup.
Rounding out the non-televised fights will be a six round junior featherweight fight between Melinda Cooper (21-2, 11 KO's) of Las Vegas and Celine Salazar (4-0-2, 1 KO) of San Antonio, Tex. and a six round lightweight fight between Zapopan, Mexico's Oscar "El Raton" Cortes (21-0, 11 KO's) and San Angelo, Texas' Miguel Buendia (8-1-1, 5 KO's).
# # #
Ajose
vs. Matthysse, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBC Interim Super
Lightweight World Championship taking place Saturday, September 8 at The
Joint At Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Las Vegas, is presented by Golden
Boy Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, Gary Shaw
Productions and Arano Box Promotions and sponsored by Corona and
AT&T. The SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast will air live at
9:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with middleweight prospects
J'Leon Love and Ramon Valenzuela squaring off in a 10-round co-featured
bout presented in association with Mayweather Promotions. Preliminary
fights will air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME® beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/PT
(delayed on the West Coast).
Tickets,
priced at $200, $100, $75, $50 and $25, along with a limited number of
VIP suite seats priced at $150, are on sale and may be purchased at the
Hard Rock Hotel Box Office, all Ticketmaster locations, online at www.Ticketmaster.com or by phone at (800) 745-3000.
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