Panama has boxing fever in advance of their three-world-championship card headlined by the return of superb Panamanian WBA Bantamweight Super Champion Anselmo “Chemito” Moreno (33-2-1, 12 KOs) making the eleventh defense of his 118-lb belt against Colombian southpaw William Urina (24-2, 20 KOs) in a 12-round duel. Sampson Boxing returns to the beautiful Megapolis Convention Center in the Hard Rock Hotel in Panama City, Panama, on Saturday, August 10, entitled “Las Vegas in Panama II”.
Also scheduled are budding superstar Oscar Escandon’s (22-0, 15 KOs) fight for the interim WBA World super bantamweight championship against Venezuelan former world champion Nehomar Cermeno (21-5-1, 13 KOs), as well as Venezuela’s WBA female featherweight Champion Ogleidis Suarez in the first defense of her title, a rematch against Colombia’s Liliana “La Tigresa” Palmera (21-10-3, 15 KOs).
“This event will be like the Superbowl of Panama,” said Sampson Lewkowicz. “The people of Panama will be glued to the TV to watch their national heroes in action in tough fights, while those lucky enough to get a ticket will see what boxing in Las Vegas is like without leaving their homeland. We are opening up more seats to accommodate the tremendous interest in this great show. I congratulate the people of Panama for their wonderful passion for world-championship boxing.”
27-year-old Anselmo Moreno is a southpaw who stands 5 feet 6 inches. He is from El Martillo, Panama, but currently lives in San Miguelito. Moreno won the WBA Bantamweight title from the Ukraine’s Wladimir Sidorenko in 2008, becoming Panama’s 25th world champion, and has made 10 successful defenses. This will be Moreno’s first fight since his November 10, 2012, decision loss (while moving up in weight) against fellow star Abner Mares for the WBC Super Bantamweight Champion. This marked the second professional loss in Moreno’s career, ending a 10 year unbeaten streak.
27-year-old Urina is a southpaw from Barranquilla, Colombia. This will be his second world-title challenge. He lost a close, but unanimous decision to formidable WBO super flyweight Champion Omar Narvaez in 2011.
28-year-old Colombian Oscar Escandon had over 200 amateur bouts and proudly represented his homeland in the 2004 Summer Olympics in Beijing. As a professional, he has already won the WBC Latino Bantamweight Championship. Escandon enjoys tremendous popularity in his hometown, the Department of Tolima’s capital city of Ibague, in the central region of the Colombian Andes.
33-year-old Nehomar Cermeno was born in Barcelona, Venezuela, but now resides in Panama City. He is the former Interim WBA World Bantamweight Champion and even held it for two defenses before dropping razor-thin split decisions to Anselmo Moreno in back-to-back All Panama showdowns in 2010.
25-year-old Ogleidis Suarez is from Caracas, Venezuela. She won her title by beating then-undefeated Katy Wilson Castillo in 2011. She has already made two successful defenses of her belt, including a TKO 7 over next opponent Palmera in 2012. In addition to being a world champion boxer, the remarkable Suarez is also a professional glamor model, actress, sports commentator, television presenter and professional dancer.
31-year-old Liliana Palmera hails from Monteria, Colombia. A professional boxer since 1999, Palmera has already challenged for a world titles five separate times at various weights and always come up short.
