Sports and entertainment stars will be boxing fans this Tuesday for “Knockout Night at Hard Rock Live,” at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida.
The 10-round main event showcases Michael “The Brazilian” Rocky” Oliveira (21-1, 16 KOs), rated No. 7 by the World Boxing Council (WBC) and No. 11 by the World Boxing Association (WBA), against former Mexican welterweight champion Norberto “Demonio” Gonzalez (19-2, 13 KOs). Former world champion Yuri Foreman (31-2, 8 KOs), rated No. 14 by the WBC, faces Mexican invader Javier “Pelon’ Gomez (14-11, 10 KOs) in the eight-round co-feature.
Heading the list of attending celebrities is Hall of Famer Julio Cesar Chavez, Sr., the retired six-time, three-division world boxing champion whose pro boxing sons are Julio Cesar Chavez, Jr. and Omar Chavez, a potential opponent for Oliveira in 2014.
Other star boxers expected to be on hand include five-time world light heavyweight champion Antonio “Magic Man” Tarver, reigning world light heavyweight champions Adonis Stevenson (WBC) and Sergey Kovalev (WBO), WBC No. 1 mandatory heavyweight challenger Bermane Stiverne, as well as top contenders Andre and Anthony Dirrell.
Rocky Marciano, Jr., the son of the late, great world heavyweight champion, will walk Oliveira into the ring. Three-time Indianapolis 500 champion Helio Castroneves, winner of Dancing With The Stars, Season 5 winner, will be supporting his friend, Michael Oliveira.
The Miami Dolphins will be well represented in the audience by present-day players such as cornerbacks Dimitri Paterson and Nolan Carroll, as well as safeties Reshad Jones and Jimmy Wilson. Former National Football League players attending include Baltimore Ravens cornerback Duane Starks, Miami Dolphins cornerback Patrick Surtain and linebacker/defensive end Kim Bokamper, plus Oakland Raiders tight end Darrell Strong
UFC fighters Mike Rio and Marcus Brimage, as well as mixed-martial-arts combatants Jessica Aquilar, Tony Johnson, Jr. and Jose Antonio Cortez, will join World Series of Boxing fighter Alexis Vila.
Entertainment celebrities scheduled to be in attendance include actors Carluca Suarez and Melody Batuke, popular Brazilian musician Jorge Benjor, model/actress Adriane Galisteu, movie director Malcom Jones, and celebrity tattoo artist Gilbert Machado.
Also fighting on “Knockout Night at Hard Rock Live” is undefeated light heavyweight Yunieski “The Diamond” Gonzalez (12-0, 8 KOs), a former member of the Cuban National Boxing Team, facing former WBC FECARBOX champion Jinner Guerrero (7-1, 6 KOs), of Ecuador, in a 10-round bout.
Participating in scheduled six-round bouts are unbeaten Cuban featherweight Hairon “El Maja” Socarras (7-0, 5 KOs) vs. former world title challenger Jhon Alberto Molina (32-26-3, 20 KOs) and Bahamian lightweight Valentino Knowles (1-0) vs. TBA (opponent to be announced). Knowles was a silver medalist in the 2011 Pan-American Games.
Also fighting on the undercard in four-round matches are Cuban super middleweight Vilier Quinones (5-0, 3 KOs), a former World Junior Championships gold medalist, vs. Marcus Brooks (7-15-1, 3 KOs), heavyweight prospect and 2008 Cuban Olympian Robert Alfonso (2-0) vs. Jamal “Knockout” Woods (3-8-1, 3 KOs), Egyptian light heavyweight Ahmed Elbiali (2-0, 2 KOs) vs. TBA, and West Palm Beach cruiserweight Steve Geffard (0-2) vs. Orlando’s Jamel Burnside (1-0, 1 KO). Oliveira, Gonzalez, Socarras, Knowles, Quinones, Alfonso and Elbiali are all fighting out of Miami. All fights and fighters are subject to change.
