Featherweight Fury – a championship event with three featherweight title main event fights will be hosted by The Venetian Macao on Saturday, May 31 at the Cotai Arena, and televised live in the United States on HBO.
The world-class event is headlined by Nonito Donaire challenging featherweight world champion Simpiwe “V12” Vetyeka; undefeated Nicholas “The Axe Man” Walters will defend his title against Vic “Raging Bull” Darchinyan; and undefeatedEvgeny “The Mexican Russian” Gradovich, making his third consecutive defense at the Cotai Arena, will be battling Alexander Miskirtchian.
The Donaire-Vetyeka title fight will be televised on the same day in the U.S. on HBO, beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET/PT. The telecast will also include the world super middleweight title rematch between defending champion Carl Froch and top contender George Groves, which will take place at Wembley Stadium in London.
All “Featherweight Fury” undercard bouts will be streamed live via http://www.toprank.tv with Fran Charles handling the blow-by-blow and former world champion Ray “Boom Boom” Mancini and Hall of Famer Larry Merchant adding their expert analysis and commentary, except for the IBF junior featherweight title elimination bout between Top-Five contenders CHRIS “The Hit Man” AVALOS and YASUTAKA ISHIMOTO. That fight will be televised via same-day delay as the main event on Sólo Boxeo Tecate on UniMás. The winner will be declared the IBF’s No. 1 contender and mandatory challenger to IBF junior featherweight world champion Kiko Martinez.
“All eyes will be on the fabulous Cotai Arena with these three world title fights in one of boxing’s hottest divisions,” said Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum. “Featherweight Fury is one of the most exciting events I have promoted in a long time.”
“This is our fifth time working with Bob Arum and Top Rank to bring sports entertainment at its best to Macao,” said Edward Tracy, President and Chief Executive Officer of Sands China Ltd. “The world’s eyes will continue to be drawn to Macao as we continue to establish our city as a world centre of tourism and leisure with the diverse offerings of our multi-tiered entertainment strategy.”
