ESPN will televise the “Boxcino 2014” tournament, a new boxing tournament presented by Banner Promotions, that will air on multiple Friday Night Fights events. The first of five shows will be held Friday, Feb. 21, at the Edgewater Casino in Laughlin, Nevada.
The competition will be a single-elimination, two-weight class tournament that will feature eight fighters in both the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions.
The tournament will include a quarterfinal round, semifinals and finals in each division, which will take place throughout the Friday Night Fights season. Each quarterfinal round will feature four six-round bouts.
The winners will move on to the semifinals, which will be eight-round bouts. The finals of both the Lightweights and Middleweights will each be 10 rounds. At the conclusion of the tournament, the Boxcino 2014 Champion in each weight division will receive a championship belt.
Boxcino 2014 Fighters:
Matchups will be announced on this week’s edition of Friday Night Fights, determined by a random drawing and the tournament bracket will be structured based on this drawing.
Lightweight Division:
- Yakubu Amidu: Los Angeles (22-4-1, 18 KOs)
- Fernando Carcamo: Ciudad Obregon, Mexico (15-5-0, 12 KOs)
- Miguel González: Cleveland (22-3-0, 16 KOs)
- Miguel Angel Mendoza: Aguascalientes, Mexico (21-2-2, 21 KOs)
- Samuel Neequaye: Accra, Ghana (21-0-0, 15 KOs)
- Fedor Papazov: Russia (14-0-0, 9 KOs)
- Petr Petrov: Madrid, Spain (32-4-2, 15 KOs)
- Chris Rudd: Covington, Tennessee (12-1-0, 8 KOs)
Middleweight Division:
- Brandon Adams: San Diego, California (12-0-0, 7 KOs)
- Sena Agbeko: Accra, Ghana (15-0-0, 15 KOs)
- Donatas Bondorovas: Chicago (18-4-1, 6 KOs)
- Daniel Edouard: West Palm Beach, Florida (23-4-2, 12 KOs)
- Cerresso Fort: St. Paul, Minnesota (17-2-1, 11 KOs)
- Raymond Gatica: Austin, Texas (13-1-0, 7 KOs)
- Willie Monroe, Jr.: Rochester, New York (15-1-0, 6 KOs)
- Vitali Kopylenko: Kiev, Ukraine (22-0-0, 12 KOs)
TV Schedule:
| Date | Time (ET) | Round | Location |
| Fri, Feb. 21 | 9 p.m. | Lightweight Quarterfinal Round | Edgewater Casino, Laughlin, Nev. |
| Fri, Feb. 28 | 9 p.m. | Middleweight Quarterfinal Round | Harrah’s Horseshoe, Hammond, Ind. |
| Fri, Mar. 28 | 9 p.m. | Lightweight Semifinal Round | 4 Bears Casino, New Town, N.D. |
| Fri, Apr. 18 | 9 p.m. | Middleweight Semifinal Round | Turning Stone Casino, Verona N.Y. |
| Fri, May 23 | 9 p.m. | Lightweight & Middleweight Final Round | Turning Stone Casino, Verona N.Y. |
“We are looking forward to showcasing this tournament on Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates,” said Brian Kweder, ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions.
“It will give fans the opportunity to see some of the best up-and-coming fighters in the sport and follow them throughout the Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates season. ESPN did a similar tournament back in 1997, which was won by future four-time world champion Acelino Freitas. We hope to find another diamond in the rough like we did that year.”
“This will be one of the most unique tournaments that boxing has seen in a long time,” said Arthur Pelullo, Banner Promotions CEO.
“We are excited at the concept and we believe that new stars will be born. The fans will be able to watch these fighters grow and the fighters know that with a great performance, they have a chance to become a major player in the sport.”
