In anticipation of the highly anticipated doubleheader featuring Sharif “The Lion” Bogere and Gary Russell Jr. on Saturday, March 2, live on Showtime from The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nev., SHOWTIME Sports is offering a full-length replay from each of the world-class boxers’ recent fights on the premium network’s website. You can watch the full fight videos right here.
The excellent, crowd-pleasing scrap between Bogere and Ray Beltran from May 13, 2011 which aired onShoBox: The New Generation replays in its entirety (http://sports.sho.com/videos/1341), offering fans a glimpse of what they can expect from the undefeated Ugandan contender. The unanimous decision victory for Bogere featured multiple momentum shifts and cut-inducing head-butts as the two battled for 10 hard-fought, bloody rounds.
An all-action fighter, the undefeated Bogere (23-0, 15 KO’s) will square off against Richar Abril (17-3-1, 8 KO’s) for the vacant WBA Lightweight World Championship in the March 2 main event.
The 24-year-old Bogere was a five-time African champion as an amateur and has continued his success as a pro with his aggressive style and impressive power. The 30-year-old Abril, a Cuban-born Miami resident, is looking to bounce back from a controversial split decision loss to Brandon Rios in a bout for the WBA Lightweight World Championship on April 14, 2012.
Featherweight Russell’s brutal one-punch knockout over Roberto Castaneda last November 9 on ShoBox:The Next Generation (http://sports.sho.com/videos/1340) wound up near the top of many writers’ 2012 Knockout of the Year lists. The manner in which he impressively dispatched Castaneda served as a warning to viewers and potential opponents that the lightning-quick Russell also packed a dangerous punch to go with his blazing speed. The 2008 United States Olympian landed a picturesque right-hook to the chin of Castaneda at 1:25 of the third round — a vicious, explosive punch that instantly ended the fight.
One of boxing’s most talented contenders, Russell (21-0, 13 KO’s) will take a step-up in opposition againstVyacheslav Gusev (20-2, 5 KO’s) in the 10-round opening bout of the March 2 telecast. The 24-year-old southpaw of Capitol Heights, Md., knocked out three consecutive opponents to close out 2012 and is looking to kick 2013 with an impressive victory over the 26-year-old Russian who is a nine-year veteran.
Abril vs. Bogere, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBA Lightweight World Championship, will take place Saturday, March 2 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas. The event is promoted by Golden Boy Promotions, sponsored by Corona and will be televised live on SHOWTIME telecast beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast) with preliminary fights to air live on SHOWTIME EXTREME at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT (delayed on the West Coast). The co-main event will be a 10-round featherweight bout between undefeated phenom Gary Russell Jr. and Russia’s Vyacheslav Gusev.
