In the lead up to Sergey Kovalev vs. Andre Ward “Pound For Pound”, on November 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, the undercard will round out a 10-bout card filled with some of the best young boxing prospects.
Opening the card will be middleweight Meiirim “Sultan”Nursultanov of Merki, Kazakhstan, making his pro debut. Nursultanov, now residing in Oxnard, CA, is managed by Egis Klimas, and recently signed by Main Events. He will be taking on Henry Beckford (4-5, 1 KO) of Hempstead, NY, in a six-round bout.
Bakhram Murtazaliev (6-0, 4 KO’s) of Grozny, Russia and close friend of Kovalev is coming off a second round knockout over Magomedkamil Musaev. He will be featured in an eight-round middleweight bout against Botirsher Obidov (6-0-1, 2 KO’s) of Anijan, Uzbekistan. This will be his first fight outside of his homeland of Russia.
Opening up the freeview telecast, beginning at 7:00 p.m. ET/4:00 p.m. PT on the Pay-Per-View events channel prior to the official telecast, will be an eight-round junior welterweight bout featuring the undefeated Sonny “Pretty Boi” Fredrickson (14-0, 9KO’s) of Toledo, OH, who is coming off of an a slugfest with Puerto Rican veteran Ramesis Gil. Fredrickson will take on Gabriel Deluc (11-1, 2 KO’s) of Boston, MA, in an eight-round showdown.
The freeview will also be available through live streaming on HBO Boxing’s YouTube channel.
Another Toledo native, Tyler “Golden Child” McCreary (11-0, 6 KO’s), who is coming off a unanimous decision win, will go toe-to-toe with Vincent “Pooh Bear” Jennings (5-2-1, 4 KO’s), of Grand Rapids, MI, in an eight-round featherweight bout. Jennings is determined to get his record back on track, but he will face his toughest test to date in McCreary.
In the spotlight fight on the freeview telecast, Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist (2012, 2016) Claressa “T-Rex” Shields of Flint, MI, will make her pro debut. Shields is set to face decorated fellow American Franchon “The Heavy Hitting Diva” Crews in a four-round middleweight bout, with each round timed at two-minutes. This will not be the first time the two have faced off. In their first matchup, Shields upset Crews, the top-ranked American women middleweight, during the 2012 Olympic Trials, the first U.S. team trials for women’s boxing. Crews will also be making her pro debut.
Just before going live on HBO Pay-Per-View, there will be a four-round heavyweight bout featuring undefeated prospect Darmani “Rock Solid” Rock (5-0, 4 KO’s) of the fighting city of Philadelphia. Rock recently scored a technical knockout victory in the third round on Oct. 22 and is wasting no time getting back into the ring. Facing off with Rock will be Brice Ritani-Coe (4-4-1, 3 KO’s). The Vegas resident, originally of San Pedro, CA, will be on the hunt for his fourth knockout.
Maurice Hooker Spotlight
NABO Junior Welterweight Champion Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (21-0-2, 16 KOs) of Dallas, Texas, took “training camp” on the road in prep of a ten-round title defense against former world titlist Darleys Perez(33-2-1, 21 KOs). Hooker-Perez is set as the lead-up undercard fight to the main event on HBO Pay-Per-View’s Kovalev-Ward “Pound For Pound” on Saturday, Nov. 19 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, beginning at 9:00 p.m. ET/6:00 p.m. PT.
Beginning with pre-training camp at his home gym, Maple Avenue Boxing Gym in Dallas, TX, Mighty Mo’s stops on the road included Maple Avenue’s West San Diego facility, the Institute for Human Kinetics in Southern California, as well as the Salas Boxing Academy and Johnny Tocco’s Ringside Gym in Las Vegas. In addition to training at some of boxing’s most renowned gyms, the Roc Nation Sports boxing sparkplug has also sparred with rising talents Devin Haney, Thomas Hill, Nick Frese, Marco Hall and WBO/WBC Super Lightweight Champion Terence Crawford.
Before heading into fight week, Hooker will co-host a media workout with Two-Time Olympic Gold Medalist Claressa Shields, who will be making her professional debut on the Kovalev-Ward fight card. The media workout will take place at 12:00 p.m. PT at Never Quit Boxing Gym – 2975 South Rainbow Blvd, Las Vegas, NV.
“It’s been a privilege to train at some of the best facilities and with some of boxing’s brightest and upcoming talents,” said Hooker. “I’m always about improving myself so that fans get the best from me when I show up in the ring. I’m fighting in Vegas and HBO Pay-Per-View for the first time and carrying a lot of pride for Dallas and the whole state of Texas.”
“Maurice Hooker is very excited to be making his Las Vegas debut on the Kovalev-Ward fight card and is particularly looking forward to representing Dallas, Texas as the first of its native boxers to be featured on a HBO Pay-Per-View show,” said trainer Vince Parra. “There is a group of very talented fighters where Mo is from and he is about to elevate them on the map. He’s dynamic, he’s exciting and he’s someone to watch.”
