This Saturday, October 1st, DiBella Entertainment (DBE) will present “Noche de ‘Maravilla’: Martinez vs. Barker” featuring Middleweight Champion ergio Martinez (47-2-2, 26KO’s) defending his WBC Diamond belt and Ring Championship against England’s undefeated European Champion “Dazzling” Darren Barker (23-0, 14KO’s), at Boardwalk Hall, in Atlantic City, NJ.
In addition to the HBO live televised portion, there are an additional eight undercard bouts that feature a number of exciting up-and-coming young fighters, including DBE stable-mates, Isaac Chilemba, Steven Martinez, and J’Leon Love, all fighting in separate bouts.
Opening up HBO’s World Championship Boxing® telecast will be the rematch between top-rated middleweight contender “Irish” Andy Lee (26-1, 19KO’s) and former participant of “The Contender”, and the only man to defeat Lee as a pro, Bryan Vera (19-5, 12KO’s), in a 10-round middleweight matchup.
The South African Chilemba (17-1-1, 8KO’s) will be making both his DBE and U.S. debut when he takes on Jameson Bostic (23-4, 13KO’s) in what promises to be a stiff test for the current WBC International Light Heavyweight Champion Chilemba. The bout is scheduled for eight rounds in the light heavyweight division.
The promising Puerto Rican prospect, Martinez (10-0, 8KO’s), will take on his toughest opponent to date when he squares off against “Smokin” Jay Krupp (14-4, 7KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight showdown. The Bronx-native Martinez, a National Golden Gloves Champion, and overall three-time New York Golden Gloves Champion, spent the last few weeks serving as one of the lead sparring partners in Sergio Martinez’ training camp, in Oxnard, CA.
The hard-hitting prospect, Love (8-0, 6KO’s), is scheduled to meet Eddie Hunter (5-6-2, 2KO’s) in a six-round super middleweight match-up.
Two undefeated Irish-American New Yorkers will also see action on the card, when Kevin “Kid” Rooney (2-0, 1KO) faces Daniel Lugo (0-1), and Seanie Monaghan (8-0 5KO’s) challenges Kentrell Claiborne (2-3, 1KO). Rooney, the son of famed trainer Kevin Rooney Sr., also works full-time for DiBella and will be pulling double-duty on fight night. Rooney-Lugo is scheduled for four rounds in the junior middleweight division, while Monaghan-Claiborne is scheduled for six rounds in the light heavyweight division.
Also on the card will be West Point graduate, Boyd Melson (5-0, 3KO’s). Melson is the founder of “Team Fight to Walk”, and he donates his entire purse to the “Just a Dollar Please” organization, which is heavily involved in a pending stem cell trial focusing on research for spinal cord injuries. Melson will take on Russ Niggemyer (2-3, 2KO’s) in a six-round junior middleweight match-up.
Two of Sampson Boxing’s most promising prospects will also see action on the card when Magomed Abdusalamov (9-0, 9KO’s) battles veteran Kevin Burnett (13-4-1, 8KO’s) in a six-round heavyweight match-up, and Israel Duffus (2-0, 2KO’s) encounters Troy Artis (2-2-1, 1KO) in a four-round middleweight match-up.
