Reigning super flyweight world champion Kohei Kono (30-8-1, 13 KOs) will meet former world champion Koki Kameda (33-1, 18 KOs) as the televised opener of Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) on Spike on Friday, October 16 from UIC Pavilion in Chicago beginning at 9 p.m. ET/PT.
Eddie Ramirez (10-0, 7 KOs), of nearby Aurora, Illinois, will take on Ammeth Diaz (32-12, 23 KOs) in an eight-round super lightweight bout while Poland’s Patrick Syzmanski (14-0, 9 KOs) enters the ring against Richard Gutierrez (28-16-1, 17 KOs) in a 10-round super lightweight battle as part of a full night undercard action inside the arena.
The October 16 main event features an exciting light heavyweight clash between Andrzej Fonfara (27-3, 16 KOs) and Nathan Cleverly (29-2, 15 KOs) on PBC on Spike.
Further undercard action will pit 20-year-old Jose Quezada (7-0,5 KOs) of Alsip, Illinois against 33-year-old Puerto Rican Moises Rios (5-3, 4 KOs) in a six round lightweight bout and Southfield, Michigan’s Ronald Hearns (28-5, 22 KOs) in a super middleweight contest.
Rounding out the night of fights is 26-year-old Alex Martin (9-0, 5 KOs) of Harvey, Illinois in a six-round welterweight bout and 19-year-old Chicago-native Josh Hernandez (1-0, 1 KO) against Iowa’s Anthony Crowder (0-1) in a four-round super featherweight contest.
Fighting out of Tokyo, Kono has been a world champion twice, first with a victory in 2012 over Tepparish Kokietgym and again in 2014 by conquering Denkaoson Kaovichit. He has fought professionally since the year 2000 and will be making his first career start outside of Japan when he enters the ring on October 16.
The oldest of the three Kameda brothers, all professional boxers, Koki is looking to add another world title to his resume when he faces Kono on October 16. He won his first world title just 12 fights into his pro career with a victory over Juan Jose Landaeta and has followed it up with world championship-winning performances over Daisuke Naito and Alexander Munoz. He made his U.S. debut in November 2014 with a knockout victory over Omar Salado at UIC Pavilion.
An accomplished amateur who won the Chicago Golden Gloves and was the runner up in the National Gloves in 2013, Ramirez looks to continue his rise as he fights once again in his home state. The 23-year-old has scored two knockout victories in 2015, including a June knockout of Gerardo Cuevas and recently added a victory over former world champion Cristobal Cruz in September. He will face the 32-year-old Panamanian Diaz.
Undefeated at just 22-years-old, Szymanski will look to build on his recent success on October 16. The Konin, Poland-born fighter made his 2015 debut in March with a second round TKO over Yoryi Estrella and followed that up in July with a first-round stoppage over Maurice Louishomme. He steps into the ring against the Colombian Gutierrez.
