Rising four- and six-round fighters will get their chance to shine when NBC Sports Group and Main Events present Fight Night Future Stars, a one-hour program that will highlight the performances of developing undercard fighters on the regular NBC Sports Network Fight Night presentations.
“Boxing fans will now get the chance to see up-and-coming talent through our Fight Night Future Stars telecasts,” said Jon Miller, President Programming, NBC Sports and NBC Sports Network.
“Up until now, the only way to watch the development of this kind of talent was to attend the live fights. Now, the most promising young performers will get the chance to showcase their talents to a national audience.”
The first Fight Night Future Stars telecast will feature taped performances from the upcoming Saturday, January 19th NBC Sports Network Fight Night card, which will take place at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, CT. The action will be called by Fight Night talent, Kenny Rice and B.J. Flores.
“Fight Night has provided a launching pad for many of the young men who appeared on our programs in 2012,” said promoter Kathy Duva of Main Events. “Gabriel Rosado and Zab Judah enhanced their careers through the Fight Night series on NBC Sports Network and are now scheduled for world title bouts in the first quarter of 2013. The addition of Future Stars will simply create more opportunities for the many talented fighters who have yet to gain national television exposure.”
Telecast dates and times for the Fight Night Future Stars series will be forthcoming.
NBC Sports Network’s Fight Night series is collaboration between NBC Sports Group, Main Events and Hall of Fame matchmaker J Russell Peltz. The series premiered on January 21, 2012 and featured six original telecasts on NBC Sports Network and one broadcast on NBC. In 2013, a total of seven original telecasts will air on NBC Sports Network and NBC.
NBC Sports Group continues its Fight Night series, Saturday at 9 p.m. ET on NBC Sports Network, with a main event featuring Gabriel “Chico Guapo” Campillo (21-4-1, 7 KO’s) of Madrid, Spain vs. Sergey “Krusher” Kovalev (19-0-1, 16 KO’s) of Ft. Lauderdale Fla., at the Mohegan Sun Casino in Uncasville, Conn. The Fight Night telecast on Saturday will be the first 2013 edition of the popular nationally televised boxing series.
Former light heavyweight world champion Campillo, rated No. 3 in the world by the IBF, takes on Kovalev rated No. 10 in the world by the WBC and No. 14 by the IBF, in a 10-round light heavyweight bout.
In the co-feature bout, Elvin Ayala (26-5-1, 12 KO’s) of New Haven, Conn., steps in to the ring against Curtis Stevens (22-3, 16 KO’s) of Brooklyn, NY., in a 10-round middleweight bout.
