On Thursday, DiBella Entertainment officially announced their HBO Boxing After Dark Triple-Header, which will take place on September 29, at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The card, billed as “Road to Glory”, is headlined by DBE’s undefeated top-rated super middleweight contender Edwin “La Bomba” Rodriguez (21-0, 14KO’s) squaring off against the hard-hitting, up-and-coming super middleweight prospect Jason “Monstruo” Escalera (13-0-1, 12 KO’s).
In the televised undercard bouts, undefeated former two-division world champion Zsolt Erdei (33-0, 18 KO’s) takes on South Africa’s top-rated light heavyweight Isaac Chilemba (19-1-1, 9 KO’s), and Luis “Orlandito” Del Valle (16-0, 11 KO’s) squares off against former three-time world champion Vic Darchinyan (37-5-1, 27 KO’s). The card is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Gary Shaw Productions. All three bouts will be aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark, beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT.
LOU DIBELLA:
I’m very excited to announce this tremendous fight card which takes place on September 29 at the MGM Grand Theater at Foxwoods, televised by HBO. This is a card that showcases a number of young talent fighting in true crossroads battles which have significance across multiple weight classes. I’m very happy to say that this card was done in cooperation with Gary Shaw Productions and Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, so for a change you have promoters working together as opposed to going after each other and I think that’s good for the sport.
This card is entitled Road to Glory and while we have big plans and championship aspirations for all of our guys on the card, all three of these bouts are dangerous fights and we can’t look past the task at hand on September 29th.
EDWIN RODRIGUEZ:
This is an important fight in my career. I’m fighting a young, up-and-coming prospect who has power in both hands and a strong will to win. I’m ready. I’ve been in camp for about three weeks. Prior to that, I was working with Andy Lee to help him get ready for the Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. fight. I’m excited to get back on HBO on September 29, which is actually the day that my twins were born. It was a good day and a bad day for me at the same time because my kids were born premature at 23 weeks and five days. I’m working extremely hard with Ronnie Shields to keep getting better and improving my game. I’m looking forward to fighting in Connecticut, which is about an hour and a half from my hometown, so I’ll have a lot of people supporting me. Jason’s going to have a lot of fans there as well, and it’s going to be a war.
JOE DEGUARDIA (PROMOTER OF JASON ESCALERA):
This fight between Jason Escalera and Edwin Rodriguez figures to be a Gatti-Ward kind of fight because they’re both bangers, both exciting fighters. I’m proud of Jason Escalera, he’s a real gentleman and a real warrior in the ring.
LUIS ORLANDO DEL VALLE:
I want to be the best and to be the best, you have to beat the best. We’re going to prove to the world that we belong with the big boys on September 29. We’ve already started training camp and we have no doubt that we’re going to come out with the win. We’ll keep moving forward to our goal to capture on of the title belts. I can’t wait. September 29 is a big day for me and is a big day for boxing because everyone will know who ‘Orlandito’ Del Valle is.”
ELIAS NASSAR (REPRESENTATIVE OF VIC DARCHINYAN):
I want to thank HBO, Lou DiBella and Gary Shaw for putting this together for Vic. Vic’s looking forward to fighting Del Valle on September 29. He’s preparing very well over in Armenia and it should be a very exciting bout.”
ZSOLT ERDEI:
Last time I fought was a year ago. I missed a fight in December because of my injury and I am very hungry to be in the ring again and I am very excited. I feel very strong and I feel 100 percent. I thank DiBella Entertainment and HBO for this fight. I am hoping to win and it is a big chance for the next fight to fight for a world championship again
ISAAC CHILEMBA:
I’m really looking forward to this fight. This is a fight that I have been waiting for all my life. I’m looking forward to showcasing my ability against someone like Zsolt Erdei, who is undefeated in 33 fights and is a former two-time world champion
“Road to Glory” is the highly anticipated HBO Boxing After Dark Triple-Header, featuring some of the brightest young fighters in all of boxing looking to continue on their path towards their respective world championships. The card will take place on Saturday, September 29, at MGM Grand at Foxwoods. The event is promoted by DiBella Entertainment, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing and Gary Shaw Productions. All three bouts will be aired on HBO’s Boxing After Dark beginning at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT
Tickets go on sale tomorrow morning at 10 AM. ET and can be purchased through the Foxwoods MGM Grand box office by calling 1 (800) 200-2882. Tickets are priced at $45, $75, $100 and $200.
