Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril (15-1, 11 KOs) will be opposed by Juan Camilo “La Boa” Novoa (25-6-1, 23 KOs) and his TMT stablemate Sanjarbek “War” Rakhmanov (4-0, 3 KOs) will take on Alfonso Olvera (7-2, 3 KOs) in what is now a ShoBox: The New Generation quadrupleheader on Friday, May 13 from Sam’s Town Live.
Romania’s highly regarded Gavril, of Las Vegas, and Novoa, of Miami, Fla., by way of Medellin, Colombia, meet in a 10-round super middleweight scrap. Uzbekistan’s up-and-coming Rakhmanov, of Las Vegas, takes on Olvera, of Tucson, Ariz., in a six-round welterweight skirmish that will open the telecast.
Four undefeated cruiserweights – two from “The Money Team” — will be featured in previously announced 10-round fights. Mayweather’s Andrew “The Beast” Tabiti (12-0, 11 KOs) confronts Keith “Machine Gun” Tapia (16-0, 11 KOs) in the main event collision of power punchers. Mayweather Promotions’ 2012 U.S. Olympian Michael Hunter (11-0, 8 KOs), of Las Vegas, will touch gloves with Isiah Thomas (15-0, 1 ND, 6 KOs), of Detroit, in the co-feature.
All but Gavril will be making their ShoBox debuts.
GAVRIL vs. NOVOA:
Gavril, making his 2016 debut and second ShoBox start, is seeking his fifth consecutive victory. An aggressive-minded fighter with a fan-friendly style, Gavril registered a seventh-round TKO over Thomas Falowo in his ShoBox debut on Aug. 13, 2014.
The 6-foot-2-inch, 29-year-old has won his last two by knockout, including a fourth-round TKO over Mariano Hilario last Dec. 18. This will be Gavril’s 11th fight overall in Las Vegas since he signed with Mayweather Promotions in 2013 and his sixth in a row.
An outstanding amateur (165-15) and longtime member of the National Team of Romania, Gavril turned pro in December 2011 and won his initial 11 scraps before losing in an upset eight-round decision to Edwin Ayala in March 2015.
Novoa, a straight-up brawler and power-puncher making his 2016 debut, has won 11 of his last 12 fights by knockout, all inside four rounds, dating to March 2010. The 34-year-old’s last three outings lasted two rounds or less. In his last effort, he scored a second-round TKO over Francisco Cordero on April 11, 2015.
The 5-foot-10 Novoa fought eight times in the United States between December 2006 and August 2009, but this is his first U.S. start since. The majority of the 11-year veteran’s fights emanated from Colombia and Panama.
Novoa was an outstanding amateur with more than 150 fights. He was a three-time national amateur champion in Colombia and represented his native country in the 2004 Olympic Games where he advanced to the quarterfinals.
RAKHMANOV vs. OLVERA:
The highly touted Rakhmanov left Uzbekistan in December 2014 for Las Vegas, specifically to land a spot on the Mayweather Promotions team. The 26-year-old has since quickly made a name for himself in America.
Within days after signing with MP, Rakhmanov turned pro with a 1:21 first-round knockout over Brett Simmons on June 20, 2015. The 5-foot-7½-inch emerging talent is coming off a fourth-round knockout over outmatched Jose Castro this past Jan. 19.
In his lone fight to go the distance, Rakhamanov dominated Farkhad Sharipov en route to a unanimous six-round decision on the undercard of Mayweather-Andre Berto on Sept. 12, 2015. Rakhmanov is fighting for the fourth time in Las Vegas.
Rakhmanov, who was born in Tashkent, the capital city of Uzbekistan, was a top amateur with more than 140 bouts. He won a gold medal at the 2009 Asian Amateur Boxing Championship. In 2013, he became the national champion of Uzbekistan.
Olvera has won three-in-a-row and six of his last seven. This will be his third fight this year and second in Las Vegas since turning pro in October 2014. In what may be a career-best performance, he scored a six-round decision over Genaro Mendee last March 12. Olvera showed in that one that he’d evolved from a one dimensional counter-puncher into a more complete fighter
The 5-foot-11 Olvera, who was born in Sonora, Mexico, has fought exclusively in the U.S. The 26-year-old won his pro debut but lost his second fight on a competitive four-round decision to highly regarded unbeaten Ivan Baranchyk. He remains the only fighter to take Baranchyk the distance.
Olivera didn’t begin to box until the age of 20. Despite the late start, he won the Arizona and regional Golden Gloves tournament in his weight division three times, finishing his amateur career with a record of 51-4.
