Cleveland native Michael Moore (12-0, 6 KOs) plans to endear himself to the Connecticut crowd Saturday night as the undefeated light middleweight prospect will put his unbeaten record on the line when he faces the dangerous Alexis Hloros (16-5-2, 12 KOs) in the 10-round main event of Classic Entertainment & Sports’ “Showdown At The Sun” card at Mohegan Sun Casino.
Living and training in New Haven, Conn., under the guidance of his new manager, Massimo Liguori, Moore has found a second home 500 miles east of his hometown in Ohio. After linking up with Liguori a year ago, Moore introduced himself to his new fan base in May with a unanimous-decision win over Doel Carrasquillo at Mohegan. Saturday will be toughest test to date; Hloros, a Mount Clemens, Mich., native, hasn’t fought since suffering a knockout loss to unbeaten prospect and world-title challenger Demetrius Andrade in September of 2009, but he’s gone toe-to-toe with some of the best in his weight class, including Andrade and James Kirkland, whom he faced in 2011. Hloros’ best stretch came in 2008 when he finished 7-0-1 with 6 knockouts.
The Moore-Hloros title fight is one of seven bouts on “Showdown At The Sun.” New Haven native Edwin Soto (9-0-2, 4 KOs) and Hartford’s Zack Ramsey (5-0, 3 KOs), who need no introduction to the Connecticut crowd, will put their unbeaten records on the line against one another in the eight-round welterweight co-feature.
“Showdown At The Sun” also features the return of New Haven welterweight Christian Lao (4-2, 2 KOs), who will end a 15-month layoff when he battles Envicii Dixon (2-2-1, 1 KO) of Lancaster, Pa., in a four-round bout. Lao is one of six New Haven fighters on the undercard; the city will also be represented by heavyweight Solomon Maye, who will make his professional debut in a four-round bout against Cortland, N.Y., native Randy Smith (1-1); and light heavyweight Charles Foster (4-0, 2 KOs) who fight for the first time since June of 2012 in a six-round bout against the tough Taneal Goyco (5-6-1, 2 KOs) of Philadelphia. The 6-foot-1 Goyco is no stranger to fighting in his opponent’s backyard; he recently fought in Delaware in August and beat hometown favorite Frankie Filippone by majority decision.
Also fighting out of New Haven, light middleweight David Wilson (1-0) will battle veteran Danny Lugo (2-4, 1 KO) of Harrisburg, Pa., in a four-round bout. Lightweight Edwin Cotto (1-1, 1 KO) of Willimantic, Conn., will face newcomer Jamar Coleman of Lancaster in a four-round bout. Cotto debuted at Mohegan in January with a win over Ian James.
