Floyd “Money” Mayweather and Canelo Alvarez are primed and ready for the biggest fight of 2013 on Saturday, September 14. Before these two mega stars step into the ring at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, boxing’s next generation of stars will take to the sport’s biggest and brightest stage. Competing in non-televised bouts will be Las Vegas talents, Luis “Cuba” Arias, Ronald “The Thrill” Gavril, Lanell Bellows and Andrew “Beast” Tabiti, as well as Ohio standout Chris “Sweet” Pearson.
“The fighters we have on this card are some of the most exciting and talented in the sport today,” said Leonard Ellerbe, CEO of Mayweather Promotions. “Before Floyd and Canelo get into the ring, these up and comers are going to fight their hearts out and show why we’ll be seeing a lot more of them in the coming years.”
“Saturday night’s fight card is going to be electric from start to finish,” said Oscar De La Hoya, CEO of Golden Boy Promotions. “Giving these young fighters the opportunity to showcase their talent on this monstrous card is what being a promoter is all about – giving the future of the sport a chance to become stars.”
Owner of a 140-25 amateur record, Luis Arias (6-0, 3 KO’s) is making his name known in the super middleweight division and he is doing so in an impressive style. Coming off of victories over DonYil Livingston and Latif Mundy, the 23-year-old Milwaukee native will meet an opponent to be announced in a six-round bout.
Romania native Ronald Gavril (6-0, 5 KO’s) has made a positive impression on fight fans since relocating to Las Vegas in May of 2012, winning four straight bouts to improve to 6-0 as a professional. In August, the 27-year-old knocked out Dave Courchaine in two rounds. On September 14, he will take on Flint, Michigan’s Shujaa El Amin (12-4, 6 KO’s), who was formerly known as Dion Savage, in an eight-round super middleweight bout.
Dayton, Ohio’s Chris Pearson (11-0, 8 KO’s) is back in the ring to face Westerly, Rhode Island’s Joshua Williams (9-5, 5 KO’s) in an eight-round middleweight matchup. It will be the first fight for Pearson since his sixth-round technical knockout of Arturo Crespin on July 19 that kept him unbeaten and continued building his reputation as a fighter to watch at 160 pounds.
Opening evening will be two four-round matchups featuring super middleweight Lanell Bellows (5-0-1, 4 KO’s) against Logan, West Virginia’s Jordan Moore (3-0) and cruiserweight Andrew Tabiti (1-0, 1 KO) against Nskayumn, New York’s Edward Smith (1-0).
