All eight fighters participating in the milestone ShoBox: The New Generation 15-year anniversary telecast weighed-in on Thursday at Foxwoods Resort Casino ahead of tonight’s quadrupleheader.
In the main event, undefeated top 10-ranked super bantamweight Adam Lopez (15-0, 7 KOs) faces Roman Reynoso (18-1-1, 7 KOs) in a 10-round super bantamweight bout. While Lopez is a fast-rising undefeated prospect, Reynoso’s only loss came in just his fourth professional fight to undefeated fellow-Argentine Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda, who fights Oscar Valdez for the vacant WBO Featherweight Championship this Saturday.
In the eight-round co-feature, hard-hitting Jerry Odom (13-2-1, 12 KOs) takes on Julius Jackson (19-1, 15 KOs) in a key matchup of super middleweights.
Once-beaten lightweights O’Shaquie Foster (10-1, 7 KOs) and Rolando Chinea (12-1-1, 6 KOs) clash in an eight-round bout, while undefeated Khiary Gray (13-0, 10 KOs) will be opposed by once-beaten Ian Green (9-1, 7 KOs) in the eight-round super welterweight opener.
OFFICIAL WEIGHTS:
10-Round Super Bantamweight Bout
ADAM LOPEZ: 121 Pounds
ROMAN REYNOSO: 121 Pounds
Eight-Round Super Middleweight Bout
JERRY ODOM: 168 Pounds
JULIUS JACKSON: 168 Pounds
Eight-Round Lightweight Bout
O’SHAQUIE FOSTER: 134 Pounds
ROLANDO CHINEA: 134 Pounds
Eight-Round Super Welterweight Bout
KHIARY GRAY: 155 Pounds
IAN GREEN: 157 Pounds
FINAL QUOTES:
ADAM LOPEZ:
“I’ve experienced and grown a lot over my last few fights. I’ve learned a lot about myself and overcame adversity. All my fights on ShoBox have been tough, but I’m hoping for a breakthrough victory on Friday to prove I’m ready to face a contender.
“Reynoso is a tough fighter. We know he swings for the fences. Because he’s from Argentina, a lot of people call him a little Marcos Maidana. He’s probably the toughest opponent so far, but we’re ready for whatever he brings.
“I’m back to training with Ronnie Shields. I was with Ronnie for my first five fights and it’s good to be back. Ronnie is working on my jab and helping improve my basic fundamentals.
“I want to win and look good doing it. If I get the KO, that’s great, but I’m not going to look for it. I don’t want to be on the canvas looking for it.
“We want to show that we’re ready for bigger and better fights. But we know we can’t look past this guy.”
ROMAN REYNOSO:
“This is the biggest fight of my career. Everything is motivating for me. I want the best for my family, and winning a fight like this can help me get there.
“We moved up to Montreal for training camp and we’ve improved a lot. We’ve developed defense and a better boxing style. We used to be about just coming forward and punching, but we’re working on our movement, our boxing skills.
“We are coming here to exploit Adam Lopez. We’re here to upset him.
“I know he has a big left hook, but we’re going to take that away. We know he has a height and reach advantage, but we like to fight wars. If he wants a war, we’re prepared. If he wants to run, we’re prepared. We’ll see if he will be able to figure out how to beat me.
“I’m used to being the shorter fighter. It doesn’t bother me.
“I look up to (Marcos) Maidana, but he has his own style. I don’t try to mimic that.
“This is my first time moving down to 122 pounds. In Argentina, it was hard to get fights at 122 – most of my fights were at 126 – but fighting at 122 is more natural for me. This is what we were looking for.
On Matias Carlos Adrian Rueda, who fights Oscar Valdez for the WBO Featherweight Championship on Saturday:
“That’s the only boxer who has beaten me. We wish him the best. We were looking for the rematch, but it didn’t happen. In the future, it needs to happen.”
JERRY ODOM:
“I’ve been training all summer. Opportunities come and go. I was taught that when a window opens you have to jump in. That’s why we took this fight.
“We’re not thinking about his (Jackson’s) last fight. That isn’t going to dictate our game plan. We know the opportunities to knock him out are there, but we need to worry about our game plan.
“I’ve watched tape on him. He still has the same posture, he has no finesse. He’s a straight up type of fighter. Nothing we can’t handle.
“Records don’t mean anything. You look at my record and see I have two losses. That doesn’t mean anything, doesn’t define me. He better not be overlooking me because I have two losses. That would be a big mistake.”
JULIUS JACKSON:
“The loss made me hungrier. I just got hurt. He hit me and I just couldn’t recover.
“My team is confident I’m still a high-level fighter. We don’t just want opponents. We want guys that will test us.
“The change in opponents doesn’t affect us. We’re just trying to perfect ‘The Chef.’ We want to get in there and do what it takes to win.
“There’s definitely pressure. We know if I lose tomorrow it will set me back even more. But we’re not thinking about that. We’re coming to win. This is an opportunity to erase my loss.
“Odom comes to fight. That’s what makes this an exciting fight. We’re both coming to fight.”
O’SHAQUIE FOSTER:
“Chinea is a one-punch puncher. He’s suitable to my style. We like the pressure he brings. We can break him down, break his will.
“I’m supposed to be here. The loss in my first fight on ShoBox was a fluke. I showed in my last ShoBox fight that I belong here.
“I don’t see anyone at lightweight that can beat me. I’m only 22, but at this point next year we want to be considered a contender for a title shot.”
ROLANDO CHINEA:
“I’ve studied tape on him. He’s an accomplished fighter. But I know he doesn’t like pressure, and my style revolves around pressure. So he’s a tailor-made fighter for me.
“We’re going to do what we do best: apply pressure.
“This is my TV debut and I’m ready to make a statement. This is an opportunity that I need to take advantage of.
“We’ve done everything we can in the gym. We’re been sparring with top fighters in Philadelphia. We’re ready to go.”
KHIARY GRAY:
“I’m more of a boxer than a KO guy. I have a lot of knockouts, but that’s not what I’m always looking for. I consider myself more of a boxer.
“I’ve always had late replacements in my fights, so that doesn’t give us a problem. I’ve seen clips of him, and we’re ready for him.
“Going 10 rounds was a good experience for me. It taught me that my conditioning was there. That I can go the distance if I need to.
“I switch to lefty when I have to. I can fight the whole fight lefty if I need to.
“I sparred with Edwin (Rodriguez) recently, sparred with Demetrius Andrade. It’s good work with those guys. I can hold my own in the gym with them.
“There’s pressure fighting on TV, but I feel comfortable. People are going to know me after this. They’ll know that I’m ready to be a contender in the 154-pound division.”
IAN GREEN:
“I’ve been in the gym since April. I was supposed to fight on July 30, but this was a better opportunity and I jumped on it.
“We have Kendall Holt in our corner, and we hope to be the next fighter from Paterson to win a title.
“Gray is an aggressive guy, but my range and height is an advantage. I don’t think he’s faced anyone like me. He’s been touched a few times.
Weights from Atlantic City
Anthony Young 149 – Eduardo Flores 152.4
Thomas LaManna 155 – Engleberto Valenzuela 153.2
Fanlong Meng 178,2 – Daniel Judah 177
Donald Smith 125 – Cameron Cain 125.4
Dan Pasciolla 246 – Dante Selby 223.2
Christian Carto 117.9 – Christopher Nelson 117.4
Marvin Johnson 139.7 – Lamont White 144
Zhang Zhilel 255.5 – Rodney Hernandez 248.7
Kevin Asmat 120 – Dallas Holden 119.3
Promoter: Rising Promotions
Venue: The Claridge Hotel
1st Bell: 7 PM ET
Tickets are $125 for premium, $77 Ringside stage and $52 reserved and are available at www.risingboxingpromotions.com or 609-487-4444
Weights from Long Island City for Rumble Young Man Rumble
BOUT SHEET
Alicia Napoleon (6-0, 5 KOs) 155.4 lbs. vs. Kita Watkins (7-13, 1 KO) 153.8 lbs.
Ariel Lopez (1-0, 1 KO) 125.6 lbs. vs. Weusi Johnson ((0-1) 122.8 lbs.
Villi Bello (4-1-1, 1 KO) 157.6 lbs. vs. Anthony Jones (4-0-1, 1 KO) 156.2 lbs.
Maxito Sainvil (3-0-1, 1 KO) 146.8 lbs. vs. Ray Velez (3-8-1, 1 KO) 144.8 lbs.
Romain Thomas (PD) 133 lbs. vs. Grashino Yancy (1-1, 0 KOs) 134.8 lbs.
Shawn Simpson (1-0, 1 KO) 124 lbs. vs. Juan Muniz (0-3) 126.4 lbs.
Bertha Aracil (2-0, 2 KOs) 149.8 lbs. vs. Gabrielle Holloway (0-1) 153.2 lbs.
Frederic Julan (PD) 177 lbs. vs. Damien Lewis (0-1) 174.6 lbs.
Doors: 6:30 PM
First Bell: 7:00 P.M
