This Saturday night, Gemany’s current IBF Welterweight Champion, Jan Zaveck (31-1, 18KO’s) will make his long-awaited arrival stateside, when he defends his belt against former WBC Champion, Andre Berto (27-1, 20KO’s) at the Beau Rivage Resort & Casino in Biloxi, MS. The show, entitled, Battle in Biloxi, is presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with SES Boxing. The show will be aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:45 PM ET/PT.
While Zaveck is very well-known in his native Slovenia and throughout Europe, he is relatively unknown throughout the U.S. A win over Berto in Mississippi, which will be watched live by millions of fans on HBO, will change all of that.
“This is a huge opportunity for me,” said Zaveck. “Not only for me to show the world the type of fighter that I am but also to prove to everyone that I deserve these type of opportunities. I have been in preparation for this fight since March, and this is the best training camp I have ever had.”
The road to get to this point hasn’t been the easiest for Zaveck. To win the title Zaveck had to travel into Isaac Hlatshwayo’s backyard and home country of South Africa. In a fight where many favored Hlatshwayo, Zaveck easily defeated the reigning champion, dropping him once in the second, before sending him to the canvas two more times in the third, the second earning him an impressive third-round TKO victory.
Since that fight, Zaveck has defended his belt three times, with one of the defenses coming against the only man to beat him as a professional, Poland’s Rafal Jackiewicz. While you cannot discredit his wins, or his opposition, the former champion and highly regarded Berto will clearly be the toughest opponent he has ever faced during his nine-year professional career.
“Berto is a tough opponent and that’s why I have taken my preparations for this fight so seriously. I have gotten great sparring from such world-class fighters as Selcuk Aydin, Joel Julio and Rafal Jackiewicz, and come this Saturday night everyone will see how ready I am by my performance. This is my first fight in the U.S., but I promise that it won’t be my last. A win over someone like Berto will elevate me to a whole new level. Just like everyone else, I want to fight Mayweather and Pacquiao, and I see this fight as my golden opportunity to make that happen.”
Battle in Biloxi: Berto vs. Zaveck is presented by DiBella Entertainment in association with SES Boxing and sponsored by AZAD watches, The Underground Clown, and HBO PPV: Mayweather vs. Ortiz.. The show will be aired live on HBO’s Boxing After Dark®, beginning at 10:45 PM ET/PT.
Tickets are priced at $150, $100, and $50, and are available online at Ticketmaster.com, by phone at 1-800-745-3000, at any Ticketmaster retail outlet, or in person at the Beau Rivage Theatre box office.
