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On June 21st at
the StubHub Center, a tripleheader will be staged by Golden Boy Promotions,
featuring a welterweight crossroads battle between Jesus Soto Karass and Devon
Alexander, an intriguing match-up of skills and athleticism for the vacant WBO
featherweight title pitting Gary Russell Jr. versus Vasyl Lomachenko and the
return of Robert Guerrero against Yoshihiro Kamegai.
“I've been working hard to put together another spectacular card,” Golden Boy
CEO Richard Schaefer told Maxboxing on Tuesday afternoon. “I really feel that
from an entertainment point of view that it's one of the strongest cards we've
put together. Guerrero and Kamegai is going to be entertaining like hell. I
think Kamegai is one of the most exciting guys and Guerrero hasn't fought for a
year. Am I going to say it's a 50/50 fight? No, I'm not going to say that. I
think obviously Guerrero's favored but I can tell you one thing: that fight -
and you mix in the StubHub Center - it's going to be a helluva fight.”
Yeah, magic happens at that
tennis court in Carson.
“You got Lomachenko and Russell; I don't even have to talk to you about it
anymore. We all know that's going to be one of the most anticipated fights and then
with Alexander and Soto Karass, I think that's a 50/50 fight and I have no
doubt that one of the three fights - and I'll take bets on that - will be a ‘Fight
of the Year’ candidate. I don't know which one but all three have the potential
to be.”
This card may not have the
most high-profile names attached but it figures to be a fun night and will provide
action and entertainment (which is what really matters). In many ways, it's the
quintessential fight fans’ fight card. “See, this is what happens when I still
have my keys,” cracked Schaefer.
This Showtime telecast will
highlight the return of “The Ghost” Guerrero, who...well, disappeared like one
after his 12-round whitewash at the hands of Floyd Mayweather in May of last
year. In the aftermath, he tried to extricate himself from his promotional pact
with Golden Boy, citing violations of the Muhammad Ali Act. A couple of months
ago, Guerrero hired Al Haymon as his adviser.
Schaefer explained of this
detente, “I think sometimes when you do have differences - and they never filed
a lawsuit - we just all said, ‘OK, let's work this fight. Let’s go forward and
work together again. And I think Al was able to move everybody on the same page
and move forward. So now [Guerrero]’s going to fight; it's going to be good for
Robert. He's going to make money; it'll be good for Golden Boy and I think it's
a very intriguing fight.
“Staying active is key to
any fighter and that's exactly what it takes. I think with like Andre Ward and
Dan Goossen, maybe the recipe we are applying here with Guerrero and Golden
Boy, well, you don't need to necessarily be 100 percent fans of each other but
you need to move forward and you hopefully get on the same page and you work
together. I think that's the formula which should be used by others as well. As
I said, I never had anything against Robert and was surprised by what happened.
Now, it's not time to look back but look forward.”
I can be reached
at k9kim@yahoo.com and I tweet at www.twitter.com/stevemaxboxing.
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