(April 20, 2016) -Ivan Redkach (19-1-1, 15 KOs) and Luis Cruz (22-4-1, 16 KOs) fought to a split draw and both scored knockdowns Tuesday night in an exciting main event on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes from Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, Pa.

In early action, Cruz began to establish his straight right hand when he knocked Redkach off balance and sent him to the canvas in round two. The Puerto Rican veteran controlled much of the early rounds with that right hand, great movement and overall boxing ability.

Redkach was aggressive throughout, throwing 602 punches over the 10-round bout to Cruz’s 485. However, Cruz’s 33 percent connect rate was good enough for him to dominate the first half of the fight.

The 2008 Ukranian Olympian began to find a landing zone for his big left hand as the fight wore on and late in round eight he landed one cleanly on Cruz that dropped him hard. Redkach was then awarded a controversial knockdown in an explosive ninth round when Cruz fell to the mat on what he said was a slip as a result of a push.

Both men emptied the tank in the final round knowing that one punch could change the outcome of the fight and ended with several flurries. The scores after 10 rounds were razor thin at 94-93 for Redkach, 94-93 Cruz and 94-94, resulting in the split draw.

The co-main event of the evening featured a fast pace brawl that saw unbeaten prospect Immanuwel Aleem (16-0, 9 KOs) earn a hard fought victory over
Jonathan Cepeda (17-2, 15 KOs) in their eight-round middleweight contest.

Aleem and Cepeda traded power punches all fight long, with Cepeda taking the brunt of the punishment as he was out landed 272 to 107. Aleem was superior in all regards as he also landed an impressive 42 percent of his total punches.

Cepeda refused to surrender however and used a powerful right hook to occasionally stun Aleem. The still unbeaten prospect was always able to return any punishment and then some, winning by the score of 79-73 on all three judges’ scorecards.

In the televised opener unbeaten middleweight prospects collided as Junior Castillo (10-0, 9 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Kyrone Davis (10-1, 4 KOs) in a competitive eight-round affair.

The Delaware-native Davis was impressive early with his movement and boxing abilities but the southpaw Castillo was soon able to time his opponent and land left hands to the head and body.

In the fourth round, Castillo hurt and dropped Davis in the middle of the round with a left hand after an exchange. Neither man allowed the other to gain too much momentum throughout the remainder of the fight, but it was Castillo’s output advantage of 117-92 that bettered Davis’ accuracy advantage of 36 percent to 30 percent.

Castillo won the decision by scores of 78-73, 77-74 and 76-75.

Here is what the fighters had to say Tuesday:

IVAN REDKACH

“I think I won, but it was a good fight.

“The knockdown I suffered was me losing my balance. I felt I controlled the fight because I knocked him down twice. I thought I could have stopped him after the first knockdown.

“I am not going to argue with the decision but I feel I won the fight.”

LUIS CRUZ

“I thought the last knockdown was a slip. That was the difference between the draw and my win.

“I hurt him. I had the power. I tried to work round-by-round. I feel that I won six rounds and that the knockdown cost me the win.

“I thought I fought well. The draw was better than a loss. Why not a rematch? He is strong and dangerous. He hits hard but I know I am better than him.”

IMMANUWEL ALEEM

“He was a tough guy. I hit him with some good shots but he kept his ground. I respect that.

“I was trying to take my time to get him out. I was being hasty. I was trying to get him every chance I got but he was tough. I am a student of the game and I was taking my time.

“My manager George Peterson has a resume of building up Paul Williams and I trust what he has in store for me. He knows what I am capable of doing. We will go after everybody, just like Paul did.”

JUNIOR CASTILLO

“It was a very good fight. I had some difficulty at first but I felt confident that I would be victorious.

“I kept consistent with my game plan and I was able to knock him down. I thought I would be able to finish him but I got too wild.

“It feels good to defeat an undefeated prospect and also go the distance. I have never gone the distance before.

“I want some kind of title fight. My confidence is much higher right.”

KYRONE DAVIS

“I felt like it was a good fight. I feel like I won. I thought the crowd swayed the judges. I felt like I won but that’s how it goes sometimes.

“78-73 was too wide. I controlled the first two rounds. He crossed over and hit me with a good shot. He may have won the knockdown round and the last round.

“If he gives me a rematch, I would love it. This is just a minor setback. I will improve after this fight and I will move forward.”

PBC’s TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes was promoted by King’s Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment.

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com www.sandseventcenter.com,http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com.
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BETHLEHEM, PA. (March 16, 2016) – Lightweight contender Ivan Redkach (19-1, 15 KOs) will face-off against Puerto Rico’s Luis Cruz (22-4, 16 KOs) in a 10-round headlining event on Tuesday, April 19 on Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on FOX Deportes from Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, Pa.

Televised coverage begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT and features a pair of exciting eight-round middleweight showdowns pitting top rising prospects and contenders. Brawling 160-pound prospect Immanuwel Aleem (15-0, 9 KOs) takes on Jonathan Cepeda (17-1, 15 KOs) while Delaware’s Kyrone Davis (10-0, 4 KOs) will face Dominican Olympian Junior Castillo (9-0, 9 KOs).

“I am really looking forward to headlining this event on April 19,” said Redkach. “I know that I have a strong opponent, but I am determined to impress the fans and show that I am ready to challenge the elite in my division. I’ve trained very hard and I’m ready to fight.”

“I plan on rejuvenating my career with this fight,” said Cruz. “This is an interesting fight and I’ve been training really hard. Redkach is a tough fighter, but it is nothing that I haven’t seen before. I want to get this big win. It’s now or never for me.”

“This is a terrific card and we are once again happy to be working with FS1, FOX Deportes and the Sands Bethlehem on a great event,” said Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions. “There are three great televised fights with Redkach-Cruz, Aleem-Cepeda and two undefeated guys in Davis and Castillo in what should be an explosive fight. Those three guys have a combined record of 92-6 with 68 knockouts, so expect three competitive and entertaining fights.”

“This is Ivan’s second fight since his tough loss to Dejan Zlaticanin,” said Lou DiBella, President of DiBella Entertainment. “He’ll be facing a tough kid in Luis Cruz, but these are the kinds of opponents that will help Redkach get his career back on track. I am confident that he will emerge victorious and will seek the best fights for him as he rises up the rankings toward a world title opportunity.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by King’s Promotions in association with DiBella Entertainment, are priced at $108, $83 and $58, not including applicable service charges and taxes and are on sale now. Tickets are available at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

Born in Ukraine but fighting out of Los Angeles, Redkach began boxing at the age of six and has put together an impressive career since turning pro in 2009. The 30-year-old owns victories over Tony Luis, Sergey Gulyakevich, Yakubu Amidu and most recently knocked out Erick Daniel Martinez in October.

Fighting out of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico, Cruz is coming off of a decision victory over Roberto Acevedo in November. He owns victories over Martin Honorio, Hevinson Herrera and Yogli Herrera in a career that dates back to 2007.

Born in East Meadow, New Jersey but fighting out of Richmond, Virginia, Aleem was introduced to boxing from a young age by his parents. Since turning pro in 2012 at age 18, the 22-year-old has wiped out all of the competition in front of him. In 2015, he dominated Emmanuel Sanchez, David Toribio and Oscar Riojas before winning a hard fought decision over Carlos Galvan in December.

Originally from New Jersey, Cepeda relocated to West Palm Beach, Florida at 16-years-old and had a brief but successful 22-3 amateur record, with all three of his loses coming to middleweight champion Daniel Jacobs. He won two Florida Golden Gloves titles and reached a National Golden Gloves semifinal. Cepeda has won five fights in a row including two stoppage victories in 2015.

The first Delaware-native to win multiple national amateur championships, Davis was a National PAL winner along with his victory at the national Adidas tournament. A fighter since he was eight-years-old, Davis turned pro in 2014 and has dominated his competition including five victories in 2015.

The 29-year-old Castillo made his U.S. debut in December 2015 with a first round knockout of Rolando Nagy and followed it up later that month by stopping Eduardo Flores. Fighting out of Higuey, Dominican Republic, he represented his home country in the 2012 Olympics.

For more information visit www.premierboxingchampions.com www.sandseventcenter.com, http://www.foxsports.com/presspass/homepage and www.foxdeportes.com.

Follow on Twitter @PremierBoxing, @IRedkach, @FS1, @TheSBEC, @FoxDeportes and @Swanson_Comm and become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/PremierBoxingChampions, www.facebook.com/foxdeportes and www.Facebook.com/the SBEC. Highlights available at www.youtube.com/premierboxingchampions.