NEW YORK (Feb. 10, 2016) – Undefeated super welterweight contender Julian “J-Rock” Williams and once-beaten Italian Marcello Matano will square off in a 12-round IBF eliminator for the No. 1 ranking at 154-pounds in the main event of SHOWTIME BOXING: SPECIAL EDITION on Saturday, March 5, live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT) from Sands Bethlehem Events Center in Bethlehem, Pa.

In the co-feature, fast-rising middleweight contender Antoine Douglas will take on former world champion Sam Soliman in a 10-round middleweight bout. In the opening bout of the telecast, hard-hitting prospect Tony Harrison will face veteran former world title challenger Fernando Guerrero in a 10-round super welterweight contest.

“This upcoming fight will be the biggest fight of my career,” Williams said. “I’m chomping at the bit to get back out there. I am taking my opponent very seriously and I refuse to let Marcello Matano stop me from being a world champion.”

“This is a dream come true,” said Matano. “I’ve been working for my whole life for a real opportunity to make to the top level and I will not let Julian Williams take it away. What will happen when Williams has to go to the championship rounds? Will he be ready? I know for sure that I will. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and I will do all I can to grab it.”

“Facing a former world champion like Sam Soliman is a great opportunity for me,” Douglas said. “The plan has always been to keep moving forward, and to do it successfully. This is that next step, and I’m ready for it. I’ve grown and learned so much fighting on ShoBox and it’s a beautiful thing to continue to progress and move to the next level.”

“This is an important fight for me,” said Soliman. “I had three opportunities on the table and I chose Douglas believing it to be a better fight for ranking, and it’s a challenge I’m excited to take on. From what I have seen, Douglas is a very talented fighter, which will make for a good fight. I am in great shape and looking forward to fight night.”

“I’m excited and eager to showcase my abilities to the world again,” said Harrison. “I’d advise fans to arrive early because I don’t plan to be in the ring long. I’m knocking this guy out. I know Guerrero is coming in with a chip on his shoulder and I can’t overlook him. I brought my uncle into camp and I think that’s going to give me the edge that I’ve needed to get over the hump. I’m putting the whole division on notice!”

“It’s warrior time,” said Guerrero. “We are going to have a war. This is going to be non-stop action. This fight will lead to big things for me. I’m used to fighting guys that are bigger than I am. I’m at my more natural weight and I’m looking to do great things in this division.”

“I’m thrilled to promote this great show on March 5,” said Marshall Kauffman of King’s Promotions. “This is a great card from top to bottom with some future champions looking to show the world that they are ready for the next level. I am honored to have Julian Williams headline this card. He put on an explosive performance in his last bout at the Sands and I am sure he will be looking to do the same on March 5.”

Tickets for the live event, which is promoted by King’s Promotions, are priced at $100, $75 and $45, not including applicable service charges and taxes and are on sale now. Tickets are available HERE at www.ticketmaster.com. To charge by phone call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000.

One of the most promising and highly regarded young stars in boxing, Williams (21-0-1, 1 ND, 13 KOs) will headline for the first time on SHOWTIME. He’s stepping up after honing his skills and steadily ascending the ranks after five fights on SHO EXTREME. The 25-year-old shut out longtime contender Joey Hernandez last April, followed that with a sixth-round stoppage of Arman Ovsepyan in June and closed the year by stopping Orlando Lora in the first round in September. The Philadelphian has also picked up victories over Joachim Alcine, Eliezer Gonzalez and Freddy Hernandez in his young career and looks to earn his first title shot with a win on March 5.

Matano (16-1, 5 KOs) is a former Italian super welterweight titlist. He’s registered four consecutive wins since the only loss of his career, including victories in three scheduled 12-round fights. The 29-year-old is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision over fellow-Italian Nick Klappert in October 2015. Like Williams, he fought three bouts in 2015, although he logged 31 total rounds compared to just 17 for Williams.

Douglas (19-0-1, 13 KOs) has been impressive in five consecutive victories since he boxed to a draw when he was just 21 years old with former world title challenger Michel Soro in July 2014. The former top amateur has won his last three fights by knockout, including a sixth-round KO of previously undefeated Thomas LaManna and a fourth-round TKO of veteran Les Sherrington last November in his fifth appearance on ShoBox: The New Generation. On the prospect developmental series, the 23-year-old Douglas has graduated from unproven prospect to undefeated contender and is now ranked No. 4 in the WBO and No. 6 in the WBA. Douglas is promoted by GH3 promotions.

Soliman (44-13, 1 NC, 18 KOs), of Melbourne, Australia, is vastly more experienced than Douglas, having competed in four world championship fights. The 42-year-old held the IBF Middleweight World title before suffering a debilitating knee injury and losing via decision to Jermain Taylor in his first title defense in October 2014. Soliman, who is 9-2-1 since 2008, won the IBF crown with a decisive 12-round decision over Felix Sturm in 2014. The Australian, who fights at a relentless pace and can be awkward at times, will look to bounce back from a close, 10-round split decision loss to Dominic Wade last June on ShoBox.

At just 25-years-old, Harrison (22-1, 18 KOs) has showed tremendous promise as he recorded a 10-fight knockout streak from 2013 to 2015 and proved he could recover from a loss when he dominated Cecil McCalla for 10-rounds in October. The Detroit-native will look to make it back-to-back victories as he continues his ascent towards championship contender status. He has picked up knockout victories over Antwone Smith, Tyrone Brunson, Bronco McKart and Pablo Munguia in the last two years.

A former world title challenger, Guerrero (28-3, 20 KOs) returned to his winning ways in 2015 with victories over Abraham Han and Daniel Souza Santos. The 29-year-old lives and trains out of Los Angeles but grew up in Maryland after being born in the Dominican Republic. The veteran owns victories over Ishe Smith, Derrick Findley and Gabriel Rosado in a pro career that dates back to 2007.

For more information visit www.SHO.com/Sports and www.sandseventcenter.com, follow on Twitter @SHOSports, @JRockBoxing, @Action_Douglas, @IAmBoxing, @FernandoDomini, @TheSBEC and @Swanson_Comm or become a fan on Facebook at www.Facebook.com/SHOSports

BETHLEHEM, PA. (February 10, 2016) – Undefeated 2012 U.S. Olympian
Jamel Herring (15-0, 8 KOs) scored a unanimous decision (100-88, 100-88, 99-89) over Colombia’s Luis Eduardo Flores (21-3, 17 KOs) in a 10-round lightweight bout in the main event of Tuesday’s Premier Boxing Champions (PBC)
TOE-TO-TOE TUESDAYS on FS1 and BOXEO DE CAMPEONES on
FOX Deportes fight card at Sands Event Center in Bethlehem, PA.

Herring, who represented the United States at the 2012 Olympic games after winning the U.S. National Amateur title the same year, commanded the action throughout.

“I knew if I boxed smart it would show, but I didn’t think it would be that wide a margin,” said Herring. “He’s a very experienced fighter.”

Herring added, “I was trying to get rid of him early because he’s a dangerous guy. If you let a guy like that sit around too long there’s always the risk that you might get clipped with something and regret it.”

Herring, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, hopes the win Tuesday night will launch him into world title contention in 2016.

Making his U.S. debut, the Magangue, Colombia native Flores put on a valiant effort, recovering from a flurry in the second round that would have sent most fighters packing.

In the fifth round, the 28-year-old Flores was ruled to have been knocked down twice, but disputes those calls by the ref. “Both times that the officials called it a knockdown and started counting were just slips. I didn’t actually get knocked down either time,” said Flores.

Flores added, “I know that (Herring) had the advantage tonight, and he outperformed me. But I’ll keep trying wherever my next opportunity comes.”

“I think getting a win like this over a fighter with Flores’ experience will help me gain a lot more respect. People seeing me win on my first PBC card on national TV on FS1 and FOX Deportes just helps raise my profile and I look forward to being back,” said Herring.

The opening televised bout featured unbeaten prospect Alex Martin (12-0, 5 KOs) defeatingmRossemberth Gomez (17-5-1, 13 KOs) by unanimous decision (80-72, 79-73, 79-73) in an eight-round welterweight contest.

Martin, a 2012 National Golden Gloves Champion, controlled much of the fight from the outside using his superior footwork to evade Gomez.

The Harvey, IL native Martin said, “I could see his punches coming from a mile away, but I should have followed up a little more than I did tonight and let my hands go a bit more too.”

An owner of 340 amateur wins, Martin turned pro in 2013 and is yet to lose. That experience helped Martin keep his composure when Gomez taunted him repeatedly in the second round.

“We wanted to make Martin mad and get him to punch himself out if we could,” said the 29-year-old Gomez.

Martin responded to the talk of baiting saying, “I just stuck to my fundamentals, kept pumping my jab and setting him up for the next shot.

“I knew I hurt him with the uppercut. He walked right into it. And then when I threw the hook he couldn’t do anything,” said Martin.

Following the bout Gomez said, “I plan to retire after tonight. I care too much and fight too hard to be just another opponent.”

The second televised fight saw Raynell Williams (11-0, 5 KOs) win a unanimous decision (79-73, 79-73, 78-74) over mGabriel Tolmajyan (14-3-2, 3 KOs) in eight rounds of lightweight action.

A member of the 2008 U.S. Olympic team, Cleveland’s Williams was able to establish himself early and get in a rhythm.

“The only time he was able to catch me with anything was when I got a little lazy,” said Williams.

Williams caught Tolmajyan with a big right hand in the fourth round, seemingly stunning Tolmajyan momentarily, but he kept his composure and didn’t allow himself to become overzealous.

“I was focused on boxing him and not so much worried about the knockout,” added Williams. “I knew I was winning the rounds.”

In the final frame, Tolmajyan, fighting out of Glendale, CA, caught Williams with a shot that nearly ended things.

Williams recalled, “It was an overhand left that he hit me with. And then he came after me again, but the ref and I made contact, so then the ref pushed me away because he didn’t want me to try holding on to him. But once I got my feet under me I was fine.”

However, Tolmajyan wasn’t impressed with Williams saying, “He wasn’t as good as we were expecting and I had him hurt with my left.

“I thought that I was winning the fight to be honest. I didn’t think I was going to lose the decision,” added Tolmajyan.

Williams concluded, “I hope to learn from my mistakes tonight. I got caught with a good punch in the last few seconds tonight, so I just need to work on consistency and fighting until the final bell.”

In off-television bouts, In a 4-round war, Carlos Roasrio was able to take a 4-round split decision over Victor Vasquez in a Lightweight bout.

The two traded heavy blows for the entire 12-minute fight but it was Rosario of Pennsauken, NJ that got the nod 39-37 twice while Vasquez of Yonkers, NY taking a card 39-37.

King’s Promotions David Gonzales scored a 4th round stoppage of his scheduled six-round Super Lightweight bout with Justin Johnson.

After a furious exchange in round four, Gonzales unloaded with a serious left to the body that put Johnson down for the ten count at 49 seconds of round four.

Gonzales, 142.7 lbs of Philadelphia is now 7-0-2 with 2 knockouts. Johnson of Pittsburgh, PA is 6-11-4.

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The card was promoted by King’s Promotions.

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

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