Philadelphia, PA (September 3, 2015) – Boxcino 2014 champion Petr “Zar” Petrov (36-4-2, 17 KO’s) will fight undefeated Liam Walsh (19-0, 13 KO’s) in a
WBO Lightweight elimination bout on October 10th in Manchester, England.

The winner of the fight will be the mandatory challenger for the winner of the WBO Lightweight title bout between Terry Flanagan and Diego Magdaleno, which will take place on the same card on October 10.

Petrov earned the opportunity on the strength of winning the 2014 Boxcino Lightweight championship when he defeated Fedor Papazov (14-0), Chris Rudd (13-1), and Fernando Carcamo (17-5).

“This is a great opportunity to fight in a WBO final eliminator, this brings me closer to a world title which has been a lifelong dream of mine. It’s been a long road for me to get to this position, and I want to make my family and friends proud. I want to thank Artie Pelullo for believing in me and for getting me the chance, I won’t disappoint,”said Petrov.

“Fighting Liam Walsh on his home turf will be tough, but at this point in my career there is no cutting corners. Walsh is in my way, and I must beat him to achieve my goals. He is a young-strong fighter, but he has never seen anybody like me inside the ring.”

Said Banner Promotions President, Arthur Pelullo, “This is another case of Boxcino being the springboard to a huge a opportunity. Petr has earned this opportunity, and we believe that he will win this fight and fight the winner of the main event between Flanagan and Magdaleno.”

On April 3rd, Petrov won a 10-round unanimous decision over former world champion Gamaliel Diaz in Corona, California.

Petrov will join Banner Promotions stablemate John Thompson who will challenge for the WBO Jr. Middleweight title against Liam Smith on the same card.

PHILADELPHIA (MAY 27, 2014)–Petr Petrov and Willie Monroe Jr. won the Boxcino 2014 lightweight and middleweight tournaments respectively as Petrov stopped Fernando Carcamo in round 8, while Monroe pounded a 10-round unanimous decision over Brandon Adams at the Turning Stone Resort Casino.

Also in the process, Petrov and Monroe Jr. each took home the NABA and NABO titles as well.

The show and tournament was promoted by Banner Promotions and was broadcast on ESPN 2, ESPN Deportes and WatchESPN

Petrov landed a nice right in round three. Petrov kept up the solid pace as he landed some shots inside the long punches of Carcamo. In round four, Petrov landed two solid uppercuts and a right hand on the inside. In round five, Petrov began to work the body with hard lefts that set off a volume of punches to the head.

Petrov rocked Carcamo in round six with a flurry of punches that had Carcamo stumbling around the ring. In round seven, Petrov began to pound away in spots before landing a big right hand in the final twenty seconds of the round. Petrov landed a huge left and right just before the bell sounded for good measure. The fight could have been stopped in between rounds but Carcamo came out for the 8th but it did not last long as Petrov landed a left and right and the fight was stopped 40 seconds into round 8.

Petrov, 134 lbs of Madrid, Spain is now 35-3 with 17 knockouts. Carcamo, 135 lbs of Ciudad, Obregon, Mexico is now 17-6.

“We had a game plan and it played out like we wanted,”said Petrov.

“The key was my movement that kept him off balance. He never hurt me to the head, but I felt his body shots. This is a great boom to my career. I want to be big in the United States. This is where great events happen and I plan to have a great career here,” finished Petrov.

Said Carcamo, “This was not my night. He was the better man.”

Willie Monroe Jr. won the Boxcino, NABA and NABO Middleweight titles with a 10-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Brandon Adams.

Monroe Jr. was successful with his jab in the first three rounds. Late in round three, Adams landed an overhand right that set off a nice exchange on the inside. Adams came on to start round four by battling on the inside but Monroe put together some crisp combinations to close out the frame. Adams began round five working well on the inside only to eat some hard shots in return. Adams came back to land a flush right in the corner.

In round six, Adams landed a good right hand that sent Monroe into the corner. Moments later, Monroe shot back with a good counter left. Adams got into a pattern of following Monroe around the ring and kept getting caught with combinations. Adams had a good round eight as he had Monroe against the ropes for an elongated period. Monroe was able to fight off in spots and land some solid blows. Adams continued to press the action but Monroe was deft at moving away and in round nine began to dance around the ring.

Monroe Jr, 159 1/2 lbs of Rochester, NY won by scores of 99-91 on all cards and is now 17-1. Adams, 158 lbs of Los Angeles, CA is now 14-1.

“That kid is strong as hell,”said Monroe Jr.

“I knew he was strong, I just had to show him things that he has not seen. He shook me up a couple times.”

Vitor Jones De Oliviera registered a 4-round unanimous decision over Michael Jackson in a Jr. Lightweight bout.

De Oliviera dropped Jackson with a left hook and round three and controlled the action throughout the fight.

De Oliviera, 131 lbs of Salvador, Brazil is the nephew of Brazilian legend Acelino Freitas and is now 4-0.

In a Heavyweight slug fest, Eric George picked up his 1st victory with a 4-round unanimous decision over Raymond Santiago.

George bloodied Santiago’s nose as early as round two and landed the harder shots which led to his victory by scores of 40-36 on all cards.

George, 202 lbs of Niagara Falls, NY is 1-6. Santiago, 232 lbs of Albany, NY is 0-3.

Marcus Hall scored an 4-round majority decision over previously undefeated Cesar Vila in a Jr. Middleweight bout.

Scores were 40-36, 39-37 and 38-38 for Hall, 151 lbs of Rochester, NY and he is now 8-6-1. Vila, 154 lbs of Austin, TX is now 6-1.

Samuel Teah scored a 4-round unanimous decision over Jeremy Graves in Lightweight fight.

Scores were 40-36 on all cards for Teah, 137 lbs of Philadelphia and is now 4-0. Graves, 137 lbs of Niagara Falls, NY is now 0-3.

Oscar Torres scored a 1st round knockdown en route to a 4-round unanimous decision over Cornelius Whitlock in a battle of undefeated Welterweights.

Scores were 40-35 on all cards for Torres, 144 lbs of Anaheim, California and he is now 3-0. Whitlock, 144 lbs of Baltimore, MD is now 3-1-2.

Fernando Carcamo 135 – Petr Petrov 134
(BOXCINO, NABA, NABO LIGHTWEIGHT TITLES)

Brandon Adams 158 – Willie Monroe Jr. 159.5
(BOXCINO, NABA, NABO MIDDLEWEIGHT TITLES)

Jeremy Graves 136.5 – Sam Teah 137
Oscar Torres 144 – Cornelius Whitlock 144
Eric George 202 – Raymond Santiago 232
Michael Jackson 129 – Vitor Jones De Oliviera 131
Cesar Vila 154 – Marcus Hall 151

Promoter: Banner Promotions
Venue: Turning Stone Casino Resort
TV: ESPN 2
1st Bell: 7:00 pm ET / 9:00 ET for television

New Town, North Dakota (March 28, 2014)–Tonight at the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in New Town, North Dakota, the Boxcino 2014 lightweight tournament semifinals will take place as Fernando Carcamo will take on Miguel Gonzalez and Petr Petrov battles Chris Rudd with the winners meeting on May 23rd. Banner Promotions has lined up a terrific undercard that will feature four of their prized prospects.

The card will be televised live on ESPN, ESPNDeportes+ and watchESPN beginning at 9 PM ET.

2012 Olympic Bronze Medal winner, Taras Shlestyuk (7-0, 5 KO’s) will take on Romon Barber (4-7, 3 KO’s) in a jr. middleweight bout scheduled for six rounds.

Taras Shelestyuk

Shelestyuk of Sumy, Ukraine is on a 2-fight knockout streak with his latest being a 1st round stoppage over Francisco Flores on February 21st in Laughlin, Nevada.

Heavyweight Donovan Dennis (8-0, 7 KO’s) of Davenport, Iowa will take on the most experienced foe of his career when he boxes 57-fight veteran Travis Fulton of Cedar Falls, Iowa.

Dennis has been very impressive by scoring three consecutive stoppage wins. He has two early wins over undefeated fighters, Eric Scribner (1-0) and Hugo Arceo (4-0-1). He is coming off a 1st round destruction over Sam Comming on February 28th in Hammond, Indiana.

Donovan Dennis

Light Heavyweight Micheal Seals (17-0, 13 KO’s) will look to stay perfect when he takes on Willis Lockett (13-12-5, 5 KO’s).

Seals of Atlanta will be making his Banner Promotions debut. He holds a 1st round stoppage over former world champion Byron Mitchell. Seals has won 7 consecutive fights by knockout which includes a 1st round stoppage over Steve Walker on November 9, 2013.

19-year old lightweight Ruben Ozuna (1-1) takes on Wayne Smith (0-1) in a bout scheduled for four rounds.

Ozuna of Wauchula, Florida was a distinguished amateur and has a ton of upside.

Ruben Ozuna

“We are excited to feature these four guys on the undercard,” said Banner Promotions CEO Arthur Pelullo.

“Taras has been terrific so far and we are very pleased with the development of Donovan Dennis. Tonight we are very much looking forward to seeing Michael Seals make his debut for our company. We also have high expectations for the 19-year old Ozuna as well,” finished Pelullo.

New Town, North Dakota (March 28, 2014)–Below are videos and images of Thursday’s weigh in plus interviews with the four semifinal participants of the Boxcino 2014 lightweight tournament that will feature Fernando Carcamo taking on Miguel Gonzalez and Petr Petrov battling Chris Rudd.

The fights will take place at the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in New Town, North Dakota.

The fights will be shown live TONIGHT on ESPN, ESPNDEPORTES+ and watchESPN at 9 PM ET.

Media outlets may use the videos for journalistic use by copy/paste the embedded codes on their websites.

Fernando Carcamo 135.8 – Miguel Gonzalez 136
(Boxcino Semifinals)
Chris Rudd 135.6 – Petr Petrov 135.6
(Boxcino Semifinals)

Michael Seals 173.4 – Willis Lockett 191
Taras Shelestyuk 152 – Romon Barber 152.8
Donovan Dennis 224.8 – Travis Fulton will weigh in tomorrow
Ruben Ozuna 135.8 – Wayne Smith 134,6
David Laque 148 – Corey Land 145.2

Promoter: Banner Promotions
Venue: 4 Bears Casino & Lodge
TV: ESPN at 9 PM ET

Philadelphia (March 18, 2014)–He pulled off the biggest upset in the opening round of the Boxcino 2014 lightweight tournament and now Chris Rudd (13-1, 8 KO’s) is ready to do it again when he takes on Petr Petrov (33-4-2, 15 KO’s) on Friday, March 28 at the 4 Bears Casino & Lodge in New Town, North Dakota.

The semifinal bout will be televised Live on ESPN, ESPNdeportes+ and WatchESPN.

Rudd of Covington, Tennessee was the least known of the eight participants in the tournament but he won a 7 round (Draw Breaker) decision over veteran Yakubu Amidu on February 21 in Laughlin, Nevada, reflected back on the win for a moment before setting his sights on Petrov.

“I did a pretty good job,” said Rudd. “I think I won that fight because of my head and foot movement.”

Rudd began preparing for Petrov almost immediately after his win over Amidu.

“I have been working hard in the gym. Petrov throws a lot of wild combinations and a wild hook. I have been working on that as well as my jab and staying out of range.”

Rudd has relished being the unknown fighter in the tournament as he believes that will only enhance his accomplishments.

“It does not matter being the underdog. I was talking with my brother and he said, the more that I can win, the better I look.”

Rudd knows he can win the tournament but knows he has a tough road ahead.

“I see me winning. Petrov is a good fighter and he will come hard. The other two fighters (Miguel Gonzalez and Fernando Carcamo) are good fighters. I see myself winning but I can not claim it until I have it,”finished Rudd.

Philadelphia (March 17, 2014)–Coming off his impressive 6-round unanimous decision over previously undefeated Fedor Papazov, former world title challenger Petr Petrov (33-4-2, 15 KO’s) opened some eyes in the United States with his quarterfinal win in Boxcino 2014 on February 21 in Laughlin, Nevada.

On Friday night, March 28, Petrov will have literally a tall order in front of him when he takes on tournament underdog Chris Rudd (13-1, 8 KO’s) in the semifinals at the 4 Bears Casino and Lodge in New Town, North Dakota.

The fight will be televised live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN beginning at 9 PM ET.

What made Petrov’s performance against Papazov more impressive was his uncertainty about performing in front of the American fans.

“It was a great win for me,” said Petrov. “I had not fought in 10 months so I was real nervous to be on the big stage for my first televised fight in the U.S. I am happy to move on to the next fight and I will be stronger and more relaxed.”

Next up is the 6’0″ Rudd who is coming off a 7-round decision over Yakubu Amidu in a (draw breaker) fight which was the biggest upset of the quarterfinal round.

“Rudd is going to be difficult because of his height and reach but I believe my trainer Danny Zamora and I have prepared a good strategy and we have had with great work in the gym.”

With a win over Rudd, Petrov will take one more step closer to reaching the finals.

“I am not thinking of the finals yet. I have to get through this fight and go from there. My main thing is to win and look good for the people watching on ESPN. I would like to thank my team, Banner Promotions, Danny Zamora and my sponsors Lucas Oil, Snac Supplements and I know big things will come my way,” finished Petrov.