{"id":11700,"date":"2020-01-10T13:06:15","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/?p=11700"},"modified":"2020-01-10T13:06:15","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T18:06:15","slug":"top-prospect-ruben-villa-to-face-cuban-ko-artist-alexei-collado-on-shobox-the-new-generation-friday-january-31-live-on-showtime-from-shreveport-la","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/?p=11700","title":{"rendered":"TOP PROSPECT RUBEN VILLA TO FACE CUBAN KO ARTIST ALEXEI COLLADO ON SHOBOX: THE NEW GENERATION FRIDAY, JANUARY 31 LIVE ON SHOWTIME\u00ae FROM SHREVEPORT, LA"},"content":{"rendered":"

Undefeated 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist Taras Shelestyuk Squares Off Against Up and Coming Welterweight Prospect Alejandro Davila In Co-Featured Bout<\/em><\/strong><\/h3>\n

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<\/p>\n

NEW YORK\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013 January 10, 2020 \u2013 Undefeated featherweight prospect\u00a0Ruben Villa\u00a0<\/strong>will make his fourth\u00a0ShoBox: The New Generation<\/em>\u00a0appearance in just over a year as the former two-time Junior Olympic National Champion takes on hard-hitting\u00a0Alexei Collado<\/strong>\u00a0in a 10-round main event of a three-fight telecast on Friday, January 31 live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET\/PT) from Hirsch Memorial Coliseum in Shreveport, La.<\/p>\n

Undefeated Ukrainian and 2012 Olympic Bronze medalist\u00a0Taras Shelestyuk<\/strong>\u00a0(17-0, 10 KOs) meets Mexico\u2019s\u00a0Alejandro Davila\u00a0<\/strong>(19-1-2, 7 KOs) in a 10-round welterweight matchup in the co-featured bout. The televised opener features an eight-round lightweight bout pitting Southern California native\u00a0Jerry P\u00e9rez<\/strong>\u00a0(12-0, 9 KOs) against\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>\u00a0veteran\u00a0Zhora Hamazaryan<\/strong>\u00a0(9-1-1, 6 KOs) from Armenia.<\/p>\n

The event is promoted by Banner Promotions, Thompson Boxing and Bishop Promotions LLC.\u00a0Tickets can be purchased at\u00a0www.Bishoppromotions.com<\/a>\u00a0and prices are $20-$100.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn January 31 we have three prospects at different points in their careers with Ruben Villa developing into a must-see prospect with high expectations,\u201d said Gordon Hall, Executive Producer of\u00a0ShoBox: The New Generation<\/em>. \u201cTaras Shelestuyk is still undefeated and working on rebuilding a once-promising career in a must-win fight and Jerry P\u00e9rez is young and relatively unknown, but in a big step-up fight looking to be noticed. Each of these three are in meaningful fights that should be action-packed.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old Salinas, Calif., native Villa (17-0, 5 KOs) was also the 2014 and 2016 National Golden Gloves Champion and is currently ranked No. 5 at 126 pounds by the WBO and No. 13 by the WBC. Villa was a 2016 U.S. Olympic Team alternate, and had an impressive amateur record of 166-17 with wins against Devin Haney, Shakur Stevenson, and Gary Antonio Russell.<\/p>\n

The southpaw Villa has looked impressive in each of his three previous\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>\u00a0appearances, including his debut last January when he outclassed then-unbeaten Ruben Cervera. In May, Villa stepped up to 10-round status for the first time and won a unanimous decision against Luis Alberto Lopez and in September, Villa scored a second-round knockdown against Enrique Vivas en route to a comfortable shutout unanimous decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know my opponent has a good record at 26-2 and he has heavy hands, but he is wild,\u201d Villa said. \u201cI feel that I am close to a title eliminator, but the middle or at the very latest at the end of 2020.\u00a0ShoBox\u00a0<\/em>has helped me with my recognition and showcasing my talent. I am just thankful to be headlining once again on\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>. I know I\u2019m close to making that next step up to contender so I have to look impressive on January 31.”<\/p>\n

In Collado (26-2, 23 KOs), Villa will face a tough, 31-year-old Cuban currently living and training in Miami. Collado is on a seven-bout winning streak with six KOs and was active in 2019 winning four times, including his last victory via first-round KO against Facundo Eduardo Ased four days before Christmas. Collado won the 2006 Junior World Title in the flyweight division.<\/p>\n

\u201cI participated on a\u00a0ShoBox\u00a0<\/em>event in the past and I couldn\u2019t close the show,\u201d said Collado, who made his\u00a0ShoBox\u00a0<\/em>debut in April of 2014 in a 10-round lightweight unanimous decision loss to Rod Salka. \u201cThis time the story will be different and I am more than ready for Ruben Villa. Ruben is a young talented boxer but he will not be able to do with me what he was able to do to other guys. I\u2019m far more experienced, much stronger and way smarter than all the guys put together that he has faced so far. This is an opportunity that I will not take for granted, Villa better be ready to get shocked.\u201d<\/p>\n

Management issues have kept the 34-year-old Shelestyuk mostly inactive and he has fought just once in two and a half years. Currently living and training in Southern California, Shelestyuk has trained with Freddie Roach and his stable of fighters at the famed Wild Card Gym in Hollywood. Shelestyuk\u2019s last fight came in March, a unanimous decision against Martin Angel Martinez in Southern California. His best win came in 2015 on\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>\u00a0over once-beaten Aslanbek Kozaev.<\/p>\n

\u201cTraining camp is going great and a lot of the hard work is already done, but we have three more weeks to rock it and finish strong,\u201d said Shelestyuk, who has previously fought twice on\u00a0ShoBox,<\/em>\u00a0recording unanimous decisions in November of 2015 and 2016. \u201cWe always have a great atmosphere with the team during the training camp. It\u2019s exciting to be back on SHOWTIME. The fans like my style and I\u2019m ready to give them a show. My opponent is tough and a big guy, He has more fights than me in the professional ring, and it will be clash of different styles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Davila has campaigned almost exclusively in Mexico since turning professional in 2014.\u00a0 He was undefeated over his first 20 bouts, including two draws, before suffering his first loss in his last fight in November against once-beaten Mikael Zewski in Canada. Davila notched his last victory via unanimous decision over Luciano Chaparro Araujo in July in Mexico.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know Taras has a tremendous amateur and professional career but I also got what it takes to beat anybody at this level,\u201d Davila said. \u201cI am coming to win this fight and hand Taras his first defeat. I will do my best to win this fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

The 26-year-old P\u00e9rez had 45 amateur fights with some international experience and currently trains with four-division world champion Leo Santa Cruz, whom he met through a family friend in 2016. Perez made his pro debut on the Santa Cruz-Carl Frampton undercard at MGM Grand in Las Vegas as Perez recorded a knockout against Javier Cepeda in January 2017. In his young career, Perez has also fought at Staples Center in Los Angeles on the Mikey Garcia-Robert Easter undercard scoring a second-round KO against Aaron Jamel Hollis. Perez started boxing at age 9 learning his craft at the High Desert Boxing Club in Victorville, Calif., in San Bernardino County.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have been knocking on doors for a while and finally that door has opened up to us,\u201d Perez said. \u201cIt\u2019s now time to show I belong in the ring with a guy like Zhora whom I respect but have the certainty I can beat. I\u2019m coming to make a statement in my TV debut and show that I\u2019m a force at lightweight.”<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old Hamazaryan resides in Los Angeles and has fought on\u00a0ShoBox\u00a0<\/em>twice, both memorable and exciting bouts against lightweight prospect Thomas Mattice. Hamazaryan lost the first matchup by split decision in July of 2018 after out-landing and out-powering Mattice in a fight many observers thought Hamazaryan clearly won. Hamazaryan earned a draw against Mattice in an immediate rematch two months later.<\/p>\n

\u201cI have had a tremendous camp and am excited to get back on\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>,\u201d Hamazaryan said. \u201cI feel I am still undefeated and the fans now know what I bring and that is a fighter who fights hard for the whole fight. I do not know much about my opponent except his record. I just fight my fight and I will bring home the victory.\u201d<\/p>\n

Barry Tompkins<\/strong>\u00a0will call the\u00a0action from ringside with boxing historian\u00a0Steve Farhood<\/strong>\u00a0and former world champion\u00a0Raul Marquez<\/strong>\u00a0serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is\u00a0Gordon Hall with\u00a0Richard Gaughan<\/strong>\u00a0producing and\u00a0Rick Phillips<\/strong>\u00a0directing.<\/p>\n

# # #<\/p>\n

For more information visit\u00a0www.sho.com\/sports<\/strong><\/a>\u00a0follow on Twitter @ShowtimeBoxing, @SHOSports, #ShoBox, or become a fan on Facebook at\u00a0www.Facebook.com\/SHOSports<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

About\u00a0ShoBox: The New Generation<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

Since its\u00a0inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series,\u00a0ShoBox: The New Generation<\/em>\u00a0has featured young talent matched tough. The\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>\u00a0philosophy is to televise exciting, crowd-pleasing and competitive matches while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. Some of the growing list of the 81 fighters who have appeared on\u00a0ShoBox<\/em>\u00a0and advanced to garner world titles includes: Errol Spence Jr., Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Nonito Donaire, Devon Alexander, Carl Froch, Robert Guerrero, Timothy Bradley, Jessie Vargas, Juan Manuel Lopez, Chad Dawson, Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Williams and more.<\/p>\n

CONTACTS:<\/strong><\/p>\n

SHOWTIME Sports: (212) 708-1734<\/p>\n

Steve Pratt, BZA\/Showtime: (310) 408-4555<\/p>\n

Marc Abrams, Banner Promotions: (856) 287-7611<\/p>\n

For regular updates<\/strong>\u00a0on our fighters, events, and promotions, please like the\u00a0Banner Promotions Facebook Page<\/a>,\u00a0and follow us on\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Twitter<\/a>\u00a0@<\/wbr>BannerBoxing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Undefeated 2012 Olympic Bronze Medalist Taras Shelestyuk Squares Off Against Up and Coming Welterweight Prospect Alejandro Davila In Co-Featured Bout FOR IMMEDIATE […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":11701,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[254,225,8],"tags":[418,135,431,82,424],"class_list":["post-11700","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-events","category-fights","category-news","tag-ruben-villa","tag-shobox","tag-showtime","tag-taras-shelestyuk","tag-zhora-hamazaryan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/6"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11700"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11702,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11700\/revisions\/11702"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11701"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11700"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11700"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/banner-promotions.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11700"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}