The April 18 edition of ESPN Friday Night Fights presented by Corona Extra and ESPN Deportes\u2019 Noche de Combates presentado por Corona Extra will feature the semifinals of the Middleweight portion of Boxcino 2014 sponsored by 1800 Tequila. <\/p>\n
Friday\u2019s show, from the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y., will air live at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN2, broadband Spanish-language ESPN Deportes+ and WatchESPN. ESPN Deportes will televise the fights at 10:30 p.m. The card is promoted by Banner Promotions.<\/p>\n
New Picture (1)Commentators:
\nTodd Grisham (@GrishamESPN), filling in for Joe Tessitore, will be ringside with Teddy Atlas describing the action for ESPN2, while Doug Kezirian will fill in for Grisham in the studio. Delvin Rodr\u00edguez and Pablo Viruega will call the fights for Noche de Combates (Fight Night) on both ESPN Deportes and ESPN Deportes+, while Leopoldo Gonz\u00e1lez and Claudia Trejos will anchor the studio. Bilingual reporter Bernardo Osuna (@osunaespn) will present live interviews and reports for both shows.<\/p>\n
Middleweight Semifinal Matchups: Eight Rounds Each<\/p>\n
The semifinal round of the Middleweight tournament will feature: <\/p>\n
Vitalii Kopylenko (22-0, 12 KOs) vs. Willie Monroe Jr. (16-1, 6 KOs)
\nRaymond Gatica (16-5, 13 KOs) vs. Brandon Adams (13-0, 9 KOs)<\/p>\n
Middleweight Division Bracket (full-size bracket attached):<\/p>\n
Fighter Backgrounds:
\nN.Y.\u2019s Monroe Jr., the son of former Middleweight contender Willie Monroe, is coming off a six-round unanimous decision win over Donatas Bondas (Bondorovas) in the quarterfinal round of the Boxcino tournament. Kopylenko, fighting out of the Ukraine and a stablemate of WBO Junior Welterweight titlist Ruslan Provodnikov, scored a second-round TKO win over Cerresso Fort in the quarterfinals.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles\u2019 Adams is coming off a fourth-round TKO win over Daniel Edouard in the quarterfinal round, while Texas\u2019 Gatica is looking to advance to the finals following a fourth-round TKO win over Sena Agbeko.<\/p>\n
About Boxcino 2014:
\nThe tournament, which started in February, is a single-elimination, two-weight class competition featuring eight fighters in the Lightweight and Middleweight divisions. Tournament details, TV schedule and brackets can be found on ESPN MediaZone. ESPN senior director of programming and acquisitions Brian Kweder, who oversees content strategy and acquisition for ESPN\u2019s soccer, boxing and bowling properties, recently discussed the tournament in a Q&A on ESPN Front Row. Friday\u2019s Middleweight winners will join Lightweights Petr Petrov and Fernando C\u00e1rcamo for a special night of boxing in the big finale for Boxcino 2014 on Friday, May 23, also at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona, N.Y. The fights will be televised live at 9 p.m. on ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes.<\/p>\n
Upcoming ESPN Boxing Schedule:<\/p>\n
Date<\/p>\n
Time (ET)<\/p>\n
Main Event<\/p>\n
Location<\/p>\n
Networks<\/p>\n
Thu, Apr 24<\/p>\n
9 p.m.<\/p>\n
Josesito L\u00f3pez (31-6, 18 KOs) vs. Aron Mart\u00ednez (19-2-1, 4 KOs)\u201410 rounds, Jr. Welterweights<\/p>\n
Agua Caliente Casino, Palm Springs, Calif.<\/p>\n
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN<\/p>\n
Thu, May 1<\/p>\n
9 p.m.<\/p>\n
Roberto Garc\u00eda (34-3, 22 KOs) vs. Victor Manuel Cayo (32-4, 23 KOs)\u201410 rounds, Welterweights <\/p>\n
Hialeah Park Race Track, Hialeah, Fla.<\/p>\n
ESPN2, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN<\/p>\n
Sat, May 10<\/p>\n
8 p.m.<\/p>\n
WBC World Heavyweight Championship: Bermane Stiverne (23-1-1, 20 KOs) vs. Chris Arreola (36-3, 31 KOs)\u201412 rounds<\/p>\n
USC Galen Center,
\nLos Angeles <\/p>\n
ESPN, ESPN Deportes, WatchESPN<\/p>\n
*Schedule subject to change<\/p>\n
Friday Night Fights and Noche de Combates Social Media:
\n\u00b7 Follow ESPN Friday Night Fights on Twitter @ESPNFNF or like it on Facebook.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Score the fights round-by-round with the \u201cLive Friday Night Fights Facebook Voting App,\u201d an application on the ESPN FNF Facebook page that allows viewers to score the fight round-by-round.<\/p>\n
\u00b7 Follow ESPN Deportes\u2019 Noche de Combates on Twitter @ESPNBoxeo. <\/p>\n
\u00b7 For the latest ESPN.com boxing news and analysis follow @ESPNBoxing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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