Adam Lopez & Mario Munoz To Headline ShoBox: The New Generation Quadupleheader On Friday, Feb. 19, Live On SHO at 10p ET/PT
Ronald Ellis vs. Jerry Odom, Keenan Smith vs. Wellington Arias Romero &
Lavasis Williams-O’Shaquie Foster Also in Action
Friday, Feb. 19 at 10 p.m. ET/PT
Live On SHOWTIME®
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NEW YORK (Jan. 15, 2016) – ShoBox: The New Generation returns on Friday, Feb. 19, quadrupleheader live on SHOWTIME (10 p.m. ET/PT, delayed on the West Coast) from the Adrian Phillips Ballroom in Historic Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J.
With the same height, same age, and similar strong amateur backgrounds, Adam “Mantequilla” Lopez (14-0, 7 KOs) and Mario “Yayo” Munoz (16-0-1, 10 KOs) will face their toughest opponents to date when they touch gloves in the 10-round super bantamweight main event matchup.
In other televised bouts, all scheduled for eight rounds, Ronald “Akeem” Ellis (12-0, 10 KOs) takes on Jerry Odom (13-2, 12 KOs) in a clash of hard-hitting super middleweights, Keenan Smith (9-0, 3 KOs) faces fellow southpaw Wellington Romero (9-0-1, 4 KOs) in a battle of unbeaten welterweights and lefthander Lavisas “Red” Williams (8-0-1, 3 KOs) risks his undefeated record against O’Shaquie Foster (8-1, 5 KOs) in a super featherweight match.
The combined record of the eight up-and-coming competitors is 89-3-3 with 54 knockouts.
Lopez, of San Antonio, Texas, by way Phoenix, Ariz., Smith, of Philadelphia, and Foster, of Orange, Texas, will be making their second ShoBox starts; while Munoz, of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico, Ellis, of Dorchester, Mass., Williams, of Rochester, N.Y. and Romero, of Hasburgh, N.Y., via Santiago, D.R., their first. Odom, of Washington, D.C, is making his third appearance.
Tickets for the GH3 Promotions event are priced at $25, $50, $75 and 100 and are available for purchase online at www.Ticketmaster.com and over the phone at 1 800 736 1420.
An excellent boxer-puncher and tactician that likes to counter, Lopez won his ShoBox debut in his outing before last with a close, hard-fought 10-round majority decision over previously undefeated, Dominican Eliezer Aquino (17-0-1 going in). Lopez is coming off a second-round TKO over Eric Aiken last Dec. 12.
Lopez was born in Phoenix, raised in Los Angeles and moved to San Antonio when he was 15. He went 125-23 in the amateurs and won six national championships before turning pro in February 2012. He’s trained by former two-time world champion Carlos “Famoso” Hernandez.
Munoz will be making his United States debut and first start outside of Mexico. A pro since September 2010, he’s known for his come-forward style, first-rate overall skills and proficient punching power. He went 140-10 in the amateurs, winning three national Junior Olympic tournaments and coming away with bronze and silver medals in national championships.
Munoz, who hails from a fighting family, has an uncle who boxed professionally. He’s the one he credits for introducing him to boxing when he was 13. This will be his first fight since he scored a lopsided eight-round decision over Daniel Franco last May 2.
Ellis upset highly regarded Terrell Gausha to win the 2010 National Golden Gloves (Gausha would go on to represent the U.S. at the 2012 Olympic Games). Since going pro in February 2011, Ellis has fought in two countries (Puerto Rico, Mexico) and six U.S. cities (San Antonio, Carson, Calif., Winchester, Va., New York City, Tulsa and Inglewood, Calif.). The 26-year-old has faced mostly modest opposition and has seldom come close to putting in a full night’s work.
Ellis had had a series of delays and restarts since turning pro but feels he’s grown from his mistakes and that he’ll be stronger because of them. For sure, his power hasn’t been affected. All 10 of his knockouts have come inside two rounds (eight in the first). The older brother of boxer Rashidi Ellis has won four straight by knockout, including a second-round TKO over Jas Phipps in his last start last Aug. 29. But he seems to be taking a sizeable step-up in class here.
Odom is looking to turn it around after losing two of his last three, the most recent defeat coming via a shocking third-round TKO to Samuel Clarkson (14-3 going in) on ShoBox. The heavily favored, heavy-hitting Odom was dropped three times, once in the second and twice in the third, before the fight was halted at 1:15.
Odom, a top amateur and 2012 National Golden Gloves Champion at 178 pounds, had a 12-fight win streak end on Jan. 9, 2015, when he was disqualified against Andrew Hernandez. In the rematch the following March 13 on ShoBox, Odom registered a 2:47, first-round TKO.
In his ShoBox debut, Odom, who makes for exciting scraps, dropped previously unbeaten Vilier Quinonez (8-0) twice before stopping him in the seventh round on July 25, 2014.
Smith won his ShoBox debut in his last start on a hard-fought, eight-round unanimous decision over Benjamin Whitaker last Nov. 6 in an outdoor fight in Las Vegas. Fighting in memory of his mother who died in late September and going eight rounds for the first time, the 5-foot-7 Smith, overcame a nasty cut over the left eye from an unintentional headbutt in the sixth, rallied to score a knockdown in the seventh and triumphed by the scores of 79-73 and 78-74 twice.
Before turning pro in April 2010, Smith was a 2008 National Golden Gloves Featherweight Champion and 2007 Junior Olympic National Champion. His 74-2 record in the amateurs included two victories over world-ranked contender Amir Imam.
Romero had 268 amateur bouts and represented the Dominican Republic at the Olympics in 2012 (he lost to Vasyl Lomanchenko). Shortly thereafter he relocated to New York. He went pro in October 2013, fought four times in 2014 and five times last year.
A slick 5-foot-9 boxer who can punch and gives opponent issues because of his awkward style and movement, Romero, 24, has beat up on ordinary opposition and is coming off a first-round TKO over Luis Meroles last Dec. 5. This looks to be his most daunting assignment to date.
Williams, 24, is a boxer-puncher who’s won seven in a row since boxing a draw in his second start in March 2013. This will be his first fight outside of New York. Making his eight-round debut in his last start on Oct. 8, he won a shutout decision over Czech Republic’s Michal Dufek.
Foster, 22, gets a quick-fix opportunity to redeem himself after losing his ShoBox debut on an eight-round unanimous decision to underdog Sam Teah (6-1) on the Nov. 6 card in Las Vegas.
A highly decorated amateur, the 5-foot-8½ inch Foster advanced to the 2012 U.S. Olympic Games Trials where he lost to unbeaten pro prospect, Joseph “Jo-Jo” Diaz. Before that, Foster was a 2011 Houston Golden Gloves and 2010 PAL National Champion, a five-time Ringside National Champion and two-time National Junior Golden Gloves Champion.
Barry Tompkins will call the ShoBox action from ringside with Steve Farhood and former world champion Raul Marquez serving as expert analysts. The executive producer is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing.
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About ShoBox: The New Generation
Since its inception in July 2001, the critically acclaimed SHOWTIME boxing series, ShoBox: The New Generation has featured young talent matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy 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 65 fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Andre Ward, Deontay Wilder, Erislandy Lara, Shawn Porter, Gary Russell Jr., Lamont Peterson, Guillermo Rigondeaux, Omar Figueroa, 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.
CONTACTS:
Chris DeBlasio, Showtime Networks Inc.: (212) 708-1633, [email protected]
Matt Donovan, Showtime Networks Inc.: (212) 708-1663, [email protected]
Flo Jocou, Showtime Networks Inc.: (212) 708-7319, [email protected]
John Beyrooty, BZA/Showtime: (562) 233-7477, [email protected]
Marc Abrams, GH3 Promotions (credentials): (856) 287-7611, [email protected]
For More information on GH3 Promotions, Contact:
Marc Abrams at 856 287 7611 or [email protected]
