Middleweight veteran “CLASSY” Freddie Cuevas will return to the ring this Friday night, February 15th to take on Dominican Luis Hodge at CELEBRATION, an outstanding evening of world class professional boxing marking the 10 year anniversary of Dominic Pesoli’s 8 Count Productions, HOME OF THE BEST IN CHICAGO BOXING.
Tickets for CELEBRATION are available in advance by calling the 8 Count Productions offices at 312-226-5800. Cicero Stadium is located at 1909 S. Laramie, just minutes from the Eisenhower and Stevenson Expressways. Doors for this event will open at 5:30pm with the first bell at 6:30pm.
Cuevas’ return marks his first fight in Chicago in almost three years. Long a favorite amongst Chicago fight fans, Cuevas, 25-9-1 (17KO’s) had previously announced his retirement after his battle with middleweight contender John Duddy at Madison Square Garden on June 10, 2006.
The 28 year old Hodge, 5-5 (3KO’s) is making his second appearance in Chicago, previously battling highly regarded Polish prospect Andrzej Fonfara on September 17, 2007 at the Congress Theatre.
Speaking after a sparring session at JABB Boxing Gym, the 38 year old Chicago based Cuevas spoke about his comeback,
“The time off has been great for my body. After the Duddy fight I needed a rest. I’ve been a pro since 1995 and had always been either fighting or training to fight without giving my body a break.”
“Now, things that bothered me like my shoulder, my elbow and my back all feel fine. I’ve changed my workout schedule and regimen and feel better than I’ve felt in years.”
“I really had no intention of coming back except that in the last six months while I’ve been training just to keep in shape, my body has responded well and I want to give it one more shot.”
Speaking about fighting back in his hometown of Chicago for the first time in almost three years, Cuevas said, “I’ve fought all over the country and in Europe and often times people have traveled to see me fight in Vegas, New York or Atlantic City. However, I’ve always felt great fighting here, the fans have been very supportive since I turned pro in 1995.
Chicago was the site of Cuevas’ biggest wins of his career, seventh rounds knockouts of former world champions Wilfredo Rivera and Charles Murray in 2002.
CELEBRATION, an outstanding evening of world class professional boxing, presented by 8 Count Productions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated is headlined by an outstanding battle between junior welterweight prospects Mike Alvarado and Jesus “CHUY” Rodriguez.
As part of the CELEBRATION event, Rocky Martinez and Mike "FLY" Garcia
will be inducted into the 8 Count Productions Hall of Fame.
The full fight card for CELEBRATION is;
Mike Alvarado vs. Jesus Rodriguez, ten rounds, junior welterweights
Alejandro Perez vs. Torrence Daniels, eight rounds, super bantamweights
Francisco Rodriguez vs. Andre Wilson, eight rounds, bantamweights
Andrzej Fonfara vs. Francisco Rincon, six rounds, junior middleweights
Freddie Cuevas vs. Luis Hodge, six rounds, middleweights
Ivan Popoca vs. Guadalupe Diaz, four rounds, junior welterweights
The open to the public weigh-in will be held at 7pm on Thursday, February 14th at Club Aquarius, 2459 N. Pulaski on the Northwest side of Chicago.
Along with Chicago’s 8 Count Productions and Bob Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated, CELEBRATION is presented by TCF Bank, Tecate Beer and AeroMexico, Mexico’s premier airline travel headquarters. The SOLO BOXEO TECATE broadcast will be viewed in 42 US markets and 70 foreign countries.
The Master of Ceremonies for CELEBRATION will be Lupe Contreras, the internationally recognized voice of Latino boxing.
8 Count Productions was started by Dominic Pesoli in 1998 and has consistently presented the highest quality professional boxing events in Chicagoland. In 2003, Pesoli along with former featherweight contender Mike Garcia opened JABB Boxing Gym, a 6,000 square foot venue dedicated to the finest Chicagoland boxers of all talent levels.
To view the seating chart and poster for this event or for more information on 8 Count Productions and JABB Boxing Gym, please visit http://www.8countproductions.com/ and http://www.jabbboxinggym.com/
For more information on Bob Arum’s Top Rank Incorporated, please visit.
http://www.toprank.com/
CREATING CONTENDERS SINCE 1998
Bernie Bahrmasel
Publicist/8 Count Productions
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