NEW YORK– Four undefeated rising stars hope to excite and impress Friday, Oct. 3, on ShoBox: The New Generation when highly touted welterweight prospect “King” James De la Rosa takes on Baltimore’s own Tim “Pit Bull” Coleman, and local favorite Fernando Guerrero battles Pittsburgh middleweight Tyrone “TT” Watson. SHOWTIME will televise both bouts live at 11 p.m. ET/Pt (delayed on the west coast).
The evening will be promoted by Duva Boxing, in association with Cavazos Boxing, Prize Fight Boxing and Baltimore Boxing Club from the Wicomico Youth and Civic Center in Salisbury, Maryland.
In the 10-round main event, former World Boxing Council (WBC) youth welterweight champion De la Rosa (17-0, 12 KOs), of Harlingen, Texas, will attempt to knock out his fifth opponent in six fights when he takes on Coleman (14-0-1, three KOs), of Baltimore, Md.
The 10-round middleweight co-feature will pit Salisbury resident and native Dominican Guerrero (9-0, nine KOs) against Watson (7-0, three KOs), of Pittsburgh, Pa.
A tornado of offensive aggression, De la Rosa thrilled his hometown crowd and captured the vacant WBC youth welterweight crown by recording a 10-round unanimous decision (99-91 twice and 97-93) over Francisco Rincon in Harlingen on Feb. 23, 2007.
“I looked great against Rincon,” De la Rosa said. “A lot of boxers were avoiding him because he was viewed as a top prospect. I basically won that fight with speed and boxing skills. It wasn’t even a close fight and the scores reveal that.”
De la Rosa, who will make his first SHOWTIME appearance, believes he has all the tools to make Coleman his 13th knockout victim.
“I’m a devastating puncher with blazing speed,” De la Rosa boasted. “The reason I’ve knocked out so many opponents is because they don’t see the punches. Coleman isn’t going to know he’s knocked out until it is too late.
“It might be better if Coleman doesn’t last because if I don’t knock him out, he’s going to get a brutal beating.”
De la Rosa, whose older brother, Juan, competed in the first season of The Contender, made his own national television splash by scoring a fourth-round technical knockout over James Webb Feb. 29, 2008, on Telefutura. De la Rosa floored his counterpart for the initial time with a punishing left hook to the chin at the end of the first round. Another left hook dropped Webb for the second time and ended matters without a count at 0:43 of the fourth.
Coleman, who will make his first ring appearance in nearly 10 months, suffered a broken right hand in the fifth round of his last bout on Dec. 7, 2007, but bravely battled his way to a 10-round draw (96-95, 95-95 and 94-96) against Martinus Clay. Coleman, the 2007 Beltway Boxing Prospect of the Year, fought nine times last year and will step into the ring for the seventh consecutive time in Maryland.
“I have watched tape of De la Rosa,” said Coleman, who was a sparring partner to Oscar De La Hoya during his training for the Steve Forbes fight in May 2008. “De la Rosa looks like a basic fighter. He’s got a nice record, but he hasn’t fought a lot of quality fighters. I don’t know most of the guys on his ‘knockout list’.”
Coleman, who also will make his SHOWTIME debut, relies on slick counter-punching and a deft defense to confuse opponents.
“It’s going to by my night on October 3,” Coleman said. “De la Rosa is young and doesn’t have great amateur experience. He can fight a little, but I have the better pedigree. He’s a baby in that ring. I’m going to tuck him in and put him to sleep.
“I have no doubt that I’m going to win this fight. I’m here and this is my time to shine. It’s my biggest TV fight to date, so I know I’m going to look good when I win.”
A deadly knockout artist, Guerrero has stopped each of the nine opponents who dared enter the same ring against him, and will fight in his hometown for the first time as a pro. Born in the Dominican Republic, Guerrero moved to the United States when he was eight years old. During a stellar amateur career, Guerrero won the Junior Golden Gloves and International Junior Olympics at age 16, and captured the National Golden Gloves at age 17. In 2007, Guerrero became the U.S. National Amateur Champion at 165 pounds.
Guerrero, who is currently sparring with brothers Anthony and Lamont Peterson, as well as WBO Welterweight Champion Paul Williams, finds himself in the toughest fight of his young career.
“I don’t like to get in the ring and dance around,” Guerrero said. “I like to give the fans an exciting fight.
“Watson is evasive and has good skills. He will be surprised with my foot and hand speed. If I impose my will, like I’ve done in the past, Watson won’t last very long.”
Watson, of Pittsburgh, by way of Flint, Mich. will make his first appearance in nearly 15 months. In his last outing on July 20, 2007, the undefeated middleweight scored a fourth-round TKO over Kenneth Johnson in Greensboro, N.C.
“I controlled the pace in that fight, “Watson said. “That was key. I’ll try to do the same against Guerrero. We’re both young and hungry, so whoever controls the pace is going to win this fight.
“I don’t want to see a blemish on my record. I like being called undefeated and I expect that to remain the same on October 3.”
Nick Charles will call the action from ringside with Steve Farhood serving as expert analyst. The executive producer of ShoBox is Gordon Hall with Richard Gaughan producing and Rick Phillips directing. ShoBox celebrated seven outstanding years on the air in July.
De la Rosa Leads Four Undefeated Prospects – Oct. 3, 2008, on Showtime
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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 talented fighters matched tough. The ShoBox philosophy is to televise crowd-pleasing and competitive fights while providing a proving ground for willing prospects determined to fight for a world title. The growing list of fighters who have appeared on ShoBox and advanced to garner world titles includes: Leonard Dorin, Scott Harrison, Juan Diaz, Jeff Lacy, Ricky Hatton, Joan Guzman, Juan Urango, David Diaz, Robert Guerrero, Kelly Pavlik, Paul Malignaggi and, now, Kendall Holt.
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