PHILADELPHIA— Two major bouts have been added to the already packed July 10th show at The Arena in Philadelphia which will now be seen all over the country on ESPN 2
In the new main event, Matt Godfrey will take on the undefeated Shawn Hawk for the NABF Cruiserweight championship.
The co-feature will be a Light Heavyweight tussle between surging Shaun George and Chris Henry in a scheduled ten round affair.
These two fights are added to an already nine bout (eleven in total) is promoted by Blaine Garner’s y Shalyte Entertainment in association with Jimmy Burchfield’s CES Boxing and DiBella Entertainment.
Godfrey (18-1, 10 KOs), rated No. 6 by the WBC and No. 7 by the IBF, will defend his NABF and SNBC belts against unbeaten challenger Hawk (18-0-1, 16 KOs) in the 10-round main event.
“Both of these cruiserweights were highly successful amateurs and now they are two of the top young contenders in the division,” CES president Jimmy Burchfield said. “Both are Native Americans, too. When Matt won the first Sovereign Nation Boxing Council (SNBC) belt, Shawn fought on the same card last November at 4 Bears Casino in North Dakota. This is the match-up American boxing fans want to see – two top fighters in against each other. Matt and Shawn have wanted to fight each other for a long time and now it’s finally going to happen.”
The Ring magazine’s No. 10-ranked Godfrey, who has Narragansett blood in his family, had a 194-23 amateur record, capturing six national championships, four open tournaments including the 2004 Everlast U.S. Championships, plus two in the Junior Olympics. He was a Bronze medal winner at the 2001 Pan-American Games, Silver Medalist in all four of that year’s national major tournaments – National Golden Gloves, PAL (Police Athletic League), U.S. Championships and U.S. Challenge -- and six-time New England Golden Gloves champion.
As a pro, three of the 28-year-old Godfrey’s most impressive performances have been knockouts of Emmanuel Nwodo, Felix Cora, Jr. and Shaun George on ESPN. His lone loss was by 12-round decision 15 months ago in a WBC title eliminator to Rudolf Kraj in Germany, in which, Godfrey came on strong down the stretch only to run out of rounds.
Hawk, 25, is a full-blooded Sioux who comes from Crow Creek Reservation, North Dakota, which is the poorest Native American reservation in the country. Shawn had a 108-12 amateur record, including victories in four national championships, highlighted by a gold-medal performance at the National PAL Tournament when he was 14.
"I'm excited to be back in the ring doing what I love," George, 18-2-2 (9 KO), says. "Good old-fashioned boxing without the politics. I'm fighting in his hometown; a lot of people wouldn't want to do that."
The 30-year-old George exploded onto the scene last year with a dominant nine-round blowout of two-time heavyweight champion Chris Byrd on ESPN2. Since then he has only fought once, knocking out former world title challenger Jaffa Ballogou in 86 seconds this past February. George is promoted by Dibella Entertainment.
"I feel like every fight is life or death for me. I'm not getting the opportunities other fighters are getting so I have to treat this fight like it's all or nothing. Chris Henry is a dangerous fighter and I respect him. It's going to be on ESPN2 so I want to show the world what I'm capable of doing with a top ten contender."
Henry, 28, brings a record of 23-2 (18 KO) and has the experience of having fought for a world title. Last year Henry went to Romania to give unbeaten Adrian Diaconu a serious run for his money, losing a bid for the World Boxing Council light-heavyweight championship. Henry also took Yusaf Mack to the wire, winning the fight on one judge's card but losing a close decision.
"I'm not coming to show mercy to any of these guys," says George. "I'm on a mission to prove to myself that I'm the best fighter in the world. Chris Henry is a world class contender, but I believe I'm the best in the world. I don't think this fight will be easy, but I will win. Our styles make for very fan-friendly fight. So everybody go and get your tickets."
Tony Ferrante of Northeast Philadelphia risks his perfect record of 7-0 with four knockouts as he takes on the “Philly Upset specialist”, Billy Bailey in an eight round Light Heavyweight bout for the WBF United States Light Heavyweight title that will headline a massive undercard of Philly’s finest.
Ferrante is on a three fight knockout streak which includes his last outing when he stopped Anthony Pietantonio (6-1) in five rounds on May 1st at The Legendary Blue Horizon.
Bailey is no stranger to pulling off upsets in Philadelphia. He has a record of 8-3 with three knockouts which includes his last outing where he stopped Philly’s own Brian Cohen (9-1) in Cohen’s backyard of South Philadelphia.
The native of Bakersfield, California has been in with prospects Roger Cantrell (12-1) and Brandon Gonzalez (4-0) so many in the Philadelphia fight scene believe this is a pick’em fight.
In a six round Super Featherweight affair, Coy Evans of Philadelphia will take on the durable Darrell Martin of Baltimore.
Evans has a record of 4-0-1 with his last outing being a four round unanimous decision over Jose Espinal (5-3-1) in Brooklyn, New York on February 2nd.
Although he is from Baltimore, Martin is more or less a Philadelphia fighter as six of his thirteen (4-9, 1 KO) fights have come inside the Philadelphia city limits.
Martin scored his career best win when he stopped Jules Blackwell (8-1-2) in three rounds last December at The Legendary Blue Horizon.
The ladies will be front and center on July 10 as two big bouts featuring females will take place.
Jackie Davis, 1-0 with one knockout will look to build on her pro debut knockout on March 13th when she battles Rachel Clark (2-1, 2 KO’s) of Colombia, South Carolina in a four round Welterweight bout.
The very Popular Olivia Fonseca (2-2-2, 1 KO) of Philadelphia returns after a ten month hiatus when she takes on the capable Lisa Bolin (2-2, 2 KO’s) of South Carolina in a four round Welterweight bout.
Fresh off his exciting pro debut on May 8th, Derrick Webster (1-0) of Glassboro, New Jersey will take on Roger Locklear (1-2) of South Carolina in a four round Middleweight bout.
In a battle of pro debuting Heavyweight, Kareem Harrison of Philadelphia battles Winston Thorpe of North Carolina.
Also making his pro debut will be Angel Ocassio in a four round Lightweight bout.
See you at the Fights.
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