03.09.04 – Showtime’s spectacular tripleheader on Saturday, October 2, will be the first boxing event to take place in the new outdoor Amphitheatre at Caesars Palace, recalling an era of legendary nights including Sugar Ray Leonard vs. Thomas Hearns, Larry Holmes vs. Gerry Cooney, and Muhammad Ali vs. Larry Holmes at the famed Las Vegas resort. The first of the three headliner events is slated to begin 6 p.m. PT, preceded by undercard action at 4 p.m. The telecast will begin at 9PM ET/PT. Tickets for reserved seats priced from $50 to $325 will be on sale beginning Saturday, Sept. 4, at 10 a.m. PT, online at ticketmaster.com, at all Ticketmaster outlets and at the Caesars Palace Box Office. Phone 702.474.4000. Price excludes tax and handling fee.
Headlining is popular, hard-hitting former World Boxing Organization (WBO) heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko. The younger brother of World Boxing Council (WBC) heavyweight kingpin Vitali Klitschko, Wladimir (42-3, 39 KOs) will make his SHOWTIME debut and first start since suffering a shocking upset loss to Lamon Brewster earlier this year after thoroughly dominating Brewster from the opening bell. Klitschko will be facing streaking, dangerous North American Boxing Federation (NABF) Heavyweight Champion DaVarryl Williamson (20-2, 17 KOs) in a 10-round bout.
In addition to the featured heavyweight attraction, the televised card will also include a pair of potentially explosive world title bouts on Oct. 2. Verno Phillips (38-9-1, 20 KOs) defends his IBF junior middleweight crown against No. 1 IBF contender Kassim Ouma (19-1-1, 13 KOs) in a highly anticipated rematch, and undefeated IBF No. 4 contender Jeff Lacy (16-0, 13 KOs) gets his first shot at a world title and tries to become the first 2000 United States Olympian to capture a world title when he faces IBF No. 1 contender Syd Vanderpool (35-2, 23 KOs) for the vacant IBF super middleweight belt.
Located near the mid-Strip corner of Las Vegas Boulevard and Flamingo Road, the new Caesars Palace Amphitheatre is the centerpiece of a five-acre, open-air Roman Plaza, which opened July 1, 2004. Situated in front of the resort, the arena will be configured with more than 4,000 seats for the tripleheader, offering an incomparable broadcast and event location, surrounded by the famed lights of the resort city.
“Ask anyone who’s ever cheered an outdoor sports showdown at Caesars Palace, and they’ll tell you that there is an unmistakable electricity that’s hard to duplicate elsewhere,” said event promoter Gary Shaw. “Where better to begin a new chapter in that tradition than at the busiest corner on the Boulevard that is famous for its electricity.”
The October 2 event will be promoted by Gary Shaw Productions, LLC, in association with Caesars Palace.