27.06.05 – Bantamweight Nonito Donaire, originally from the Philippines and now living in San Leandro, Calif., and world-ranked women’s super bantamweight Elena Reid of Las Vegas highlight the undercard of the Samuel Peter-Taurus Sykes triple heavyweight championship card promoted by Duva Boxing Saturday, July 2, in Reno, Nev..
The card, presented by Duva Boxing in association with Gary Shaw Productions, Tres Amigos LLC, is dubbed “Fists & Fireworks…Big Time Boxing Returns to Reno.”
The hard-hitting Donaire, who has a record of 10-1 with seven knockouts and has won nine straight, faces Larry Olvera of San Pedro, Calif., while Reid, who has a mark of 16-2-5 with five knockouts meets Stephanie Dobbs of Moore, Okla. Both bouts are six rounds.
Olvera has a record of 5-4-1 with four knockouts while Dobbs, who has won four straight, has a mark of 17-17-2 with nine knockouts.
The 22-year-old Donaire is coming off a sixth-round knockout of Paulino Villalobos May 13 in San Jose, Calif.
Christian Cruz of Sacramento, Calif., and Oscar Diaz of San Antonio, Texas, highlight the undercard of the Samuel Peter-Taurus Sykes triple heavyweight championship card promoted by Duva Boxing Saturday, July 2, in Reno, Nev.
Cruz, an exciting super middleweight with a record of 10-2-1 and eight knockouts, meets Edmund O’Neal of Lawton, Okla., in a six-round bout while Diaz, a highly regarded welterweight with a mark of 20-1 and 11 knockouts, meets faces Arturo Urena of Mexico in an eight-round fight.
The 26-year-old Cruz is coming off a fifth-round knockout of Joel Rodriquez April 29 in Sacramento while O’Neal, also 26 and with a record of 9-7-2 with one knockout, is coming off a decision win over Adam Capo May 19 in Tulsa, Okla.
The 22-year-old Diaz, who’s managed by the legendary Lou Duva, has won both his bouts this year by 10-round unanimous decision, the first over Al Gonzalez Feb. 4 in Mashantucket, Conn., and then over Jessie Feliciano April 29 in Las Vegas.
Highly regarded and undefeated prospects Michael Marone, a 19-year-old heavyweight from Vero Beach, Fla., and Ray Biggs Jr., a 22-year-old welterweight from Brooklyn. N.Y., also highlight the undercard of the Samuel Peter-Taurus Sykes triple heavyweight championship card promoted by Duva Boxing Saturday, July 2, in Reno, Nev.
Marone, who has a record of 9-0 with eight knockouts, faces by far his toughest opponent to date in Forrest Neal of Detroit, who has a mark of 16-6 with 12 knockouts, in a six-round bout.
Biggs, who has a record of 2-0 with two knockouts, meets Simon Ruvalcaba of Carson City, Nev., in a six-round fight.
Marone is managed by the legendary Lou Duva while Biggs is co-managed by Duva and Ray Biggs Sr.
Marone, who turned pro 15 months ago, has three wins this year, including his most recent, a first-round knockout of Cliff Nellon May 27 in Hollywood, Fla.
Biggs is coming off a second-round knockout of Jesus Hernandez April 29 in Las Vegas.
The undefeated Peter of Las Vegas puts his North American Boxing Federation and United States Boxing Association heavyweight championships on the line while Sykes of Brooklyn, N.Y., puts his North American Boxing Association heavyweight title up for grabs in their 12-round bout.
Peter, ranked No. 4 by the World Boxing Council and No. 5 by the International Boxing Federation and the World Boxing Organization, generally is regarded as the fastest-rising, most explosive and hardest-hitting heavyweight in the world today while Sykes may be the craftiest boxer in the division.
The 24-year-old Peter, originally from Nigeria, has a record of 23-0 with 20 knockouts and is almost unanimously regarded as a future world champion.
The 30-year-old Sykes, who has a four-inch reach advantage, has a record of 23-1-1 with six knockouts.
An eight-round welterweight fight on the Duva Boxing card matches Oscar Diaz (20-1, 11 KOs) of San Antonio, Texas, against Arturo Urena (22-10-1, 18 KOs) of Mexico.
Six-round bouts on the Duva Boxing card include: Donaire against Olvera; Reid against Dobbs; heavyweight Michael Marone (9-0, 8 KOs) of Vero Beach, Fla., against Forrest Neal (16-6, 12 KOs) of Detroit; super middleweight Christian Cruz (10-2-1, 8 KOs) of Sacramento, Calif., against Edmund O’Neal (9-7-2, 1 KO) of Lawton, Okla.; and welterweight Ray Biggs Jr. (2-0, 2 KOs) of Brooklyn, N.Y., against Simon Ruvalcaba (3-6-2, 0 KOs) of Carson City, Nev.
The Peter-Sykes championship bout will be shown on Showtime Championship Boxing.